Remote updates available for Freightliner Cascadia

Making calibration changes to Freightliner Cascadia highway tractors spec’d with Detroit engines just got easier as Detroit Connect Remote Updates is now being made available “over-the-air” so truckers don’t have to visit a dealer location and park their vehicle for engine software upgrades.

“Our goal is to help trucks stay on the road and out of the repair shop,” noted Jason Krajewski, director of connectivity for Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), of which Freightliner and Detroit are subsidiaries.

“Customers don’t need to call us to make updates; our Remote Updates service is cellular-based, so parameter changes, DDEC (Detroit Diesel Electronic Control) reports and the forthcoming powertrain firmware updates can be made securely via the Detroit Connect portal, anywhere, at any time so long as there is a cellular connection,” he explained. “We are putting control directly into our customers’ hands so they have the tools they need to be as productive as possible.”

Remote Updates allow customers to make changes to parameters on the new Cascadia, specifically road speed, cruise speed, idle shutdown by time and idle shutdown by temperature. It also provides access to DDEC reports, which offers key metrics on vehicle performance, such as insights on fuel economy, time spent in top gear, time spent in cruise control and more.

Remote Updates is enabled by the Detroit Connect platform and is part of the Detroit Connect suite of connected vehicle services, which also includes Detroit Connect Virtual Technician and Detroit Connect Analytics, the company said. All Detroit Connect services are accessible via the Detroit Connect portal, which allows owners to access vehicle fault event and performance data, among other information.