In Russia, owners of Porsche and BMW vehicles are facing widespread malfunctions caused by anti-drone electronic warfare (EW) systems. The Moscow Times reported.
The jammers disrupt the operation of factory-installed satellite anti-theft systems. As a result, cars lock up, fail to start, or even stall. Porsche Russia confirmed the issue. BMW dealers have not yet commented.
The problem has hit owners of 2016–2018 Porsche Macan and Cayenne models the hardest. Also affected are all Porsche models produced from 2013 to 2019: 911, Panamera, Cayenne, Macan, Boxster and Cayman of the 718 series, as well as the elite 918 Spyder.
Similar issues are being recorded at BMW — virtually the entire lineup equipped with ConnectedDrive: the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 Series; X1, X3, X4, X5, X6 crossovers; as well as the Z4, i3, i8 and M series. A common feature of all affected vehicles is a factory satellite alarm. Owners complain the cars “die” suddenly and need to be towed.
Because of the jammers, the control unit receives a distorted or “foreign” signal. The car thinks it is being stolen and automatically immobilizes the engine. In Porsche vehicles, an eSIM installed within the engine can, when proper connectivity is lost, trigger a protection scenario - up to shutting the engine down.
The first wave of such incidents was recorded in early December 2025 and was isolated. Now cases are more frequent: service centers are seeing lines for software reflashing, and dozens of immobilized cars are being reported across Russia.
In 2025, the Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor restricted access to 1.289 million pieces of online content, 59% more than the year before.
Russia ranked first in global ratings for internet censorship and shutdowns.
