Uconnect Deceptive Branding & Marketing

[NewFCAcustomer]

Let me give you some advice for future vehicle purchases. NEVER let a sales person educate you, NEVER assume a vehicle comes with anything more than what is on the sticker and NEVER sign a piece of paper until you know the vehicle you may want to purchase inside and out, physically.

I guess the concept of confusing and misleading branding / marketing wasn’t clear enough. I did my research yet the product labeling was misleading, even though I was confident I understood it. That’s why they call the axles anti spin vs electronic lock. They function differently and thus have two different descriptions, even though they are both axles.

 

[NewFCAcustomer]

Android Auto or CarPlay has better Nav funtionality. The only thing I wish I had was the ability to unlock my doors if I screw up and lock the keyfob inside.

Do your doors automatically unlock when you grab the outside door handle and the key fob is within a certain distance of the truck? If so, then it would be virtually impossible to lock your keys inside. I’m not sure if those kind of handles are Laramie and above.

 

[Ram92131]

The existence of Guardian, or not, was very clear to me. I also know it requires a subscription once my trial runs out. I don’t see a reason to bring a frivolous lawsuit over it. Good luck getting anything out of it if you do... but the attorneys will make a killing.

 

[Brisoup1]

Do your doors automatically unlock when you grab the outside door handle and the key fob is within a certain distance of the truck? If so, then it would be virtually impossible to lock your keys inside. I’m not sure if those kind of handles are Laramie and above.

Your doors will not lock. In fact, your horn will beep twice to tell you your keys are inside.

 

[Brisoup1]

The existence of Guardian, or not, was very clear to me. I also know it requires a subscription once my trial runs out. I don’t see a reason to bring a frivolous lawsuit over it. Good luck getting anything out of it if you do... but the attorneys will make a killing.

Not a big fan of Guardian. At least for me, it does not work nearly as seemless as the Uconnect in my 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee did. It's also Alot more distracting to use while driving. Depending on how much the subscription is, I might not even renew it once the free trial is over.

 

[Brisoup1]

If you've ever used the app you'll realize it's complete dog ****. Basically all you can do is remotely start or lock/unlock your car (if it even works).

I think a law suit is a little ridiculous.

You can also locate your vehicle in the event you can't find it or if it's stolen.

 

[NewFCAcustomer]

The existence of Guardian, or not, was very clear to me. I also know it requires a subscription once my trial runs out. I don’t see a reason to bring a frivolous lawsuit over it. Good luck getting anything out of it if you do... but the attorneys will make a killing.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Obviously our experiences vary greatly, and it might be as simple as you had better salesperson(s) than I did.

 

[J-Cooz]

You can also locate your vehicle in the event you can't find it or if it's stolen.

If it's stolen I don't want it back. I would rather have a total loss and get a new one.

I live in Canada and we get very cold winters, yes the ability to start from my phone is great. But it's certainly not worth $20 a month or whatever they want to charge.

 

[ldoh]

If it's stolen I don't want it back. I would rather have a total loss and get a new one.

I'm with you. My brother in law lost a relatively new superduty years back to Mexican coyote/smugglers. Weeks later they found the truck ditched in the desert. It had been run hard and put away wet. Even then, for some reason he convinced the insurance company to fix it so he could keep it.

 

[Bram2019]

My biggest issue is the 8.4 non nav radio is supposed to have HD radio. It does not. All the specs posted when I ordered my truck show that it does. Very deceptive. I listen to one specific HD channel in my area on my wifes vehicle and I can not do that in my new truck. I am forced to try and listen to that station on AM radio.

 

[NewFCAcustomer]

My biggest issue is the 8.4 non nav radio is supposed to have HD radio. It does not. All the specs posted when I ordered my truck show that it does. Very deceptive. I listen to one specific HD channel in my area on my wifes vehicle and I can not do that in my new truck. I am forced to try and listen to that station on AM radio.

Ramtrucks.com says the non nav radio is HD. Are you not picking up the signal or is it not clear?

 

[troutspinner]

My biggest issue is the 8.4 non nav radio is supposed to have HD radio. It does not. All the specs posted when I ordered my truck show that it does. Very deceptive. I listen to one specific HD channel in my area on my wifes vehicle and I can not do that in my new truck. I am forced to try and listen to that station on AM radio.

This is the ONLY reason I went with the 8.4C version. Before I bought a year ago, I found out via Ram's website that the standard 8.4 version did not have HD Radio. Everything else that came with the 8.4c I could have cared less about but I like and have to have HD radio. So....how did I know and how did you not know? I'm not trying to be snarky here, I just don't understand because as I experienced, the info was there.

