Upgrade 4.3 to 4.3s

[Capnblah]

I want to upgrade my current radio 4.3 to the 4.3s. We are looking for Sirius Radio.

[bramfrank]

You'll need a new radio module (REB) and you'll need the Sirius antenna module and cable to do this.

You can usually find the radio module on eBay - I also seem to recall that the antenna and cable aren't expensive.

Edited January 11, 2016 by bramfrank

[dhh3]

From the factory, the Sirius antenna is the base of the AM/FM antenna. Unless you want to rip the whole inside of you car apart doing this, you can purchase any hockey puck magnetized antenna and stick it to your roof. Just remember to remove it before going through a car wash!

[Capnblah]

Do you know what the Chrysler Part number would be for the radio module and the Sirius antenna module?

[bramfrank]

Here are a couple of links to get you started with part numbers:

Antenna:

http://www.factorychryslerparts.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_assembly=1248145&ukey_make=1062&ukey_model=15496&modelYear=2014&ukey_driveLine=10064&ukey_trimLevel=25160&searchString=rb5antenna

Radio:

http://www.factorychryslerparts.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_assembly=573277&ukey_product=8656043

[Meesh]

I'm starting to hate dodge. I hate them for not explaining how crappy the radio was and not trying to up sell me on the next model. I would've upgraded had I known. In an actual conversation with dodge they told me I'd have to rewire my car to put the 4.3s in. I'm so aggravated because I have a radio I found on eBay that expires in a few hours and know nothing about cars. They're making me doubt myself. Please someone tell me they're full of shit.

[bramfrank]

The radio is not 'crappy'. It works just fine, but it is, after all an AM/FM radio. And your vehicle does not actually need to be rewired, but rather you need to have an antenna that can see the satellite in order to receive the signals from it. That's because no auto manufacturer installs what they consider to be major components in vehicles that are not required for the unit.

If you want to use the OEM antenna you will need to replace yours and pull a wire through the roof liner (which isn't a huge job) or if you don't want to go that far you can just install a separate antenna up front and have the wire pulled down through the passenger side roof pillar and plugged into the back of the new radio.

Another option is to buy an aftermarket Sirius receiver and to plug it into the aux input in the console - you'd use the receiver's controls and display, but the installation would be plug and play.

Having said that, you might want to note that upselling the radio might have meant upselling the entire vehicle - I wonder how many of the SE models that dealers bring in have upgraded radios? So it is quite possible that you'd have had to move up to an SXT to get timely delivery of a unit with the Sirius radio . . . . would you have been prepared to pay the extra thousands, with what that might entail just to get the 4.3S when you were shopping? Once you did that perhaps you should have taken it to the next level and gotten the 8 inch display - buying cars is a slippery slope of incremental cost increases.

Oh, and with regard to the eBay radio? If you didn't pull the trigger on that deal there will be others.

Edited February 29, 2016 by bramfrank

[jkeaton]

You hate Dodge because they did not try to upsell you? That's not Dodge's fault, that is the dealers fault. And probably 99% of consumers don't want to be upsold on anything. I do my research and know what I want and what to expect before I buy anything.

[silenze]

I would not upgrade the radio without upgrading the speakers. You will get a very poor sound from the satellite radio. The signal is very compressed.

I strongly recommend hooking up an alternative music device to the aux input in the console

[aukfan33]

Another option is if your system has Bluetooth you can get a Sirius internet radio subscription and connect your phone (with the Sirius app) through Bluetooth. While not quite as user friendly (changing channels thru your phone) it is a much cheaper option if all you want is sat radio

[ROLOTX]

In my case I have 4.3S with Sirius, but strange that it doesn't come with Bluetooth, no rear mirror, no steering wheel buttons (to be an SXT Model).

I would like to know if that possible to add those?

Thanks.

Edited March 1, 2016 by ROLOTX

[jkeaton]

In my case I have 4.3S with Sirius, but strange that it doesn't come with Bluetooth, no rear mirror, no steering wheel buttons (to be an SXT Model).

I would like to know if that possible to add those?

Thanks.

There are numerous threads in the section that will answer your questions. Need to search and read up.

[bramfrank]

Nope. Can't be added for anything approaching a reasonable cost . . . . . and why it doesn't have it? Because it wasn't ordered with it, though why a dealer would leave it out in this day and age is beyond me.

In 2011 when they first decided to break out the BT from the uConnect feature many dealers were caught unaware and a huge number of vehicles (including R/Ts and such) were shipped without Bluetooth. It was a mess which is why, as Kent wrote there are a bunch of threads on the topic here on the board.

My SE Plus likewise came without the feature even though I had been assured by the dealer that it had it - so I stuck a BT enabled higher end navigator (at the time, a Garmin 3790 was the top of the line) into the vehicle - the SE PLUS had no overhead console, so it left a perfect place above the rear view mirror to stick a semi-concealed navigator that also gave me passive (activated by a key phrase which involved the use of a swear word followed by the name of the person who was president of our company) voice response and Bluetooth, in addition to navigation and traffic management. I simply stuck it above the mirror and fished the power cable up the right side pillar - I put in a lighter socket and wired it to the fuse block behind the glove box. I looked like it was engineered into the vehicle and allowed me to operate the thing without the need to ever touch it.

I was going to do something similar to my Crossroad, though only to get the navigator, because these days BT comes standard in that model, but because it came with the overhead console, the mounting location was unavailable - in the end I decided to upgrade the radio from the RE2 to the RB5 to get the functionality in dash. But I started from the 8.4 inch platform which greatly simplified the project.

