Black box was mandated by the NHTSA at some point - quite a while ago - like 2010 ish? Many had it before then but all cars have it since. Keeps track of things like speed, etc prior to an accident.
Plenty of times Fords that have the OTA updates will have an issue, brick whatever module didn't update, and then the vehicle has to be towed in. It is still a huge grey area if it is warranty or not.
Every OEM allows different levels of OTA access. If the truck needs a tow, it needs a tow. Possibly not bricked, can be reloaded direct - still the same issue.
All it takes is a desire to please a government regulator in a consent decree, if they get caught in emissions noncompliance, to want to have an avenue to reflash "all" the affected cars. If it means sneaking in a backdoor vs some fine that could affect a CEO's stock options they will sell all their customers out in a heartbeat. Some states make you get your recalls taken care of to renew registrations but many do not. Dodge had a "flash of death" in the late 1990s that took away timing due to pinging due to leaky intake gaskets and oil getting into the combustion chamber. Once people got flashed they couldn't go back. (Obviously they had to visit the dealer and request it at the time.)
I'm pretty sure you run Windows and never had it bricked a system install. Thus, because you never had a bricking incident, you would then argue the security updates never bricked another computer. I'm not even referring to the botched update that happened in these past few days, but older updates on single installs.
All these new systems have some sort of remote start via cell phone capability - whether its enabled in your trim or not. So by definition, the infotainment is connected to the start / security circuit. Its likely connected to more than that via CAN - but its going to be system specific.
Surely no OEM is dumb enough to try an ECU update remote - although possibly I give them too much credit. However if their infotainment is tied to the remote start / security I can certainly see them pushing a update to it, especially if they find a vulnerability. Some small percentage may brick the system due to a memory failure even if the update is good - which most often happens during a write cycle.
Not saying its going to be common, but saying its not possible or even likely for some small sample is foolish. Do you trust Mary Barra or Jim Farley to make good decisions on your behalf?
So I assume that if Ford pushes an update on something, causes it to need a tow or shop repair for whatever reason - actually bricked or just flatlined and needs the code to be direct loaded - and its out of warranty - then owner pays?
