Random Musings From the Cockpit

[Garrett]

I've noticed a few things from the drivers seat - some good, some bad - over the past few months with the new ride...figured I'd share.

Dash:
- What the heck is the plastic thingy they use to cover the area where the trailer system goes if you have that option? It appears to be a quarter holder, but I don't know?

- What the heck is the little opening area under that? I assume it's where you set your key, or maybe a lighter...or a roll of Benjamins?

- I love the actual buttons for the heated steering wheel and seats (wife's jeep is all digital..too many 'clicks'), but I also don't like how all the buttons are very small. I actually preferred the setup on the Navigator and Denali, both of which we were looking at before choosing the Expy.

- The wireless charger is nice, but it's definitely positioned awkwardly. I'd much rather have it where the Nav has it.

Navigation / Sync:
- The thing is sloooooow for the first few minutes after startup. It reminds me of the old laptop full of **** I had back in college.

- I like the display overall, but I'm hoping it continues to be updated like the Jeep UConnect system.

- Speaking of that, WHY IN THE HELL isn't the speed limit always shown when the navigation screen is displayed? Again, our '14 Jeep has this...seems like it would be standard and not only available when a destination is plugged in.

- I do love the fact that the navigation pops up on the drivers display when using the factory Nav. This is one reason (along with great traffic updates/status) I use the factory Nav over Waze or Google Maps.

- Speaking of Apple Car Play, I'm hoping eventually it will be wireless. I hate plugging my phone in.

- Voice activation is nice and very responsive. Usually with those things you give it two or three tries then say, "Awww F it" and complete your action manually.

- Drivers display is clean and crisp, but options are just meh.

Ride:
- LOVE IT. Super smooth and quiet. My wife begs me to trade this for her Jeep because of the ride alone.

- In the mornings, the shifts between 3-4-5 are a bit harsh, but after the engine warms up, things smooth out. Minor nuisance.

- I like standard and eco mode - mainly because of the cloud like feel with the CCD, but I can't stand the sport mode. Shifting is way too harsh and herky jerky. This is why I'll go with the performance/tow tune with 5 star to maintain the smooth shifting feel.

 

[JohnT]

You missed a few

Black hole behind the console under the climate control buttons, wait till your parking ticket disappears down there and your trying to exit a parkade

Power steering not waking up from autostart/stop unless you touch the accelerator, not great while crawling out of McDonalds drive thru and your swinging out of the wheel trying not to smack a post

Limited trim squeaking on door when your knee presses against it

No way to put rear seats up if you cant open tailgate due to clown parking within an inch of your rear

Grin inducing acceleration on the on-ramp as you leave everything up to and including 5.7 Hemis for dust

Packing 6 buddies in for a trip and they all exit ache free (and impressed)

 

[rumline]

The UConnect 8.4 is a pretty sweet system. There are a number of things I miss from it, some of which you mentioned. I do like how the voice recognition is better in the Expy however. On previous cars I've always felt the need to defeat the speed lockout so I could actually use the system while driving, but the Expy system is good enough that 95% of the time I don't need manual controls. I would like to be able to activate the cams at speed however. I also have been impressed with the factory nav. I'm not using Android Auto / google maps nearly as much as I thought I would.

I agree on the driving modes. Normal and eco are great, sport is too harsh for the majority of instances I'd otherwise use it. One thing I like about Eco mode on the Expy is it delays using the turbos beyond normal tuning and seems to deaden throttle response a bit, which makes it easier to finesse the pedal. On my Jeep, eco mode just made the tranny lug and didn't make a difference in mpgs. On the Expy it's a legit option for most of my driving and I feel like it does make a difference. You can push through and engage the turbos if you want, but if you're just cruising it keeps them from being used as much. IMO it helps mpgs, just by judging from the instant fuel economy display.

Regarding the little coin holder, good Lord that thing is chintzy. It's worth getting the tow package just to not have that crap lol.

I'd like to add that I was not expecting to like the "massage" seats on the Platinum at all, but I really do appreciate it now. It's subtle but it works to keep fatigue at bay on long drives.

Power steering not waking up from autostart/stop unless you touch the accelerator, not great while crawling out of McDonalds drive thru and your swinging out of the wheel trying not to smack a post

Your car is trying to tell you something.

 

[Garrett]

Oh, I forgot one and have a question. I hate the cig lighter outlet/flip up on the passenger front side. Is it possible to swap that thing out with a legit outlet? My wife is always working on her laptop on road trips, so having an outlet there would be sweet.