 

[Bram2019]

This is the ONLY reason I went with the 8.4C version. Before I bought a year ago, I found out via Ram's website that the standard 8.4 version did not have HD Radio. Everything else that came with the 8.4c I could have cared less about but I like and have to have HD radio. So....how did I know and how did you not know? I'm not trying to be snarky here, I just don't understand because as I experienced, the info was there.

That is a good question. But post 31 pretty much explains it. The salesman followed the exact info as posted in #31. It states clearly it has HD radio. But it is wrong.

 

[Hockeygod1225]

If there should be any lawsuit for deceptive marketing it should be the "19 speaker harmkn kardon system." there are only 12 speakers for God sakes. Uconnect is absolute garbage and has never worked foe me even though it is
installed but I also didn't purchase my truck looking for it.

 

[Checkairspeed]

I am creating this thread to get a feel for how many people purchased a 2019 Ram with a Uconnect w/Sirius XM radio thinking they would be able to access the Uconnect app, but were unable to do so because their Ram was NOT outfitted with the SiriusXM Guardian equipment.

The more people that speak up, the more my attorney will be interested in pursuing a class action suit against FCA for deceptive marketing.

Questions you may wish to answer.

1. Did your salesperson inform you that the Sirius XM Guardian (optional equipment) was required to access the Uconnect app?

2. Did you believe that because the radio is called Uconnect that you would have access to the Uconnect app?

3. Did you research the Ram truck and it’s options prior to purchasing, but not discover that the Uconnect app would require optional equipment different than what is standard?

4. Did you and your salesperson discuss the Ram options and they never told you about the optional equipment requirement to access the Uconnect app?

It seems Mr. Avenatti is looking for work since Stormy is no longer an income stream

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

The one feature I care about is the ability to send an address from a cell phone to uConnect. I didn’t know I’d have to pay for a subscription service to do something that was free in my previous vehicle.

I agree that it is deceitful. You have the UConnect system but need the SiriusXM Guardian subscription (3rd party) to use the UConnect app.

what vehicle did you have that offered this for free? I had this feature on my Lexus as well as my GMC. The Lexus came with the feature free for 3 years than it cost money for Entune to continue having the feature. My GMC included this feature for 5 years but would require a subscription after the 5 year mark. I think this is where some of the confusion comes from especially for people who previously owned GM vehicles prior to the Ram. GM does the telematics over on star which has been around since 1996 and works pretty flawlessly in my experience, the vehicles come with a full on star sub for a few months then it expires but the fine print shows it includes the on star base subscription for 5 years which is the ability to send an address to the in dash nav, lock/ un-lock and remote start from the phone, it is however not free and ultimately has a monthly cost after the 5 year sub ended. Ram is using sirius XM for the telematics to the truck and from what I have read it sucks I'm guessing this is something relative new for siriusXM to do and they haven't get all the bugs worked out, I believe they have partnered with AT&T for the 4G portion of the equation and its too new and not worth the sub fee at this point.

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

This is the ONLY reason I went with the 8.4C version. Before I bought a year ago, I found out via Ram's website that the standard 8.4 version did not have HD Radio. Everything else that came with the 8.4c I could have cared less about but I like and have to have HD radio. So....how did I know and how did you not know? I'm not trying to be snarky here, I just don't understand because as I experienced, the info was there.

I'm sure trout can echo my sentiments. I have never once purchased a vehicle without researching it and knowing more about it than anyone that works for the dealership. I knew full well without getting the Nav I would not have HD radio or the ability to use the uconnect app for remote features, none of which was a deal breaker for me.

 

[HeliPilot]

I deleted the Guardian app from my phone, and downloaded the Uconnect app. I started my truck in Michigan from California to keep my battery charged because it was so cold in Michigan. No charge involved using Uconnect that I’m aware of.

 

[danielle2019]

My sales lady knew my Charger was fully loaded, and that I was used to certain features. She fully explained what was different in the non-nav unit. Like others have said, I’m not missing anything.

 

[silver64]

I will not condemn you for feeling slighted as some others have done here. You have a right to feel however you want and value certain features or functions above others.

I will say that in general that almost all marketing about vehicles is deceptive to some degree or another. How many times have I heard Ford, Chevy, GMC, Ram etc say they are the best this or that and in reality who really cares! You like what you like and if you ask the right questions you can usually sort out the bs from the truth. The bottom line is if you are not happy with what you paid for, you usually only have one person to blame and I have to tell you most of us have been in the same predicament and felt the same way as you right now.