2011 Ram 1500 Slt Crew Cab Pickup 4-door 5.7l on 2040-cars

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How to update and secure a vulnerable Chrysler Uconnect system

If you own one of the 1.4 million vehicles affected by the recent Chrysler software recall, you may want to watch this video. In it, we explain how to get the latest infotainment software loaded onto the 8.4-inch Uconnect system. The recall was a response to the findings of researchers who were able to hack into and remotely control a 2014 Jeep Cherokee through its cellular connection. Although Fiat Chrysler has worked with Sprint to plug most of the holes on the carrier side, there are still some vulnerabilities that only this latest software version can patch. Owners have three options to get the update: download it now, wait for a USB stick in the mail, or take the vehicle to an FCA dealer. Chrysler will be sending USB sticks loaded with the software update to customers. Anyone with an internet connection and a USB stick of their own with at least 4 GB capacity can speed things up by downloading the patch from the Uconnect website. We cover that process from start to finish in the video, with the final portion still applicable to those using the FCA-supplied USB stick. If after watching this you still don't want to tackle the patch yourself, you can take your vehicle to the dealer to have it done. Also note that this process is the same for all Uconnect updates, not just the one patching the exploits. Our demonstrator vehicle is a 2015 Ram 1500 pickup. The procedure should be very similar on other products with the 8.4-inch Uconnect system, with only the location of the USB port varying. Once you have the USB stick with the software on it – either after having downloaded it yourself or receiving it in the mail from Chrysler – the installation process is relatively simple. It takes about 15 minutes to perform the update; we edited out the wait in the video. To check whether or not your car's 8.4-inch Uconnect system is running the latest software, go to System Information on the touch screen's Settings page and look at Software Version. The update related to the recall is version 15.17.5. Related Video: Recalls Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Safety Technology Infotainment Videos Original Video hacking

Top torque-to-weight ratios under $100k, $50k and $25k

Horsepower may steal a lot of headlines, but the always-more-complex torque figure is often a critical one for both the workingman and the motoring playboy. The measure of rotational force represents the twist that can liquefy one's tires or haul one's horse trailer. Good stuff.
It follows then, that as with the horsepower-to-weight list that we assembled for you a few months ago, a list of cars that offer the most pound-feet with the fewest pounds to carry, is an interesting one to break down. Sure, there's a big difference in how the torque is applied from a turbocharged six-cylinder in a Swedish luxury sedan and a massive heavy-duty truck's turbo-diesel. But being the car/stat geeks that we are, we think it's kinda neat that those two vehicles rank near each other where torque and weight intersect.
As with the horsepower list, we've given you figures as pounds per every one pound-foot. Again broken down into broad price categories, we've got a mixed bag of 2014 and 2015 models here, too. Every effort has been made to select the most up-to-date prices and specs, and we've also to omitted some '14 cars that won't be re-upped after the ongoing yearly changeover.

Ram recalls HD pickups for loose windshield wipers

Ram is recalling heavy-duty pickups (Ram 2500, 3500, 4500 and 5500) built between April 27, 2019, and March 9, 2020, to address a potentially defective windshield wiper design that can result in loose and/or underperforming wipers that don't rotate properly on their pivot arms when activated.  "Some 2019-2020 MY Ram [...] vehicles may have been built with one or both windshield wiper arms with an improperly formed wiper arm head joint," Ram said in its defect notice to NHTSA. "An improperly formed wiper arm head joint may not properly form the splines of the head joint on the wiper arm, which can allow the joint to strip and result in the wiper arm failing to operate properly when the system is activated." "An improperly functioning wiper system may, in certain circumstances, lead to a diminution in road visibility which can cause vehicle crash without prior warning," it said.  Symptoms of a defective wiper arm head joint could be similar to the diminished performance of a worn wiper blade, but vehicles with the defect may exhibit other warning signs, such as wiper blades that don't sit in their normal "rest positions" (Ram's words, not ours) when set to "off."  Dealers will tighten the nuts on the wiper arm head joints for customers as part of the campaign.  Recalls RAM Truck Commercial Vehicles