 

[aggiegrad05]

Black hole behind the console under the climate control buttons, wait till your parking ticket disappears down there and your trying to exit a parkade

My MegaMillions ticket went down there this weekend. I rescued it with a vacuum. The ticket ended up being worthless, but wouldn’t THAT have been a story.

 

[rumline]

Oh, I forgot one and have a question. I hate the cig lighter outlet/flip up on the passenger front side. Is it possible to swap that thing out with a legit outlet? My wife is always working on her laptop on road trips, so having an outlet there would be sweet.

If you want to add a "regular" household wall outlet, what you're looking for is an inverter. It converts 12V direct current to 120V alternating current. You'd want to get a fairly low power one as these things suck current. The conversion is only ~80% efficient, so 20 amps of 12vdc only gets you 1.6 amps of 120vac. You'd need to ensure whatever wires you power it with are sized appropriately for the rated input current.

If a laptop is what you want to power, most of them have power bricks that convert from 120vac to 12vdc anyway. In other words, it's easier to just buy a straight 12vdc power supply for the laptop that will plug into the cig lighter socket in the dash. It'll be much more efficient and you won't need to do a crapton of modding.

 

[MostlyHarmless]

I
- Speaking of that, WHY IN THE HELL isn't the speed limit always shown when the navigation screen is displayed? Again, our '14 Jeep has this...seems like it would be standard and not only available when a destination is plugged in.

- Speaking of Apple Car Play, I'm hoping eventually it will be wireless. I hate plugging my phone in.

I will double check but I am pretty sure the speed limit does show even when the Nav doesn't have a destination plugged in. But it doesn't have a speed limit for every road, so maybe you are looking at the wrong times

Apple car play IS wireless. If you hold the voice key on the steering wheel for a couple seconds then siri will pop up. She can help with Music, Messages, Calendar and general enquiries. She can't activate maps and other apps without being plugged in to USB, but if you are only traveling a short distance and want to listen to music or check messages that absolutely works fine wirelessly.

I only picked up my car at the weekend. It is used and a few months old, but the dealer did make a point of telling me that all the updates had been made - so maybe there is a Sync update out there for Apple CarPlay that not everyone has yet?

Also it took me a bunch of goes to get Car Play to work properly. Had to update my iOS version and then do a reset of the phone before the Sync system would smoothly recognize it - but since I have done that it all works really well.

P.S. my only gripe is distance control and emergency brake activation not working as described in the manual or as well as similar systems in other cars - there is another thread running on this

Mark

 

[JohnT]

If you want to add a "regular" household wall outlet, what you're looking for is an inverter. It converts 12V direct current to 120V alternating current. You'd want to get a fairly low power one as these things suck current. The conversion is only ~80% efficient, so 20 amps of 12vdc only gets you 1.6 amps of 120vac. You'd need to ensure whatever wires you power it with are sized appropriately for the rated input current.

If a laptop is what you want to power, most of them have power bricks that convert from 120vac to 12vdc anyway. In other words, it's easier to just buy a straight 12vdc power supply for the laptop that will plug into the cig lighter socket in the dash. It'll be much more efficient and you won't need to do a crapton of modding.

The F150 dash has 120V receptacle at that location as far as I can remember (2016 model limited?) so maybe the correct wiring is there already and all you need as the module from an F150?

 

[edizzle]

I will double check but I am pretty sure the speed limit does show even when the Nav doesn't have a destination plugged in. But it doesn't have a speed limit for every road, so maybe you are looking at the wrong times

Apple car play IS wireless. If you hold the voice key on the steering wheel for a couple seconds then siri will pop up. She can help with Music, Messages, Calendar and general enquiries. She can't activate maps and other apps without being plugged in to USB, but if you are only traveling a short distance and want to listen to music or check messages that absolutely works fine wirelessly.

I only picked up my car at the weekend. It is used and a few months old, but the dealer did make a point of telling me that all the updates had been made - so maybe there is a Sync update out there for Apple CarPlay that not everyone has yet?

Also it took me a bunch of goes to get Car Play to work properly. Had to update my iOS version and then do a reset of the phone before the Sync system would smoothly recognize it - but since I have done that it all works really well.

P.S. my only gripe is distance control and emergency brake activation not working as described in the manual or as well as similar systems in other cars - there is another thread running on this

Mark

I don’t think you are aware of what CarPlay is!

 

[Raptors]

The F150 dash has 120V receptacle at that location as far as I can remember (2016 model limited?) so maybe the correct wiring is there already and all you need as the module from an F150?

Yep, my F-150 has a wall outlet on the front dash, passenger side, under that plastic flap cover. There is also one for the back row by the heated seat buttons. The inverter itself sits under the back seats. Sounds like the Expy is different.