By Michael P. Tremoglie
Two Jeep Cherokee owners have filed a class-action lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler and Harmon International in US District Court, alleging a manufacturer defect.
Specifically, the vehicles are equipped with the infotainment system called “uConnect,” which is manufactured by Harmon International Industries, Inc. and supplied to Fiat Chrysler. This system, alleges the suit filed in Illinois, is defectively designed.
The plaintiffs argue the uConnect system, which has “the access and capability to communicate over vehicle networks that control critical powertrain and safety-related functions …is subject to malicious computer hacks and should thus be segregated from other critical vehicle systems.”
Fiat Chrysler recently went public with this problem. But the complainants argue that if the company disclosed the defects in the timely manner required by the TREAD Act, the law of fraudulent concealment and the other state laws, all class members would now be safe to drive their vehicles. They would also have retained considerably more of their value.
But because Fiat Chrysler failed to meet those standards, the plaintiffs and Class members will suffer continuing harm as news of more vulnerabilities become public and these vehicles are perceived to be defective,” the plaintiffs allege.
According to Pete Kuhnmuench, executive director of the Insurance Institute of Michigan, data breaches are a big issue for the auto market, “…not only with taking over the vehicle but other things that cars collect such as where you have been, how far you have driven, how fast you have driven,” he said. “It is a big area and a new Wild West.”
Kuhnmuench says he’s unsure everyone understands the size of the potential liability. “It goes across the breadth of all businesses,” he said.
