Yes good idea.
I am using the latest Customtronix RAX Uconnect install with the latest Uconnect android app. Mine has been working consistently since the latest android app was released a few weeks back. Like Michael said it is taking considerably longer now for the commands to reach the vehicle. It was a reliable 90 seconds before all of these updates but now it seems to take as long as 3 or 4 minutes. That is way too long to the point that I dont use it as much because I am usually at the vehicle already by then. I tend to remote start more in the winter tho. Heck I thought that 90 seconds was too long but I understand it has to make a call and probably go thru some security hoops for verification etc.
Side note - I really miss my Viper security\remote start system that was in my last vehicle. It was a 2way system on the keyfob that had a 1 mile range(in the open). It always worked and I got confirmation instantly. I am trying to see if they or someone else has a system that has proximity key and the 1 mile range. In real world everyday use, the cellular remote start system is not really worth the hassle right now...
Its totally poor design that the Uconnect system isn’t quick. There’s no reason it needs to be this slow.
Start your Durango “normally” and watch the radio boot all the way up- wait till you can see the ‘other apps’ all loaded so you know it’s all the way booted.
Now use the app to lock or unlock the doors- it’s basically INSTANT. Once the junkie Uconnect 8.4 system is booted it’s under a second if you have sprint coverage where you are.
The ~90 second delay (universal for factory or customized) that was “built in” is all from the fact that the Ucconnect 8.4 is not programmed to prioritize remote start. Someone on another forum happened to be at the consumer electronics show (CES) in vegas this past winter and met some of the engineering team from Uconnect group. They explained that the boot is sequenced and the very last thing to load is the remote start app. So (from memory) when you start the key it first boots to the seat controls and disclaimer screen, then it loads the radio playback bits, then it loads the radio presets, then it loads Bluetooth voice connection for your phone, then it loads the phonebook, then it loads the phone messaging stuff, then it loads the Sirius aps (weather, fuel prices, etc) then it loads the Uconnect apps like Pandora and the remote start app. 90 seconds – set your watch.
You can also see it happen at night. Stand outside the D and hit the remote start button. In a matter of seconds the radio backlight comes on (display will be blank) and the dash wakes up. Then it does the whole boot sequence and ~90 seconds later the D starts.
Before the whole hacking mess (way back at CES) the engineers knew it was an issue and planned to at least move the remote start app earlier in the boot sequence so maybe it would be only 30 or 60 or 75 seconds. But at this point who knows. They could also figure out how to have the OS go into a low power state that isn’t a complete shutdown but I wouldn’t hold my breath. You’d think too that the battery could support the radio to standby for at least more than a minute or two (if you use the app to lock the vehicle within seconds of when you get out and the radio isn’t yet powered down it locks basically instantly- wait too long and the 90 second delay is back)
There are times when the boot still takes about 90 seconds and it just works. So any additional delays of late are something on the infrastructure end of the system- bouncing commands around, checking for security, waiting for firewalls or the like. It seems to be getting better slowly but surely for me at least so I suspect in a little while the 90 seconds will be the norm again.
Also the system is 2 way to some degree. They can track your gps if need be. But also if you login to moparownerconnect.com and check the maintenance tab it will show your mileage and what date it last asked the vehicle for it- it’s usually only a day or two old. So there’s no reason they couldn’t report back with a less nebulous message like “your car did in fact start and the ac is running” or “your fuel was low so your vehicle did not start”
We know the modem is always on since it boots the Uconnect system on a chip when it gets the signal from sprint. And if you read the hacker report the v850 chip which does all the communication on the can bus also doesn’t actually power down either. Since our keyfobs can send a command presumably it’s from the rf module speaking over the can bus to whatever really runs the remote start sequence. So in theory they could also figure out a way to have the modem directly tell the v850 to start and it would be more instant. But if I understand the report (and I’m no hacker so who knows) they hackers actually compromised things by using the software service that the 850, modem, and Uconnect system on a chip all use to communicate. So they’re probably trying to figure out how to secure that mess at the moment and fiddling otherwise is probably not on the radar.
