Uconnect 4.3 (but not only) many many unsolved problems

[Lebowski]

I've been the owner of a Fiat Freemont (the European name of the journey) with the Uconnect 4.3 for 5 months.

After 2 software updates there are still many unsolved issues, ranging from mildly annoying to dangerous.

I've contacted FIAT but it seems that FiatDoesntCare, so I hope that @DodgeCares will investigate these issues (and hoping that Chrysler is aware of them, working on them and sending the fixes to Europe :D)

I think all of them are software bugs or bad design decisions (again, solvable via software)

• The cruise control buttons sometimes don't react. This can be dangerous when you're trying to slow down.
  

• The instruction manual says that the cruise control works starting from 40km/h, and you can restore the previous speed from 32 km/h with Res+. I'd like it to be true but it isn't, both things are only possible at 42km/h. I also found it annoying that, with so much screen real estate, there's no place to show the preset speed.
  

• OTOH air recirculation works as stated in the manual, but that's stupid, since it doesn't work with the airflow directed at the feet (which the systems sets automatically when it's heating). The manuals says it's to avoid window fogging, but that's not true (at least not every time), and even if it was, it should either let me decide or automatically rearrange the flow of air if I push the recirculation button (I'd prefer the former). Maybe I've been spoiled by all my previous cars that never ignored my will WRT recirculation. Now it's awkward and distracting, since I need 5 operations (push the button, see it doesn't work, push “climate”, push the on screen button to select the flow, select the “face and feet” flow, push again the recirculation button). Dangerous while driving.
  BTW: during the past winter I found heating to be very slow to heat in the morning (and I live in Spain, so not really chilly, the lowest temperature in the morning was -2C/28F) taking more than 10 minutes to start heating. Apparently the fuses and relays for the electric heaters are present in the fuse box, but there's no electric heater fitted and the engine is slow to heat-up.
  

• Automatic headlights take too much time (4-5 seconds) to turn on when entering a tunnel, making them useless.
  

• Radio station names are truncated to 3-4 characters. Please, use a smaller font (like the mp3 player) so the complete name will fit on screen (even a 20 years old cheap after market radio managed to show the complete name, so a $2000+ piece of equipment should manage it as well).
  

• The mp3 player sometimes stops for a fraction of a second. It's related to the RDS AF or TA function (with those disabled it doesn't skip, but I shouldn't have to disable them).
  

• Mp3 tracks played from the CD don't show the name of the artist (it just says “Unknown”). The same track on an usb memory stick shows the name of the artist (as did the CD before the first software upgrade).
  

• With some (but not all) mp3 file it shows 3 or 4 times the actual duration (e.g. on a 3 minutes file it show 12 minutes). Other media players (e.g. VLC) show the correct duration. I can send you a sample if you want to investigate the problem.
  

• The usb player is limited to 255 files per folder. Not really a problem but it should be documented (so one knows he has to split the files in many folders).
  

• “Search by artist” only shows a little amount of the artists actually present on the usb stick.
  

• Ditto for the “Search by song title”.
  

• Starting at about 90km/h, the speed shown on the EVIC and the one shown on the dial differ. E.g., while the EVIC shows 120km/h, the dial shows 124km/h.
  

• Another thing that I find annoying is the screen dimming with the headlights on, I think it should depend on ambient light (perhaps using the sensor in the rearview mirror), since sometimes you need to turn on the headlights during the day (or they'll turn on automatically in the evening when there's still plenty of ambient light) and dimming the screen makes it unreadable. I know that I can use the dimmer control, but I still think it could be done automatically.
  

As you see, taken one by one they're not big issues (apart from the cruise control and the recirculation), however the sum of them is quite annoying (as it surely has been for you reading this until the end :P ).

[RickyCheung]

I have similar problems with my 11 Journey.

I agree with the cruise controls, I've only used them for about 5 times, just to test it out. As you said, the buttons don't react quickly. I personally don't like using cruise control at any time because I don't feel connected with the road. And I always think that the car computer cannot decide for the road's conditions.

I don't have any problems with the A/C.

Automatic headlights do take a few seconds to change. The sensor doesn't constantly measure the ambient lighting, otherwise it would be using too much power/energy? Like the journey, it also takes a Mercedes and a BMW a few seconds to update the headings as well.

As for the radio, it doesn't even show me the radio station name in the 4.3" screen.

