All of Russia's Porsches Were Bricked By a Mysterious Satellite Outage (autoblog.com)
(Sunday December 07, 2025 @11:36PM (EditorDavid)
from the Joseph-stalling dept.)
- Reference: 0180327217
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/0310242/all-of-russias-porsches-were-bricked-by-a-mysterious-satellite-outage
- Source link: https://www.autoblog.com/news/all-of-russias-porsches-were-bricked-by-a-mysterious-satellite-outage
An anonymous reader shared [1]this report from Autoblog :
> Imagine walking out to your car, pressing the start button, and getting absolutely nothing. No crank, no lights on the dash, nothing. That's exactly what happened to hundreds of Porsche owners in Russia last week. The issue is with the [2]Vehicle Tracking System , a satellite-based security system that's supposed to protect against theft. Instead, it turned these Porsches into driveway ornaments.
>
> The issue was first reported at the end of November, with owners reporting identical symptoms of their cars refusing to start or shutting down soon after ignition. Russia's largest dealership group, Rolf, confirmed that the problem stems from a [3]complete loss of satellite connectivity to the VTS. When it loses its connection, it interprets the outage as a potential theft attempt and automatically activates the engine immobilizer.
>
> The issue affects all models and engine types, meaning any Porsche equipped with the system could potentially disable itself without warning. The malfunction impacts Porsche models dating back to 2013 that have the factory VTS installed... When the VTS connection drops, the anti-theft protocol kicks in, cutting fuel delivery and locking down the engine completely.
[1] https://www.autoblog.com/news/all-of-russias-porsches-were-bricked-by-a-mysterious-satellite-outage
[2] https://www.autoblog.com/features/porsche-anti-theft-systems
[3] https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/12/02/hundreds-of-porsche-owners-in-russia-unable-to-start-cars-after-system-failure-a91302
> Imagine walking out to your car, pressing the start button, and getting absolutely nothing. No crank, no lights on the dash, nothing. That's exactly what happened to hundreds of Porsche owners in Russia last week. The issue is with the [2]Vehicle Tracking System , a satellite-based security system that's supposed to protect against theft. Instead, it turned these Porsches into driveway ornaments.
>
> The issue was first reported at the end of November, with owners reporting identical symptoms of their cars refusing to start or shutting down soon after ignition. Russia's largest dealership group, Rolf, confirmed that the problem stems from a [3]complete loss of satellite connectivity to the VTS. When it loses its connection, it interprets the outage as a potential theft attempt and automatically activates the engine immobilizer.
>
> The issue affects all models and engine types, meaning any Porsche equipped with the system could potentially disable itself without warning. The malfunction impacts Porsche models dating back to 2013 that have the factory VTS installed... When the VTS connection drops, the anti-theft protocol kicks in, cutting fuel delivery and locking down the engine completely.
[1] https://www.autoblog.com/news/all-of-russias-porsches-were-bricked-by-a-mysterious-satellite-outage
[2] https://www.autoblog.com/features/porsche-anti-theft-systems
[3] https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/12/02/hundreds-of-porsche-owners-in-russia-unable-to-start-cars-after-system-failure-a91302
Who thought this service was a good idea? (Score:2)
by gurps_npc ( 621217 )
I can see a service where you can send a satellite message to disable your car/brick it. But a system where if you lose satellite communication for enough time it bricks itself automatically?
I can see a hundred ways this can go bad - starting with what actually happened.
Horrible business plan.
Re: (Score:1)
by Iamthecheese ( 1264298 )
It's only a horrible business plan if you're not being subsidized by people who like the idea of capturing that freedom.
Noviye Russkiye jokes aside, (Score:1)
what happens if a Westerner drives his Porsche into a tunnel (they have those in Germany, for instance) or parks in an underground garage?
Re: (Score:1)
I suspect this is something of a "takes a while to kick in".
Still makes little sense. Porches aren't really daily driver cars, they're leisure cars. So you put one in a garage for winter, and it won't start in the spring until you tow it outside?