"Blind spot monitoring assist temporarily unavailable" error message

[FiatCares]

They got new modules in for the Blind Spot Assist and test drove it to ensure it worked. So, I went today to pick up my car and as soon as I drove it out of the lot, the error message came back again. Apparently the car only does this when I drive it. Turned around, and dropped it off once more; they will start a STAR case, and possibly remove all the interior to check all the wiring. The technician told me it is very possible that they will have to put a new wire harness.

The car has been 4 times to the dealership for this issue; I wonder how many it will take.

Hello dnc11,
We just responded to your most recent private message, but wanted to touch base with you here as well. Hope to hear from you soon!
Laura
FiatCares

[Mikeyjm1]

I have to say this stuff makes me so happy that I refused to take anything but a stripped Pop. I keep cars so I can’t imagine ever owning anything with so much extra stuff.

[zoomie61]

My 16 AWD Easy was doing this constantly (multiple times per trip) last year. I took my 500x into the dealer last fall and ran into the same problem of nothing was stored about the blind spot monitor system and they could not do much as it would not fail while they test drove it. They did do another task for me at that time and that was to flash the radio to the latest software so I could up date my GPS Maps (tip - plug the USB Flash Drive with new maps into the USB socket in the arm rest, not the one in the dash when updating the maps). Now the blind spot errors now occur once every few weeks.

I tried to figure out a pattern of what might be causing it and determined that it was not a wiring issue, as I could go over the roughest roads and fly over railroad tracks and not cause the “Blind spot monitoring assist temporarily unavailable” message. It did seem to be sensitive to the humidity level outside (occurred more often on cold dry days than warm humid days or rainy days). Turning often would seem to cause the errors, but the errors would still occur while driving in a straight line. The failure almost always had the lights in the mirrors flash for under a second and the system would be back to normal in no time. I did crawl around underneath my 500x to see if the sensors were mounted solidly and the general shape of the wiring and found nothing, wire are secured and in good shape, connectors fully seated, etc.

Knowing that the radio handles a number of settings for rest of the car tells me that the radio is talking over the CAN Bus to the other systems in the car. I am wondering if maybe the radio was interfering with communications for the blind spot monitoring system. The radio was full of glitches before the update. After this update, my radio behaved much better (e.g. the clock would stay on 12 hour time setting for months, not the days that it it did before the update and the number of false errors that would get reported almost totally disappeared).

[FiatCares]

My 16 AWD Easy was doing this constantly (multiple times per trip) last year. I took my 500x into the dealer last fall and ran into the same problem of nothing was stored about the blind spot monitor system and they could not do much as it would not fail while they test drove it. They did do another task for me at that time and that was to flash the radio to the latest software so I could up date my GPS Maps (tip - plug the USB Flash Drive with new maps into the USB socket in the arm rest, not the one in the dash when updating the maps). Now the blind spot errors now occur once every few weeks.

I tried to figure out a pattern of what might be causing it and determined that it was not a wiring issue, as I could go over the roughest roads and fly over railroad tracks and not cause the “Blind spot monitoring assist temporarily unavailable” message. It did seem to be sensitive to the humidity level outside (occurred more often on cold dry days than warm humid days or rainy days). Turning often would seem to cause the errors, but the errors would still occur while driving in a straight line. The failure almost always had the lights in the mirrors flash for under a second and the system would be back to normal in no time. I did crawl around underneath my 500x to see if the sensors were mounted solidly and the general shape of the wiring and found nothing, wire are secured and in good shape, connectors fully seated, etc.

Knowing that the radio handles a number of settings for rest of the car tells me that the radio is talking over the CAN Bus to the other systems in the car. I am wondering if maybe the radio was interfering with communications for the blind spot monitoring system. The radio was full of glitches before the update. After this update, my radio behaved much better (e.g. the clock would stay on 12 hour time setting for months, not the days that it it did before the update and the number of false errors that would get reported almost totally disappeared).

Hello Zoomie61,
We are certainly happy to hear that your radio concern was resolved with the help of your certified dealer. Please know that our team is available in the future if you have any questions or concerns. We're always happy to assist.
Laura
FiatCares

[dnc11]

Update: after 26 days in the shop and different parts replaced (modules and amplifier), the engineer/s in charged of the STAR case regarding this issue came up with putting grease (I don’t know what kind) to different connectors throughout the car. However, this did not solve the issue; they also said this was the last thing they would do to try to fix the issue. “Since it’s not a safety concern, he can drive it as it is”. I am really disappointed to be honest primarily because of this crappy answer.
30F59F61-89AE-4402-BA0F-2722907DE078.jpg

I was able to take the picture this morning; I do not know what to think or do. Any suggestions?

[zoomie61]

The Blind Spot Monitoring system is a safety device that helps prevent collisions. That is it's only purpose.

I suspect they are trying t claim that it fails safely because it turns on the indicator light in the mirrors when the system is temporally unavailable. The problem is that when the error occurs, canceling of lane change turn signaling is broken (a quick tap of the turn signal normally turns on the turn signals for several seconds and then stops (cancel). When stuck without automatic canceling, it just stays on signaling a turn that you are not making. A false turn signal indication does lead to accidents. I find that it is difficult to manually cancel (the turn signal usually just switches to the other side and gets stuck signaling on the other side of the car). A full engagement of the turn signal will also clear it after making a full turn, which is hard to do going down the highway.


The one option, if Fiat does not come through is to fill out a complaint form on the US government NTSB web site to report the problem. If enough people file complaints about the problem, NTSB will force the manufacture to repair the problem (many recalls are started this way).

[tvmaster]

They got new modules in for the Blind Spot Assist and test drove it to ensure it worked. So, I went today to pick up my car and as soon as I drove it out of the lot, the error message came back again. Apparently the car only does this when I drive it. Turned around, and dropped it off once more; they will start a STAR case, and possibly remove all the interior to check all the wiring. The technician told me it is very possible that they will have to put a new wire harness.

The car has been 4 times to the dealership for this issue; I wonder how many it will take.

This, in combination with the service response of “you don’t need this” would certainly be enough for me to investigate Lemon Laws for your state. Truly the WRONG response. At the very least, FCA should allow you to take it wherever they know how to trace circuits.

[dnc11]

This, in combination with the service response of “you don’t need this” would certainly be enough for me to investigate Lemon Laws for your state. Truly the WRONG response. At the very least, FCA should allow you to take it wherever they know how to trace circuits.

Yes, I know; I was shocked when I heard that. I just could not believe it.
Today I got a call from the same dealership that told me they were not going to try to fix this problem anymore to tell me that they are going to replace the right blind spot sensor; I was not expecting this since I had to desire to come back and never went back after they "blamed me" for aftermarket accessories causing this issue. I guess I'll give it another try. If not, I guess I'll have to start looking at legal options.

[zoomie61]

Thinking one thing and typing anther - the part that investigates vehicle safety issues is NHTSA

[dnc11]

Thinking one thing and typing anther - the part that investigates vehicle safety issues is NHTSA

thanks for the info, I’ll have this in mind. But it seems like there are just a couple of cars with this problem; I’ll look into it for sure