Fiat Chrysler sends USB stick to provide software updates to onboard system of cars with 8.4 inch touch screen

Fiat Chrysler's 1.4 million customers will receive a USB stick to provide a software update to their car's on board system. The recall was for certain cars that carried the 8.4-inch touchscreen.

The step by the automobile major comes after reports in the media about Chrysler vehicles being hacked wirelessly (See: Fiat Chrysler to recall 1.4 mn vehicles in US after Jeep hack-hijack).

The recall affects the 2013-2015 MY Dodge Viper specialty vehicles, 2013-2015 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pick-ups, 2013-2015 Ram 3500, 4500, 5500 Chassis Cabs, 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee SUVs, 2014-2015 Dodge Durango SUVs, 2015 MY Chrysler 200, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans and 2015 Dodge Challenger sports coupes.

The USB stick that is being sent to customers includes a security update at the network level to stop hackers from getting easy access to the vehicle.

Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler will have to pay up to $105 million in civil fines and buy back over half-a-million of the vehicles it had recalled, making it  the biggest such action in US history under a costly deal with safety regulators to settle legal problems in about two dozen recalls.

The Italian-American automaker would need to buy back over 500,000 Ram pickup trucks and other vehicles from customers.

The owners of over a million older Jeeps with vulnerable rear-mounted gas tanks too would be allowed to trade their vehicles in or be paid by Chrysler to have them repaired.

The Ram pickup, the company's top-selling vehicle, comes with defective steering parts that can cause drivers to lose control.

According to commentators, the settlement comes as a tougher approach to automotive regulation in the wake of high-profile recalls by other automakers last year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), some of the earlier repairs had been unsuccessful, the automaker therefore agreed to the buyback.

Owners also had the option of getting them repaired, the agency said in documents released yesterday.

The older Jeeps had fuel tanks located behind the rear axle, with nothing much to shield them in a rear crash.

They could rupture and spill gasoline, causing a fire and at least 75 people had died in crash-related fires, although Fiat Chrysler maintained they were as safe as comparable vehicles from the same era.

Both the Jeep and Ram measures form part of a larger settlement between the government and the automaker over allegations of misconduct in 23 recalls covering over 11 million vehicles.