12” Screen Reports: anyone have one that works without issues?

[GunnerD]

Im looking at getting a 2019 Ram with most of the bells and whistles, including the 12” screen. But reading several threads in these forums about poorly behaved and malfunctioning 12” screens, particularly in hot climates, has me scared.

Now it’s very plausible that we’re only hearing from a small minority of problem cases, and that the fast majority of trucks built with the big screen are working great.

So all of y’all with the 12” screen that works flawlessly, chime in now and sing its praises! Thanks!

Looks like a good poll topic!

 

[dmalonecentral]

Not what you are looking for but I am on my second screen as the first was completely replaced due to it going completely dark. It took the dealer 41 days to source and install the part. The second one needs an update which evidently no one at Ram, Sirius, or UConnect has any idea how to do without telling me to go to the dealer. So that being said my XM presets reset every time I start the truck, my dock icons randomly reset, UConnect/Guardian worked for a few days after I got the truck back but now doesn’t even think about it before it tells me it failed and CarPlay is still hit or miss. The first screen also had issues with CarPlay working sporadically as well as the Laramie loaner I was in with the 8inch screen so take that FWIW.

Hands down would not buy again. Due to it being in the shop for 41 days it qualifies for Lemon Law and I am fairly certain that if the option is presented to me I will pursue the buyback if it makes financial sense.


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[slivoman]

700 miles on my limited with a June build date. No issues at all with the 12 Uconnect. My only real issue has been AC not up to par for me.

 

[GunnerD]

And if you answer the poll with anything but A, please tell us about the issues you had/have. I’m trying to put together sort of test process to put the 12” Uconnect through to identify any glitches before we buy. Thanks!

 

[GunnerD]

700 miles on my limited with a June build date. No issues at all with the 12 Uconnect. My only real issue has been AC not up to par for me.

Off topic, but I’m still interested. What’s wrong with your AC?

 

[slivoman]

Off topic, but I’m still interested. What’s wrong with your AC?

The AC only seems to get cold while the vehicle is moving. If the car is parked outside and I turn on Max AC, it never gets cold. Its blowing cool air, but not cold air.

 

[GunnerD]

And when reporting in, whether you have issues or not, please let us know the build date for your Ram. Thanks!

 

[adrianp89]

Only time I have issues is when I start the truck and put it in reverse immediately. Usually have to turn the screen on and off for it work right again. If I get in the truck, turn it on, put on my seat belt, then go in reverse then its fine.

 

[DAVECS1]

I think the screen hardware is OK. The software is just not anywhere close to production intent. It is clear that the software was not validated on the truck and probably not validated much at all. There are options that flat out out do nothing when you touch them in the setup screen. Memory for a number of things gets lost, or does not return right away. Most notably the XM station list and the source menu. Android Auto struggles to do text to speech and run a number of apps.

FCA needs to invest some cash and get a well rounded embedded software system engineer, who is familiar with truck use, and get them trained up on the screen and put them to work validating an feeding the software development team an issues list. And then revalidating. As a embedded systems engineer myself, it is clear this software was most likely out sourced and pushed on an aggressive schedule and then released out to the dealers with minimal training and probably requires new service tool updates.

I think if FCA is working in rectifying the situation they should put together a customer and dealer communication plan and let people know, because this is affecting sales and customer satisfaction. If they are doing nothing about this, well god speed I guess, they seriously dropped the ball, on a possible market differentiator.

 

[adrianp89]

To be fair.... Android Auto is crap and has nothing to do with the 12" screen. My CarPlay works flawlessly. Even tells me when where the closest gas station is when I am low on gas.

After a few restarts my screen remembered everything. No issues for 2000 miles now. A slow learner I suppose. I think the screen works pretty good as is especially for a first gen. Ever use the first iPhone? That thing wasn't all rainbows and unicorns.

I am curious what buttons do nothing for you? All of mine have a function and respond just as fast as my phone or computer.

Maybe you have a bad unit, but FCA definitely did not drop the ball by any means. As a systems engineer you should understand bugs happen no matter how much testing you do. You couldn't name me one product that has never received a software update.

I work for a firm that handles over a trillion dollars a year. You think we could keep stuff running good - better than almost anyone else - but yet software breaks happen every single day. It happens for everyone and no way around it.

