The dealer said I had to replace the radio but I'm trying the HFM first

[PrinterWiz]

Hey everyone. I'm a dodge newbie (sorta) but I'm learning fast.

 

I just bought a 2014 Dodge Journey SXT Blacktop. It has the Uconnect 8.4RE2, according to the Uconnect website. When I test drove the car everything worked fine. After I purchased it, I decided to delete the Ipod and Iphone that was currently in the system and pair my Samsung galaxy Note 4. For the record, my Note 4 is rooted and running a custom ROM. I was able to pair my phone and play music no problem, never tried the vr or phone buttons on the wheel but I was able to pair and play music without issue. I drove home parked it and went inside. When I went out again, I noticed my phone wouldn't pair. When I touched the phone button, of course, it says "Hands Free System Loading". Thought that was weird, so I shut the car off turned it back on, nothing. Can't get into the bluetooth settings, vr and phone button on the wheel do nothing...etc.

 

Off to google I go, only to find out this is a common problem. This exact problem is all over the internet going all the way back to 2009. Unbelievable! Every Dodge forum I've searched has a similar post. After reading and reading, I learned about the dealer menu, the screenshot menu and finally the Engineering menu. Forum posters have been able to reset their systems back to factory by holding the temp up and temp down buttons and entering the engineering menu. I tried that but of course my specific Dodge does not seem to allow access to the Engineering menu. If anyone knows how to enter the engineering menu on this system please let me know.

 

So far to attempt to remedy this problem, I have pulled the radio and HFM fuse for more than an hour. I have disconnected the battery for more than an hour. I have pulled the radio out of the dash and checked the connections on the back. None of that has worked. I have held the vr and phone buttons on the dash for 30 seconds and then opened the door for 30 seconds. I have held the tune and power buttons. I have held all four temp up and down buttons. None of these present the Engineering menu.

 

It seems the only recourse at this point is to replace the HFM. I can see it above the brake pedal assembly. Youtube videos show it as fairly easy to replace, no worse than a lot of other dashboard work I've done. I called the parts department and the part number they gave me ends in AC but the one currently installed ends in AB so obviously a new one has been issued.

 

I visited my local dodge dealer and they pulled the history on the vehicle. It seems the HFM was replaced less than a year ago under warranty, but not by them and they wouldn't redo it. The service writer I spoke to seemed convinced it was the radio itself and he would charge me around $500 to send it out and have it "fixed". Otherwise almost 2k to replace the radio. I left, I can get and replace the HFM and the radio myself, if necessary. The radio is a breeze to remove.

 

The Bluetooth and hands free features are not a requirement but it would be nice to have all the features working. I plan on bringing it up at the dealership I bought it from although I don't expect them to volunteer to help, but it can't hurt to mention it. I will keep this post updated until my issue is resolved. If anyone has any advice please chime in. Otherwise, I'm enjoying the vehicle so far, shame I have to beat it on the tollway each day. Thanks in advance, nice forum ya got here.

 

 

[bramfrank]

It isn't likely to be the radio as the BT module does all the heavy lifting.  I assume you have no warranty left?

[PrinterWiz]

Yup, out of warranty. All the fixes I've read about on the internet end in replacing the BT module. I plan to try that next. Really wanted to try that engineering reset first. I think it's strange that it would work no problem, play music and all and then nothing after shutting it off and starting it again. Really makes me think it's software related. I read that sometimes disconnecting the module and then plugging it back in has temporarily resolved the issue for some. If I go through all the trouble of pulling it out, I might as well replace it considering it will most likely happen again and a new revision module is available.

 

I have an update available and I've considered doing the update to see if that fixes it but from what I've read it won't. Thank you for the response. I don't think it's the radio either and the service writer was covering his backside because the HFM had been replaced already.

 

 

[PrinterWiz]

Started working on its own today. A few days ago, I loaded a usb drive with some mp3 (won't see FLAC?) and decided to forget about the bluetooth/handsfree until I could order the module and the weather got a little warmer. Drove it to work for the last couple of days. I pulled into the gas station near work, and pumped gas. When I started it up, I noticed a message on the display telling me my USB had been scanned? and vr is ready to use with a green checkmark. I immediately removed my phone from bluetooth settings and tried the voice features. Everything works. I drove about 15 more minutes to work and the car sat all day in about 10 to 16 degree weather. Still working on the drive home from work. My bluetooth was turned off on my phone the entire time and no connection attempts were made.

 

There are many reports on the net of the problem being somewhat intermittent. I do believe if I reconnect my phone and shut off the vehicle it's likely to reoccur. I plan to monitor it for a few days and read up on the uconnect update procedure. I will update uconnect to the latest version according to the uconnect website. I will then attempt to connect a separate device and see if it works. At this point, I'm still expecting to need the module.