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2018 Grand Cherokee - uConnect Update Failed Error Code 20

23K views 44 replies 24 participants last post by  oilspot 
#1 ·
The car did an auto update overnight and it failed. I now have the message to contact the dealer ($$$$) and give them Error Code 20. Car appears to drive fine, but the uConnect screen and interior accent lights wont shut off so the batteries draining is my primary concern right now.

The only solution I could come up with is to disconnect the batteries so it doesn't kill them, but there has to be an easier way.

Does anyone have a solution to bring uConnect back to life or know where the fuse is for the uConnect system because there doesn't appear to be one in the main fuse box. Is it underneath the passenger seat or in the battery compartment underneath?

Much appreciated.
 
#2 ·
The car did an auto update overnight and it failed. I now have the message to contact the dealer ($$$$) and give them Error Code 20. Car appears to drive fine, but the uConnect screen and interior accent lights wont shut off so the batteries draining is my primary concern right now.

The only solution I could come up with is to disconnect the batteries so it doesn't kill them, but there has to be an easier way.

Does anyone have a solution to bring uConnect back to life or know where the fuse is for the uConnect system because there doesn't appear to be one in the main fuse box. Is it underneath the passenger seat or in the battery compartment underneath?
The same thing happened to me last night....
 
#3 ·
Thanks for sharing that, Danny.

I bet this is happening to a lot of 2018 Grand Cherokee owners. I called uConnect and they agreed that it was their software update that bricked the unit, gave me a case number and said call the dealer with the case number. I suggest you do the same so you don't have to pay anything.

Appointment scheduled for next week to diagnose the problem and determine next steps. Still not thrilled that this could even happen and plan on shutting off all software updates going forward.

If anyone has a work around or known fix please let us know.
 
#4 ·
Aargh, I have the same problem... 2018 JGC TH. Called UConnect and got a case, but what a pain in the ass to have to take it to a dealer.

It drained my battery last night so now I have to disconnect the battery... there doesn't appear to be a fuse for the UConnect stack.
 
#5 ·
I had tremendous trouble with mine & it ended up bricked. The dealer ended up replacing the entire head under warranty. It works fine now, but that's always in the back of my mind now. Started at the beginning of November '19. Finally got the replacement head installed in April '20. The dealer was helpless and ultimately, I went right to FCA who agreed to the head replacement. Weak spot in these otherwise fine vehicles.
 
#6 ·
The car did an auto update overnight and it failed. I now have the message to contact the dealer ($$$$) and give them Error Code 20. Car appears to drive fine, but the uConnect screen and interior accent lights wont shut off so the batteries draining is my primary concern right now.

The only solution I could come up with is to disconnect the batteries so it doesn't kill them, but there has to be an easier way.

Does anyone have a solution to bring uConnect back to life or know where the fuse is for the uConnect system because there doesn't appear to be one in the main fuse box. Is it underneath the passenger seat or in the battery compartment underneath?

Much appreciated.
I have a 2018 ram that did the same thing this morning.
 
#7 ·
Experience the same issue yesterday. First the GPS went crazy, showing me driving through fields a 1/2 mile away from where I was at. I made a stop, when I restarted the car, I got the message that a software update failed, error code: 20. My dealer doesn’t seem to know anything about it. I called UConnect, they gave me a case number to give the dealer. I just went out to start the car, the battery is dead.
 
#8 ·
Bill: Battery is underneath the passenger seat and you can access it best from the back seats. The jumper connections are shown in the manual. You need to disconnect both batteries, main and auxiliary battery (that powers the radio and digital instruments cluster) until you can get it to the dealer. Mine drove fine without the unit working.

Update: Chrysler is going to replace the unit free of charge because it was their over-the-air update, but I have to jump through 3 hoops to get the approval code for the dealer. Annoying, but better than paying. Apparently this update bricked the unit and it has to be replaced. Crazy that can even happen. Going to have the dealer turn off ALL future updates because I use my iPhone for navigation via Carplay and if its not broken don't fix it.
 
#12 ·
I let mine update yesterday. Everything seems to be OK so far. It just dumped the radio presets, AM only. As far as the Stop/Start, that was the first thing I disabled when I bought it. It was almost a deal killer and I won't buy another vehicle with it. I'm tired of paying for big brother systems I don't want, will never use and then have to pay for something to disable them.
 
#13 ·
Yup, at least we have a button to disable it and that's become second nature. Won't ever look at cars without a button...talking about you Chevy and Subaru.

As far as the OTA update, my '18 TH updated with no problems and BT has improved greatly while playing music.
 