 

[Siff]

I’ll fill you in on some insider software experience. I work in the medical device software field, with a focus on R+D for new devices and technology. The number one mandate? Get products out the door and into the market on budget (as cheaply as possible) and as fast as possible. Billions in market research shows that you will sell and make exponentially more profit by being first to market with new promising technology, even if that technology is covered with non-risk (very little risk of injury to user or patient) bugs. We have bug reviews every day of what is discovered, and while any bugs with injury risk get addressed immediately, about 90% of the non-risk bugs get pushed until after the initial market offering. Turns out, you may anger half of your customer base initially, but only a small margin actually return the product. The rest deal with it in the hope that it will be eventually fixed, with the comfort of knowing they have the newest and most advanced tech on the market. The plan is, of course, to eventually fix all of these issues and send field patches, but only after selling the majority of the units and getting a jump on the competition.

I do not have insider knowledge with vehicles, but I imagine it is the same way. They probably knew of nearly all of these issues before even making the first consumer vehicle for 2019, but they were almost certainly not going to miss out on a massive head start on the competition by delaying the release until all issues were fixed.

Yes, the 12” display will have a lot of bugs initially; enough so that I passed on it when I ordered mine. However, if they want to keep selling it in the coming years after other manufacturers have released competing displays, they know they need to fix the bugs. Unless the market rejects the displays and they are a poor seller (extremely unlikely based on the little data they have so far), they will fix these issues at least by the time the competition catches up.

 

[GunnerD]

I'm not getting as many poll responses as I expected... Only 12 of y'all have the 12 inch Uconnect? Maybe I shouldn't have buried this in the Audio/Electronics forum. I'm going to post something in the general forum and hopefully goose the number of responses to this poll.

 

[quietpeen]

I'm not getting as many poll responses as I expected... Only 12 of y'all have the 12 inch Uconnect? Maybe I shouldn't have buried this in the Audio/Electronics forum. I'm going to post something in the general forum and hopefully goose the number of responses to this poll.

Bump this thread vs starting a non needed thread in general as this type of topic belongs here in audio and electronics not general

FYI I removed your thread that you made in general for this reason

 

[GunnerD]

Can I just move the whole thread to General Discussions? For more responses... Yes it's an audio/electronics topic, indisputably, but the traffic down here is nowhere like General Discussions. And despite being obviously audio/electronics, I think the question sort of has a broader appeal, sort of like the thread at the top of "General Discussion" right now, entitled "What color are you rocking?' Which obviously belongs in "Exterior" but you'd be wrong to move it down there...

 

[adrianp89]

I think it makes most sense here...

Not sure why it is so important though. The thread or poll doesn't really help anyone. Based on what we have seen it is a 50/50 shot... and a lot of issues were fixed with the first update so new buyers shouldn't see nearly as many issues (if any) as the first adopters.

 

[GunnerD]

bump

 

[dmalonecentral]

I know you aren’t looking for a 12 inch screen problem thread but since they have switched my screen UConnect will not activate and the ATT Hotspot errors out as well. It has been a daily frustration where someone will call me or I’ll call them back and try something and then they’ll have to get back to me. Been dealing with it for weeks. Been to the dealer twice and last time I was in the car with the dealer service manager calling all kinds of numbers and people on the other end saying we would need to call someone else or take it to the dealer. All I could do was sit there and laugh my ass off at the runaround.

Still not resolved and the screen hasn’t received any updates since I’ve had it back, about a month or so, and I fear it won’t because UConnect won’t work so I don’t think it will get the OTA update to fix the other issues I have with crackling audio and all of the stations resetting everytime the car is started.


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[limited delmo]

Mine blacked out the other day. I turned it on and off twice and it worked fine. Small glitch not an issue as I've had Ford's sync do the same.

 

[GunnerD]

I know you aren’t looking for a 12 inch screen problem thread but ...

Your input is valued; we need the bad with the good, so please don't stop.

But I know there's gotta be more than 15 12" UConnects on this site and I wish that more would chime in.

For better or worse, I recently ordered an Ivory Limited from the factory with the 12" UConnect. The only ones in inventory or in the pipeline nationwide, that were built the way I wanted were earmarked for other customers that had ordered them that way. With Ramboxes, of course, so it'l probably actually be 2019 before it's shipped... Lol

 

[GunnerD]

Mine's on a train, probably in a railyard in Kansas City right now, and I'm expecting delivery in about a week, or two at worst. So, knock on wood, I'll be able to report on my 12" UConnect experience really soon now.