Automotive Product Testing

Element's automotive testing capabilities span numerous critical evaluations to ensure your components perform as expected under real-world conditions and deliver the safety performance required by regulations. We conduct abrasion resistance and impact testing for glass, high flow pressure testing for hoses, lighting performance verification to manufacturer standards, comprehensive trim testing from flammability to environmental exposure, and stone chip resistance testing to simulate road debris impact.

Glass testing

• Abrasion resistance
• Bake test
• Boil test
• Chemical resistance
• Deviation and distortion
• Egress test
• Flammability
• Flexibility
• Fracture
• Humidity
• Impact
• Light stability
• Luminous transmittance
• Penetration resistance
• Temperature change
• Weathering

Hose testing

Element offers a comprehensive suite of automotive hose testing that includes all forms of hoses, assemblies, and connectors, be it braking, coolant, fuel, hydraulic, pressure, water, or pneumatic.

We also carry out combination tests such as flex impulse and dynamic durability with simultaneous vibration, pressure pulsing, and temperature influence. This detects potential issues like tiny internal cracks that could lead to hose failure, engine overheating, and vehicle breakdown.

We assess your materials to the following characteristics: ozone resistance, flexibility in cold conditions, leak tightness, adhesion between layers, and volume expansion.

Our tests include:

• High Flow & Low Flow (gas, liquid, chemical, water, steam, water/glycol mixtures)
• Varying Temperatures
• Liquid to Liquid thermo-shock Testing
• Pressure Proof & Burst Testing up to 50,000 psi
• Pressure Pulse up to 10 Hz @ 8,000 psi
• Helium & Refrigerant Leak Testing (HFO 1234yf refrigerants)
• Extreme Temperature Environmental Testing Fluids & Gases (-54°C to +175°C; Rapid temperature capability 1.5~3.0°C -air & oil)

Lighting testing

Lighting systems are critical for roadway illumination and vehicle visibility, ensuring the safety of vehicle occupants and other road users. Our comprehensive lighting testing includes:

• Illumination
• Visibility
• Performance
• Verification

We offer all the professional automotive testing services that manufacturers and OEMs need to set their products apart.

Our laboratories also provide a full range of electrical and safety testing services for electric vehicles, allowing us to be your single source provider for all of your automotive testing needs.

Trim testing

• Material properties
• Flammability
• Environmental exposure
• Full validation of "body in white" assemblies

All our services are designed to provide full support for both design verification and product development test phases. We also offer support services for successful completion of an ADVP&R or OEM test plan and dedicated program management.

Coating testing

• Stone chip resistance with gravelometer simulation

Element tests a comprehensive range of automotive components across multiple vehicle systems. Our expertise covers glazing materials for windows and windshields, lighting systems from headlamps to tail lights, hoses for cooling and hydraulic systems, interior components like seating and consoles, and exterior trim including fascias and protective coatings. We provide systematic evaluation of each component against rigorous industry standards to ensure safety, durability, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

• Glazing materials for windshields and windows
• Lighting and signaling devices for visibility and safety
• Automotive hoses for cooling, braking, and hydraulic systems
• Interior trim components from floor mats to instrument panels
• Exterior components from fascias to protective coatings  

Element streamlines your testing process through customized testing programs that address your specific challenges. We offer complete support from design verification to product development phases, providing dedicated program management for successful completion of test plans. Our experts analyze materials quality and life expectancy, delivering actionable data that supports both compliance and product improvement.

• Complete support for design verification and product development
• Custom testing for innovative designs and materials
• Materials quality and life expectancy analysis
• Performance qualification for compliance and improvement

Our laboratories utilize specialized equipment to deliver precise, reliable test results. We operate modern gravelometers that simulate stone impact on coatings, servo-hydraulic systems for advanced component testing, environmental simulation chambers for temperature and humidity testing, specialized optical equipment for lighting measurement, and high-pressure test systems for hose evaluation up to 50,000 psi.

• Gravelometers for stone chip resistance simulation
• Servo-hydraulic systems for advanced component testing
• Environmental simulation chambers for temperature and exposure
• Specialized optical equipment for lighting measurement
• High-pressure test systems for hose evaluation up to 50,000 psi

Our expert team operates from Transportation hubs, providing convenient access to our expert capabilities. Find out where your nearest Transportation hub is on our Locations Page.