The increasing digitalization of automobiles is driving up the number of breakdowns caused by failures in electronic systems. According to data from The Automobile Association, such incidents have doubled over the last 6 years, and problems linked to electronic control units have become one of the top 5 reasons for assistance calls. More than 36 thousand breakdowns linked to these systems were recorded last year.
Body Control Module (BCM) failures can affect functions such as door locks and lighting, as well as the operation of the vehicle. Assistance calls caused by BCM-related problems rose from 18 thousand 295 in the 2019-2020 period to 36 thousand 448 in the last 12 months.
Why it matters
The figures show that the electronic infrastructure in automobiles is no longer related solely to comfort and ease of use, but can also directly affect the vehicle’s basic functions. This makes the issue important not only for drivers who have to call for assistance when a breakdown occurs, but also for those monitoring the nature of the failures encountered by roadside assistance services. The connection between systems such as door locks and lighting and the operation of the engine shows that a problem in a single module can produce different consequences. The data also raises the question of how the share of failures linked to electronic control units among overall assistance calls has changed; however, the available information does not explain the reasons for this increase or which vehicles experience it more frequently.