Bricked 8.4NAV "Update Failed, Error Code: 20"

[Spank]

Does anyone have any advice? 2018 JL, 8.4 UConnect, pushed through an update and then radio just cycles on and off. The battery is now dead on the car because it just drains the battery over and over, I've checked and replaced fuses. I'm out of warranty, and the 8.4 system was already replaced once in 2020 for malfunctioning, and the radio never came in again after that. I think these systems are full of bugs...but now it's drained my battery and actually bricked my whole car...

Sounds like it's suffering from the same issue. However, if you had it replaced in 2020, I'd see if the unit itself has some warranty on it that you might be able to take advantage of since they did the work. It's a long shot and Jeep is probably going to fight you on it, but it's worth trying. A replacement radio that's only a year old eating shit isn't acceptable, vehicle warranty or not.

Another option would be to send it over to Infotainment.com and have them repair it. It's now $650, so it ain't cheap, but they'll replace the aircard, update the radio to the latest possible version, and likely get it done way faster than FCA now that they're probably even further backordered on replacements.

You can drive your Jeep without the radio and it'll work just fine. You just won't have access to change the specific vehicle features of your Jeep, but you can still use the HVAC controls via the hard buttons.

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[AnebuR]

Of course the caveat is that if it's gonna cost $650 to fix the radio, might as well as get an aftermarket unit for a bit more. Plenty of threads on this forum discussing the various models out there.

 

[viper88]

Does anyone have any advice? 2018 JL, 8.4 UConnect, pushed through an update and then radio just cycles on and off. The battery is now dead on the car because it just drains the battery over and over, I've checked and replaced fuses. I'm out of warranty, and the 8.4 system was already replaced once in 2020 for malfunctioning, and the radio never came in again after that. I think these systems are full of bugs...but now it's drained my battery and actually bricked my whole car...

I had numerous problems with Uconnect and head-unit in my last 2019. The dealer replaced, updated the head unit several times and still could not fix it. It was at the dealer for over 5 weeks. My final straw was when the head unit would not turn-off even if I turned-off the ignition and locked the doors. It would drain the battery and potentially strand me. After 3 different head-units I gave up. Lucky for me the used car market values were inflated beyond imagination. I was able to sell to Vroom for what I originally paid all-in. I ended up buying a '22 for not much more then what I sold the '19 for. My fingers are crossed for my '22.

The FCA/Stellantis rep gave me a 10yr/120K, $0 ded, factory extended warranty for my '22 for all my trouble. The head-unit is covered under the extended warranty. Maybe see if you can buy a Mopar Extended Warranty at a discount. The cost of the warranty is probably 50%-75% the cost of a replacement head-unit.

 

[JeepCares]

Does anyone have any advice? 2018 JL, 8.4 UConnect, pushed through an update and then radio just cycles on and off. The battery is now dead on the car because it just drains the battery over and over, I've checked and replaced fuses. I'm out of warranty, and the 8.4 system was already replaced once in 2020 for malfunctioning, and the radio never came in again after that. I think these systems are full of bugs...but now it's drained my battery and actually bricked my whole car...

Hi MeepMeepJeep,
Sorry to hear you're experiencing this! Have you had a chance to have this concern diagnosed by your local dealer? Feel free to send us a PM to discuss further.

Sarah
Jeep Cares

 

[roaniecowpony]

I had numerous problems with Uconnect and head-unit in my last 2019. The dealer replaced, updated the head unit several times and still could not fix it. It was at the dealer for over 5 weeks. My final straw was when the head unit would not turn-off even if I turned-off the ignition and locked the doors. It would drain the battery and potentially strand me. After 3 different head-units I gave up. Lucky for me the used car market values were inflated beyond imagination. I was able to sell to Vroom for what I originally paid all-in. I ended up buying a '22 for not much more then what I sold the '19 for. My fingers are crossed for my '22.

The FCA/Stellantis rep gave me a 10yr/120K, $0 ded, factory extended warranty for my '22 for all my trouble. The head-unit is covered under the extended warranty. Maybe see if you can buy a Mopar Extended Warranty at a discount. The cost of the warranty is probably 50%-75% the cost of a replacement head-unit.

We should see an unhappy 2019 owner jump in here any time now.

 

[viper88]

We should see an unhappy 2019 owner jump in here any time now.

I do wonder how much of the problems are software verses hardware?

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

I do wonder how much of the problems are software verses hardware?

Most of them.

My brick replacement is (finally) on version v39.6 (latest and greatest) and is completely trouble free. Not a single reboot, blue screen, loss of backup lines, yada, yada.

