A Mississippi body shop owner claims that State Farm is refusing to pay for a pre- and post-repair scan of a 2012 Chrysler van, despite acknowledging that Mopar says it must be done.

Daniel Mosley of Clinton Body Shop in Clinton, Miss., reached out to his local State Farm claims manager about a scan on the van, saying that Mopar required it. But even though the manager acknowledged Mopar’s position statement, Mosley claims he said State Farm was going to treat each claim on its own merits. Mosley claims the rep also told him he agreed there are a lot of vehicles out there that will probably need to be scanned, but he didn’t feel it was necessary for the particular vehicle in question.

When Mosley asked the State Farm rep to elaborate on the criteria the insurer would use to decide the merits of each claim, he declined to do so, according to Mosley.

In part, Chrysler’s scan tool position statement reads:

Use of the Mopar wiTECH vehicle diagnostic tester (Mopar Scan Tool) is an important part of FCA US vehicle service and maintenance. This tool contains software that aftermarket tools may not contain and can assess whether any FCA US vehicle’s safety and security systems contain active or stored Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs).

Safety and security related systems, such as antilock brakes, supplemental restraint systems (SRS – airbags), occupant restraint controller (ORC), seat belts, active head restraints, forward facing camera and radar, blind spot monitoring and other automated electronic driver assistance systems MUST be tested for fault codes (DTCs) that could be active (current) or stored following a collision. Use of the Mopar wiTECH vehicle diagnostic tester is necessary before and after collision repair.

ANY of the following conditions could trigger DTCs prior to or during collision repairs, which could result in improper vehicle performance:

• Vehicle is involved in an accident or collision, even though the damage may appear minor
• Vehicle has been in an accident with or without air bag deployment
• Voltage loss, including battery disconnects and hybrid battery disabling
• Significant vehicle disassembly including, but not limited to, bumpers, door handles, headlamps and mirrors
• Interior trim repair or removal
• Glass removal and replacement operations

Any repairs performed without using Mopar parts and not following published repair guidelines and procedures, may expose current or future vehicle owners and occupants to unnecessary risk.

If faults were stored in the DTC memory for any safety or security system, then these systems MUST be serviced according to the repair procedures in Service Information. After performing repairs, recheck the system to determine if any active or stored DTCs remain; if so, take appropriate service action to ensure proper function.

“In my opinion, a shop that doesn’t do the right thing for the consumer and follow through with the scans is setting itself up for a liability exposure that could possibly ruin them,” said John Mosley, Daniel’s father and owner of the shop. “As you know, garagekeepers liability may not provide coverage if you’re sued because you performed an incomplete or improper repair.”