Open Letter to Stellantis

Dear Stellantis,

Fuck You!

Sincerely,
Me

Last week I changed my front brake pads and rotors (no the rotors didn’t need it, but I did them anyway) Once I was done and the brakes were bled and the them reservoir was topped off, I got in the car and the ABS alert and traction control alert were both on and the emergency brake would not turn off. I figured a few stop and start cycles would fix it.

No luck.

I pulled both front tires and inspected the ABS sensors. They look fine and were no where near where I was working.

I have replaced disc brakes dozens of times and front brakes have always been a quick easy job. Back brakes where you need to deal with the e-brake can get a tiny bit more complex, but I never got to them

I Have been bleeding brakes for 45 years. Even on cars with older ABS systems. I only learned about “ABS Bleed” mode on newer scan tools recently.

My Code reader showing U0418 Implausible data received from brake system control module 1

Implausible. That word is hauling a lot of water here…

My reader (2026 FOXWELL NT614 Elite (Updated in the last 24 hours)) can’t do anything else.
I can’t reset the codes or even run further diagnostics.
When I try I get: This function is not supported by current vehicle

On advice from the good people at JeepForum.com

I disconnected both batteries; Shorted the main battery cables for ten minutes to drain all capacitors…
No Luck

So next I tried shorting both sets of battery cables for 30 minutes…
No luck…

(Interesting aside, after the batteries were disconnected and the leads were shorted for 30 minutes, the infotainment system kept its settings. This bears further investigation)

Checked all fuses in the PDC. They were all good.

I was stuck. I angrily made an appointment at the local Jeep dealership.

Then I learned about SGW bypass! I’m saved (I wasn’t but, I sure thought I was).

After about 30 minutes of research, I learned that the WL platform has no working aftermarket SGW bypass at all. The physical bypass cables (Z Automotive, the 12+8 adapter, etc.) that work on other 2018+ FCA vehicles are explicitly excluded for Cherokee L/WL and Grand Cherokee L/WL.

The gateway on your platform blocks non-dealer bidirectional access categorically. No dongle, no adapter, no combination of AlfaOBD + OBDLink fixes that — it’s not a compatibility gap it’s a hard wall on this specific platform.

They encrypted the gateway. I have to say that again, because it is the most anti-consumer thing I have heard of in a very long time:
They encrypted the gateway!!!

You can’t Fucking hate Stellantis enough.

Then I got a reply from @JeepCares on the forum.

I sent them a private message with a complete description of what I did and how I tried to repair it.
I finished it with:

In all of my research today, I learned that Jeep has done something reprehensibly anti-customer: blocking the ability for a customer to access parts of THEIR OWN CAR to fix it.
They gave me a case number, for what it’s worth…

I got this reply from someone else on the forum and it irrationally infuriated me!

Manufacture claim they don’t want to get sued or held accountable because a know it all amateur screwed up things like brake bleeding, or a hacker. These amateurs typically don’t know what they don’t know. Car companies want evidence of competency before they allow tinkering with their machines, officially. Because of safety and liability these cars can’t run outa open source rules.

I responded with:

This is the whole problem specifically this:

with their machines

It stopped being their machine the moment I signed the paperwork. I honestly don’t have a problem having to purchase and install a SGW Bypass. It keeps the unserious from hurting themselves, but encrypting the data behind the bypass, that should be considered criminal behavior. They have STOLEN the ability to do simple repairs on my car.
I paid Jeep/Stellantis $222 to have them spend less than 15 minutes on my car. They had the ABS unit run self diagnostics and clear the code. That was it. It didn’t even need the ABS Bleed. I could have done that at home for the cost of the $80 SGW gateway bypass (that I could keep and use over and over again) if they hadn’t encrypted the gateway!!!

Them locking me out made it a much more dangerous endeavor to get my car repaired. I had to drive a 2.5 ton machine 8 miles in traffic WITHOUT A BRAKE BOOSTER!

My three cars are a 2001 Saab 9.3, a 2004 Volvo XC70 and a 2006 Jeep TJ. There’s nothing I can’t fix on them. This is my wife’s car. Of course it has to be unmaintainable. :-/