Bamboozled??

[Ramaford]

Good evening Ram fans, new here to the forum and looking for help with issue. I’ll try to make this short.
So I bought a used 2018 Ram 2500 SLT at the end of last year. I decided to go ahead and register my truck with Uconnect and try it out. A few hours after I contacted Uconnect and downloaded the app my truck was still not working properly. After contacting Uconnect again and they asked me some questions, one question they asked was if my truck was a 2017. I said no it’s a 2018. Apparently the touchscreen radio in this truck came out of a 2017. The nice lady on the phone told me unfortunately due to my truck being hardwired for AT&T and the 2017 was using Sprint she said I wouldn’t be able to use the Uconnect services. She also asked me if my rear view mirror had any buttons on it, which it does not. She said that was needed as well. Has anyone experienced this and tell me if there’s anything I can do without spending $1000+ for a new radio?

 

[j517]

Wow who sold u the truck stealership or private party

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[Ramaford]

Stealership in Houston

 

[stimpy433]

Uconnect services aren’t that great and I wouldn’t ever pay for them.

 

[Ramaford]

Obviously the previous owner installed it so I can’t put the blame on them. Not sure how they could have known unless they tried connecting to Uconnect.

 

[Ramaford]

Yea I’ve been hearing that about Uconnect. They were willing to give me a 90 day free trial when I talked to them. So I figured WTH free is free. If it sucked for me I would definitely not pay for it.

 

[j517]

Talk to stelership bait and switch possibly tell them u expected proper equip since u intentionally purchased truck from reputable stealership yet they failed to disclose all equipment try to sue under lemon/bait and switch law.

2nd I dont know what u connect does I know I have that Sirius/xm radio it's ok it opens doors and some other crap but I have no idea what uconnect does

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[j517]

Obviously the previous owner installed it so I can’t put the blame on them. Not sure how they could have known unless they tried connecting to Uconnect.

They are supposed to inspect vehicle I think the radio and components would be part of that inspection

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[avantiguy]

They are supposed to inspect vehicle I think the radio and components would be part of that inspection

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It was, they turned it on and it worked. Hard to believe anyone including a dealer would inspect deep enough to find a different radio if it worked.

 

[Ramaford]

I’ve heard about the Sirius XM Guardian. Has similar features to Uconnect. I do have Sirius XM radio in my truck now. Do I need the upgraded rear view mirror for the Guardian?

 

[O.R.T.]

*RANT WARNING: DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD U-CONNECT SAYS.*

I dealt w them more than once in my dealership career, each time we got completely different info from FCA's Tech-Support that actually solved the customer's issues.

IMHO Take the truck to a reputable dealership if ya want while pulling the radio's code/serial# (which you do when you go into the radio settings under UConnect) so you can then find out honestly what year the radio is. All the parts department has to do is pull your vin and the radio's serial #. Then ask service to cross reference against your vin for any Star-Case related notes.

You're better off getting a subscription to Sirius and running their app on your phone through the connector or Bluetooth in the truck's existing radio like a ton of us do.

*Sorry RamCares, but I'm not gonna sugar coat.

 

[j517]

Ok so does the vehicle location is it through the u connect or Sirius xm what does u connect do sorry dont use it much once trial is over I will be using Amazon auto I got the module for like 30 bucks and works with trucks bluetooth

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[Mpgrimm2]

Previous owner likely did the 8.4 upgrade on the truck from the base radio which is not supported by fca or uConnect even if you install the proper 2018 UAQ/UAS radio that supports Android Auto/CarPlay and mirror with uConnect buttons.

You can read more about it here...

- DIY: 2013+ RA3/RA4 8.4" Radio Conversion Upgrade.

INFO - 2013-2017 8.4AN FW & PN Notes (RA4/VP4 NA & UAx).

How To: Install a 2018 4C (UAQ/UAS) Radio in 2013 - 2017 RAM.

The only way to know what the truck came with is to check the build sheet based on it's VIN.

(Copy this)
http://www.ramtrucks.com/webselfservice/BuildSheetServlet?vin=

copy this link and then paste into a web browser address bar, add your vin# to the end, after the "=" hit Enter.



M² Mods.

 

[clifford15]

OP, run your VIN to get the build sheet to see what original radio was installed. Then you will know for sure sure if this is a downgrade or an upgrade.

 

[Ramaford]

It’s definitely a radio out of a 2017. The reason I’m certain is because when I called Sirius after the free trial to setup an account I had the same issue. They asked me if my truck was a 2017 as well. Fortunately they were able to fix the issue on their end and provide me with their services. I’m pretty sure the original radio wasn’t the touchscreen. I could be wrong but I’ll run the vin to make sure.

 

[Ramaford]

Checked out my build sheet. The 5.0” touchscreen was originally installed in this truck. If I measure diagonally corner to corner this radio measures 8”

 

[Mpgrimm2]

Go into dealer menu to get the radio PN from radio info screen...
If it's a 17 Ra4 VP4-NA radio it will be 68270661Ax (see the 8.4 FW info thread linked above). These can be sold for $450-$600.

Press:
Temp Up+Temp Down+ Front Defrost for 6-10 secs

Also, if you decide to look into a correct year radio to swap it out for (will also need the upgraded hub if using apple) ...

18/19 RADIO: 68331631AH (UAQ 4c Nav)
or 68331635AH (UAS 4c)

18 Premium USB Hub (Supports Apple vs stock one)
PN: 68328704AC (RAM)

18/19's w/UAx = 68366553AA HVAC module (ie UAQ Radio). This may already be installed.

M² Mods.

 

[Ramaford]

Ok will do. If it ever stops raining here in New Orleans I’ll go check that out. I appreciate everyone’s help so far.

 

[FXCLM5]

Checked out my build sheet. The 5.0” touchscreen was originally installed in this truck. If I measure diagonally corner to corner this radio measures 8”

yarp previous owner did a mod swap - super common and easy to do - in fact if you check out the classified section there are usually a few for sale

 

[McBroom]

Stealership in Houston

What’s the name of the dealership?
Please. I’m attempting to work a deal with a dealership in Houston near Katy. Hman???
OOOPPPPSSS I missed that “used” part my bad.
The Blue Mule