Hello all.

New Dodge Durango owner in a way. Just bought a Used 2015 Dodge Durango R/T. I've had the vehicle for 2 days now.

I'm hoping you can help me with some issues/questions regarding the Uconnect 8.4NAV system.

Issue 1: I decided to replace some of the older saved radio stations on my 8.4NAV. Seems easy enough. Tune to the station, hold the location number for a few seconds, and it seemed to work. Okay. Get in the car in the morning, and all my saved stations are gone. In fact the same old stations came back. I'm I doing something wrong? Is this an issue?

Issue 2: Since this is a used vehicle the people who owned the car did not reset the stored info. Their phones are still in the system. Their Home address is saved in the NAV. How do I reset my 8.4 NAV to get rid of this info? I believe I saw something in the settings to restore factory fresh. How do I do this?

Questions:
1) Does anyone know if I can still get a 1-year free use for Uconnect even though I purchased the car Used? Something similar to a free trial of Sirrius/XM.
2) What do I loose by not paying for the Uconnect service? Do I loose 911? What about Assist Button? Apps? WiFi?
3) In a way, what is the need for Uconnect service? Remotely starting your vehicle from your phone is a novelty.
4) Same thing for the apps? I decided to try the Pandora App in the 8.4NAV and it looked like it would work. Though it warned me that it was going to use my iPhone via bluetooth for the data link and that charges may occur. On top of that it stated I needed to install Pandora on my phone. Why not just use the app on my phone anyways using the bluetooth link? Is there a difference in using the Apps on 8.4NAV compared to using the App on my phone and syncing using bluetooth. One thing I read somewhere was that the bluetooth sync is flaky - droping in and out. Does this sync improve when using the Apps on 8.4NAV?
5) I use my iPhone for Navigation. Though, once I get used to the NAV on 8.4 I might use that instead. One thing I noticed is Traffic alerts do not seem to work on the 8.4. On my iPhone I see red congestion warnings while traveling. I did not see the same thing on my NAV. Does the 8.4 show traffic congestions in real time? Does the 8.4 provide traffic congestion warnings while driving a route? Does the NAV offer alternative routes if there is an issue along the route? Does NAV offer multiple alternative routes to a location like the iPhone does?
6) Has there been any updated news for 2015 8.4NAV with receiving 2016 8.4NAV improvements. I read the newer Uconnect radios in 2016 vehicles are completely redesigned, and improvements to 2016 8.4NAV SW would not be available for 2015's. Is this true? One thing that seems like a nice feature is iPhone true spoken language/Siri integration. If this is true it kind of sucks. Any news?

Thanks for reading my long drawn out message. I look forward to contributing to this forum, and reading everyone's input.

Jerry

 

Hey Jerry, welcome to the Forum. To answer some of your questions. You should be able to reset the radio back to the factory settings, which should clear all of the information previously stored on the radio. See steps below. You may find this information via your Owner’s Manual http://www.dodge.com/en/owners/manuals/. Regarding the value of UConnect and its capabilities, you can find these answers at http://www.driveuconnect.com/. You can also reach out and speak to a customer service representative at 1-877-855-8400. If you’re having issues using the radio whatsoever, your local certified FCA dealer is also a great place to receive hands on assistance. If you have any further questions, please let me know. Thanks! – Kevin T, Social Connect Team.

a. On the touchscreen, press Apps > All Apps > Uconnect® Store > My Apps > Settings. b. Choose Remove Uconnect® Account and follow the instructions.

 

DodgeCares thanks for your quick response. I suppose you work for Dodge????

I called the 1-877 number you provided. They were extremely helpful.

Some answers to my issues above:

Issue 1: Uconnect thinks I may have a memory issue problem with my unit. They recommended I hold both the buttons for Volume/Tune to do a reset. Then try to Preset one of my favorite Radio station in position 1. Turn off engine and wait for a few minutes, and then turn the vehicle back on and see if the preset worked. They said they would call me tomorrow to follow up. I have yet to do the above. Will report back if it worked. If this doesn't work they will help me log a case ticket and get it into Dodge Service.

Issue 2: They recommended against doing a factory reset. They stated it was best to allow Dodge Service to do this if necessary. They recommended that I delete or unpair the previous owners cells and info. Though I thought I looked for the unpairing and it wasn't obvious. I would rather just start fresh. I will hold off on DodgeCares instructions above until I speak with Dodge Service.

Some additional info regarding my questions:

1) Having read the Uconnect Manual it seems like NAV does show traffic along route, provides traffic warnings, and offers rerouting. I do not know if NAV shows traffic congestion in free driving mode. It did not look like to provided good feedback compared to my iPhone. Again, need to get better acquainted with NAV. It looks awesome on the 8.4 screen.
2) No I cannot not get a restart on Uconnect Service. It is 1 year only. Time is up for me.
3) It seems like Uconnect 8.4NAV offers many awesome features without signing up - though I believe I lose WiFi, 911, Assist, and iPhone App. Though it seems like Pandora/iHeart etc.. still works? If someone can offer some insights on what I lose I would appreciate it greatly.
4) Awesome news. I asked about 2016 Uconnect features coming to 2015. I thought someone on the internet (someone from Dodge I believe) that stated 2015 update was not coming. The person I just called stated that at the end of this month there will be a new update for 2015 RA3 and RA4 owners that will bring 2016 features: I.E. Do not bother notifications, and Siri - natural voice commands. I forgot what else was in 2016 update. I'm more intrigued by natural voice commands/Siri integration. Thank you Uconnect/Dodge.

