An electronic control system mounted on an automobile, such as a
motor-assisted power steering system, includes a commanding unit for
calculating a command value and a driving unit for driving an actuator
according to the command value. The commanding unit and the driving unit
are communicably connected to each other through a communication bus. The
command value is calculated in response to an order to calculate sent
from the driving unit and is transmitted to the driving unit. The driving
unit detects abnormality or malfunction in the commanding unit by
comparing the transmitted command value with data pre-stored in the
driving unit. If a command value sent from one of the commanding units is
found to be incorrect, the actuator is driven without using the incorrect
command value.