matticus Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Hi all, I was at the dealership today playing around with a 2011 Dodge Journey R/T AWD. The test drive was nice, but the main thing was to see how the new UConnect interacted with my iPhone and iPod. Since everyone is probably interested in this, I'll give you the scoop. iPhone 4, latest software: Bluetooth phone worked fine, as did voice dialing. This is where the fun stops. Bluetooth audio streaming worked okay, however I was unable to control next/previous tracks through the controls. Everything had to be done on the phone. When plugged in via USB, music was controllable, however 'Playlists' were nowhere to be found. One of two things happened.... 1. The 'Browse' button was available where you could seek through songs, artists, genres, albums BUT NO PLAYLISTS. 2. The 'Browse' button would disappear, and you could only click on the 'Tracks' button and manually scroll through (800 songs for me) to find your song. Voice command did not work AT ALL, and yes I was using the commands right from the user's manual. iPod nano, 3rd gen: I experienced the same issues via USB with the iPod as the iPhone. So in recap..... Bluetooth Phone: OK Bluetooth Streaming: WORKS but no control in car, only on device USB control: Varying success Voice Command: Doesn't work for iPod/iPhone.... only for cycling through/controlling satellite radio/AM/FM. My main issues were that voice command SUCKS, in that it didn't work AT ALL. Also, I was unable to access any of my playlists on the iPhone or iPod any way other than manually through Bluetooth streaming. This was all very disappointing. It is funny because I also played with the radio in the 2011 Grand Cherokee and was able to access playlists through USB and voice command worked like a charm. If anyone has had success where I failed, please let me know. This is a deal breaker for me. Thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drb227 Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 I mentioned similar issues with my 2011 Crew in the My Journey is In section. I am experiencing essentially the exact same issues that you had. I have an iPhone 4 with the latest 4.2.1 firmware. The bluetooth phone part works perfectly, voice dialing included. Bluetooth streaming audio works as it is supposed to - It will only display the name of the iPhone on the screen and no album art. I am able to change tracks up and down either using the left toggle on the back of the steering wheel or the next and previous track buttons on the touch screen. This is exactly how it also works in my wife's Ford Fusion with Sync. I am having the same issues when my iPhone is connected via USB. Playlists do not show up at all. The browse button was greyed out once or twice the day I got the Journey but it always works now. Maybe it has to build an index like the Sync system does and that takes a while? As you experienced, iPod/iPhone voice commands simply do not work to control music. I should also note that I put all of my songs on an SD card and the voice commands for controlling music via SD card also do not work. Another thing that doesn't work right is displaying album art. It is only showing album art for maybe half of the 1700 songs on my iPhone. I tried editing the music tags on the SD card with Media Monkey and that did fix it so that more of the songs show the album art but I cannot figure out what it is that is causing some to work and some not. When I use the same SD card in my laptop, the album art shows up for every song. At first I thought it was maybe an issue with iTunes purchased songs, since they are .m4a and not .mp3 format but that is not it. Many of the iTunes purchased songs do show the album art and many do not. It also appears that the UConnect system is not using the ID3 tags to display the song tile, it is using the filename! I confirmed this by ensuring that I had the correct song name in the ID3 tag. I then changed the actual filename of the song. Each time, the system would show the filename of the song (without the extension) as the song name. This is clearly not the right way to handle this! While it is certainly very disappointing, I don't consider it a deal breaker and it certainly wouldn't be enough to stop me from buying the Journey. I would like to think that this will get fixed with a firmware update eventually. What we need now is a way to bring these issues to light at Chrysler. Really surprised they let the system be shipped with a lot of the functionality missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmttoxics Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) The 11 Grand Cherokee has a different system I thought... At any rate, my understanding is that there is a procedure to have the system learn your voice and should solve your issues. Frankly, I find yelling at my car a little silly. Edited March 4, 2011 by zmttoxics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drb227 Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Yes, the system in the Grand Cherokee is different from the new Uconnect Touch 8.4 in the Journey, Charger and 300. I've found another issue with the Uconnect touch 8.4 system in my Journey. Using the SD card, it is playing the same song when switching from one song to the next. For example, I have an album that has 5 songs on it. It will play the first song fine but when it comes time to play the second song, it looks like it is going to play it but then it starts playing the first song again and it shows the first song's info on the screen. It repeatedly did this for the first 4 of 5 songs on this particular album, always playing the 1st song instead of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th songs. It played the 5th song OK. I put the SD card in my laptop to check out the songs and they all play fine on the laptop. I am quickly losing confidence in this Uconnect touch 8.4 system when it comes to music playing! It does not exhibit this behaviour when using my iPhone connected via USB. I would appreciate it if someone else could test SD Card music playback in their Journey and let us know if you experience the same issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drb227 Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I've been reading on other forums and owners of the 2011 Charger are having the same issues that we are with the voice commands not working at all for controlling music and the browse button sometimes being greyed out on the display. This is clearly an issue with the uconnect touch 8.4 system. Let's hope that an updated firmware comes out in the near future to fix these issues! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james.smith18 Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 I received my Journey on the 18th of March and have been extremely happy with the vehicle except for one thing, the Uconnect system. I am having the same problems with my iphone 3GS as everyone else has stated. Half of the artwork is not displayed, playlist is not even an option, and voice commands are iffy at best. Of all of these, not being able to utilize playlist I find most frustrating. The only work around that I have found is connecting my phone via Bluetooth but this takes “hands-free" out. Has anyone found a method that will allow you to use your playlist with the phone being attached via the USB? If so please help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drozz Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 I have a 2nd Gen Ipod Touch, everything works but no playlists for me as well. Art is there, even podcasts work great, not having the ability to load my playlists is a major pain in the butt though as others have stated. Come on Dodge fix this up would ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netcowboy Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 With all the problems in the Uconnect system - maybe we should ask Dodge to include an 8 Track Player, I never had a problems with that music player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrenan Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 (edited) 1-877-855-8400 for resolution of your problems Edited April 20, 2011 by tbrenan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drb227 Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 If that is a real number, you are missing a digit:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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