SAE J1555_201105

This SAE Recommended Practice applies to all portions of the vehicle, but design efforts should focus on components and systems with the highest contribution to the overall average repair cost (see 3.7). The costs to be minimized include not only insurance premiums, but also out-of-pocket costs incurred by the owner. Damageability, repairability, serviceability and diagnostics are inter-related. Some repairability, serviceability and diagnostics operations may be required for collision or comprehensive loss-related causes only, some operations for non-collision-related causes only (warranty, scheduled maintenance, non-scheduled maintenance, etc.), and some for both causes. The scope of this document deals with only those operations that involve collision and comprehensive insurance loss repairs. SAE J1555 has been updated to reflect more current vehicle costs of ownership and insurance cost elements. To focus user attention on the guidelines which typically can have the largest impact on reducing collision damage frequencies and repair costs, Sections 5 through 15, and the guidelines within each section, have been prioritized in approximately decreasing orders of importance. Photographic examples of how the guidelines apply in real-world applications have been added to some of the guidelines. References to the Audatex damageability claims database, and figures utilizing data from this resource, have been deleted, since the database is no longer available.