remote start and A/C on not working properly

Hi,

Because of the model year and mileage, I strongly recommend having a dealership inspect and repair it. The vehicle is under 100 warranty.

If you want to do a little checking prior, I recommend having the can-bus system scanned for diagnostic trouble codes. CAN stands for controller area network. Basically, all the modules are connected via a few wires. By doing this type of scan, it will identify a code regardless of the module/computer is saved in.

Here is a quick video showing how it's done:

https://youtu.be/InIlnsjOVFA

Let me know if you have other questions.

Take care,

Joe

Thanks Joe, I called the Advisor at the dealership and he did not know. He was going to research it and call me back. I am still waiting.

PS: I set up my mopar uconnect app on my phone and tried it through this app. It still showed climate control being off while the remote start was running the truck.

Hi,

I have a feeling this will require a good bit of diagnostics to determine the cause. The idea that it isn't turning on leads me to think there is an issue within the can-bus and the module isn't receiving the signal to turn on.

If possible, could you let me know what they tell you or what is found? Also, if you don't get satisfaction from the dealer, contact the Zone Office for Chrysler nearest to you for help. There should be phone numbers in the rear of the owner's manual.

Let me know.

Take care,

Joe

Thanks again Joe, The Ram Advisor called me back and was stumped. He set up an appointment "ASAP" which was for August 3rd, 2021. Sure am glad nothing major is wrong or I would have to rent a truck for 30 days. I will let you know what they find out.

I appreciate it. Also, if you get no help from them, contact customer relations at the closest Zone office. They will help.

Take care,

Joe

Hello Joe, I saw my dealership Dodge this morning. I a nutshell Blain said they can not do anything until Chrysler comes out with a software update to fix this known problem. He said some models work and some do not. He said it was a program that is part of the Powertrain Control Module and is very expensive. It may be just weeks or a year before this software update is available for a fix. It is up to the Chrysler Engineers. I told him the customers who pay $50,000 for a truck are taking the brunt of this, and they ought to fix it with a good program that works from their inventory. He said it does not work that way. I asked what Chrysler Zone covers their dealership, Dallas or Denver? He said it is the South West Zone and does not have a town. I asked for their phone number. He said he could give me Chrysler Consumers Affairs phone number and I would have to just talk to them. 1-800-992-1997. I asked for the "CAN" printout of codes he got off my truck. He said there was only one that came up. DTC's PRESENT: ECU(RADIO) DTC(U0002-00) DESCRIPTION(CAN C BUS OFF PERFORMANCE--STORED) I am wondering why the Program of the Powertrain Control Module that is not working properly, did not show up. If it is part of the "CAN" wouldn't it show up? But little do I know. I will contact the Chrysler Consumer Affairs people and let you know. I hope this is helpful. Thanks again for all your help.

Hello Joe,
I below is what they researched for me.
8/3/21 Chrysler Consumer Affairs 1-800-992-1997 EbonyRE: remote start climate control 
Service Bulletin # 08-100-21 REV.BREFERENCE # 80172161Ebony said the problem is in the UCONNECT RADIO which controls the climate controls. The update was to have been for may - july or early August. She said the dealership should notify me when they get the update. She has no information as to "Zones". I will let Blaine at my dealership know this and see what he has to say.

Hi,

The zoning office is basically what you called with consumer affairs. I'm not sure why they didn't know that.

So, now it becomes a waiting game. Ugh!!! Things used to be so easy. LOL Not anymore.

Regardless, let me know if / when they contact you. I'm really interested in knowing if the update takes care of the issue.

Take care and thanks for the update.

Joe

Thanks again.

I have another question regarding the FCW/Braking and PEB. These are both Safety Emergency Braking features I paid extra for when having this 2021 Ram 1500 built. It seems they are not working.
8/23/21
Hello TJ Ellis Service Manager,
Email: [email protected]
Called 918-401-4600 and left message for TJ.
I told him we bought the 2021 Ram 1500 truck in March 2021 and the vin ends
with 7MN684189.
I had the truck stopped in the driveway in front of the empty trash can,
when my foot came off the brake pedal and rolled into the trash can.
I got to thinking that the truck has FCW/Braking (Foreword Collision Warning and Braking) and PEB (Pedestrian Emergency Braking) on it. I thought they should have stopped the truck before it contacted the trash can.
I am wondering if these systems are operable and if there is any way you can
check to see if they are working?
The reason for my concern is this truck already has a known software
malfunction with the Remote Start Climate Control not functioning and in
need of a software replacement.
Could a similar problem with another software malfunction be known also? Is
there a software replacement available?
Please let me know if you want me to setup an appointment for your service
department.
Thank you,
James Felland
918-789-3475
[email protected] preferred method of contact.

