How much will it cost you to repair those tech-driven cars?

There was a time when the extent of a car’s safety features were seatbelts, bumpers and door locks ― and it wouldn’t cost much to fix them. Nowadays, safety features can get quite costly to repair.

With newer vehicles come newer technologies and more expense to repair or replace if they’re damaged, especially in the case of advanced driver assistance systems.

Research recently conducted by AAA looked at what it costs to fix sensors and cameras that are part of those safety systems or ADAS. On average, repair of ADAS was 38% of a repair bill.

“The technology is growing by leaps and bounds, but the more sophisticated a system is, the more expensive it may be to repair, replace and re-calibrate after a collision,” said Matthew Conde, director of AAA Idaho’s public affairs. “When the system is working properly, it’s an amazing resource for drivers. But if it isn’t repaired as needed, it could misread its surroundings and become more of a hindrance than a help.”

That could especially mean trouble when the weather is colder and driving conditions are slicker than normal.

According to AAA, “ADAS uses a combination of LIDAR and RADAR sensors, and cameras, to help the vehicle maintain an appropriate lane position and to enhance safety. Most new cars are equipped with automatic emergency braking, and many are also equipped with lane-keeping assistance or lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control and other technologies.”

AAA’s research included cost estimates for 2023 vehicles in four different repair scenarios, finding:

• Replacing ADAS components in a minor front-end collision was $1,540 ― about 13% of the total repair cost.
• Nearly 71% of the repair cost ($1,067) of a side-view mirror repair was directly related to the ADAS camera inside.
• Replacing ADAS components after a minor rear-end crash was $684 ― about 40% of the average total repair estimate of $1,698.
• The cost of windshield replacement attributable to ADAS made up 25% ($360) of the total repair cost of $1,440.

The research also found that front radar sensors , which are used for automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control, can cost anywhere from $500 to $1,300 to repair; front camera sensors used for the previous applications as well as lane-departure and lane-keeping systems, can cost from $600 to $800 to repair; side mirror sensors and camera packages can cost $740 to $1,600 to repair; windshield camera sensors can cost $900 to $1,200 to repair; and front and rear ultrasonic sensors, which control parking assistance systems, can cost from $300 to $1,000 to repair.