Systems and methods for initiating over-the-air programming of transmission control module

A method comprising:

• a transmission control module (TCM) of a vehicle determining that an over-the-air-programming (OTAP) update of the TCM is available, and responsively presenting an update-ready indication via an operator interface of the vehicle, the operator interface comprising a shift selector, and the presenting the update-ready indication comprising flashing a check-transmission light of the operator interface;
• the TCM, after presenting the update-ready indication, determining whether each precondition in a set of one or more preconditions is satisfied, the set of one or more preconditions including a first precondition that a valid initiate-update instruction has been received via the shift selector of the operator interface;
• if the TCM determines, after receiving the valid initiate-update instruction, that each precondition in the set including the first precondition is satisfied, the TCM then responsively initiating installation of the OTAP update;
• and
• if the TCM determines that at least one precondition in the set is not satisfied, the TCM then responsively not initiating installation of the OTAP update, the TCM will only initiate installation of the OTAP after receiving the valid initiate-update instruction via the shift selector.

An onboard system of a vehicle, the onboard system comprising:

• a transmission control module (TCM) comprising a communication interface, a processor, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions executable by the processor for causing the TCM to carry out a set of TCM functions including:
• determining that each precondition in a set of one or more preconditions is satisfied, the set of one or more preconditions including that an over-the-air-programming (OTAP) update of the TCM has been successfully downloaded to the TCM, and responsively presenting an update-ready indication via an operator interface of the vehicle, the operator interface being integral to the vehicle, and the presenting the update-ready indication comprising flashing a check-transmission light of the operator interface;
• after presenting the update-ready indication, receiving an input via the operator interface and responsively determining whether the received input is a valid initiate-update instruction;
• only if the TCM determines that the received input is a valid initiate-update instruction will the TCM then responsively initiating installation of the OTAP update;
• and
• otherwise the TCM then responsively not initiating installation of the OTAP update, the TCM will only initiate installation of the OTAP update when the received input is a valid initiate-update instruction received via the operator interface that is integral to the vehicle.

An onboard system of a vehicle, the onboard system comprising:

• a transmission control module (TCM) comprising a communication interface, a processor, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions executable by the processor for causing the TCM to carry out a set of TCM functions including:
• determining that an over-the-air-programming (OTAP) update of the TCM is available, and responsively presenting an update-ready indication via an operator interface of the vehicle, the operator interface being physically coupled to the TCM;
• after presenting the update-ready indication, determining whether each precondition in a set of one or more preconditions is satisfied, the set of one or more preconditions including a first precondition that a valid initiate-update instruction has been received via the operator interface;
• only if the TCM determines, after presenting the update-ready indication, that each precondition in the set of one or more preconditions is satisfied including the first precondition that the valid initiate-update instruction has been received via the operator interface that is physically coupled to the TCM, the TCM then responsively initiating installation of the OTAP update;
• if the TCM determines that at least one precondition in the set of one or more preconditions is not satisfied, the TCM then responsively not initiating installation of the OTAP update, the TCM will only initiate installation of the OTAP update after the valid initiate-update instruction has been received via the operator interface that is physically coupled to the TCM;
• and
• determining that the OTAP update has been successfully installed, and responsively presenting via the operator interface an indication of successful installation, wherein presenting the indication of successful installation comprises flashing a check-transmission light of the operator interface.