Stellantis and I-CAR Launch Mopar Certified Glass Installer Program—Industry's First OEM Glass Credential

Stellantis and I-CAR were actively expanding the Mopar Certified Glass Installer Program by mid-September 2021 after launching it earlier that summer. The organizations described it as the auto industry's first OEM glass repair certification and promoted it at regional industry events.

I-CAR provides the program's training and competency-assessment framework. I-CAR CEO John Van Alstyne said increasingly technical vehicle glass installations involving ADAS sensors, embedded antennas, and heated zones make a structured certification process essential to complete, safe, and quality repairs. The certification pathway is accessible through I-CAR's online skills-and-courses platform.

The program requires participating shops to install only factory-engineered Mopar Glass—not aftermarket alternatives—and to follow OEM-published repair procedures for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and FIAT brand vehicles. Stellantis had previously made its position on aftermarket glass explicit in a November 2019 position statement published on the Mopar Repair Connect portal, stating that any repair using non-Mopar glass may expose occupants to unnecessary risk and that FCA does not recognize such repairs.

The certification framework has direct workforce implications. Shops that employ Mopar Certified Glass Installers can present credentials to insurance networks and fleet customers as evidence of competency on Stellantis vehicles. For individual technicians, the certification represents a verifiable professional credential at a time when ADAS calibration complexity is raising the stakes for any error in glass installation. An improperly installed windshield on a vehicle with forward-collision warning, lane-departure assist, and automatic emergency braking can render those safety systems inoperable.

For shops without the certification, the program creates a competitive pressure point. Insurance carriers that follow OEM position statements may begin specifying Mopar Certified installers for Stellantis vehicles, narrowing the work available to non-certified shops. Shops that handle high volumes of Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, or Jeep vehicles should evaluate whether pursuing the I-CAR training path makes financial sense given their customer mix.

The Mopar program also set a precedent. With one major OEM group formalizing a glass installer certification, industry observers expected other manufacturers to follow. Toyota, Ford, and General Motors had already articulated positions on aftermarket glass in prior years; a formal certification structure makes those positions enforceable in a way that general position statements alone do not.