Upgrade from 130 to Uconnect 430

I just picked up a MG 2012 Ram 1500 Crew Cab Sport last night. I love it!

I arranged the deal ahead of time over the phone and I bought the truck from a dealership a couple of hours away. Everything went well except the dealership had advertised the truck as having :
-Uconnect 430 -inc: AM/FM stereo w/CD/MP3 player, U 10689
-Audio jack input for mobile devices 10689
-SIRIUS satellite radio -inc: 1-year radio service 10689
-(6) speakers 10689
-Fixed long mast antenna 10689
-Uconnect hands-free communication w/voice command 10689

Unfortunately the truck actually had the 130 non Uconnect.

In order to complete the deal the salesman got the sales manager to agree to "Do whatever it takes to upgrade to what is listed", and he wrote out a "WE OWE" sheet accordingly. However, it's not really clear to either of us exactly what that would mean. Besides changing the actual head unit, what else has to be done? In order to do "Uconnect hands-free communication w/voice command" do the top left steering wheel buttons with the phone icon need to be added? I don't see a USB port anywhere in the truck, shouldn't there be one of those added somewhere? Where are the USB ports usually?

Thanks in advance,
-clamps

Welcome to RF!

The usb ports are usually in the glove compartment, and also on the front right of the radio.

While they may be able to upgrade the radio and Uconnect module, those steering wheel controls may be a problem. I have read (and it makes sense) that the components for that have to be factory installed and can not be added after the fact. Even without them, the radio should have a phone button on it, so the only issue will be the Uconnect button.

Even my 130 RES unit has the Uconnect and phone buttons on the head unit. When I bought the truck, it didn't have the uconnect module, so I added it myself and had it flashed. Everything works fine and I have voice control of my Ipod, radio, etc. I just don't have steering wheel controls.

Are you sure you got a sport and not an express? Starting with the 2012's the 430 radio was standard equipment (on the sport).

hawgfanman said:

Are you sure you got a sport and not an express? Starting with the 2012's the 430 radio was standard equipment.

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Yeah, that is odd. None of the Sports on the lot when I bought mine had less than the 430N in them. Most of the Express models had a non-display radio in them. It's easy to confuse them since they look so similar on the outside and Dodge decided not to put any kind of Sport badging on them.

First off, thanks everyone for the feedback so far, and please keep it coming. I really appreciate it.

Specifically to the question about whether it was an Express vs. Sport, I'm not really sure how to answer that except to share what I see on the truck itself and the window sticker. As well as what came with the truck, I have a .pdf copy of the window sticker directly from Dodge, but I'd prefer to redact the VIN. I'll see if I can do that.

On the exterior the door handles are color matched and not black, it has the sport hood and color matched mirrors with the blinkers on them, as well as the quad head lights.

The interior has the leather wrapped steering wheel, power drivers' seat, center console, electric rear window, steering wheel audio controls (not the phone controls).

The Window Sticker says : "DODGE RAM 1500 SPORT CREW CAB 4X4"

After doing a little extra research on google.com about this issue and came up with some interesting results about there being a time when the screens for the 430 seemed to not be available because of the tragedy in Japan last year.

The window sticker does indeed say Media Center 130, but since they had advertised the truck online as having the 430, I had assumed they had added it and I made the deal based on that. It's unfortunate to drive all that way to find the mistake.

Thanks again,
-clamps

It does indeed sound like you have a true Sport model. The 430 is not standard, so your having a 130 from the factory is entirely possible. It maybe more than your dealer can do to give you all the features of a Sport with the 430N from the factory, but he should at least try if that's the deal he made with you. Good luck.

Ugg. So the plot thickens...

I spend part of the afternoon at a local Ram dealership telling them about my issues and asked what parts I need to get from the dealership that sold me the truck. After some research they came back with them saying that it's not possible to put a 430 Uconnect in my truck.

So I then called the Chrysler customer service and talked to someone who agreed that they think it's not going to work but they wanted to double check with a technician and they'll get back to me in the next day or two.

So I called up the salesman who sold me the truck. It was his day off so I talked to his manager to tell him about the information I just discovered. He recommend that we wait for the feedback from the Chrysler technician confirming that this is going to be a problem.

The odd thing is that I can't even use 2012 Ram Trucks | Heavy & Light Duty Work Trucks | Ram Trucks to try to evaluate the value of such a package because I can't configure a Sport model to not have the 430. I can honestly say that I considered the better radio / Uconnect as a helpful factor for buying this truck at this price. I wouldn't have bought it at the price if I had known it didn't have the Uconnect 430. I can also say that I wouldn't have took the truck when I saw it without the radio if they hadn't assured (in writing) that they would make this happen. And now I know that they've basically agreed to something they can't fulfill.

So assuming I'm not going to be able to get this radio to work out. What do you think is a reasonable course of action on my part? What is something the dealer could do that would make you happy in this situation?

-clamps

I can't figure out why a uconnect module can't be added to a sport. Or a 430 either. Did they say why? The uconnect I added to my 130 RES doesn't connect to anything but the radio itself. I had to have them flash it, but still.