For MP3's, my system sometimes stops for a fraction of a second between songs, I don't think that's a problem as long as it's not pausing in the middle of the song.

For the Unknown artists display, that's weird. I wonder if my car does that too.

I have the same problem with some songs displaying long duration times. About a quarter of the songs on my thumbdrive does this. But this happens with my parents' Mercedes and BMW too. I think there's something to do with the MP3 file, but I haven't looked into fixing the issue.

I don't have any problems with the search by ____, all songs/artists/albums show up under the search list.

I don't use the speed display on the EVIC, so I don't know if it does the same thing with my Journey.

I would keep the dimmer dial at one level before max (Max = when all lights are at 100% brightness and interior LEDs are on), then even when the headlights turn on, the UConnect screen would stay at max brightness. I don't think the display brightness will ever depend on the sensor on the mirror because everyone's eyes have a different sensitivity to light. And like you said, if it relies on the sensor, if the system thinks that there isn't enough light outside, the system would turn the headlights on and dim all the display to keep your eyes comfortable. Like you said again, the system turns on the headlights when theres still plenty of ambient light; in this case, if the uconnect display dims, you wouldn't be able to see it. (I hope that made sense to you)

I'm just sharing my thoughts (:

Apology for the poor english.

[Lebowski]

I agree with the cruise controls, I've only used them for about 5 times, just to test it out. As you said, the buttons don't react quickly. I personally don't like using cruise control at any time because I don't feel connected with the road. And I always think that the car computer cannot decide for the road's conditions.

I like to use cruise control all the time (depending on traffic condition), so it must work reliably.

It even helps me to comply with speed limits without bothering to check the speed on the dial. I mean, it would help me if it worked, as stated in the manual, starting from 40km/h (the speed limit on most of my daily commute), not from 42km/h.

I don't have any problems with the A/C.

I don't like to smell the exhaust from the car in front of me, not even in winter

Automatic headlights do take a few seconds to change. The sensor doesn't constantly measure the ambient lighting, otherwise it would be using too much power/energy? Like the journey, it also takes a Mercedes and a BMW a few seconds to update the headings as well.

Before the journey/freemont I had 2 cars with automatic lights. Both of them turned on the lights immediately when entering a tunnel.

As for the radio, it doesn't even show me the radio station name in the 4.3" screen.

Probably because over there RDS isn't available? (and maybe that's the reason this feature wasn't tested thoroughly).

For MP3's, my system sometimes stops for a fraction of a second between songs, I don't think that's a problem as long as it's not pausing in the middle of the song.

Well, it was implied it was in the middle of a song. Again, probably related to RDS.

For the Unknown artists display, that's weird. I wonder if my car does that too.

I have the same problem with some songs displaying long duration times. About a quarter of the songs on my thumbdrive does this. But this happens with my parents' Mercedes and BMW too. I think there's something to do with the MP3 file, but I haven't looked into fixing the issue.

If VLC and (gasp) windows media player can show the correct length, I think the uconnect should too.

I don't have any problems with the search by ____, all songs/artists/albums show up under the search list.

Maybe the problem only shows with many songs/artists (I have various hundreds of artist and around 1100 songs).

I would keep the dimmer dial at one level before max (Max = when all lights are at 100% brightness and interior LEDs are on), then even when the headlights turn on, the UConnect screen would stay at max brightness. I don't think the display brightness will ever depend on the sensor on the mirror because everyone's eyes have a different sensitivity to light. And like you said, if it relies on the sensor, if the system thinks that there isn't enough light outside, the system would turn the headlights on and dim all the display to keep your eyes comfortable. Like you said again, the system turns on the headlights when theres still plenty of ambient light; in this case, if the uconnect display dims, you wouldn't be able to see it. (I hope that made sense to you)

Yes, you made sense, but in short, I was saying that display dimming shouldn't depend only on the headlights on. My previous car managed do to that, and while it wasn't perfect, it was much better.

Anyway, this is a minor problem, the issues that really bother me are the recirculation, the cruise control and the names shortened to 3-4 letters.

[Lebowski]

An update, probably not interesting for you since you have a good customer support (haven't you?), but here it is.

Before the last update, I called FIAT customer care, and they told me that there was an update available, and that I should contact them again if the problems persisted after the update so that they could escalate the issue.

Well, I did, and now they tell me that I have to contact the dealer, since is the dealer that has to solve the problems!

