Some Jeep Hybrids Left Inoperable After Problematic Weekend OTA Update

According to The Stack, the update appeared to cause several vehicles to lose power mid-drive, flood the dashboard with warning lights, and eventually come to a full stop. In most cases, the system displayed a message instructing drivers to shift into park — after which the transmission refused to go back into drive, effectively stranding them.

Not all owners experienced the exact same issue, but the results were alarming. Some couldn’t restart their Jeeps at all, while others said the engines shut down suddenly, including on busy highways. One member of the Jeep 4xe Enthusiasts Facebook group described a terrifying experience:

“This happened to me today-went through the update in the morning and then continued to drive and had it die on me on the interstate- it was absolutely terrifying. Was driving 70 mph and it just shut off and told me to shift to park- was able to make it off onto the shoulder, turned it off and back on again, tried getting back on the interstate and it wouldn't accelerate. Finally got it off the exit. Shut it off for a few minutes and then tried driving it again, worked for about 5 miles then did it again- pulled off the interstate on a very narrow shoulder with cars speeding by. Restarted it and barely made it to the next exit where I had to have it towed to the dealer.”

Videos soon began circulating online warning other owners not to install the update, noting that Wranglers which hadn’t received it continued to function normally.

Spontaneous shutdown

Across social media and owner forums, Jeep drivers expressed frustration with dealerships, claiming they weren’t providing clear answers or solutions. Vehicles were towed in, but most service departments had no idea what was going on.

Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company, appeared to be aware of the problem and began communicating through official owner forums. A representative from Jeep Cares named Kori posted the following clarification:

“This is a telematics box module update, not a radio software update; for those who received the update, it will not change that radio software version.

The update was canceled yesterday evening (10/10/25); however, if your vehicle had already downloaded it, even if you have not seen the pop-up screen yet, we do not have a way to cancel that and remove it from your vehicle.
We are continuing to receive information in real time and will post back when we have specific instructions from our engineering teams about exactly what we can do to help everyone.”

A day later, Jeep Cares followed up with more specific instructions:

“A fix was launched after 6 PM EST. In order for the vehicle to receive the fix, it does require the vehicle to be turned on in good cellular coverage. There will not be a pop-up message.

After allowing the vehicle to be on for at least 10 minutes, the recommendation is to turn the vehicle off, back on, and ensure there is no code/fault on the instrument cluster and you see 'Ready.'

For those that had vehicles towed to dealers, we should be able to have all dealers assist in ensuring this is completed Monday morning so vehicles are ready for pickup quickly.
For anyone that incurred a towing cost or a diagnostic fee (or any other related expense), we will assist in reimbursing or canceling any fees. This will commence on Monday.”

Some owners said the patch resolved the issue, but others continued to face problems — even after bringing their vehicles to the dealership. Jalopnik reached out to Stellantis for comment and will update this story when a response is received.

'It's not a bug, it's a feature'

A software update that can disable a moving vehicle should never have made it to public release. Issues like this raise questions about Stellantis’ testing procedures. Major bugs like these should be identified long before rollout. Unfortunately, many tech and auto companies alike have developed a habit of treating end users as unpaid beta testers — something that’s merely annoying in video games, but potentially life-threatening in cars.

To make matters worse, Stellantis reportedly pushed this update late on a Friday — traditionally the worst possible time for any software deployment. As anyone who’s worked in tech knows, end-of-week updates mean fewer people on staff to handle emergency fixes if something goes wrong. A midweek rollout would have allowed engineers and communications teams to respond more quickly and keep dealerships informed.

As automakers increasingly rely on complex software to control critical vehicle systems, they need to take a page from the tech industry’s best practices — not its worst habits. OTA updates can improve safety and performance, but when they fail, they shouldn’t leave drivers stranded on the side of the road.