8.4A/RA3 vs 8.4AN/RA4

jcarden10 · Jan 22, 2017

I've decided to upgrade to the RA3 or 4, so I'm looking for opinions on whether the RA4 is worth an extra $200. Is there any benefit to getting the RA4 over the RA3 other than the navigation? I'm perfectly content using google maps on my phone or using an older tomtom that I have lifetime map updates on.

clifford15 · Jan 22, 2017

Just my opinion but the maps are so outdated the phone or Tom Tom would be more accurate. Google maps can transmit audio over Bluetooth as a phone so you can be on Satellite or FM and still hear directions.

troutspinner · Jan 22, 2017

RA4 has HD radio, RA3 does not.

cptwing · Jan 22, 2017

troutspinner said:
RA4 has HD radio, RA3 does not.

Its a bit more than that.
https://www.driveuconnect.com/system/ram/

jcarden10 · Jan 22, 2017

cptwing said:
Its a bit more than that.

https://www.driveuconnect.com/system/ram/

As much as I've looked at that website over the past few days, I completely forgot about that comparison table. Thanks for the link.

Looks like other than the Nav and HD radio there are some paid subscription services available.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

clifford15 · Jan 23, 2017

You should do some research on the availability of the paid subscriptions on an "upgrade" not from the factory setup.

troutspinner · Jan 23, 2017

FWIW, aftermarket. Much better radios can be had for all aspects, especially sound.

Ricks Ram · Jan 23, 2017

I went with the RA4 and I am very happy with it. I installed the 16 in my 14 Express. I see people knocking the maps and the navigation or other features all the time but I have had 3 RA4 radios and they all worked great. I use my navigation all the time. I did update my maps on my 14 RA4 that I had before I got the 16 I currently have. As far as sound quality goes I installed the Kicker Speaker upgrade and I love the way it sounds. I have the Travel Link and Real Time Traffic free for five years plus the voice texting works awesome. I also like the way a factory radio integrates with the trucks vehicle settings. I know some of the upper end aftermarket radios will do the same but I prefer the factory setup.

cptwing · Jan 23, 2017

Ricks Ram said:
I went with the RA4 and I am very happy with it. I installed the 16 in my 14 Express. I see people knocking the maps and the navigation or other features all the time but I have had 3 RA4 radios and they all worked great. I use my navigation all the time. I did update my maps on my 14 RA4 that I had before I got the 16 I currently have. As far as sound quality goes I installed the Kicker Speaker upgrade and I love the way it sounds. I have the Travel Link and Real Time Traffic free for five years plus the voice texting works awesome. I also like the way a factory radio integrates with the trucks vehicle settings. I know some of the upper end aftermarket radios will do the same but I prefer the factory setup.

Ditto, and when my 15 Radio XM 1 year ran out, I renewed / transferred it to my name and XM let me keep the addition 4 years free travel link!

The RA3 radios current selling prices are not that much lower than the RA4s. Even if you add the Nav (Abt $400.00) to the RA3 you will not have HD radio, 3D mapping, Real time traffic and weather alerts, which will reroute you. In my opinion the RA3 radios are a poor choice, when you get so much more with the RA4, Fiat is ripping people off with the RA3s.

One thing though the RA3s already have the NAV in them, I wonder why no one has figured out how to hack them, maybe someone has they just don't publicize it?

DocHoliday · Feb 21, 2017

Great post - thank you guys.

Lifted2wd · Feb 22, 2017

with this upgrade do you have to worry about the year model of the 8.4? or are they all compatible.

IE i have a 15 1500 can i do any radio up to a 17

jcarden10 · Feb 22, 2017

Lifted2wd said:
with this upgrade do you have to worry about the year model of the 8.4? or are they all compatible.

IE i have a 15 1500 can i do any radio up to a 17

16 radios are not recommended for pre-16 vehicles. I haven't seen/heard of anyone trying to upgrade to a 17 yet, but I would imagine they would follow the same recommendation as the 16. This is not to say a 16 won't work in a pre-16, as there have been a few successful upgrades with 16 to pre-16 vehicles (and possibly more that have not posted on here), but from what I've seen in the DIY upgrade thread, there have been just as many, if not more, unsuccessful 16 to pre-16 upgrades than successful ones.

