I bought a 2013 Ram 1500 Laramie. it is "NAV READY" and I am supposed to ask the dealership about cost/installation. I have tried several calls and emails to find out how much extra it would be to have the NAV installed but no one can give me an answer. Does anyone know or have bought the NAV option after buying a 2013 vehicle with the NAV option available after the purchase? I will never purchase another car from this particular dealership (Brandon FL), their costumer service sucks.

 

I agree, it is hard to get that warm fuzzy feeling inside when the dealer can't answer a simple question. Especially when the answer will line there pockets with more money.

His answer should be, let me check with Chrysler and I will get right back to you, if he doesn't have the answer in front of him.

I will go out on a limb here and give him a break since this seems to be a new feature, a radio pre-equipped with features but needing to be toggled on or downloaded. It shouldn't be real hard for them to find the answer though.

This is interesting, buy the vehicle, don't pay for the nav but find a hack for it. Free upgrade.

 

After market is always cheaper than OEM gear, give more options to add on and better control over sound.

Have you considered it?

 

Congrats on your new truck! Hope they can find something to help you out.

 

Lawman,

Congratulations on your new addition. I would recommend asking to speak with the Service Manager, if you have not done so already. They will be able to provide you the price that the dealer is charging and assist with any other technical inquiries you may have.

If you are still having a hard time getting in contact with somebody, you can contact my U.S. counterpart, Chris (DodgeCares) or the Customer Care Center at 1-800-992-1997.

Let me know if you have any inquiries.

 

Lawman,

Do you have the 8.4? Is it an RA3? I am going to assume you do since that is the only unit that can be upgraded to include the NAV. See the TSB below that was released to the dealers. Cost is determined by dealer labor rates so I cannot offer you that. Perhaps having the dealer look up the TSB will allow them to give you a price if they have never heard of this before. These new radios are only coming out now so it is possible some dealers have never run across adding the NAV functionality as it was never available before without changing the entire unit. I hope this helps as I am sure others will experience what you have with these new units.

NUMBER: 08-031-12
GROUP: Electrical
DATE: October 17, 2012

SUBJECT:
How To Activate The Navigation Maps On A RA3 Radio
MODELS:
2013 (DS) Ram 1500 Pickup
NOTE: This Service Bulletin applies to vehicles equipped with a UCONNECT 8.4A
AM/FM/BT/ACCESS (sales code RA3).
CAUTION: The only vehicles that can be upgraded to include a navigation system
are ones that have an RA3 radio.
DISCUSSION:
Offering a radio that has navigation capability that can be optionally activated for additional
cost is something new. This allows all Uconnect 8.4A (sales code RA3) customers to enjoy
the benefits of the high line 8.4 inch screen at a low entry level price. Only the customers
that wish to activate the navigation feature will pay the extra fee.

CAUTION: The customer needs to be notified, and clearly understand once this
system is activated it can NOT be deactivated and this feature can NOT
be transferred to another vehicle. When the feature is activated it's
“non-refundable, irreversible, and permanently attached to the VEHICLE
(not the customer) for the life of the vehicle.”

 

All,

I am going to post this information so people can begin to understand the new radios and what can and cannot be done with them. As new information comes out I will post it up. These radios are currently only being installed on the new Rams but will eventually make their way into all models when they are refreshed or on new models.

NUMBER: 08-056-12
GROUP: Electrical
DATE: October 12, 2012



SUBJECT:
Information On New Radio Systems: Sales Code RA1, RA2, RA3, or RA4
MODELS:
2013 (DS) Ram 1500 Pickup
NOTE: This bulletin pertains to vehicles that are equipped with, UCONNECT 3.0
AM/FM (sales code RA1) or UCONNECT 5.0 AM/FM/BT (sales code RA2) or
UCONNECT 8.4A AM/FM/BT/ACCESS (sales code RA3) or UCONNECT 8.4AN
AM/FM/BT/ACCESS/NAV (sales code RA4).
DISCUSSION:
The new Ram 1500 pickup truck has new radios with unique features.
· The electrical architecture has changed. The communication system/wiring is
modeled after the Powernet architecture. Unlike the other Powernet vehicles the
audio screen is part of the radio.
· The 911 call button will be enabled when the vehicle is put into Customer Mode, or
after the vehicle has been driven approximately 50 miles.
NOTE: To get the vehicle out of ship mode, please refer to TechCONNECT, 04 -
Vehicle Quick Reference/New Vehicle Preparation
Instructions/Standard Procedure.
· If the vehicle has an RA1 radio, it Can Not be upgraded to include Bluetooth/Hands
Free functionality. NO Mopar accessory kits are planned at this time.
NOTE: None of the RA1, RA2, RA3, or RA4 radios are interchangeable with
each other. If the vehicle came with an RA1, radio, you can NOT install
an RA2, RA3 or RA4 radio. If the vehicle came with an RA4 radio, you
can NOT install an RA1, RA2 or RA3 radio and so on.
· Customers are able to purchase different Apps for these radio. If the radio is
replaced the Apps that the customer has purchased will take approximately one hour
of continuous ignition on time, with proper cellular coverage, before the Apps reload.
The vehicle can be returned to the customer before the purchased Apps have
reloaded. Advise the customer of the conditions that have to be met for the Apps to
reload.
· RA1, RA2, RA3 and RA4 radios will be on a parts restriction until 05-06-13.
· CD players will be on a parts restriction until 05-06-13.
· The radio sales code is no longer on the front of the radio. To identify an RA4 from a
NUMBER: 08-056-12
GROUP: Electrical
DATE: October 12, 2012
RA3 radio, the RA4 radio has 3D Navigation, and a “HD” symbol will be displayed on
the screen, see (Fig. 4). To identify an RA1 from a RA2 radio, the RA2 radio will
have a phone button on the lower left hand corner of screen, see (Fig. 2).
· RA3 radio is the only one that can be upgraded to include a Navigation feature. The
system will have to be activated by the dealer.

 

After sending an email to someone in charge, the salesguy called back. He told me it would cost $895 to get the NAV program installed. To me it sounds like this whole upgraded/new radio system is so new that, or at least my dealership, does not know enough about to give proper answers. It's a hard pill to swallow to be charged another $895 after spendin over $40k on a new truck for an option that is available for vehicles that cost hafl as much. I guess i'll just stick to my I-phone map or if i really need it buy a tom-tom.
thanks to all that responded with the information. Other than this little hick-up, the truck is awsome.

 

Sounds about right to me. OEM and dealer items are always over priced. Couple that with labor costs and you need to borrow money money. That's how dealers are and that why I suggested that you go with something after market.

 

I purchased a 2013 Ram Crew Cab Big Horn 4x4 with the nav ready ra3. Upon purchasing the truck I required that the nav be installed. The dealership had no idea on the price. Via the Ram Froums we found the price to be $595 so the dealership was ok for installing it at 695. No one at the dealership had a clue how to install it. The ram forums has the right anser and I mentioned it to them many times. What we eventualy did was used the onboard phone in the uconnect to call support, they gave us a case number that the dealership could look up and get the 5 page installation instructions. The instructions involve a process in which the service department gets a code off your system to send to chrysler, then chrysler in turn sends a code back to activate the system. I am so far happy with this navigation, it looks better than the one found on the dodge darts. I just wish it had traffic information.