I will never again update, and a nice side effect of having a replacement unit seems to be that OTA is no longer in sync. In other words, FCA will not be forcing any new versions on me.

 

[viper88]

Most of them.

My brick replacement is (finally) on version v39.6 (latest and greatest) and is completely trouble free. Not a single reboot, blue screen, loss of backup lines, yada, yada.

I will never again update, and a nice side effect of having a replacement unit seems to be that OTA is no longer in sync. In other words, FCA will not be forcing any new versions on me.

Not a bad idea...let sleeping dogs lie.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Most of them.

My brick replacement is (finally) on version v39.6 (latest and greatest) and is completely trouble free. Not a single reboot, blue screen, loss of backup lines, yada, yada.

I will never again update, and a nice side effect of having a replacement unit seems to be that OTA is no longer in sync. In other words, FCA will not be forcing any new versions on me.

Isn't the updates a selectable function?

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Isn't the updates a selectable function?

No. When it gets pushed OTA you can accept or defer. Defer will just nag you next time you drive. There is no decline option.

 

[Spank]

Of course the caveat is that if it's gonna cost $650 to fix the radio, might as well as get an aftermarket unit for a bit more. Plenty of threads on this forum discussing the various models out there.

The problem is none of them are really all that great. Yeah, they've got big screens and many run Android, but the software is so horribly developed and buggy. And I'm not defending UConnect here, either, but $650 is your least painful option if the radio is properly repaired and updated. I bet FCA just dropped in another older radio running a faulty aircard and software when they replaced it.

I do wonder how much of the problems are software verses hardware?

It's a combination of both. As mentioned in earlier posts, its the shitty update process that kills the radio because it needs the aircard to function to not only update, but also revert back to the original version after a failure. This bootloop is what kills the battery. I believe they have fixed this since 28.3 because this doesn't appear to be a problem anymore in newer radios and the backup/update process has been revised.

 

[AnebuR]

The problem is none of them are really all that great. Yeah, they've got big screens and many run Android, but the software is so horribly developed and buggy. And I'm not defending UConnect here, either, but $650 is your least painful option if the radio is properly repaired and updated. I bet FCA just dropped in another older radio running a faulty aircard and software when they replaced it.

The latest Alpine i509-WRA-JL looks to be a good option, if money is no object. FCA only replaces radios with refurbs from the same exact model year as your Jeep. They won't give you a radio from a 2022. So, you likely got the 1st gen unit, which probably had even older software on it than your old radio. The latest software should be v39.6, which resolved most of the bugs most people here have experienced. Mine had been rock-solid after I updated the software.

 

[MeepMeepJeep]

The update that pushed through I didn't defer or accept, all of a sudden the screen was looking different, and it asked me to drag and drop my new icons to the taskbar...but the touch screen wouldn't even respond.

Then I get in the car, and the lights are flashing on and off, the radio is turning on and off, the dash is saying check issues but flashes on and off, the door alarm is randomly dinging, and when I press unlock on the remote, the windshield wipers start. This killed the battery because I literally went into my garage and my car was like something out of a Stephen King movie-doing all these things on it's own without me anywhere near it-not touching anything, key fob not even in the car at one point. Then the battery died from this nonsense, I jump started and recharged battery...it's just gone haywire and all of it started all over again. Uconnect system won't stay on long enough to even look at diagnostics, and yes the key fob unlock button still starts the windshield wipers.

I pulled all the fuses to the Uconnect system, as the dinging and lights don't stop. I have video of this all occurring.



I reached out to Chrysler and Uconnect 9 days and 2 days ago, no reply, no response, nothing. 17,000 miles on the JLU.

 

[JayJay]

I reached out to Chrysler and Uconnect 9 days and 2 days ago, no reply, no response, nothing. 17,000 miles on the JLU.

Your issue sounds like a bad battery problem, not a UConnect problem. When were your batteries last replaced?

 

[jludave]

Then I get in the car, and the lights are flashing on and off, the radio is turning on and off, the dash is saying check issues but flashes on and off, the door alarm is randomly dinging, and when I press unlock on the remote, the windshield wipers start. This killed the battery because I literally went into my garage and my car was like something out of a Stephen King movie-doing all these things on it's own without me anywhere near it-not touching anything, key fob not even in the car at one point.

You have a 2018 JLU. You are beyond the life span of the OEM batteries. Change both the main and auxiliary. The symptoms/issues you detail above are clear signs of depleted batteries. In the JL, when one goes, the other is not far behind.

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