This is wrong on so many levels, however I called the dealer explaining the situation and they'll call me back after Easter (in theory, I don't really expect them to call me).

Hey, if the dealer is the one writing the software, maybe I could ask them the source code to fix it by myself once and for all :angry:

</sarcasm>

[bigtsr]

"As for the radio, it doesn't even show me the radio station name in the 4.3" screen."

Mine shows all the station names but I have to touch the "INFO" button on screen.

[RickyCheung]

"As for the radio, it doesn't even show me the radio station name in the 4.3" screen."

Mine shows all the station names but I have to touch the "INFO" button on screen.

Yeah, that's what I meant. If I want to see the RDS display, I have to press info to see.

It would be more convenient if the normal radio stations were displayed like the satellite radio.

(smaller fonts displaying radio station + song artist/name

[Lebowski]

So you do have RDS over there, strange that you don't see the name then (at least the first 3 characters) without pressing info, in that case your version of the software is even worse than ours .

I too can see the full name pressing info, but that shouldn't be necessary, there'd be plenty of space by using a smaller font.

[ericb8276]

Here is a small update from a new owner/user. I have Canadian Journey 2012 SXT with Uconnect 4.3. I have installed for a second time the latest update (according to my dealer) to my radio. I still have the issue of missing songs via my USB port. The only work around was to split my songs into many folders. However, this only helps if I browse by folder. I still cannot browse by anything else as the songs are missing from the lists. The only thing I havent tried is from my iphone, but I am pretty sure the issue will be the same. Chrysler has told my dealer that no new revisions are scheduled and that they havent heard of this problem! Anyone have better luck than me?

[Lebowski]

Well, I think the communication between Chrysler and Fiat has to improve, because, as you can see from my first post, this is one of the many issues I reported.

Or maybe that's their way of ducking the problem "oh, sorry, that's strange, never happened before" hoping that the Internet doesn't exist :angry:

[Toy4ever]

Hello,

i got a call from my dealer today, because i also have still a lot of trouble with my 4.3 Uconnect. He told me, that there is a major update on the way from chrysler. I hope, it will find it´s way over pretty soon.

Greets from Germany,

Robert

[tismith]

Hi , im from Australia and have purchased a 2012 Journey SXT V6 and have the 4.3 uconnect sound problem, have been told by the dealer they cannot get the cd update from chrysler australia. Dont know if this is bullshit or what.

Does anyone know, or can get the cd update for me. All i want is the max volume fix and climate control fix.

I hope someone is able to help me, it would be great.

Thanks

[Lebowski]

Hello, currently there's no fix for the recirculation, it works as (stupidly) designed.

In fact there's no fix for any of the problems, they're all still there in spite of two software upgrades.

Even if they were fixed, I doubt that the cd would be available unless somebody on the inside leaks it.

[Toy4ever]

Chrysler does not provide customers with software updates for self installation. They only send it to dealer.

I got beta-version installed for my 4.3 uconnect last week. It seems that there is hope to get the radio issues fixed. I will test it a few more days and report then.

[Lebowski]

@Toy4ever, can you tell us the software version of your beta? (see here for details).

Do this beta finally solve the name of rds stations? (i.e., they're no longer limited to 3-4 characters).

Does it solve the rest of the problems I reported in the first post?

TIA.

[Toy4ever]

Hello Lebowski, what i can tell now is:

The interrupts while playing music on cd or USB, caused by AF function of radio, are gone.

This update should also solve the issue of freezing radio during startup. Mine did it one time again. Let's wait and see. I wonder, that this issue is not on your list.

RDS still shows max. 4 characters and dots. So stupid!

As I wrote, this is not an official update. I called Fiat Germany and told them, what crap the 4,3 inch device is. So they offered me this beta-version for a test.

[Lebowski]

Hello Lebowski, what i can tell now is:

The interrupts while playing music on cd or USB, caused by AF function of radio, are gone.

I thought so with the last update, unfortunately it still happens

This update should also solve the issue of freezing radio during startup. Mine did it one time again. Let's wait and see. I wonder, that this issue is not on your list.

Because, like the previous problem, I thought it was solved, but it still happens from time to time.

RDS still shows max. 4 characters and dots. So stupid!

As I wrote, this is not an official update. I called Fiat Germany and told them, what crap the 4,3 inch device is. So they offered me this beta-version for a test.

Please check the version to see if it's newer than mine, but I doubt it since it has the same issues.