#31 ·
Mine went into the dealer on March 4th, ETA on replacement radio is now March 30th... this is insane, can't believe software can corrupt hardware so easily.
The hardware may be perfectly fine. When my radio went bad a few years ago from an update, it lost Nav. Most everything else worked fine, but the 8.4AN had no Nav function, not even the icons. The dealer explained that sometimes the updates erase software that they aren't supposed to and the dealers have no way to reload it, so they have to replace the entire unit. In my case, the first unit they replace it with did not work at all and the second one died completely within a month. So, I'm on my fourth radio and it has been working flawlessly since 2016. Getting my map back to the version that was on the original was another adventure, but HERE finally sent me a replacement update thumb drive. I had to send them copies of my map purchase invoice and the service records indicating that the radio had been replaced twice.
 
#32 ·
I had a similar issue with update resulting in Error Code 20; the big difference is that my unit was being updated via USB; I was able to get the unit to recover -- see this post. Recommend that you ONLY attempt to update the firmware on the unit via USB. Also, to my knowledge, there is NO user accessible fuse for the 2018GC with the UAQ infotainment system.
 
#33 ·
Glad I found this thread. This issue started about a two weeks ago for me. The update popped up on my screen. Failed multiple times while driving. Unfortunately I didn’t not think it would drain my batteries if I left it. A week later I go to use my vehicle completely dead. Won’t jump or take a charge more than 12.2 Volts. Contacted Uconnect, they towed it to the dealership. Dealership is stating that the batteries were bad before the update (even though it was driven multiple days before the update even popped up). They’re claiming that the radio and update had nothing to do with my batteries dying. Charging me $450 for the two batteries and a diagnostic test or whatever and as a “goodwill” they are replacing my radio on them. Tell me how that makes sense that my radio is having to be replaced if it had nothing to do with the batteries or the uconnect update? Uconnect is claiming their hands are tied due to what the dealership is telling them about what was wrong with my vehicle. I’m livid and looking to trade in my 18 Jeep Grand Cherokee just to get rid of that terrible dealership.
 
#38 ·
Same is happening to me right now. Dealer is saying I have to replace both batteries at over $400 because the batteries are what caused the update to fail. I've already contacted uConnect and still waiting for the case manager to call me. The batteries were fine before the update failed and the batteries died. First they said they reset the radio but later said they had to replace the radio. Doesn't sound right.
 
#34 ·
Had this exact issue happen to my 2018 GC Limited last night and googled the error code 20 and found this thread. Per others advice/experience, I called UConnect and got a case number. I called my dealer and they were closed so I hoped for the best that my battery wouldn’t die overnight and lucky it started just fine this morning. I called the dealer at 7am and explained the situation and gave them the case number and they were able to squeeze me in.

Dealer was very friendly and said I owe nothing (vehicle is still under warranty and it’s a uconnect software issue) - for the visit today. My radio does need to be replaced and of course the part wasn’t in stock. As soon as the part (new radio?) comes in, they will call to schedule the installation at no charge. They disconnected / unplugged the current radio so as to not drain my battery which they said looked absolutely fine. So I have no radio/CarPlay/screen for a few days but oh well.

I wonder if those who are outside of their warranty coverage would have to pay?
 
#35 ·
Had this exact issue happen to my 2018 GC Limited last night and googled the error code 20 and found this thread. Per others advice/experience, I called UConnect and got a case number. I called my dealer and they were closed so I hoped for the best that my battery wouldn’t die overnight and lucky it started just fine this morning. I called the dealer at 7am and explained the situation and gave them the case number and they were able to squeeze me in.

Dealer was very friendly and said I owe nothing (vehicle is still under warranty and it’s a uconnect software issue) - for the visit today. My radio does need to be replaced and of course the part wasn’t in stock. As soon as the part (new radio?) comes in, they will call to schedule the installation at no charge. They disconnected / unplugged the current radio so as to not drain my battery which they said looked absolutely fine. So I have no radio/CarPlay/screen for a few days but oh well.

I wonder if those who are outside of their warranty coverage would have to pay?
Thanks for sharing your experience. Please post and update when your radio gets replaced. From what I've seen on here, some radios take a while to arrive. There is something seriously wrong with the FCA supply chain; but they'd be building cars left and right if their supply chain was designed for reliability rather than cost.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Got my 2018 Jeep Compass Limited on Saturday. Sunday, get the notification to update the system so I set it to update overnight. Monday morning I get in to drive and I see this Error Code 20 message and eventually find this thread after some Googling. Take it into my local Jeep dealership and they told me they’ve ordered me a new radio, which might take weeks. I’m still worried that the screen constantly being on is going to kill my battery before the radio gets here and so when I get back home, I call the service center back and he tells me the best way to ensure it doesn’t drain the battery is disconnect the negative terminal on the battery each night after I’m done for the day with driving. Does that sound right? I’ve seen some responses on here about there being something under the passenger seat to disconnect that might work, but not sure if that’s possible on a Compass. I mentioned it to the service guy and he went back and checked and asked and wasn’t aware of that being a fix. I’m willing to take it anywhere though if he was just BSing me and there is a way to kill off the power source to the screen until the new radio comes in.
 
