Problems with the 8.4 Display on 2012 Journey

[KayeKleib89]

Hello all!! I have a 2012 Journey Crew and a few months ago, the radio started changing channels on its own. No biggie, I can live with that. Then the nav system began to have issues in that it would come up but there would be no streets displayed or some of the streets would display but the icon wouldn't move. Ok, it's probably an ECU issue. Turn car off, let it sit, turn it back on and all is right with the world. Have had it happen a few times of and on and again, it's something I can live with. Around the same time, the Auto A/C decides not to work. Switch over to manual and it blows nice cold air. Again, thinking it's an ECU issue. About 10-14 days ago, the back up camera starts giving me issues. I don't totally rely on it but it helps due to the blind spot cause by my son's car seat. When shifting into reverse, I get the warning bar across the top and a blank black screen. This continues for a couple of days and then suddenly it works for a bit and then stops. It hasn't worked in about a week now. Again I can live without this for the time being. The new thing is this morning, the display (set to satellite radio) goes totally blank and a message stating take to dealer pops up for about two seconds and then the acquiring channels notification comes up and then radio starts playing. The bad thing is that I have passed my warranty period and I am a little upset that I am having these issues on an 18 month old car. Any help, suggestions, ideas would be greatly appreciated. I'm at my wits end and getting very frustrated. I know that the nav, radio, and back up camera are not necessities but I am worried that the climate control will go out. I have a one year old and no A/C in the Texas heat is not good.

[bigtsr]

2012 I would say a dealer visit required as it's either

bad radio or software glitch-should be a warranty item.

[doubleO7]

HI KayKleib89

I have had all the symptoms that you are experiencing. I am currently on my sixth radio/nav with the seventh being installed on Monday. The first problem was the blank screen, took a couple of trips to get fixed as they could not duplicate the problem. On the second occasion, I took the closest exit and snapped a photo of the screen, took the photo in new radio/nav ordered. I turned it off and sure enough when I turned it back on, it worked, but hey that doesn't solve the problem, it only masks the problem.

Radio/nav number 2- all seemed to be working fine, when, like yours, the screen went blank, and the message came up "see dealer". About two minutes later the screen came back on, took it to the dealer, radio/nav number 3 ordered.

Radiio/nav unit number 3, didn't even last a day before the problems arose. As soon as I left the dealership, I decided to have the nav screen displayed and noticed that the on screen display did not keep up with the vehicle. When I turned the first corner, the nav continued on the street that I turned from and took about 5 or 6 seconds after turning to actually display the street I was driving on. I thought it might just be that the nav has to orient itself, so I gave it a few days. Then I had to enter a destination as a business had moved and I was not familiar with the area it had moved to. The voice came on and said to turn ride in 300 meters, and then there is a reminder about 100 meters. It so happened that there were two streets parallel to each other and only about 100 meters apart, and street signage was horrible. Well half way through the intersection. the voice says turn right. But I'm already past the point where I can turn right. Take it to the dealer, have a tech ride with me, key in a destination, problem still existed, radio number 4 ordered.

Radio/nav unit number 4 - navigation worked fine. Took vehicle in for another gremlin that resurfaced and had been fixed with a flash update. Apparently there is no flash update available, and the manufacturer of the unti says there is fix that is on a disk and they will forward it to the dealer. I wait six weeks, where's the fix? The manufacturer admits there is not disc. Radio/nav unit number 5 ordered.

Radio/nav unit number 5 - about 4 days later, I have put an address in the nav and proceed to go to destination. The unit worked great for the first 3 days, and all of a sudden it decides that I am not driving on the road but off to the side. Then when I turn the corner, I'm still on the road, or the tunnel that I am going through, but driving through the middle of the river. Then it decides to go off on a tangent all on its own and I am not even within 2 kms of the road I am actually driving on. Have passenger take picture and return to dealer next day. Radio nav unit number 6 ordered

Radio/nav unit number 6 - Worked great for about 4 weeks. Then last week, I was in an area that has some very strange road patterns in its residential street makeup. I wanted to skirt around some construction, so keyed in the address that I wanted to go to, since I have not approached it at any time from my current location. So the screen says ready to navigate and the map is stuck. About ten minutes later, it almost catches up, its about a half a km behind. So I zoom out on the screen so I can see my destination and turn onto a north south street, but notice I am driving through peoples yards, so once again, its doing its own thing. It finally locks on the street I am driving on, but continues to lag behind. I turn onto a street named 27A St, but it shows me driving on a street named 26A St. Into the dealer I go and they have ordered unit number 7. By the way this unit is also changing stations at random.

