Jeep immobilized Wrangler 4xe SUVs with a failed software update

Over-the-air updates sometimes cause problems, but Jeep's latest one turned out to be a true disaster. Over the weekend, the company released a new version of the software for the Wrangler SUV, which posed a serious safety threat.

What's Known

Jeep Wrangler 4xe owners report that their vehicles become "bricks" after installing the Uconnect system update. In some cases, the vehicles stalled right while driving.

The first complaints about problematic software appeared at the beginning of this week. On the 4xe forum, one of the owners reported that he installed the update and tried to drive around the block the next morning. But during the drive, the engine suddenly stalled, the Check Engine light came on, and a "Switch to park" message appeared on the dashboard.

On Reddit, another owner described another situation. He was driving on the highway at 65 mph (105 km/h) when his Wrangler 4xe suddenly began to slow down with the same messages on the dashboard. The driver reported narrowly avoiding a "huge accident": he had to urgently change lanes across four lanes to pull over to the shoulder.

Jeep quickly responded to the information about the problems. A representative of the Stellantis Social Engagement Team (Stellantis owns Jeep) wrote a warning on the 4xe forum: do not install the update.

"If you have already installed the update, be extremely careful. If you have NOT installed it and see the pop-up window — keep delaying the installation to prevent the update from going through. The telematics module update can be delayed indefinitely; it will expire on its own in 30 days," the company wrote.

Initially, Jeep recommended not driving in hybrid or electric modes, but owners reported problems even in gasoline mode. One forum participant called the situation "absolutely unacceptable" — Jeep released the update clearly without properly testing it.

Soon after acknowledging the problem, the automaker announced that it released a new, fixed version of the software. Owners need to park the vehicle in an area with good mobile coverage and leave it on for at least 10 minutes. After that, it can be turned off, restarted and the problem should disappear.

The company also confirmed that it is helping customers whose vehicles were towed to dealerships and is compensating expenses.

Jeep's current official recommendation is to allow the update to install while the vehicle is parked at home, then let the engine run for about 20 minutes to ensure the corrective patch loads properly. The company insists that the fixed version of the software will not cause problems.

Source: Carscoops