"Blind spot monitoring assist temporarily unavailable" error message

[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

[zoomie61]

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

I did a little more looking around about these blind spot monitoring sensor issues and find that very few complaints for Fiat 500X/Jeep Renegade. I take that to mean that these sensors are an uncommon option on these vehicles.

I did find a number of reports of sensor issue similar to what we are seeing for Grand Cherokee in the 2012 timeframe. While I am sure these are a similar system, I not sure that it is the same system as the 500X or Renegade use. This sensor setup appears to be used on the Dart also. One deep dive on a Dart forum (dodge-dart org) into the sensor system showed that the firmware on the sensor is upgradeable (both have to be at the same level to work), the senors do talk to the radio so that you can enable the beep in addition to the light in the mirror (a feature that would drive me nuts in my travels), and pointing the right tool at the sensors can get some troubleshooting information. The problem reported also including making right and left turns would cause the error, which I find interesting.

My issue with the intermittent error has come back at a much lower frequency than before, but I have been able to do some more isolation of the issue. While the error occurs at any time, often the error appears when I use the turn signal. I am wondering if this is a ground problem with the lights and sensors at the back of the car.

For now I have gone in to the engineering mode of the radio (uConnect 6.5an radio) press Radio+Media+Browse buttons at the same time and reset the radio (NOT the reset to factory defaults one) and I will see if this has any impact on the issue.