Strange blackout

[the2ems]

I’m still waiting

[wurlycorner]

Ridiculous.
Gone into the ‘too difficult’ / not a priority pile…

[the2ems]

I’ve just had a OTA (Performance improvement) update. I wonder if that is the one I have been waiting for

[the2ems]

I’ve just had a OTA (Performance improvement) update. I wonder if that is the one I have been waiting for

Service manager at dealer says yes

[Richard_C]

I’ve just had a OTA (Performance improvement) update. I wonder if that is the one I have been waiting for

Service manager at dealer says yes

Not so fast!

I had the same experience on my C4 Hybrid in April, car only a few days old, thought it was me and maybe I had pressed the wrong button. Happened once again in June. I got the firmware update early September, now showing version AHW.1.30.53.10.

On Wednesday, son was driving, nothing unusual happening, radio on, not using cruise or lane keep stuff, android auto in use from his paired phone. He was braking as we came up to some roadworks, both screens went off for no reason and with no warning. Including speedometer, not just 'infotainment'. I was in the front passenger seat so able to watch what went on. With no intervention from us, the screens rebooted after maybe 60 seconds, the main one taking the longest.

At the reboot some, but not all, of the ADAS stuff reset itself as if from a cold start, it connected to the wrong phone (we have 3 'paired') so Android Auto didn't know where we were going, and the radio restarted to the first station in my favourites list. That was all easily put right from the passenger seat, but the sudden loss of all instrumentation including speedometer at 60+ mph strikes me as a real hazard. Both he and I are experienced 'high milers' but someone less calm might just panic and hit the brakes.

Next day when I started the car the screens seemed to take a long time to come on. I noticed on start up the main screen map display said "mapping from Tom Tom" which I've not seen before. This is conjecture, but I wonder if a satnav OTA update causethe reboot? It shouldn't, especially as its entirely our of the drivers control (with firmware you can tell it not to download ubnless you say so, no such menu option in navigation).

All this with the latest firmware.

Not sure what to do next, I don't really have a dealer as I won't be getting it serviced where I bought it from (too far) so unitil first service next March I don't have a relationship with the good people I want to use. I suppose we just 'live with it' until Stellantis send a new update - if they ever do.

[the2ems]

The update I received doesn’t seem to have done anything, although I haven’t had any more blackouts. What I do get is the reversing camera just showing a top down image of a car for what seems too long, before I get an actual view of what’s behind me with the grid lines visible. Also at random times after starting a drive, I get a message up asking if I would like to navigate to a random destination. I wouldn’t mind, but I never use the inbuilt sat nav.

[Richard_C]

The update I received doesn’t seem to have done anything, although I haven’t had any more blackouts.

Mine is a MHEV hybrid, and after the update the digits on the speedometer screen are white when the ic engine is running, blue when its on battery only. A huge improvement to my daily life - or not.
.

[mickthemaverick]

I can't help thinking that Stellantis paid a designer, software engineer, programmer and distribution control staff to make that completely pointless thing happen. Talk about 'because we can' syndrome!!

[CitROeNALD]

I have had this issue once or twice in the 8 years I have owned my 2018 c4 grand. I always just put it down to the system having a hissy fit. It's never bothered me enough to do anything about it.

However, my c4 has the e-ink speedo display (which I have always preferred), so while the infotainment display reset, the e-ink speedo display was unaffected.

Am I to understand that your resets affected the speedo display too?

That must mean the e-ink display runs on a separate system from the infotainment system, but the full colour display uses the same software or runs on the same system.

Interesting.

[the2ems]

I know nothing about e-ink, but all of my displays went blank.

[Richard_C]

Me too, both displays simultaneously, the speed was the first thing to come back but a still lost it for a minute or two. Were it just the middle "infotainment" screen I wouldn't be bothered, but it's the loss of everytthing including speedometer that worries me.

I noticed yesterday that the mapping content was slowly updating country by country, so maybe last Wednesday the satnav system did have an upgrade and rebooted the screens, again just conjecture. (Like many people I use Android Auto but you can't disable the built in one.)

[mickthemaverick]

(Like many people I use Android Auto but you can't disable the built in one.)

You can Richard, you just need to call this guy in:

Spoiler: show

A man with a mission!

[myglaren]

Being without a speedometer is worrying.
I have seen recently that there are quire cheap GPS speedo's available. Quite a number on eBay.
Some as low as £7.

This one seems to do everything but sew buttons on.

[CitROeNALD]

I know nothing about e-ink, but all of my displays went blank.

Ahh that is interesting. The e-ink display is the basic speedo display, so just the illuminated black and white version in the basic spec cars.

So when my infotainment screen went black and reset while driving, the speedo display was unaffected.

I imagine the e-ink display uses the basic data stream from the ECU or something whereas the full colour displays get their data via Citroen software via the infotainment system. So they both go blank in the instance of a software glitch. Which would be disconcerting to say the least.

It's why the glitch of the infotainment resetting while driving has never really bothered me. I just put it down to it having random error rather than anything requiring an update to fix it. It has only happened twice or so in the 8 years I have had the car though.