You may ask, why do I keep getting a new radio/nav unit each time. Because I refuse to simply turn the unit off and then back on to "fix" the problem. If we were to look at the last problem having to go around a construction area and move this problem to a large city like Seattle or Toronto, and I am on the freeway, it would be very hard to pull over and turn the vehicle off and then on. Another reason, has to do with warranty, as long as they have been unable to fix the problem while the warranty is in effect(and they have history on file), then I feel I should not have to pay for a new unit after warranty has expired, as problem has never been fixed.

I would suggest going into the dealer, and let them know about the problem. Since I am not the only one, having the problem, I am thinking there is a bad "batch" of units that were manufactured, and regardless of warranty they should be replaced.

[doubleO7]

Unit #7 was installed yesterday as well as a new voice command module. The service rep and I tried out the IPOD with the new voice command module installed. After waiting for the music catalogue to update on the Journey, I asked for a specific song and like all the other radios before it, the song is highlighted the immediately goes to the next one. So, I tell the service rep, that the first time it was fixed there was a flash update available. His reply was "its a new radio, it should already have the update on it". To which I replied, "my vehicle was built just before the switch over to the new model year, so all the remaining radios for the 2012s would have been manufactured before the update was available, and since there were going to be changes for the 2013's manufacturing of the new radios would have been switched at the factory long before the 2013s would have hit the assembly line." So now he's going to talk to engineering.

Then he said, "make sure you try out the GPS on your way home and if it acts up let me know right away". So I punch in my address and away I go. First it wants me to turn right, which would have been the logical way to turn except I knew there were construction delays, so turned left, The GPS recalculated liked it should and then when I turned on to the next street, a left hand turn showed on the screen. If I turned left, it would have been heading back to the construction area, so I turned right. OK, it recalculated again, and was on the same page as me as far as route was concerned, or as I thought. Again the arrow comes up and shows a right hand turn. So far so good. However, the screen showed I was 650 meters from the intersection when I was actually going to have to turn right. So I turn right and it recalculates again. Now, if the recalculation was correct, I would be making another right hand turn, but the screen wants me to turn left. NO, that the exact opposite direction, that I need to travel to get home. So I turn right, so now if the recalculation should show that I have to turn right in 5km and I'm home. NO, it wants me to turn right in 800m, so I do and then I turn right onto a side street and check the address I keyed in, thinking I might have made a mistake, but I hadn't. Now, I didn't turn the vehicle off, but just cancelled the route. I then re-entered my home address, and let it does its route calculation. I was facing north, but have to head south, there was no indication from the "voice" to make a legal u-turn as the side street was a dead end, but head 200m and turn left. So, I drove down to the end of the street and turned around. Lo and behold the "voice" said turn left in 300 meters and then a reminder at 100 meters and it worked perfect after that. So I am thinking since the GPS was just installed it needed a 'break in period" to get my exact location, so I didn't contact the service rep. Tomorrow, I will be using it, to give it another test.

For some reason, I have feeling my problems are not solved at this point. Its a bit of a thorn in my side, and one would think that I am beginning to question my purchase of a Journey. Not in the least, I knew going in that by ordering the fancy GPS, I was taking a chance that with all the fancy electronics there could be problems. It to bad that I am having the problems, but going in I had the foresight to make sure that I purchased an extended warranty making sure the electronics in the vehicle are covered. I still love my Journey, and I would still have bought the same option.

Heck I have a friend that paid over 70,000 for a fully loaded Lincoln SUV, and his Ford MY Touch has even more glitches, so this type of thing happens.

[rolly]

Douible07,

I hope you finally got it resolved. I had to get my radio replaced in my 2013 as well earlier this year. Fortunatley it happened before our extended road trip. The GPS now works flawlessly and is definately worth the extra cost. Good luck!!!

[doubleO7]

Thanks for your support Rolly. Today, the GPS gets another test.

