{"id":12903,"date":"2025-08-02T08:48:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T15:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=12903"},"modified":"2025-08-03T07:53:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T14:53:02","slug":"skipping-over-the-air-updates-for-your-car-could-be-a-costly-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2025\/08\/02\/skipping-over-the-air-updates-for-your-car-could-be-a-costly-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"Skipping Over-The-Air Updates For Your Car Could Be A Costly Mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you think removing the sim card or disabling the cellular connection will stop your vehicle spying on you, you could face a significant penalty for not installing software updates, no warranty coverage. GM makes terrible products, so this is just an excuse to not stand behind their vehicles, and to incentivize you to keep the vehicle connected so they can profit off your data<\/a>. Modern cars are such spying devices, they’re actually worse than smartphones in many cases, especially with uploading video to the cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.autoblog.com\/news\/skipping-over-the-air-updates-for-your-car-could-be-a-costly-mistake<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

By Karl Furlong<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read your warranty\u2019s fine print or be prepared for a hefty bill<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over-the-air updates<\/a> have drastically changed how we interact with our cars. Not only can existing features be improved over time, but software updates can add all-new features or even resolve a recall-related fault<\/a>, eliminating the need for you to waste time by visiting a dealer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as with most new technologies, there are new pitfalls to be aware of. GM Authority <\/a><\/em>highlighted a key section of the warranty coverage for brands like Chevrolet<\/a> and Cadillac<\/a>. Quite simply, ignoring new over-the-air (OTA) updates could result in damages not covered by the manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At GM, OTA Updates Must Be Installed Within 45 Days<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Dashboard<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Software<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once a new OTA update becomes available, owners of GM vehicles have 45 days to install the update. After this date, the company will not cover any damages or issues that are caused by ignoring the update.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDamage resulting from failure to install over-the-air software updates is not covered,\u201d states the warranty booklet for 2025 and 2026 models. This same rule applies to all GM\u2019s brands in the USA: Chevrolet, Buick<\/a>, Cadillac, and GMC<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Software<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, if the software update itself causes any component damage, that will be covered by the warranty. Owners coming from older GM vehicles will have to adapt as the company continues to implement its Global B electronic architecture<\/a> on newer models, which relies heavily on OTA updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tesla Has A Similar Stipulation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Tesla<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The OTA update requirement isn\u2019t unique to GM. In the owner\u2019s manual for the Model Y, we found the following note:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInstall a software update as soon as possible. Any harm resulting from failure to install a software update is not covered by the vehicle\u2019s warranty. Failure or refusal to install updates can cause some vehicle features to become inaccessible or digital media devices may become incompatible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For most people with a variety of devices, delaying a software update or ignoring it completely is possible, for whatever reason. An owner of a modern car that\u2019s new to OTA updates could easily try the same tactic, or perhaps find that the new software update\u2019s features don\u2019t appear essential, and put off the update. But clearly, doing so could have significant financial consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Software-defined vehicles are here to stay, even if some of them have far more tech glitches than they should\u2014just ask Volvo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recommend always installing new updates as they come along, while also familiarizing yourself with the fine print in your warranty booklet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you think removing the sim card or disabling the cellular connection will stop your vehicle spying on you, you could face a significant penalty for not installing software updates, no warranty coverage. GM makes terrible products, so this is just an excuse to not stand behind their vehicles, and to incentivize you to keep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12903"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12910,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12903\/revisions\/12910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}