[DoninDel]

Welcome to the forum , and welcome to the 'lost' GPS club .
I bought a Garmin.

 

[DoninDel]

I saw this link on another thread here - let us all hope something comes of it...

Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Uconnect Lawsuit Investigation

Attorneys are investigating which vehicle models can be included in a class action against FCA over reported issues with the Uconnect system. If your infotainment system malfunctioned, learn more here.

www.classaction.org

 

[DoninDel]

Your call, but if you are out of warranty, I would not risk it. Ask the dealer if they have ever had the software update fix the GPS not knowing where it is - I have asked on this forum, and nobody has reported that it worked, and several have reported that it 'locked' or 'bricked' the radio and that meant a complete replacement was needed.
The only 'cure' I have read of is replacement of the entire unit - quite expensive if you are out of warranty. The rest of my radio unit works, so I got a garmin rather than risk needing an entire new unit, with seemingly no chance of an update fixing the GPS.

 

[DoninDel]

Call Uconnect and tell them

Here's the thing: the update bricks the head unit /computer if the head unit (uconnect computer, really) has had it's cellular modem/wireless card malfunction. This is an old issue common on a lot of uconnect units-the update does not work because the cellular modem/wireless card is dead, the update times out, and the uconnect system is bricked.

The fun part of this is, the TSB related to the issue outlines all of this: it tells the dealer to go into the Uconnect menus, look for the cell modem/wireless card ID numbers, and if the numbers are not present, the uconnect system cannot be "updated." The system must be replaced. My van's ID numbers are missing, so my head unit is not able to be updated.

You can look in your head unit/uconnect system after placing the system into 'dealer mode" and see if the ID numbers are present or not, which will tell you if your radio/uconnect system can be updated or not.

Chrysler can do a "goodwill" repair on these radios within some limits.
What year is your van? How many miles?

My system/Pacifica is facing the same issue, but I just bought it certified as being flawless and with a working navigation system, so the non-chrysler dealer I bought it from is having it fixed on Monday. Before I bought my van, I looked into known weak points of these things and was ready to rumble.

As a result, I can actually teach you how to fix the overall issue with the units: you can open them up, replace the wireless card/modem with one off ebay if you can find one, and away you go. It won't help you update-the dealer will probably still try to charge you to do that-but your navigation will work afterwords.

From what I can tell, when the wireless modem/wireless card goes out on these head units/uconnect systems, the system starts displaying erratic behavior.

Have you called uconnect directly to talk to them about this? Send @ChryslerCares a DM on here, too, and see what they say: this is a known flaw, and @ChryslerCares has fixed this issue as an act of goodwill for forum members on here before

What are you doing different from Lint in this thread - he replaced the wireless card, and nav only worked for a brief period.

2018 Pacifica GPs registers no satellites and clock time...

Just wondering what ended up happening with your van? We're in the same boat with our 2018, in BC. GPS dead, won't keep time (drifts by hours), radio stuck in reboot loop. Three different dealers and Chrysler won't do anything. We're just out of warranty and they're telling us we have to replace...

www.pacificaforums.com

 

[DoninDel]

The problem with the "fix" of replacing the wireless module is that you are replacing it with another module that might be bad. Completely possible to take a uconnect system apart, remove the wireless card, and put in a wireless card that's a failure in its place.
Dodge forums have more than a few stories with positive outcomes of people replacing their sierra wireless card on their uconnect system, but I think it's likely to replace a bad card with another bad card.
The cards cost $40 on ebay, so it's not a great risk, and I like taking things apart.

Lint reported his wireless card worked, but the navigation would drift after a while.
Link got his lead from the same forum.
how do you explain it working for you and not for Lint?
Edit - I don't want that to sound confrontational - I am trying to understand.
I am angry that Uconnect, Panasonic, and Chrysler know of the problem and offer no solution other than replacement of the entire unit.

 

[DoninDel]

My evidence that the navigation issue is related to the Sierra Wireless card is circumstantial, but it's real: Uconnect 4 (post 2017) uses a Sierra Wireless"AR7552 LTE Automotive 4G Module." That module communicates with GPS satellites-it's the cellular AND satellite receiver.

Sierra Wireless AR7552 LTE Automotive 4G Module | M2MSupport.net

Thanks for responding, but, too me, still sounds iffy. If I dug and found a card, it MIGHT work for a while, then die from heat. Sounds like a poor design.

 

[DoninDel]

Yes, I agree. But, the cards are on Ebay right now, $50.

For me, it's a really easy fix, and if it does not work, oh well.

I suspect that the units Mopar is putting in place of failed Uconnect units must be modified in some way or they include different components. Otherwise, they are just going to fail again. Not because of faulty parts, or bad electrical engineering, but because of heat.

On Monday, I will learn what Mopar is going to do for my van's Uconnect system.

Please do report if it things change.

 

[DoninDel]

Pacificante -
Don't want to repeat all of your posts... A lot do digest. Please correct me on anything I get wrong....
1) We agree that the wireless card is the basic issue.
2) Replacing the card still won't fix the Navigation for long - the Uconnect software must be updated for that to work reliably.
3) If the updates to Uconnect aren't done properly, it can 'Brick' the entire radio unit requiring a replacement.
4) Even if you get it successfully updated and it works, the wireless card may overheat and crap out again.
5) It seems many (most?) dealerships are ignorant of this problem and 'brick' more units than they fix in trying to do Uconnect updates.

Thanks for your patience in answering my questions on this. I am not alone in being annoyed at the handling of this issue.

 

[DoninDel]

Thanks again.
I am out of warranty (time, not miles), my dealership was sold to another, so 'goodwill' will not happen.
I'll just live with a Garmin, and setting time manually, as all else works.
Not worth the money or risk of more expense to me...