ADAS Radar Sensors and Camera Modules

Which sensor does what

• Front radar, behind the grille or the badge on the front: adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking.
• Forward camera, at the top of the windshield behind the mirror: lane keeping, and on many cars emergency braking with the radar.
• Blind-spot radar, one behind each rear bumper corner: blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warnings.
• Rear and surround-view cameras: the picture on the screen when you reverse or park.

When one fails, the car usually says the feature is unavailable — adaptive cruise, collision warning or blind-spot monitoring — rather than naming the part.

Check these before buying a sensor

• Dirt, ice or snow over the sensor or the camera's patch of glass gives the same warning as a failed unit.
• A light bump can knock a radar bracket out of line. The sensor may be fine and only need re-aiming.
• For blind-spot sensors, swap the left and right units. If the fault moves to the other side, it is the sensor; if it stays, it is the wiring. Water getting into the connector is a common cause.

What owners report

Across the twelve vehicles we have pages for, owners have filed 2,529 complaints with NHTSA, the US federal vehicle-safety regulator, that mention the radar, a camera, or the emergency braking, adaptive cruise or blind-spot systems, as of September 18, 2026. Two vehicles carry most of them: 1,040 on the 2017–2025 Tesla Model 3 and 578 on the 2017–2022 Honda CR-V. More than 600 of the Model 3's and more than 100 of the CR-V's describe the car braking hard with nothing in the road. NHTSA publishes complaints as owners wrote them and does not verify them.

Eight recalls on those vehicles are for the camera hardware itself, four of them on the 2020–2025 Ford Explorer; each vehicle's page lists its own. A recall repair is free at the dealer, so check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before buying a camera.

Calibration is part of the job

Every radar sensor and camera has to be calibrated to the car after it is fitted — and a forward camera again after a new windshield. Calibration is static, with targets set up in a workshop, or dynamic, with a road drive, depending on the car; some need both. It needs equipment most home garages do not have.

What we source

The nine units listed below are our range: front radar sensors from Bosch and Continental, blind-spot radar from Mando and Hella, forward camera modules from Magna and Mando, a Valeo surround-view camera, and rear cameras from Dorman and TYC, $63.99 to $596.99. The sensor a car takes depends on its driver-assistance package and trim, so send the VIN and we tell you before you pay which unit it is, what it costs and when it ships. The price is for the part; calibration is done by a shop with the equipment. If a part we confirmed as a fit does not fit your vehicle, we cover the return and the replacement.