[ROLOTX]

Nope. Can't be added for anything approaching a reasonable cost . . . . . and why it doesn't have it? Because it wasn't ordered with it, though why a dealer would leave it out in this day and age is beyond me.

In 2011 when they first decided to break out the BT from the uConnect feature many dealers were caught unaware and a huge number of vehicles (including R/Ts and such) were shipped without Bluetooth. It was a mess which is why, as Kent wrote there are a bunch of threads on the topic here on the board.

My SE Plus likewise came without the feature even though I had been assured by the dealer that it had it - so I stuck a BT enabled higher end navigator (at the time, a Garmin 3790 was the top of the line) into the vehicle - the SE PLUS had no overhead console, so it left a perfect place above the rear view mirror to stick a semi-concealed navigator that also gave me passive (activated by a key phrase which involved the use of a swear word followed by the name of the person who was president of our company) voice response and Bluetooth, in addition to navigation and traffic management. I simply stuck it above the mirror and fished the power cable up the right side pillar - I put in a lighter socket and wired it to the fuse block behind the glove box. I looked like it was engineered into the vehicle and allowed me to operate the thing without the need to ever touch it.

I was going to do something similar to my Crossroad, though only to get the navigator, because these days BT comes standard in that model, but because it came with the overhead console, the mounting location was unavailable - in the end I decided to upgrade the radio from the RE2 to the RB5 to get the functionality in dash. But I started from the 8.4 inch platform which greatly simplified the project.

In my case was an used 2014 Journey SXT bought from, not directly Dodge Dealer.

We'll I have to live with that, to bad.

[larryl]

Quite an interesting thread seems people dont do much research before purchasing and then dont like the result

[Meesh]

The dealer had no problem trying to sell me useless undercoating and telling me I was stupid for not adding it. I'm pissed at dodge for telling me things like I need to rewire my car. And as far as research my teenage son totaled my car and I needed a new one immediately. I did as much research as I could in a very bad situation. I didn't upgrade because I loved the car and had planned on putting in an aftermarket radio. I had no reason to believe the climate and everything else was so integrated into the factory radio. I merely came looking for help, not judgement.

[bramfrank]

While I probably wouldn't opt for dealer-supplied undercoating there are some very good reasons for applying rustproofing if you live in an area where they spread corrosives on the road in the wintertime - especially if you plan to keep your vehicle and want to delay the onset of corrosion-induced electrical gremlins.

But as you know, the hard part is in getting you to sign on the dotted line for the vehicle - and they make huge margins on the add-ons which is why they shoot for paint protection, undercoating and glass marking to name a few - compared to the cost of the vehicle and proposed during the closing process where $250 seems like a pittance compared to the $25K the vehicle costs, you are reasonably ripe for a come-on.

About the only dealer-provided option I would ever purchase is the extended warranty - and you can negotiate with your dealer and can shop for those to get a better deal - but be warned that you should stick to the OEM warranties - do not buy aftermarket policies if you choose to buy a plan.

While you were pressed to purchase, you can't blame the dealer for not warning you about something you never mentioned; many vehicles come with features like Sirius that are allowed to lapse once the free trial is over and they aren't huge selling points for the staff - so I appreciate your frustration, but that is not the dealer's fault.

Edited March 3, 2016 by bramfrank

[ROLOTX]

The dealer had no problem trying to sell me useless undercoating and telling me I was stupid for not adding it. I'm pissed at dodge for telling me things like I need to rewire my car. And as far as research my teenage son totaled my car and I needed a new one immediately. I did as much research as I could in a very bad situation. I didn't upgrade because I loved the car and had planned on putting in an aftermarket radio. I had no reason to believe the climate and everything else was so integrated into the factory radio. I merely came looking for help, not judgement.

I agree on that also, since my case my previous 2004 SUV was so bad I replaced with the 2014 DJ used at a good price.

[larryl]

There are a lot of Sales people that dont even know about the cars "wiring" and probably dont care cause once your out the door you are no longer their problem.

Sad but true and its not just Dodge that integrates everything once they started using a BCM it was a piece of cake and keeps you going back to the DEALER for the fix

It will become more difficult to use aftermarket in every vehicle

[Meesh]

I appreciate everybody's help over my frustration. I guess what's the most frustrating is the lack of help from dodge itself. It wasn't my dealer who told me I had to rewire my car, it was dodge customer service. And when I've called the dealers to see if they would install the 4.3s they've flat out told me they won't touch it. I've seen tons of posts where people are talking about bringing their car to the service dept for this and that but mine won't touch the electronics. I'm perfectly willing to spend the money to put the better one in, even forking out the money for the 8.4, but I'm nervous because I'm just a mom who understands jack shit about what I need to buy.

If I buy one off eBay the year doesn't matter, right? As long as it's after 2010?

[bramfrank]

Correct

[Meesh]

Alright, one more thing and then I'll leave you guys alone. Most of the listings I've found don't say satellite. What am I looking for in a model number?

[bramfrank]

The last two letters in the part number are the version, which is less important with this radio than it is with the Nav version.

To make things simpler I've simply linked to the part page for a random (2013-SXT) product page radio.

Keys are that the radio MODEL is REB. And it can come from a Journey, 300 or Charger with the same model radio - but NOT from a Dart, which uses the same nomenclature, but is not compatible.

http://www.factorychryslerparts.com/products/DODGE/2013/JOURNEYFWD--24L-I4-DOHC-16V-Dual-VVT--4-Speed-Automatic-VLPSXT/RADIO-MULTI-Media-REB/10673890/68209665ZB.html

[Meesh]

Like this one? https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/161885941999

[aukfan33]

Yes the above head unit has sat radio based on the vin of the donor vehicle.