If tailgating, too-bright headlights, and excessive honking weren’t enough, here’s a new irritant for all you drivers out there: advertising that pops up inside your car—and seemingly can’t be eliminated.
Social-media users are posting images from inside their Jeep brand vehicles showing a pop-up ad touting an extended car warranty on the car’s media console. According to multiple posts, the ad pops up, covering the entire screen every time the car is stopped, to inform the driver they can “Purchase peace of mind.”
“FlexCare Extended Care Premium plans are factory backed and offer you Peace of Mind in case of a mechanical breakdown,” the ad reads, offering an option to “speak to a specialist.”
These ads have been popping up for a few years now. Back in 2023, a person posted to a Jeep online forum about being barraged with the same ad a whopping four times during a 12-mile drive.
“Short of smashing a brick through the screen, does anyone know how to stop the radio from displaying a damn Mopar Extended Warranty ad on the Uconnect screen every time I come to a stop?” the person asked, tagging the official account for Jeep Customer Care. “I can’t believe they’ve graduated from telemarketing phone harassment to actually displaying this crap on the screen in the vehicle while [you’re] driving.”
Other users piled on, calling it “incredibly annoying and unsafe advertising,” noting drivers could get into a crash from the “obnoxious and intrusive ads.”
Jeep’s response to the driver was less than encouraging.
“It should also be noted that ads are part of your contractual agreement with SiriusXM, but we are working on the frequency,” replied a Jeep Cares representative. “Thank you for your patience.”
A Stellantis spokesperson told Fortune in a statement that “a temporary software glitch affected the ability to instantly opt out in a few isolated cases, though instant opt-out is the standard for all our in-vehicle messages. Our team had already identified and corrected the error, and we are following up directly with the customer to ensure the matter is fully resolved.”
The spokesperson did not answer questions about the frequency of ads or what cars were covered by the SiriusXM contract.
$20 billion more a year
While in-car ads are relatively new, upselling existing customers with add-ons and subscriptions is by now a familiar tactic for automakers. Stellantis in 2021 announced a plan to collect €20 billion ($20.8 billion) a year from software-enabled vehicles. The company said the move “greatly expands the options customers have to add innovative features and services via regular over-the-air (OTA) updates keeping vehicles fresh, exciting, and updated years after they have been built.”
Stellantis has “a huge amount riding on this,” Zach Shefska, president and CEO of CarEdge and cohost of an eponymous YouTube show, told Fortune. “Since about 2020 or 2021, there’s been a mandate from all car companies, that they’re going to try to be software companies and use their vehicles to drive further profit.”
BMW two years ago tried to get customers to pony up $18 a month for the privilege of using their car’s heated seats, but backed off after customer outcry. Subaru and Toyota today charge a subscription for a suite of services that include starting the car remotely.
Most drivers aren’t buying these added plans—about two-thirds turn it down at the car dealership, Shefska said. And it’s not hard to see why, with the average price of a new car today hovering just below $50,000, up from about $35,000 before the pandemic.
Still, the ad “feels fundamentally different,” Shefska said. “This is off in sci-fi dystopia land.
“You’re not only upselling your customer in their own car, but you’re selling an extended warranty? It’s a terrible product,” he added.
Data, data everywhere
The actual manufacture and sale of cars is a relatively low-profit endeavor, which means efforts to upsell customers—or sell data on customers—are likely to continue, said RJ Cross, director of the Don’t Sell My Data campaign at PIRG.
“There’s a parallel with where we’ve ended up with websites and apps. They collect data; they use it to serve you ads that you didn’t ask for, for products you don’t want,” Cross told Fortune. “We already get a version of that when you get your car, and get a free month of SiriusXM; it serves you ads.”
She added, “Cars quietly started to be able to collect data without people grokking that that’s happening. It doesn’t shock me that now we have manufacturers saying, ‘What else can we do with this data that will make us money?’”
