On the way into the office one morning this week, I pushed the volume on/off switch on the Ram's head unit and nothing happened. The display was dark and the audio system was silent. I pushed the switch several more times to try to get the radio to come back to life before I came to the conclusion that I'd have to make my commute in silence.
At least I could catch up on a few phones calls while stuck in traffic, so I dialed a friend. And before I could hit the speaker option on my iPhone to comply with California's hands-free law, I was startled by a sound coming over the truck's speakers.
While the audio wasn't working, the Bluetooth system was since I'd previously paired my phone. Before I heard a ring, my friend's voice mail greeting came blasting through the speakers (as captured in the video below). But the radio display was still blank and I couldn't view his name and number on it, per usual.
By the time I got to our offices the radio display was coming back to life, although it was dim. And when I jumped back into the truck at the end of the day, the display was working normally.
If I had to choose between making phones calls and listening to music, I'd always chose tunes over talking, especially at the end of a long day.
konocar400h says:
04:11 PM, 05/20/10
The same thing happened with one of my satellite radio screen's. The whole system didn't work at first. But then when it turned on it was very dim. The more it warmed up, the brighter the display was. But alas, this was when mornings were in the negatives (F). I have no idea why a lcd screen wouldn't work in SoCal temperatures..
half_ton says:
04:25 PM, 05/20/10
@konocar400h
what you just said is the EXACT reason I don't like Ford's (and GM's) plan to move away from traditional knobs and have virtual dashboards in the near future.
I live in Wisconsin so I don't think I need to say how cold our winters can be but I can EASILY see that same scenario playing out while I wait for my dashboard to warm up enough to be used in cold weather.
I know automakers have to take some risks and be first with new product offerings but I say bad idea. Glad to hear the radio did eventually start woking for you though Doug.
jeepsrt says:
06:56 PM, 05/20/10
Once every 6 months or so my Jeep's radio will come on but there is no info on the screen, when I restart it it is back to normal. My previous Dodge Ram did the same thing as well and it had the same nav that is in the Viper now. I would take it in but don't want the dash taken apart for something that happens maybe twice a year.
bimmerjay says:
11:53 PM, 05/20/10
"I live in Wisconsin so I don't think I need to say how cold our winters can be but I can EASILY see that same scenario playing out while I wait for my dashboard to warm up enough to be used in cold weather."
One reason you pay $1000+ for factory satnav is it will still come on and be fully usable almost immediately in -0F weather. These systems are tested by a cold-soak in the arctic circle (or a simulation of those conditions) and then expected to fire right up. They also put these things in a heat box in Death Valley with the same expectations. A Wisconsin winter is easily within the design tolerances.
ptcdawg says:
05:48 AM, 05/21/10
Just give me a radio that works...I don't need a giant TV screen in my car. I have a nice one in my house..
I can't imagine that the cars we are even building today will have any working electronics in them in 10 years.
cello_one says:
08:17 AM, 05/21/10
I have never seen a car w/ a internal nav screen that comes on immediately in -0F degree weather. Especially when parked over night there is always a delay - I noted this in a Toyota Camary Hybrid rental in Buffalo, NY - granted I hopped in and headed for the customer without an extended warmup (light driving after a couple of minutes is better than a long idle in the REALLY cold). It brightened up after a mile or so. I must admit it is MUCH faster than the old Liquid Crystal displays like the green text in my old Buicks GS - couldn't be bothered coming on in the -25F weather in Fargo no matter how warm the car got - the dash was still frozen. Current car, I opted to not bother with the in dash nav. Spent the money on the entertainment in the headrests instead. That's what the Google Nav on the phone is for anyways....
bimmerjay says:
11:58 AM, 05/21/10
@cello_one,
I've personally never had any problems when I've been up in the Sierra Nevada mountains in frigid weather (it was around 5-10F one morning and the iDrive welcome screen popped right up), I've also actually witnessed the testing in a cold-soak room. At -25F the screen will come on slower but it's really only a few seconds.