Skip to main content

Fiat Chrysler sent an over-the-air update that is causing Uconnect to endlessly reboot

Fiat Chrysler sent an over-the-air update that is causing Uconnect to endlessly reboot

/

The company is ‘investigating the cause and working towards a resolution’

Share this story

Being able to update your car’s user interface over the air means better access to new features, with fewer trips to the dealer, and — ideally — a quick fix if something’s wrong. But there are inevitably going to be hiccups when a behemoth like, say, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles tries to update the infotainment system it pushes on many of its sub-brands and something breaks. This weekend, as Jalopnik noticed, FCA sent an over-the-air update to its Uconnect platform that is causing infotainment systems in cars to reboot every 45 seconds or so.

Uconnect is supported by Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Fiat vehicles, and the problem seems fairly agnostic. Customers of all makes are on Twitter tweeting at the @UConnectCares support account asking for help, or simply venting their frustration.

The reboot issue is apparently localized to newer cars equipped with the 2017 and 2018 versions of Uconnect, according to the support account, but it’s unclear exactly how many cars are affected. “Our Engineering teams are investigating the cause and working towards a resolution. We will post here as soon as more information is available and apologize for the inconvenience,” the support team wrote yesterday. (We’ve also reached out to FCA directly and will update when we hear back.)

It’s not just the radio that these customers have lost access to. Uconnect also includes controls for heat and A/C, heated seats and steering wheels, rear-view cameras, and is needed to power things like the vehicle’s voice assistant and even the “SOS” feature. Even with redundant physical buttons — which are becoming rare in a screen-first world — not all of these controls will be available until FCA issues a fix.