Auto sensors of various types have proliferated in new models and offer drivers greater safety to prevent side, front and rear-end collisions, but there’s a downside as well.
When accidents do happen, sensors embedded in bumpers and other points around the vehicle periphery can also be damaged or destroyed, and have to be replaced. The cost can require finding and buying news sensors, installing them and also programming them to work—which raises the cost of the repair.
“A mildly-bumped-into front end, you could have a $3,500 estimate on it,” said auto mechanic Russell Brumley of P&R Auto Repair in Cincinatti, as reported by WCPO-TV there.
Bumpers were once cheap and easy to fix, but repairs have become expensive when the cost of labor and technology are included. “A lot of sensors and wiring goes in the bumper,” Brumley told the news outlet. “You’ve got blind spot sensors, you have backup sensors.”
Brumley said a bumper alone can cost $1,000, but adding in the cost of the sensors can raise the price by another $1,600. And after installation, some blind spot sensors have to be sent back to the dealership to be programmed. “It gets into quite an expense,” he said.
While few drivers would trade out sensors to prevent crashes, their cost for repair is helping raise the average repair cost, now at $838, according to Kelley Blue Book. Vehicle maintenance is now 8.5% higher than a year ago, according to the latest Consumer Price Index. Also, new auto tariffs are going into effect Oct. 3, affecting the price of vehicles, parts and repairs.
Blind spot monitoring systems with sensors can range from $200 to $395, while lane change assist systems with lane departure warning can run $1,400 per vehicle, according to the US Department of Transportation in a report from 2013 that has not been updated. The cost of a blind spot detection system as an add-on device on Amazon was recently listed at $160 and some related lane change warning systems were even less. However, these prices are for add-on devices and not the original equipment price mechanics may charge.