NHTSA Complaint #11488538 — 2014 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE

Bought this vehicle 6 months ago and and realized right after purchase it has an error within the radio system that causes backup issues. The error appears on the radio and states “contact dealer” for radio service. What the vehicle does is that the backup camera becomes inoperable (black screen) and in my case the radio turns on straight heat blowing hot air from the system and turning on both defrosters, front and back. After doing some research, it appears that many 2014 Jeep owners and other years around this time period are experiencing this issue. Since the backup camera and backup sensors no longer work due to this error (it has to do with the Sierra Wireless card within the radio) it becomes a safely issue when it stops in the middle of backing up and is very scary. In Texas, having straight heat blown at you and your glass makes the windows fog or becomes unbearable at 105 degree temperatures. Dealer is aware of the issue and wants more then $1200 to replace radio. I tried to self repair by removing radio and updating software to current version but Sierra wireless car is soldiered to the motherboard of the radio and cannot be removed. I did however get the software to update after three attempts and 6 hours of updating. This did not fix the error that causes this. I believe it is due to a Sierra Wireless card failure and normally happens right after startup.