Photo: screenshot
Not long ago, a story surfaced online, showing two ‘security consultants’ (or hackers if you will) taking control of various functions of a Jeep. According to them, the car’s UConnect infotainment system had a flaw that allowed them to do this.
Since then a couple of important things happened. Two senators wrote a bill that asks carmakers to offer a minimum of security against such threats and FCA issued a voluntary recall to fix the vulnerability.
Now, if you own a car fitted with the UConnect system you need not worry. Just because ill-intended people can hack your car doesn’t mean they necessarily will. Therefore, you could just sit tight and allow the dealership to fix the issues whenever you visit them. If you’re truly worried, you can go ahead and take things into your own hands and solve this issue once and for all.
The cars affected are as follows:
If your daily driver is amongst them, here’s what you need to do. First of all, get yourself a USB stick that’s at least 4GB in size and an hour of spare time. Then go to driveconnect.com/software-update and enter your car’s VIN. This way you’ll know for sure if yours is one of the affected vehicles.
If the website shows an update for your infotainment system, download it and then open it. It should be a .zip file. In it you should find a .iso file (usually it’s named swdl.iso). Copy this file to your USB stick without creating an additional folder on the drive.
The next step is to go down to your car, plug the drive into the USB port of the UConnect system. Switch on the ignition and wait for the interface to start up and find your USB. A screen will pop up asking if you want to update the software. Simply press Yes.
After installing, the console will restart, and all should be good in the world once again. The install process will take around 15 minutes so don’t be alarmed if it’s taking more than you expected.
Now, if you own a car fitted with the UConnect system you need not worry. Just because ill-intended people can hack your car doesn’t mean they necessarily will. Therefore, you could just sit tight and allow the dealership to fix the issues whenever you visit them. If you’re truly worried, you can go ahead and take things into your own hands and solve this issue once and for all.
The cars affected are as follows:
- 2013-2015 MY Dodge Viper specialty vehicles
- 2013-2015 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups
- 2013-2015 Ram 3500, 4500, 5500 Chassis Cabs
- 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee SUVs
- 2014-2015 Dodge Durango SUVs
- 2015 MY Chrysler 200, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans
- 2015 Dodge Challenger sports coupes
If your daily driver is amongst them, here’s what you need to do. First of all, get yourself a USB stick that’s at least 4GB in size and an hour of spare time. Then go to driveconnect.com/software-update and enter your car’s VIN. This way you’ll know for sure if yours is one of the affected vehicles.
If the website shows an update for your infotainment system, download it and then open it. It should be a .zip file. In it you should find a .iso file (usually it’s named swdl.iso). Copy this file to your USB stick without creating an additional folder on the drive.
The next step is to go down to your car, plug the drive into the USB port of the UConnect system. Switch on the ignition and wait for the interface to start up and find your USB. A screen will pop up asking if you want to update the software. Simply press Yes.
After installing, the console will restart, and all should be good in the world once again. The install process will take around 15 minutes so don’t be alarmed if it’s taking more than you expected.
Google News