http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1065388...ace-daytona-500

1. electronics components have self-test embedded, especially for critical parts
(e.g. airbag, safety, etc.) which you can see in most cars nowadays, it will perform
self-test first when you turn-on the ignition key.

2. automotive electronics' safety/reliability requirements are FAR more stringent
compared to laptops/phones, as they're bound by automotive electronics council
(www.aecouncil.com).. so, imo comparing a car's electronics system to a laptop
is somewhat apple to orange.

3. well-known car manufacturers will get original parts.. i haven't heard of any
China clone electronics replacing original electronics parts in automotive before,
but it does happen in non-automotive ones (e.g. laptops, phones) again, due to
stringent requirements.

4. safety devices failures are continuously being researched, developed and
improved by automotive manufacturers and the outcomes from these are
passed over to electronics manufacturers to ensure additional self-tests,
reliability, responsivity, etc. are added in into new generation electronics/
successor electronics parts which will be fitted in future cars.

5. in terms of electronics parts' pricing, yes every year there are negotiations
to reduce prices, but at the same time quality governs first.

This post has been edited by pokchik: Aug 2 2012, 04:59 PM

1. since the trend of automotive electronics keep increasing,
rest assured, quality of electronics are more and more being put
in the spot and this goes waayyyy back to the supplier line..
googling up can give you news and info, but to what extent
the info goes/if the info gives actual root cause of the issue..
even the news is not 100% sure.

2. One word. Proton. 'nuff said. oh, btw - faulty power window
by proton should not only caused by electronics.. if i'm not mistaken.
the window module was built by various suppliers, starting from
silicon supplier > chip maker > pcb module manufacturer > whole window assembly..
besides, to give assurance, as per what i mentioned - quality was
being put under the spotlight nowadays, and thus the lifetime
warranty was introduced by proton. wonder how's the quality of
power windows on recent proton cars now, didn't look into it.

3. most auto electronics suppliers hv backed out of china,
because - you're right, china's quality was like.. and it still is.
but then again, electronic suppliers hv tried to concentrate
on other manufacturing sites - malaysia, korea, singapore, batam..
and the cases of counterfeits were rarely found in auto electronics
because i can assure you, the quality supply chain in automotive
is being greatly scrutinized and being dealt with. i know freescale
has a plant in china, although it's producing automotive electronics
chips, they're more concentrated on infotainment stuffs and
not safety related - those which if broken, e.g. your radio - doesn't
affect safety of the passengers inside.

4. 'error corrections', or re-designs can be done in a jiffy.
in fact, car manufacturers (well, the good ones, of course)
hv a good planning of coming models, and they've started
development of newer electronics with their suppliers wayyyy
before the car is being manufactured.. it's how they keep their
RnD/new car models going. to add up, do you know that it takes
almost 1 year to really qualify an electronics device within a car?
this takes into consideration the reliability tests and documentations,
which shows the tight measures taken to ensure quality.. besides,
car manufacturers drive cars too.. they have families driving cars,
and they sure don't want to put lives in jeopardy.