A software update to Jeep 4xE models caused major malfunctions over the weekend – leaving many owners stranded and some in danger after their power failed.
The culprit appears to have been a buggy "over the air" (OTA) software update to the company’s uconnect software on Friday October 10, which “bricked” vehicles if owners installed it.
A Jeep customer support representative on a 4XE forum posted Saturday: “Please exercise extreme caution this evening if you have completed the update. If you have NOT completed the update and see the pop-up, please continue deferring..."
Posting as “Kori”, they told Jeep customers on the forum that the issue was “a telematics module box update” – and later added that the software update was cancelled the same day.
But not before multiple users across the US had updated their vehicles and suffered the immediate consequences.
Jeep software update issue
Some described losing power abruptly whilst driving in the wake of the update. One Jeep owner, Kerry Hollis, who works in IT infrastructure at Wells Fargo, told The Stack: “This was a software change that obviously wasn’t tested thoroughly and was dangerous and could have had life safety implications.
“Fortunately, for me, I lost propulsion while going at low speed in my neighborhood, so I was able to pull over, restart and limp back to my home. I’ve read stories of others that weren’t in that situation, going at highway speeds, and in traffic...
"Stellantis reacted quickly but it shouldn’t have happened..."
He added: It’s concerning... that most auto manufacturers and new vehicles even have the ability to be disabled by the manufacturer or even worse, someone with a malicious intent.”
Jeep describes unconnect as software that “gives you access to the latest available features and enhancements. Updates can be performed over any password-protected Wi-Fi network. Select vehicles with connected service capabilities are eligible for over-the-air updates,” it adds. (The software can also be found in other marques from parent company Stellantis, but it appears only Jeep brands were affected by this update.)
See also: Ford eyes $1B in software sales
Another owner, Stephen Gutowski, owner of the reload.com news site, told The Stack: “On Friday night, my 2024 Jeep Wrangler Willys 4xe asked me to run an update when I got back home. I clicked ‘yes’ without really thinking about it.
"What's the worst that could happen, right?
He added: “Well, the next morning, I saw posts on the 4xe Facebook group I'm in that the update essentially bricked the 2024 Wranglers. I'm glad I saw that before I went out to my Jeep because I was prepared for something to maybe be wrong and did a test drive in my parking lot …”
“Sure enough, after driving maybe a half mile around my parking lot, the Jeep killed the gas and told me to put it in park. The dash lit up like a Christmas tree. The check engine light came on. Worse, it refused to go back into drive. It was just dead where it sat… I was [eventually] able to limp it back to my parking spot. I called my local dealership and they said it was a nationwide issue on at least the 2024 Wrangler 4xes…”
"Pretty scary"
Gutowski added: “On Sunday morning I saw Jeep's messages in the 4xe forum and the fix was ota’d to my Jeep. So, I let my car run for 15 minutes and did two power cycles. The check engine light went away, and everything seemed to be working normally again. Took it for a test drive around the neighborhood, and it drove like nothing ever happened.”
“It seems like it could have been extremely dangerous if I hadn't read about the problem before taking my car out on the road… imagine if it went dead on the highway. Pretty scary. Honestly, this feels like more of a modern car problem. I doubt this will be the last car to get bricked by an ota update. At least they were able to fix it with an ota update in a day.”
Disaster Jeep software update bricks vehicles, leaves owners stranded - never buy Stelantis
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- Feb 4, 2013
Cummins isn't Chrysler. It's existed longer than Chrysler has. The fact that those engines are third party is probably why they aren't garbage.
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- Feb 25, 2023
Yes, I know. Notice how I didn't say they were the same company
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- Jan 14, 2023
Stellantis should just fucking sell American assets back to an American company.
This is fucking embarrassing.
This is fucking embarrassing.
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2017
Every single committee member who fucking approved of doing software updates on cars especially "over the air" deserve to die in the very monsters they have created. It's only a matter of time before someone (important) dies from their car getting BRICKED for them to realize "Oh, shit, this was a bad idea after all."
Holy fucking shit computerizing cars was a massive mistake. That theoretical solar flare that'll knock off the power grid better come now instead of later.
