Lebowski

After Christmas I ordered from aliexpress a 7" monitor for $45 (with 800x480 resolution, most models only have 480x272 and I think it is not acceptable for this screen size), and a 4.3" monitor for $22 (in this case 480x272 is acceptable, though, again, you have to be careful since there are a lot with lower resolution). I also bought a car antenna on ebay for $9. It's not bad, but it's not very good. It works but not better than a bow tie antenna that I made with a piece of wire. This one at least is easy to hide in the space above the rearview mirror. I intended to mount the 7" monitor on the armrest, while the 4.3" one was for the "passenger" This is a general view of the whole system (note that the supply cable is in plain sight just because I'm waiting for a 12V to 5V step down converter, for the time being I'm using the stock 220V power supply with an inverter).

[i'm splitting this in various posts since the forum says there are too many pictures] When I acquired my freemont, it was only available with the dreaded uconnect 4.3 (aka POS) and without the option of a video system (and even if available I wouldn't have ordered it due to the exorbitant price). Also, this is a company car, so I cannot do any permanent modification or anything that leaves some mark, that precluded installing an after market roof DVD or installing headrest monitors. Before Christmas I saw this HD dvb-t receiver that can also play media from an usb drive. Dvb-t is the digital television standard used in Europe, and, just like ATSC, is not suitable for mobile reception, but I thought I could use it to play movies, since it plays almost everything (avi, mkv, mp4, etc.) The price was right (21 EUR, more or less $27) so I bought it without thinking. It turns out it fits perfectly in the compartment in front of the cup holders. At the time I connected to the AV-in of my gps receiver.

I too have a 7 seater but it was absolutely no problem routing the cable under the carpet. What do you mean with "rolling color" screen? The image is stable but the color changes, it's the image that's scrolling or do you see an interference pattern? I had the latter problem and it turns out it was a ground loop. I solved it by isolating the ground (i.e. using an isolating dc-dc converter, scavenged from an old network card, to supply power to the camera),. But it could be something completely different (a faulty cable, a badly seated connector, the camera itself or the lockpick), video signals are temperamental. In any case, I didn't use the original camera, just a cheap Chinese one, connected to a cheap gps receiver with AV-IN, so I tested it before installing it, and I mounted it in a way that's easy to remove without dismantling the panel (I fabricated a replacement for one of the license plate lights, so just a couple of screws and it's gone).

Well, at least you had to wait a few years for the rust to appear, mine came with it from the factory.

Probably, but over here a compass in a car is not a specially sought after option, so no car I had previously came with one, hence my experience is with a real compass, which shows where the north is (and not limited to 8 points resolution). Anyway, I don't care, since I find it a useless gizmo, I would have much preferred something useful, like, say, a rain sensor. A navigator or simple street signs would be equally helpful. Unless you live in the woods, but this isn't an all-terrain car anyway.

If you really have to pay for it, save the money: the compass in this car (and I think in any car, but that's just me, I'm not a hunter-gatherer), while a nice gimmick, is completely useless since instead of showing where the north is (like a real compass), it shows the direction the car is heading (quite confusing to me) it only shows 8 points (N,NE,E,SE,S,SW,W,NW)

Well, I said it's just a rough guide, even mine (a 2011) looks a bit different.

I think so. This is the manual that explains how to install the backup camera, you can use the section regarding the side panel (which in turn requires removing the seats in the third row) and ignore the rest. I'm afraid it isn't too clear and it doesn't explain how to remove the safety belts of the third row (a torx screwdriver of the correct size should be enough) but you can use it as a rough guide

That was my position of choice, but then I changed it to have a better view of the sky: See here for details.

Lucky you. My dealer here in Spain isn't as cooperative. In fact, they're so scared by the new software that they won't even try (though it could also be that using the high beams as DRLs is not street legal over here, I don't know).

Not my car (I don't dare to check even I fear it will be similar) but quite alarming (even if you say it's OK)

Instead of drilling a hole for the camera, I made myself a replacement light using some pieces of plastic and epoxy putty (now you can find these ready made, i.e. light with camera, but at the time I could find nothing): This is a bracket to fix the light in position (it's impossible for me to replicate the clip-on mechanism of the original light). This is where the light bulb will go (just five pieces of plastic kept in place with some tape, before using the epoxy putty) And this is the finished light with the camera, painted black. I routed the cables differently because my screen (which is also a gps receiver) is on the dashboard, above the center air vents. Since I do need to access the center console, by chance do you know how to remove the cap from a manual gearbox stick? (without breaking it).

unlike, e.g., a zip file which is lossless (when you uncompress it you get back the same file that you put in), mp3, in order to save space, uses lossy compression: you take the original audio file, compress it to reduce storage and, when uncompressed, you don't get the original file. The mp3 algorithms throws out something, supposedly the details that you cannot hear, but in practice something you will notice. When you compress the original audio file, you can decide the compression level (i.e., the bitrate to use). Obviously an higher bitrate (less compression and bigger file size) will give better quality that a lower bitrate (where more detail has to be thrown out). If you want the highest quality possible you should use a lossless compression like flac, (but I don't think the uconnect would reproduce it), also, there are competing formats (like ogg, which not only is considered to be of higher quality at the same bitrate but is also a free format, with no patents encumbering it and no royalties to pay to fraunhofer as it is the case for mp3), but sadly the uconnect doesn't work with it either. Me, I don't have such a fine ear, so I'm happy enough with 128kbps streams downloaded from an internet jazz radio.

I'd try first with a cardboard cutout to get an idea of what it would look like in the car.

You're right, I should have specified better that I was talking about the electronics/infotainment/climate control. I have no qualms about everything else (though I'm keeping my fingers crossed).

Good for you, but mine doesn't work according to the specifications in the manual.

I wish that dodge/chrysler/fiat did the same and made the cruise control work as stated in the manual.

WTF, turn off the only redeeming (and working) feature this car has?

Sure, but it will cost a lot in parts and labour. That's a cliché, I've had my fair share of similar incidents and I'm not a woman.

Forbes just reported what Consumer Reports says. I don't know the methodology that Consumer Reports uses, but I suppose it's not based on opinion but on tests and/or tracking faults among owners. I cannot say if the methodology it uses is sound or not, but, again, the wikipedia page says that in the few cases they were wrong, they later retracted their reports and published a correction, and when they were sued they never lost or settled a case, so it seems it is sound.

I don't know Consumer Reports, but the wikipedia says they've been doing it since 1936.

It seems the main point of the article is the engine. I cannot say anything about it since we have a different engine here (and it's less powerful) and I find it adequate. However, I do agree with the other points made by Consumer Reports. At least now I see I'm not the only one.

Look at this video (even though I don't think it's the best position, the result is nice): [media=] [/media]

In my experience it does that automatically: until the engine hasn't reached a suitable temperature (in my case more like 10 minutes instead of 5-6) the fan won't start.

Sorry to hear that. I'm wondering if they overcomplicate things on purpose or it's just a case of Hanlon's razor.