Software Bugs More Frequent as Automakers Add Technology to Cars Simona Anchova, May 2022 ‘As future and present programmers and engineers, we can all agree that there's no such thing as a bug-free software. In 2020, businesses all over the United States reporteda loss of $2 trillion due to Poor software quality. These estimated losses come from unsuccessful IT and software projects, poor quality in legacy systems, and operational software failures [1]. In the past, cars were analogue to a large extent with hardly one line of code. The main components were cables, springs, rods, levers, gears, hydraulic pistons, and electric motors. A malfunction of any of these parts is easy diagnosable and repairable. Today's cars account 40% of electronic components. Electronic components are replacing many functions which were previously done by mechanical or electrical independencies. Experts state that car's software contenthas expanded from 10m lines of code, the amount of code carshad in 2010, to 300m lines of code by 2020. Given that information, cars will have far more software updates then computers. When a computer has a bug that causes it to crash or freeze, the most obvious solution is to reboot it. This quick solution won't be able to be implemented in a car if the crash happens when the car is racing out of control or refusing to stop on a hill 2] [12]. ‘ANew York Times article claims that the most frequent source of software bugshas been the in- vehicle infotainment services, backup cameras, and sounds that cut out or unexpectedly increase. These software bugs have led to multiple lawsuits against the original equipment manufacturers. The plaintiffs in these lawsuits have also stated that flawed dashboard displays lead to serious distraction and potential safety hazards. Manufacturers like Honda, Ford, and Subaru have paid millions in software-related lawsut settlements. [3](11] Last year, Tesla had torecall every Model X and Model S vehicle shipped with 8GB eMMC NAND flash chip, or 159thousand vehicles in total. Tesla was forced into this action after experiencing failures with the 8GB Media Control Unit (MCU). They had to replace the 8GB eMMC NAND flash chip because when the NAND fails, so does the Media Control Unit. When this happens, the driver loses access to climate controls and the backup camera [4]. In an official statement, Tesla asserted their customers that these malfunctions do not result in accidents or injuries. MMC failures include persistent black center display that does not recover after restarting the touchscreen, loss of certain functionalities, and a vehicle alert signaling memory storage device degradation. [5] Though, an obvious question arises, whyis everything in Tesla cars done on ascreen to begin with instead of with physical dials and buttons. Usingthe scree for everything seems like a cost cutting feature to avoid having to implement proper controls. ‘4.2021 Reuters article claims that software is playing a massive role in vehicles, from managing electric motors and batteries to supporting functions such as autonomous driving, entertainment and avigation, and these software capabilties will only increase. [3] ‘The multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota has an operating system in the works whose purpose will be handling advanced operations such as autonomous driving. The OS is set to launch by 2026. This plan includes licensing model which will allow the Japanese carmaker to make their automotive software platform Arene available to other car manufacturers and companies that are in the electric/self-driving car business [6]. Volkswagen is joining Toyota in making its own vehicle operating system. In package with the OS, Volkswagen includes an automotive cloud and a new electronic architecture in their vehicles, gradually evolving into a software-driven mobility provider. This is all part of the Car. Software Organization which is set to be finished by 2025. The organization that involves around 10 thousand digital experts, will develop not only software in vehicles, but also applications for vehicle-related services and added-value services [7]. ‘When car software failure happens, key vehicle systems stop working which leads to a crash. Nissan Rogue drivers have experienced a problem with their automatic emergency braking system. The vehicle would stop with no warning, putting every passenger's life at risk suffering a rear-end collision‘0F T-bone accident in an intersection. A customer has reported that his vehicle stopped while driving ‘over a train crossing [8]. The most important thing in buildingan automotive software is quality assurance of the vehicle. Quality assurance includes cybersecurity, non-functional safety (preventing memory leaks that can cause problems over time), and functional safety (ensuring that brakes and other system work properly) Increase in software-based failures and recalls and a decrease in non-software problems is set to trend in the future. These failures will be most frequent in integrated electronic components (IECs), software integrations, software detections, and software remedies. The cars that are new to the market are no longer just mechanical devices, They cannot operate without microprocessors and the software needed to run those systems. Unless car manufacturers address the uprising glitches and find solution to the many emerging bugs, software will become an increasing costly source of frustration. As software-related defects are often found in the first two years of the life of a vehicle, it's expected that newly introduced car models will have more software bugs [9]. A legal framework between car manufacturers and governments needs to be established before automotive vehicles hit the streets [10]. While we expect automotive systems to improve our lives and reduce car accidents, there is an existing margin error.