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2015
Unrelated to the brickening of shitty suv's marketed to women and effeminate men, have any of you noticed the jeep community is full of virgin simp faggots? Start looking at the dash board of ones you pass by. Women have hundreds of shitty rubber duck toys and dudes have like 4.
She won't fuck you over a $1 toy from china, retards.
She won't fuck you over a $1 toy from china, retards.
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- Sep 20, 2024
Anyone dumb enough to by an EV gets what they deserve.
My Jeep started just fine today.
My Jeep started just fine today.
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- Nov 5, 2020
At the end of the day realizing much of the green new deal climate change shit was a scam to move dirty industry abroad to China and ruin america.
robobobo
kiwifarms.net
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- Nov 21, 2014
If my car fucked up in mid-drive because some pajeet coder did the needful, I would be on the phone with a lawyer before I even called for a tow. I hope Jeep gets sued to hell for that. I take more care pushing an update out to a fucking label printer in my company's environment than these idiots took bluescreening multi-ton vehicles in motion on the road.
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2021
Barely. They're a joke on YouTube truck dude channels. Like Whistlin' Diesel and some other guy. You buy a Cummins and you won't cumagain.
It still makes me irrationally angry that a "nation wide emergency test" happened a few years ago. My schitzo theory is that they used that signal to ping every phone on the market and when they got a ping back, they put it in a database. They'll do another one and it will either be rolled out in certain sections (hurricane\disaster zones) or it will be "if you received the ping from before, you won't be included in this test signal" and it will be a way for them to track new devices coming into the market.
If it's the second one, they will increase the frequency so they can ping every device every 6 months to see how the market responds (I.E. new devices registered and being used). {Which I know kind of happens, but they will want to track if old numbers are staying in networks or not. Listen, it's my schitzo theory and I'm just blathering into the void.}
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- Jun 11, 2018
I know someone who works for Stellantis and one of their "perks" is being able to be a guinea pig of sorts to test out newer cars - perhaps prototypes - to get on-road feedback regarding performance and issues. All I'll say is what I've heard about the experience makes me not want to get an EV until they are the only option for vehicles - and even then I won't be happy about it or them. Even an automotive exec I know has said he has no interest in an EV despite his employer pitching them up until recently.
From past software experience, mission critical code such as that powering vehicles on the road needs to be tested rigorously and be as close to a zero-defect release as possible. From what I know about coding ever since I left the field, this kind of testing seldom happens if ever because everyone involved is eager to push out updates ASAP - quality control be damned. If the coders are cheap-tier imports, it's no surprise vehicles have the issues they do.
From past software experience, mission critical code such as that powering vehicles on the road needs to be tested rigorously and be as close to a zero-defect release as possible. From what I know about coding ever since I left the field, this kind of testing seldom happens if ever because everyone involved is eager to push out updates ASAP - quality control be damned. If the coders are cheap-tier imports, it's no surprise vehicles have the issues they do.
A lot of vehicle-related purchase/lease agreements have a binding arbitration clause which favors the automakers in most disputes, unfortunately.
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- Feb 8, 2021
fuckin lol imagine working a job so bad that getting to drive a Stellantis product is considered a 'perk'.
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- Jan 14, 2023
Most manufacturers give out free cars to corporat employees and sell it back to the dealers at discount.
Still, terrible perk.....more like.....a thrill....cuz you never know when you are going to get stranded on the road in a Stellantis vehicle....lmao.
Grub
kiwifarms.net
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- Jul 2, 2021
Read the conversation.
Rei is Shit.
kiwifarms.net
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- Dec 12, 2022
Circumcise* your car
*clip its antennas
*clip its antennas
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- Sep 22, 2019
Remember how Crowdstrike bricked potentially hundreds of thousands of workstations through their kernel level spyware? Same vibe.
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- Apr 20, 2022
it's a jeep thing you wouldn't understand
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- Aug 11, 2019
Just avoid buying any car with a screen on it and avoid electrical ones like the fucking plague upon humanity that they are.
Seriously, avoid them, the mfs might suddenly decide to explode or lose control and crash...then explode.
Seriously, avoid them, the mfs might suddenly decide to explode or lose control and crash...then explode.