Still cannot say FCA!!!!!

Jerry

 

Saved stations are not saving because you need to hit the driver setting save button (S) and then the driver number (1) or (2) just like you do to save your seat settings. It's resetting because the key is also tied to the driver setting so when you enter, it's setting the radio stations and seat settings back to the previous settings.

Go to nav settings and you can delete favorites and home addresses. Same for Bluetooth phone settings. Go to settings and delete phone.

1 year free? I don't have an answer

As for uconnect, not worth it in my opinion. You do get voice texting with it in addition to the remote start and whatnot. You don't lose the assist function or 911 if you don't subscribe. As for pandora, uconnect subscription allows the uconnect screen to control and change things like stations. If you use your Bluetooth and phone, you'll have to dig out your phone to do that stuff (but you can still skip songs).

For traffic, the phone will be better. Traffic updates are rarely accurate on the uconnect and may require Sirius xm traffic.

Updates, no, not retroactive. And won't be.

 

I posted a response yesterday and it did not post. I didn't curse in it or anything????

@DodgeCares

Thanks for the quick response. I suppose you rep Dodge? I called the Uconnect CS number you provided. They were extremely helpful.

They told me to reset the 8.4NAV by holding down both the Volume/Tuner buttons. Screen goes blank and system reboots. I added one radio station by holding the position # for more than 2 seconds. Turned off the engine - waited - and restarted. Everything worked fine. The real test was to let it sit over night. This morning everything is fine - all stations were still programmed. Do not know what happened my first day.

UC Rep also mentioned not to do a factory reset as you stated. I just manually deleted all the previous owners info.

@mcfarl58
I do not believe you have to hit S and the position 1 or 2 as you do for the seat position saves. I think you just have to hold the number on the screen for more than 2 seconds.

BTW The Uconnect Rep stated that the latest 2016 Uconnect updates (Do not disturb, natural spoken voice commands/Siri integration) will be coming out for all RA3 and RA4 systems by the end of this month. If so this is great news.

I tried NAV this morning. It does show traffic congestion - though not at the detail my iPhone does.

I really like the 8.4NAV system. First time ever having HD radio. It is awesome. The Sirius/XM Gas locations/prices are a great feature (I believe this is available for 5 years). Things like Movie locations/and what's playing are cool as well. Sure I can use my phone, but it's nice to see it on the 8.4. Not going to get Sirius/XM. With iHeart/Pandora/Apple Music no big deal.

The nice thing I have T-Mobile. They have unlimited streaming of Music sites so it should eat into my data plan.

Jerry

 

The only really useful function of the subscription that I use semi-regularly is the "send destination to car" feature. Definitely easier than using the screen interface. The monthly vehicle status reports are nice, but pretty rudimentary. We used to use the app-pairing with Pandora, but it's always too slow to load at startup, so we eventually stopped using it.

 

Jerry, thanks for the follow-up. I do work for FCA/Dodge to assist with social customer service concerns. I'm glad to hear you got the assistance you needed and that you are enjoying your UConnect system. If you are in need of further assistance in the future, please DM me. Thanks! - Kevin T, Social Connect Team.

 

@mcfarl58

You are correct. You can save different radio settings using the Save buttons for seating/mirror/etc... settings. Just read the owners manual last night. You can also tie settings to key fobs (#1 or #2). I suppose when you enter the Durango with a specific Fob it'll automatically go to settings #1 or #2. Pretty cool. ATM I'm the only driver - though I keep both FOBS on me. One stays in my backpack just in case I need to get into my car if I lock my other FOB in the car.

So much technology!!! My last car started, went and stopped.

 

Lol. That's what I tried to tell you. Glad you read the owner's manual.

Also, no need to keep both Fobs on you. It's pretty impossible to lock your fob in the car. First, if your key is in the car, you can't use the outside passive entry button to lock the door. You would need to hit the door lock button on the inside of the door to lock and then shut the door. But, even if you did that by accident (or on purpose) and shut the door on your fob, the car beeps 3 times and unlocks to tell you that you just locked your key in the car. Only after you do that a second time would the car know you're serious about locking the key in the car.

And if after all that you still managed to lock it in your car, you could call up Uconnect and subscribe to UConnect Access for a day or a month and have them remotely unlock it or use the app on your phone. Still cheaper than a roadside service call (and quicker).

 

Read the hell out of the locking the key FOB in the car theory. That is one reason I read the forums, and chose to start reading the owners manual (Criminy so many futuristic features on the Dodge Durango it hurts my brain).

So here is why I'm concerned. I was showing the vehicle to Mom. Windows were down - FOB was in car - Car was not turned on - we exited the vehicle - for some reason the doors looked - I did not hit the button on the door handle. I tried opening the door from the outside and it would not open. I had to reach through the open window to use the door unlock button on the door. So what happened here?

I, like others, will do the testing on the locking key FOB in the car scenarios. Yes I read the manual - but it is still confusing.