How New Vehicle Technology has Changed Car Repairs

In the past ten years, so much has changed when it comes to automobiles. From the technology embedded in each new car to the efficiency of engines, great strides have been made in car design. All of those improvements create a more enjoyable, efficient and safe vehicle for you to drive, but also create new challenges to car repairs if you’re in a collision. One of the biggest challenges? Keeping tabs on all the technology that now comes in every car.

New Vehicle Technology

From end-to-end, new cars are embedded with technology. Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) offer tons of convenience for drivers, as well as improved safety. These systems can include:

• Navigation. Many cars today come already equipped with built-in GPS systems to get directions easily while you’re on the road.
• Adaptive cruise control keeps your speed steady on the road and give your foot a break from the gas pedal.
• Collision avoidance systems. Some new cars will alert the driver when an obstacle or pedestrian is detected – and some even automatically brake the vehicle for the driver.
• Rearview cameras. These make it easier to back up by showing a view to the driver of what’s behind the car and sounding an alarm if the vehicle’s bumper comes too close to an obstacle.  
• Smartphone connections. Bluetooth has become commonplace, making it easy to connect your smartphone to your car’s audio system. Some cars even offer WiFi for passengers.

Can Car Accidents Damage ADAS Technology?

Many ADAS features rely on sensors embedded within the auto body of the vehicle to operate. The newer your vehicle is, the more sensors it will likely have, and these sensors are susceptible to hidden damage because of where they’re located: your bumpers. Sensors that are damaged in a collision – even if it is a light fender-bender – can cause these ADAS features to malfunction or fail. This damage can be costly to repair, but it’s important to fix it so that your car is safe to drive when you get back behind the wheel. Losing your car’s Bluetooth or navigation capabilities might be inconvenient, but when collision damage causes adaptive cruise control or collision avoidance systems to malfunction, that creates a serious safety risk that could potentially lead to another collision.

Find a Collision Repair Shop Near You

One way to tell if your car has hidden damage that will impact your ADAS systems is to get a diagnostic scan at a collision repair shop near you. A shop technician can connect their diagnostics tool to your car’s computer system and check to see if there are error codes indicating that a sensor is damaged.

Carwise.com makes it easy to find a collision repair shop near you when your car needs repairs. Carwise has details on nearly 22,000 shops, from hours and locations, to shop certifications, reviews by real customers, and before and after photos. Use Carwise’s shop finder tool to search your zip code for a customer-reviewed auto body shop nearby: https://www.carwise.com/auto-body-shops/.