Fiat Chrysler Jeep Renegades recalled due to software glitch

Fiat has announced a voluntary recall on Friday for 7,810 SUVs because of a software glitch that could possibly control the vehicle remotely. Half of the recalled cars includes the 2015 Jeep Renegade SUVs with built-in 6.5-inch touchscreens, still in dealerships, said the carmaker in a statement.

The car company de-emphasized the risk to drivers, saying it was unaware of injuries associated to the issue and that no complaints were received. It further said, "the software manipulation addressed by this recall required unique and extensive technical knowledge, prolonged physical access to a subject vehicle and extended periods of time to write code."

Last July, Fiat Chrysler already recalled 1.4 million previous model cars after two security researchers, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, proved that they were able to get access and manipulate the car even though it is taking its cruise on the road.

They showed the vulnerability in the Uconnect connected car system, which was used in most of Fiat Chrysler's models. The defect enables hackers to take control of the car remotely and make actions such as switching off the engine that makes a serious risk to driver safety.

The company says that customers can use the online service to check if their vehicles are one of those recalled based on their Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs). If ever, the software can be downloaded, or from September 5, dealership technicians are going to check and update on their behalf, without a single cent to pay. In addition, customers that are affected will instantly receive a USB device that can be used for upgrading the vehicle software in the post, although it is not advised by people in the security field.

Fiat Chrysler said it announced the recall for affected models "out of an abundance of caution," and while the hack has cost the company largely, there is a silver lining -- Fiat Chrysler is, at least, establishing a system quality engineering team to improve the quality of vehicle software.