[RobertsDP]

Hey guys, I'm relatively new to this forum. I just purchased my 2014 300S about 2 months ago and now I'm having a major issue, or at least it seems that way because the dealer doesn't know what's wrong with the car. They said they wrote to Chrysler to find a fix so now I'm playing the waiting game...
Anyways the problem I am having is a strange one and I hope someone here may have some type of knowledge that can help remedy the problem.
So what happened was I was returning home from the mall the day after Christmas, it was a rainy day. I had my adaptive cruse active going about 60 mph then all of a sudden I get warning lights and error messages popping up on the screen saying blind spot system error (pic of the car with 2 red x's in circles) and then it switched to service the blind spot system (pic of car with yellow ! In circles). During this time the mirrors were flashing the yellow blind spot indicators, then switched to solid lights and stayed on.
About 10 seconds into this mess the uconnect system heat and AC controls and all the buttons in the center console just went dark!
I pulled over to the side of the road to try and contemplate all the madness that was happening and also try to turn off the car and try to restart the system, but to no avail.
When I got home the rain had subsided so I started to try and test other buttons in the car and in addition to the center console, the front door Windows would not operate. I then decided to make a video to document the problems with me trying to troubleshoot it.
What I find really interesting is that my console works when the car is in ACC mode but once turned to RUN the console just shuts down.

I can't seem to post links here yet, but it can be found on YouTube. Just type watch?v=bxvU6N9AJ2k after the .com/ portion of the link
When I get to my computer I will try to maybe upload the video straight to here.
Please let me know if you may know what could be causing this problem, or better yet know how to fix it!

 

[RobertsDP]

Hey guys, just an update to my problem. After taking it to the 1st dealer (which I recommend everyone STAY AWAY from Darcars of Marlow Heights, MD) they took the car and had it for 3 days.
After the first day they told me they replicated the prob with the screen and the blind spot issue and it only had an error message for the telemetric system, but after the first time of them replicating the issue it went away, and they only needed to fix whatever was wrong with the blind spot system. but they didn't know how long it will take, plus they wanted to try and replicate the other issue of the screen. After some convincing I was able to get them to give me a rental car(which I find to be strange I needed to convince them). 2 days later I call... and call and call, to no avail. So by now I need to return my rental, so I go to the dealer to talk with the advisor and he tells me the car is done.
Ok Cool, great news. he told me they reset my uconnect system and corrected the issue with the blind spot system.
So they bring my car out front and give me the keys. I get in and the first thing I do is check to make sure the uconnect works. So I scroll thru some options in the settings and I also decided to check my blind spot system while I was in those settings. To my surprise the system was turned off... no big deal, they reset the system so maybe it turned off by default. So I turn it back on and of course the blind spot error message pops right back up on my screen!
So I go get the advisor and tell him and he is shocked and just tells me to bring it back the following Monday and they will take care of it.
So of course I said F that and called another dealer to set up an appointment.
This dealer has been great so far!
I took my car to them at 9 am, and was waiting in the waiting room for about an hour when my advisor comes to me and tells me she is not gonna have me wait because they dont know whats wrong with the car and showed me 4 PAGES of error codes... not 4 error codes, but 4 pages of error codes!
Without me asking she told me Enterprise was on their way to pick me up and she got me a rental for 5 days.
I contacted them on friday and they told me there is a problem with the Uconnect system thats causing all the problems and they will replace that.
I hope this fixes my prob.
If you live in the MD area do yourself a favor and stay away from Darcars of Marlow Heights!

 

[TheKrell]

If you live in the MD area do yourself a favor and stay away from Darcars of Marlow Heights!

Thanks; I will, even though I live in northern VA. So... Who was your second dealer? Anybody down here? (Stay away from Stafford and Koons!)

 

[RobertsDP]

2nd update - the 2nd dealer called me today to give me an update and it looks like it's not the uconnect that's the problem... Sigh... They now think it's some body control module... They said they are working close with Chrysler to figure out the issue, but they didn't give me a time table as to when the car will be ready.

Thanks; I will, even though I live in northern VA. So... Who was your second dealer? Anybody down here? (Stay away from Stafford and Koons!)

This dealer is Ourisman of Bowie, they have been great during this whole process! I recommend them.
I been to Koons before when looking to buy my car, I didn't particularly enjoy the salesman there, he would just tell false stories trying to get my to buy the car, first he was married with no kids then 10 min later he was divorced with 2 kids.. Like why even lie about that..
never been to Stafford... But I will avoid that one also! Thanks!

 

[ChryslerCares]

Thanks for providing this feedback. I will be sure to inform the necessary individuals internally of this experience.

If the dealership continues to have difficulties diagnosing your vehicle, please PM me your VIN so I can see if there's anything I can do to assist.

 

[RobertsDP]

Thanks for providing this feedback. I will be sure to inform the necessary individuals internally of this experience.



If the dealership continues to have difficulties diagnosing your vehicle, please PM me your VIN so I can see if there's anything I can do to assist.

Thanks for the support! I will update you if the dealer has any problems diagnosing the issue.