[doubleO7]

I believe I am on unit 9 now. Unit 8 which I mentioned in another thread, lasted one whole day. Turned on vehicle the next day and the screen goes white, then blue, then the Dodge logo comes up and its blurry, then nothing a blank screen. Can't access any of the on screen controls. When I arrive at my destination and later return to my vehicle, I had all the on screen controls back.Plug in my IPOD and the screen goes blank. Then it eventually came on, however, the shuffle icon would not light up after the first few songs. Now get to my next destination and once I return to the vehicle, the sreen is once again blank. Luckily I was near the dealer where I bought my vehicle, so I headed there. Left the vehicle running as the screen was still dark and got a service rep to come to the vehicle, replacement ordered.

It just seems everytime they replace the unit, it just gets worse and worse. So now the technician says, "If this one doesn't work properly, we will order a NEW radio." I would have thought they should have done that after the third unit. I didn't buy a used vehicle, so why are rebuilt units being installed time after time?

Unit 9, still has the glitch with the requested song being highlighted and then skipping to the next song. Think I will just let it go at this point, as the nav appears to be working at this point.

In another thread, I asked for DodgeCaresCa to PM me, but did not get a reply, I then asked the owner of the car dealership, if he would be able to help, but to not avail. Unfortunately, this will be the last Chrysler/Dodge product I will drive. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Journey, but just not sure if I will purchase another Dodge/Chrysler product at this point, as customer service has really deteriorated IMHO

[DodgeCACares]

I believe I am on unit 9 now. Unit 8 which I mentioned in another thread, lasted one whole day. Turned on vehicle the next day and the screen goes white, then blue, then the Dodge logo comes up and its blurry, then nothing a blank screen. Can't access any of the on screen controls. When I arrive at my destination and later return to my vehicle, I had all the on screen controls back.Plug in my IPOD and the screen goes blank. Then it eventually came on, however, the shuffle icon would not light up after the first few songs. Now get to my next destination and once I return to the vehicle, the sreen is once again blank. Luckily I was near the dealer where I bought my vehicle, so I headed there. Left the vehicle running as the screen was still dark and got a service rep to come to the vehicle, replacement ordered.

It just seems everytime they replace the unit, it just gets worse and worse. So now the technician says, "If this one doesn't work properly, we will order a NEW radio." I would have thought they should have done that after the third unit. I didn't buy a used vehicle, so why are rebuilt units being installed time after time?

Unit 9, still has the glitch with the requested song being highlighted and then skipping to the next song. Think I will just let it go at this point, as the nav appears to be working at this point.

In another thread, I asked for DodgeCaresCa to PM me, but did not get a reply, I then asked the owner of the car dealership, if he would be able to help, but to not avail. Unfortunately, this will be the last Chrysler/Dodge product I will drive. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Journey, but just not sure if I will purchase another Dodge/Chrysler product at this point, as customer service has really deteriorated IMHO

doubleO7,

Sorry to learn of these issues, I don't believe I was notified through that thread unfortunately.

Having to replace that many radios is extremely excessive...

Is the service dept. able to identify any hardware issues or does it seem software related?

[rolly]

I believe I am on unit 9 now. Unit 8 which I mentioned in another thread, lasted one whole day. Turned on vehicle the next day and the screen goes white, then blue, then the Dodge logo comes up and its blurry, then nothing a blank screen. Can't access any of the on screen controls. When I arrive at my destination and later return to my vehicle, I had all the on screen controls back.Plug in my IPOD and the screen goes blank. Then it eventually came on, however, the shuffle icon would not light up after the first few songs. Now get to my next destination and once I return to the vehicle, the sreen is once again blank. Luckily I was near the dealer where I bought my vehicle, so I headed there. Left the vehicle running as the screen was still dark and got a service rep to come to the vehicle, replacement ordered.

It just seems every time they replace the unit, it just gets worse and worse. So now the technician says, "If this one doesn't work properly, we will order a NEW radio." I would have thought they should have done that after the third unit. I didn't buy a used vehicle, so why are rebuilt units being installed time after time?

Unit 9, still has the glitch with the requested song being highlighted and then skipping to the next song. Think I will just let it go at this point, as the nav appears to be working at this point.