DocHoliday · Feb 22, 2017

I got another question... i saw the comparison chart, good info, but i have 2014 Ram, and i think i have an Ra3, but i have HD Radio, was that a softwre update? i ask as my charger 16 which i know is is an Ra4, i can browse my iphone on bluetooth and play music. On my ram, its very limited what i can do to bluetooth devices. Also, the apps button says G3 in the corner and its not stuck in the middle like on my 16 charger. how do i figure out what i got without pulling it? and are the colors inherit to the car? my charger is red, my durango is backlit in red, yet my ram is orange.

jcarden10 · Feb 22, 2017

DocHoliday said:
I got another question... i saw the comparison chart, good info, but i have 2014 Ram, and i think i have an Ra3, but i have HD Radio, was that a softwre update? i ask as my charger 16 which i know is is an Ra4, i can browse my iphone on bluetooth and play music. On my ram, its very limited what i can do to bluetooth devices. Also, the apps button says G3 in the corner and its not stuck in the middle like on my 16 charger. how do i figure out what i got without pulling it? and are the colors inherit to the car? my charger is red, my durango is backlit in red, yet my ram is orange.

Not sure about the HD radio. I don't know if that's something that can be enabled by software or if it has to have a tuner in the radio. I would think it would require an HD tuner, which may or not be pre-installed in the RA3.

Does your radio have Nav? If so, it's a RA4 (unless you paid to have the Nav activated). You can also check your equipment listing here, assuming your radio is factory installed. Just enter your VIN into the box and search. Then you can scroll through the page that comes up or just search the page for "8.4". If your radio has Nav, it should say something along the lines of "8.4 NAV".

As for the theme color, I'm not sure about the 14s, but I just installed a 15 RA4 in my truck and it has about 9-10 different theme options under the display settings.

DocHoliday · Feb 22, 2017

i got nav from the dealer, it was in there when i got the truck, but its a 14 - but i got HD radio for sure, i can see it! but i am missing stuff my 16 Charger has.... yet they are both on the latest software updates. Are there diff versions of the RA4 - like diff hardware versions as they upgrade each year?

all it says when you look up the vin is UCONNECT 8.4 NAV
it doesnt say RA3 or RA 4

jcarden10 · Feb 22, 2017

DocHoliday said:
i got nav from the dealer, it was in there when i got the truck, but its a 14 - but i got HD radio for sure, i can see it! but i am missing stuff my 16 Charger has.... yet they are both on the latest software updates. Are there diff versions of the RA4 - like diff hardware versions as they upgrade each year?

Yes, each year has a different radio part number and I believe they get additional features over the previous model years. Albeit, I don't know what exactly those additional features are.

The best way to check which radio you have is to use the equipment listing search I linked to earlier.

DocHoliday · Feb 22, 2017

Jcarden10 - i used the link, it doesn't say Ra3 or RA4 , it says Uconnect 8.4 Nav - i would be happy to send you my vin just in case i am a moron today and don't know what i am looking at? i printed out my entire equipment list.

i will talk to live support first and see what i can find.

ok, close the question- they said i have an RA4 -

jcarden10 · Feb 22, 2017

DocHoliday said:
Jcarden10 - i used the link, it doesn't say Ra3 or RA4 , it says Uconnect 8.4 Nav - i would be happy to send you my vin just in case i am a moron today and don't know what i am looking at? i printed out my entire equipment list.

The RA3s didn't come with Nav or HD radio. But the equipment listing confirms you have the RA4.

Lol, not a moron at all. These radios have so many different references it can be confusing. If you were to pull the radio and look at the back. It would say VP4, not RA4.

DocHoliday · Feb 22, 2017

ahhh ok, yes, i see VP4 Radios on my equipment listing.. i did a search for *RA* and R A 3 and R A 4 - i got it now.

tnctx02 · Apr 4, 2020

I have read this in many places, "The RA3 is not factory Nav but the Nav can be enabled", how can this been done?
Wouldn't mind having the NAV on my RA3. Anyone know how to enable it?
Thanks

8.4A/RA3 vs 8.4AN/RA4

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