8/23/21 Blain said they did have a way to check these systems, (PEB,FCW/B, ACC), for proper operation. Blain at jimglover.com called and said these systems are intertwined and would put us on a loaner list so we can drop off truck for a couple of days to check out this emergency braking issue and may have software for Remote Start Climate Control by that time which will be a couple of months, possibly sooner. By Oct 23, 21.

I also conducted a test for these systems, as follows below.
8/24/21 PEB and FCW/Braking test performed. The systems were shown to be checked in the on positions on the screen inside of the truck..
Blue painters tape, with newspapers hanging down off of the tape, was strung across the driveway from hood height to the gravel driveway, all the way across the front of the truck. The Ram impacted the tape and newspaper sheets at 4,10 and 22 mph. The PEB & FCW/B did not stop the truck before or after impact on any of the three impacts.

8/25/21
1-800-992-1997 RAM Customer Service. Agent CHELSEA. VIN# 1C6SRFFT7MN684189 3,000 MI. Case# 80368718
PEB & FCW/B not working
This not a known problem and does not warrant a Case Manager because the truck is not in a dealership. She does not have access to TSB's, only case manager can see those.

So, do you have any ideas on this?

Hi,

Is the truck scheduled to be taken to a dealer? They won't do anything for you unless it's at a Dodge dealership.

As far as the issues, this is very new to me. I haven't seen the problem other than your vehicle.

Because of the type of issue (malfunction with the forward collision circuit), keep it at a dealership. That is a safety issue. If they are unable to repair it within three tries, the vehicle should then fall under the lemon law. I know you may not want to hear that, but to the best of my knowledge, that is the law.

Here is a link you may find of interest:

https://www.mopar.com/en-us/lemon-law.html

Let me know if it is scheduled.

Take care,

Joe

Hello Joe,

I have talked to Ram Dealership, Aug 23rd, 2021, and they will schedule me in when their Loaner List shows they have a loaner vehicle for me to use for a couple of days. They said this might be sooner that a couple of months, but should be by Oct. 23rd, 2021.
Does this sound like an alright time frame?
Thanks for your help. I will let you know when they schedule me in.

Hi,

Oct, 23rd? Good lord that is crazy. Are there any other dealers near you?

Let me know.

Joe

I have sent this email to the Service Manager.
Hello TJ, Service Manager; [email protected] 8/28/21
Blain said he could put me on a Loaner List for an appointment for the FCW/Braking and PEB issues of not working. He said the appointment may take up to two months (Oct 23, 2021) to make. He said he would need the truck for a couple of days. I need our truck every day and told him I could bring it in on the A.M. of consecutive days. Because this is a probable Safety Issue, it needs attention immediately. Can you expedite this appointment? Thank You, James Felland
vin 7MN684189 [email protected]

I think that is perfect. Let me know how they respond.

Take care,

Joe

9/25/21
Hello Joe and Ken, I could not find the reply button for this continuation of our dialog, so I started a new dialog.

I took the truck to a new dealer ship and this is what they found out.
9/24/21 word/f/safety
MELTON RAM DEALERSHIP: Andrew 918-341-1512 Richard 918-260-0197 LYNN RIGGS BL. CLAREMORE, OK. 74017

Dora is the warrantee manager who works with the service department:
Dora stated about the following:

All safety features are setup and on and working. Motion is needed for the front safety features to work. The rear facing features are working and motion is not needed but will work with motion as well.

PEB: Pedestrian Emergency Braking Will brake if there is motion sensed.

FCW/braking: Forward Collision Warning Plus with Active Braking Will brake if there is motion sensed.

Advanced Braking Assist will brake if there is motion sensed or if I am not applying heavy enough braking to stop in time of impact.

ACC: Adaptive Cruise Control In Level 1 SAFETY GROUP AJ1 not on this truck.

Rear cross path with braking will brake in time to avoid impact while going in reverse. It will work on motion or no motion. It will learn as it goes.

Park sense front and rear park-assist with stop not on this truck.

Tinting on brow and the topper on the truck do not interfere with safety features.
Which of these safety features would qualify for lemon law requirements? Did not discuss
Are there special forms or reports needed for lemon law requirements? Did not discuss

Incorrect Spare Tire Installed/ FMVSS 110 NHTSA # 21V698000 FCA US LLC’s # Y62 not for this truck's VIN. Visually, manually checked to see tire was correct for this truck.