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[RobertsDP]

So after 9 days I finally have my car back!
After 1st thinking it was the Uconnect, and then a module, they come to the conclusion they dont know exactly what was the problem... lol
The dealer told me they took everything apart, tested the harness and all the components and everything was fine. They then connected everything back together but left the cables on the outside of the dash to check everything while driving so they can easily find the problem but everything worked fine with no probs.
So they then properly replaced the cables and kept the car for another day or 2 driving it to replicate the problem, but it seems to work fine now.
Their best guess was there was a improperly seated cable connection causing the error messages and once they took everything apart then back together, it fixed the issue.
Hopefully that was the issue, and that problem doesn't return! My thanks to this COMPETENT dealer for their assistance!

 

[ChryslerCares]

Glad to hear your vehicle is functioning properly again. Please let me know if the issue returns!

 

[Desert_Flyer]

...and we are getting closer to autonomous cars that will drive themselves?!...I for one will never be caught even dead in one! Tell me how manufacturers are going to solve all their electronic gremlins by then? And we have had computers in cars for decades now.


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[Desert_Flyer]

It looks like my car has succumbed to this dreaded body / front control module issue. On my way home tonight I first got an evic message about being in battery saver mode so I thought my battery was dying. Then shortly after, everything started going crazy haywire: wipers, dash lights, head lights, all sorts of warning lights, losing power, etc, etc. Was able to get to the side of road but could only get 2 of my windows closed before the car went dark and dead. (Supposed to rain...shit). Not even my hazard blinkers would work...dangerous. Hoping that maybe just maybe it is a battery, I walked home, enlisted my wife's help and her car (was only half mile from home), and tried jumping the car to see if I could at least get the windows up or maybe even start the car to get it home. Got a few lights on the dash but could not operate anything or even get to ACC mode. But the jumper cables got so hot they melted the plastic handles and almost started a fire! Obviously not a battery problem. Was able to get into the front console and pull up the transmission park release lever and my wife and I pushed the car home. AAA and off to the dealer tomorrow morning ?.


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[Desert_Flyer]

So dealer said it was a bad alternator that then also fried my battery. They will replace those first and see if the body (front?) control module is also dead. Wonder if my trying to jump the car also had an effect? Tow truck driver said that many/most new cars have "diodes in the alternator" that make it bad to try and jump a car unless you know exactly where and how to safely do it. Never heard of such a thing. I am feeling old...I just want a simple car that perhaps is not the most reliable or maintenance free but at least has normal components that can be fixed/swapped out/replaced/jumped. Electronic stuff is nice and fun when it works (love certain features of my car) but god-awful irritating when they break or malfunction.


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[Desert_Flyer]

BTW, my rental is a Dodge Challenger. Newest gen but not sure of year. It is a base model. Miss my 300C already. I miss: large nav screen and backup camera, rear window shade to shade bright lights, heated/cooled cupholders, easy access shorter front doors, nice smooth ride. Challenger likes: instrument panel screen is outstanding, performance page (I just know I am going to get a ticket before the weekend is out!), switchable sport/normal mode, auto/manual shifter, and supportive seat bolsters. Even when not in Sport mode, it seems like the 8-speed tranny does less hunting and less hesitation. Now I am wondering if there is something wrong with mine. Hmmmmmm......


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[TheKrell]

I have a base model and my alternator was recalled before it shorted out. I thought the C trim didn't have bad alternators! Anyhow, I cannot remember a time where they put diodes external to an alternator. Before alternators, cars used generators (yes, I'm that old) that had commutators to produce DC rather than diodes.

On your 8-speed, remember that it is adaptive. I drove my 2012 off the lot w/500 miles on it already due to the fact that I bought it from a northern VA dealer who swapped his car for mine that he found at a dealer in NC. Tranny shifts were terrible, and remained terrible for nearly 30K miles. It had adapted off into crazy-driver land and got stuck there. I believe unplugging the battery during a cylinder head replacement solved that problem.

 

[tarheelcracker]

Just a reminder to those of you who are "jump starting" your car off another car. Do not have the doner car engine running as you run the risk of damaging electrical system components in either or both cars. Also, ground cable connection is made first on connecting and removed last on disconnecting and the 2 cars (bumpers or what have you) never touch.

 

[Desert_Flyer]

Krell, I never got a recall for the alternator...supposedly was not defective. Uh huh.

And in jumping my car did everything wrong...donor car running and connected negative last. I guess i need to go back to car problems school.


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[Desert_Flyer]

Ultimately, my problem was just the faulty alternator that fried the battery. Pcm, fcm, bcm, whatever, was just fine. So much drama and grief from just one component. Three decades ago I simply changed it myself...pretty simple to diagnose, buy the part, and swap it out. Alternator bad, stops charging battery, lights dim, car gradually dies, swap it out, job done. This was not on the recall list. Good thing I had great insurance/warranty.


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[Desert_Flyer]

Talked to my brother-in-law electrical engineer who says the diode thing in alternators is real...and it is a good thing. When the alternator dies, and most will eventually, the diodes prevent electrical impulses going backwards and frying critical electronic parts. That's why the control modules (computers) didn't get fried. Modern cars require modern safeguards and all. His Acura did the same thing as my 300C. I guess I dont feel so bad now. That fancy smancy stuff doin its job as God and auto electrical engineers intended.


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