[Toy4ever]

I called Fiat again today to tell that I still have a freezing radio. They couldn't give an answer, so I think they don't know, what the problem really is. I told them, that I and many other owners believe, that the 4.3 device will never work fine and they should think about to replace it by a 8.4.

At this point I want to say thanks to the forum here. I found a thread where someone posted, that Chrysler sells upgrade kits to 8.4. Fiat did not know about this and tried to tell me, that's not possible.

Let's see, how the story goes on.

[Lebowski]

I called Fiat again today to tell that I still have a freezing radio. They couldn't give an answer, so I think they don't know, what the problem really is. I told them, that I and many other owners believe, that the 4.3 device will never work fine and they should think about to replace it by a 8.4.

I think the issue is not limited to the 4.3, user Woodsey here has an 8.4.

Anyway, my trim level (freemont urban) should have come with the 8.4, but due to a shortage of 8.4 screens, they sold the first units with the 4.3, so we early adopter are getting the shaft twice: for the smaller screen and the smaller brakes (thrice if you count the rusted pieces that they "forgot" to properly coat).

At this point I want to say thanks to the forum here. I found a thread where someone posted, that Chrysler sells upgrade kits to 8.4. Fiat did not know about this and tried to tell me, that's not possible.

No way I'm going to pay $1800 (which, by the time it'll come here it will be 2500€) to change the screen. Anyway, FIAT not only knows nothing, but they haven't got spare pieces available, I hope that nothing serious breaks down.

BWT: did you check the software version?

[Lebowski]

I received a call today from customer disservice to tell me that there are no updates in sight, so I'll have to live with all the problems.

Unbelievable.

[mortalalliance]

• The mp3 player sometimes stops for a fraction of a second. It's related to the RDS AF or TA function (with those disabled it doesn't skip, but I shouldn't have to disable them).
  

Hey, I'm a bit new to the forums but have recently purchased a 2012 Journey and have been hating driving it for >10 minutes as the "skips" in the mp3 player are overwhelmingly annoying. I have found that a way to "reset" the system and the period of time until the mp3 player begins to skip is by switching to analog radio for several seconds and then switching back to my input device. This is however horribly inconvenient.

I am taking my Journey into the shop for the radio next week and had a few questions so I can ensure my dealer's service department is up to par. Is the firmware update for the 4.3 still in the beta version or is there an official release for it yet? Also, what exactly is the "RDS AF or TA" function that you're talking about, I'm not too tech savvy or familiar with acronyms. Finally, in the meantime until I get my vehicle in to the shop, how exactly do I disable them to avoid the mp3 player skips?

Thanks for any help you can afford!

[Lebowski]

Hello, AFAIK, sadly, there's no update for the 4.3 (though I heard one is available in Italy but not here in Spain).

RDS is "Radio Data System", i.e. a way to broadcast data on FM stations (like the name of the station, an indication of traffic or news bulletins and a list of alternative frequencies of the same station).

The AF (Alternatives Frequencies) function, when enabled, tries some other frequency when the signal degrades (the best units have a double tuner, so the switchover is seamless).

The TA (Traffic announcement) will switch to the radio whenever there is a traffic announcement, even if you were listening to another source.

Both functions are accessible through the "more" button when you're listening to an FM radio, then either with "AF" for AF and "Alerts" for TA and other alerts.

At least in the European version.

[mortalalliance]

Unfortunately it seems for the US version (or at least my version) I can't adjust RDS settings, the "More" button during FM operation simply gives me time/temperature. Also, after spending too long perusing the settings menu, I determined that it seems I have no way to change anything. I'm a bit bewildered that this is a thing that is even happening. Is this a rare occurrence that only happens to a few out of so many 4.3 units? I can't comprehend how Fiat/Dodge is putting the Journey with this product out and not receiving overwhelmingly negative reviews that everyone's radio is frequently cutting out.

[bigtsr]

Possibly it's only yours with the problem or

related to 2012s as I have no problems with

my 2011 4.3.

Having said that Ihave no settings availiable for

RDS,TA or AF.

[Lebowski]

Don't you guys have RDS in USA/Canada?

Edit: according to the Wikipedia, it's called RBDS (Radio Broadcast Data System) in the US.

Edited June 28, 2012 by Lebowski

[bigtsr]

We have RDS here i.e.station name,artist etc but no

TA or AF on 4.3 as far as I am aware.