What's so different between your 2012 sport and my 2011 SLT?

As far as what to do, I'd have them pay me the value of a 430 and use the money for a nice aftermarket system.

You can install the 430 radio and uconnect in your truck, you'll just need a reflash. Sounds like you got one of the early 2012 sports that had the 130 radio standard. What's the build date on your truck?

Ocelot said:

Even my 130 RES unit has the Uconnect and phone buttons on the head unit. When I bought the truck, it didn't have the uconnect module, so I added it myself and had it flashed. Everything works fine and I have voice control of my Ipod, radio, etc. I just don't have steering wheel controls.

Click to expand...

His issue is that 2012 have a new steering wheel that has the uconnect buttons(as well as on the radio) so they would have to order a new steering wheel with the buttons or he would just have to use the buttons on the radio

garner said:

You can install the 430 radio and uconnect in your truck, you'll just need a reflash. Sounds like you got one of the early 2012 sports that had the 130 radio standard. What's the build date on your truck?

Click to expand...

Yesterday I had the dealer look up the build date of the truck and it's 8/3/2011.

garner said:

His issue is that 2012 have a new steering wheel that has the uconnect buttons(as well as on the radio) so they would have to order a new steering wheel with the buttons or he would just have to use the buttons on the radio

Click to expand...

Yes, but I'm starting to resign to the fact that steering wheel (phone) controls just aren't happening.

I simply don't understand why the dealership and now Chrysler proper are saying that adding a Uconnect radio and module aren't able to be added. That just doesn't seem right to me. Doesn't it seem like Mopar part numbers: 82212159 and 82212477 should do the trick? (yes I see that it's a 430N not 430, but I couldn't readily find a regular 430, I'm sure the dealership will find one)

Thanks again for all the help!,
-clamps

I'm guessing that the wiring and connectors are just not present in the steering column to make adding the steering wheel controls a plug-and-play proposition. Similar to the connectors and wiring not being present on some models to allow easy installation of the OEM trailer brake module.

82212159 is the Uconnect module I installed in my 2011 along with 82212160 which is the USB Ipod interface for the glove compartment.

The radio you linked is the more expensive Navigation unit and I could be wrong, but I thought the Nav radios, or at least some, have the Uconnect built in and don't need the 82212159 module. Someone else might be able to confirm that.

The 430 RBZ would be the touch screen radio without navigation and definitely needs the module.

Maybe see if they can do the radio and uconconect and just leave off the steering wheel controls? That's what I have. Except I don't have a touch screen.

clamps said:

Yesterday I had the dealer look up the build date of the truck and it's 8/3/2011.



Yes, but I'm starting to resign to the fact that steering wheel (phone) controls just aren't happening.

I simply don't understand why the dealership and now Chrysler proper are saying that adding a Uconnect radio and module aren't able to be added. That just doesn't seem right to me. Doesn't it seem like Mopar part numbers: 82212159 and 82212477 should do the trick? (yes I see that it's a 430N not 430, but I couldn't readily find a regular 430, I'm sure the dealership will find one)

Thanks again for all the help!,
-clamps

Click to expand...

Yupp you have one of the super early builds. And it should work. They're probably saying it won't because it requires a dealer reflash. And here's the regular 430, REN AM/FM Stereo Radio with CD/DVD Player 6.5" Touch Screen

I got a call back from the Chrysler customer service rep late yesterday. They said they had talked to a Mopar Accessories Engineer (or something to that effect) and they confirmed that this is indeed possible to add the 430 or 430N radio to my truck.

It looks like I will be needing both the radio itself and the Uconnect module (to do hands-free phone).

So I've emailed the dealership with this information, as well as the information request case number from Chrysler and hopefully they'll be sending me the parts I need.

I'll write more when I know more. I'd assume a couple of weeks.

Thanks again,
-clamps

I was wanting to change my 130 to the 430 and do not care about the u connect on it. I was wondering if it is as simple as pulling the old one out and putting the 430 in? I looked at pics of the backs of both units and the two big plug ins are exactly the same but the 430 has a plug in for the antenna I'm guessing and another piece that snaps in with some fitting of some sort. The 130 has two plug in things that look like two antenna hook ups. I was just wondering what the plastic white hookup was for on the back of the 430 and would it be possible just to pull the old and stick the new one in the dash? Thanks in advance.

This is the back of the other unit, how can I make this work?

Nwright2 said:

I was wanting to change my 130 to the 430 and do not care about the u connect on it. I was wondering if it is as simple as pulling the old one out and putting the 430 in? I looked at pics of the backs of both units and the two big plug ins are exactly the same but the 430 has a plug in for the antenna I'm guessing and another piece that snaps in with some fitting of some sort. The 130 has two plug in things that look like two antenna hook ups. I was just wondering what the plastic white hookup was for on the back of the 430 and would it be possible just to pull the old and stick the new one in the dash? Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

They are a simple plug and play, I have a 12 express that had the 130 in it, swapped it out for a 430 RBZ. You don't need a re flash either.

So I am assuming and I know that is a horrible thing to do that the white connector will be for a microphone of some sort? and would I have all the plugs to run the 430 RBZ?