In another thread, I asked for DodgeCaresCa to PM me, but did not get a reply, I then asked the owner of the car dealership, if he would be able to help, but to not avail. Unfortunately, this will be the last Chrysler/Dodge product I will drive. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Journey, but just not sure if I will purchase another Dodge/Chrysler product at this point, as customer service has really deteriorated IMHO

I don't know why they didn't replace the radio either. The service staff at the dealer that I bought my vehicle from didn't hesitate and ordered a new radio right away. I thought it would be a long wait but the dealer called me the next day and said the radio was already shipped. I got the car in and out in a couple of days. No muss no fuss. Can you go to another dealer? Sorry to hear you're still having a problem.

Edited April 28, 2014 by rolly

[doubleO7]

dodgeCacares

The problems have been mainly software, with the last one being very much both software and hardware. My initial problem was just software, being that when I asked for a song to be played on my IPOD, the song would be highlighted and then skip immediately to the next song. I took the vehicle in, and they did a software update and the problem was fixed. Unfortunately, the Navigation system then malfunctioned, so a "new" radio was ordered. After that was installed, the original problem surfaced with the requesting of music to be played. So I asked them to do another software update, at which point they said they can't, my reply was you did it before. And this when the saga of the radios begins, where each replacement radio seem to have more or more serious problems then the one before.

Now I am back to just the original problem. The GPS appears to be working correctly now, so that is the most important thing. I not happy having the original problem back, and am just worn out from returning to the dealer time after time.

However, talking to the service technician, I was told, I have been getting rebuilt units. I even indicated at one point that I would even anti up part of the cost of getting a newer system, but that seemed to fall on deaf ears. After 22 months of having the vehicle, I am no further ahead then when we started.

Rolly

I have dealt with this dealership since the early nineties, and I have been treated very well over the years. I even let the owner know that I purchased again from them, because of the great customer service. I get very loyal to whom I deal with, and find it hard to leave. But nobody seems to understand that I have been more then patient and would just like to enjoy my vehicle, but when I pay extra for a costly option, it should work. Your idea about going to another dealer sounds good, however then I am starting from square one again.

[rolly]

Loyalty should be a two way street. I bought my Journey from a new dealer this time after purchasing six previous vehicles from the same dealer. I did it because the excellent service that I was getting, was no longer happening. They started trying to sell me service I didn't want or need. They say that change is as good as a rest. The service at the new dealership is excellent.

[Addicted to Dodge]

I wouldn't necessarily count out the option of a second opinion from another dealership either. Loyalty is good, but at 9 attempts I cant help but think a fresh set of eyes might be something that could benefit you.

Good luck

[doubleO7]

rolly/addicted to dodge

I beginning to think your right a fresh set of eyes just might be what I need. I have asked that a different technician look at the problem, but they keep putting the same person on it. There's another Chrysler/Dodge dealer about a km from the current one, so will give them a go. I'll wait a couple of weeks, as I would just like to take a break from dealer visits.

[rolly]

Good luck!

[Tanbam]

That's a tough break, but after 9 radios, I'd certainly begin suspecting that something else is wrong, unless the only thing off is the wrong song playing.

The radio only does what the car tells it to do, so if it's being fed bad information, it's going to appear to malfunction.

If your cable TV signals are bad going to your house, getting new TV's isn't going to solve the problem!

[doubleO7]

That's a tough break, but after 9 radios, I'd certainly begin suspecting that something else is wrong, unless the only thing off is the wrong song playing.

The radio only does what the car tells it to do, so if it's being fed bad information, it's going to appear to malfunction.

If your cable TV signals are bad going to your house, getting new TV's isn't going to solve the problem!

Tanbam

The initial problem i had with the very first radio was the wrong song being played. They were able to fix that with a software update. The radio was not being fed bad information, the song would be highlighted and the "voice" would confirm that was the song that was supposed to be played, then would skip to the next without playing the requested song.

Then I lost the maps, on the original radio, thats when they replaced the first radio. After replacement, the original problem resurfaced and I asked the dealer just to do the original software update. I was told they could not do that. They were very quick to replace the radio and thats when in addition to the original problem, new problems surfaced with the GPS.

At the moment, the GPS is working properly, although the original problem is back, but I have decided that as long as the GPS is working properly, I will live with the original problem. I'm just tired of always having to go back to get a radio replaced when really all it needs is a software update.

I really don't think your analogy applies in this case. From what I have been told the "brains" of the system are encased within the radio module, so there are only two ways to correct the problem, either a software update, or replace the radio module

Edited May 11, 2014 by doubleO7