#40 ·
The car did an auto update overnight and it failed. I now have the message to contact the dealer ($$$$) and give them Error Code 20. Car appears to drive fine, but the uConnect screen and interior accent lights wont shut off so the batteries draining is my primary concern right now.

The only solution I could come up with is to disconnect the batteries so it doesn't kill them, but there has to be an easier way.

Does anyone have a solution to bring uConnect back to life or know where the fuse is for the uConnect system because there doesn't appear to be one in the main fuse box. Is it underneath the passenger seat or in the battery compartment underneath?

Much appreciated.
www.infotainment.com
Call and pick 3 for repair. Ship to them with the authorization form you Pay 139$USD get it back in 3 days fixed.
Don’t wast your time at the dealership they are told to say nothing. Screen shot of the error with ownership before you get it fixed to get your money back after the class action lawsuit.
 
#41 ·
The car did an auto update overnight and it failed. I now have the message to contact the dealer ($$$$) and give them Error Code 20. Car appears to drive fine, but the uConnect screen and interior accent lights wont shut off so the batteries draining is my primary concern right now.

The only solution I could come up with is to disconnect the batteries so it doesn't kill them, but there has to be an easier way.

Does anyone have a solution to bring uConnect back to life or know where the fuse is for the uConnect system because there doesn't appear to be one in the main fuse box. Is it underneath the passenger seat or in the battery compartment underneath?

Much appreciated.
My 2018 Jeep GC has the delaminating screen I have 88,000 miles on not & I was told since I am not the first owner it’s not going to be fixed by Jeep. Hard to believe I paid $30,000 for a vehicle with everything to be reduced to having nothing. Once a screen comes up about clock settings then nothing can be accessed. The preset radio stations randomly & constantly change, the temperature goes from hot to cold, it switches from xm to regular radio, it saves favorite songs & artists, if you have been able to put on the seat warmer you cannot turn it off or down, when starting the vehicle sometimes it randomly makes phone calls from the recent list or it calls the first person in my contacts list. (She is used to it, I now have to text her if I really want to call her) I have asked for help from service & the dealer but nothing. I have written letters and called every number they suggested but no one will help. When I ask why because I am the second Owner they won’t fix it and they say it’s company policy. So if I was the first owner they would fix it under Chrysler Good Will. It’s been a year. Very disappointed in Chrysler & Jeep. After I purchased mine a co-worker purchased one and my son but I will never recommend Jeep again. How is a defect the first, second, or third or twentieth persons fault?
 
#42 · (Edited)
The car did an auto update overnight and it failed. I now have the message to contact the dealer ($$$$) and give them Error Code 20. Car appears to drive fine, but the uConnect screen and interior accent lights wont shut off so the batteries draining is my primary concern right now.

The only solution I could come up with is to disconnect the batteries so it doesn't kill them, but there has to be an easier way.

Does anyone have a solution to bring uConnect back to life or know where the fuse is for the uConnect system because there doesn't appear to be one in the main fuse box. Is it underneath the passenger seat or in the battery compartment underneath?

Much appreciated.
Same happened to me. It tried to update and failed but left UPDATE FAILED ERROR CODE 20 lit up on the screen and it would go away
The car did an auto update overnight and it failed. I now have the message to contact the dealer ($$$$) and give them Error Code 20. Car appears to drive fine, but the uConnect screen and interior accent lights wont shut off so the batteries draining is my primary concern right now.

The only solution I could come up with is to disconnect the batteries so it doesn't kill them, but there has to be an easier way.

Does anyone have a solution to bring uConnect back to life or know where the fuse is for the uConnect system because there doesn't appear to be one in the main fuse box. Is it underneath the passenger seat or in the battery compartment underneath?

Much appreciated.
The car did an auto update overnight and it failed. I now have the message to contact the dealer ($$$$) and give them Error Code 20. Car appears to drive fine, but the uConnect screen and interior accent lights wont shut off so the batteries draining is my primary concern right now.

The only solution I could come up with is to disconnect the batteries so it doesn't kill them, but there has to be an easier way.

Does anyone have a solution to bring uConnect back to life or know where the fuse is for the uConnect system because there doesn't appear to be one in the main fuse box. Is it underneath the passenger seat or in the battery compartment underneath?

Much apprecia
 
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