Software in the radio hangs in the radio boot process upon encountered an errant image sent by KUOW-FM. Apparently the only fix is to replace a $1,500 component in each car.
The problem was a broadcast containing image files with no extensions.
Source: Radio station snafu in Seattle bricks some Mazda infotainment systems | Ars Technica
Initially, owners were told it would cost $1,500 to repair – but now Mazda plans to provide replacements at no cost. However, due to supply chain and semiconductor shortages, this may take quite some time.
There were two faults here:
- KUOW transmitted incorrect data
- The software in the Mazda radios did not validate the data input and instead, just crashed. One must never assume that input data is “correct”.
- Mazda radios had no method of doing a reset to default conditions to undo the bad file, after it was loaded into the system.