Remote Start with Automatic Cooling Climate Control: A/C should be at last setting when I shut the truck off.
Dora further explained about the Remote Start and A/C not activating on its previous setting.
After showing Dora the Chrysler C. S. Technical # 80-100-21-REV.B, She showed her tech and they installed one of two updates to the radio (1 hour). This did not solve problem. Tech looked into the connections further and found two failed parts, a HVAC Module and a Blower Motor Control. They ordered parts.
The second update, by air satellite, should show up on my NAV screen by Oct 5th, 2021. Install it and see if it works. If it does not work or no notification, call Dora. Dora said the Tech and her do not believe it will work to solve the problem either.
If parts are on a long backorder time Dora will call me and tell me a Customer care
number to call and tell them I want to start a case due to long back order time. (dealership is not allowed to start a case). This will prompt them to call Dora and let her know where she can get the parts from, in short order. Dora (or Tila) will then schedule me in for a couple of days to run a half days tests on the truck and install the parts. She will schedule a free rental car for me while they are testing and installing the parts and testing to see if the problem is solved.

It seems they did a very good through job and we will see how the parts are found, installed and tested in a timely manner. Thanks again for listening and suggesting fixes for these problems.

Hi, James:

I'm glad to hear you are making progress. Hopefully, this is going to take care of the problem. I have no idea how the spare was the wrong size unless someone was taking parts from it prior to it being sold.

Regardless, please keep us updated. We both are interested in knowing how this turns out for you. Also, let us know if we can help in any way.

Take care,

Joe

I sure will do. The recall for the spare tire was not for my VIN number, so good.

Hello Joe, 2CarPros.com

10/19/21 I took the truck into the dealership at 8 am and I was told by the dealership 4 hours later, the Remote Start A/C is working as it should be. They replaced the A/C module and the Blower Module, and this did not correct my perceived problem. So they escalated it to "STAR CASE" Engineers. The engineers said when it is started by Remote Start, the last setting it was on (ex: A/C) will go on at 1,500 RPMs, then when I push the start button, it will go on to the last setting it was on when I first shut it off, ex: max A/C at 4,000 RPMs. They said this was a change in 2021 from 2020, for efficiency.
I told them when I read the owner manual it did not sound that way to me. They gave me my keys and said they would email the paperwork to me later. Thanks again Joe for your follow up and help.

Hi,

Thanks for the update. Wow, anything to make things a little more difficult. If they didn't add that in the manual, it's their fault. I would think that should be indicated.

So, in reality, it works as designed, correct?

Joe

Hello Joe,

Yes, that is what they are telling me, it is working as it was engineered to work. It just does not sound like it from the operator's manual, but that is what they are sticking with.

Hi,

Interesting. I'm not the engineer that designed it, but I don't feel I would have made that change. It doesn't even seem to make sense to me as to why.

Regardless, please let me know if there is anything additional, I can do to help. Also, feel free to come back anytime in the future if you need anything. You're always welcome here.

Take good care of yourself,

Joe

Hello Joe,
I will let you know of any new developments.
Have a happy Halloween!
Jim and Pam

Hi,

Sounds good, take care, and Happy Halloween to both of you as well.

Joe

Hello Joe,
I finally had to drive to Melton Ram to get the work order receipts for the last bit of work done to my truck, Remote Start / A/C / HVAC.

10/27/2021 MELTON, Andrew
Gave me three work order receipts. The top one states the customer’s concern of Remote Start and the HVAC not going on at the previous setting. The other two pages are dialog between Melton Tech Jim and “STAR” Agent Joey R.
Joey’s response is “James, the HVAC controller will not turn on or display activity until the bus is awakened by customer input. This can be opening the door or turning the key on, depending on the platform. The system is designed to run in the background based on set inputs when remote start is activated. We use software outside of the HVAC controller when using the comfort system. This does not indicate the system is not functioning properly.
Jim responds that he tested two 2020 Bighorns that worked at HVAC previous settings.
Joey asked Jim if he would test 2021 Bighorns?
Jim stated “I did test two 2021 trucks and was GUESSING a change in that model year, two other 2021, do the exact same as the customers truck.
Joey R. states “Understood. Looks like that’s just how the vehicle operates. Will go ahead and close the case. Thank you for your efforts and cooperation. Have a great rest of your week. Joey R. 10/19/2021 14:58:52
I told Andrew of Melton Ram, I seems to me they are using words “guessing and looks like” instead of what you told me. You told me about the Engineers at STAR, said it “was” the change in model year to achieve better efficiency. Andrew said yeah, that is what they were saying. 10/27/2021

Jim,

Ugh! I understand your frustration. Likely, you feel as though people aren't sure what is happening.

Regardless, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Hang in there.

Joe