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Helpful Tips & Tricks

19K views 48 replies 28 participants last post by  fnkychkn 
#1 · (Edited)
I thought I would post some helpful tips and tricks that I've figured out along the way. Some of these are likely already known but I wanted to put them out there anyway. Feel free to add to the list and I will update the first post. Perhaps this can become a sticky thread, who knows.

- From the factory, your car will not honk the horn when you lock the doors. Go in to Settings, Doors & Locks, and make sure that 'Sound Horn With Lock' is selected.

- Different themes for your 8" touchscreen can be set. There are multiple themes for red and blue colors. I prefer theme #6 (blue). To access, go into Settings, Display, Set Theme.

- Accessing the Drive Modes screen is as simple as pressing the SRT button. Quickly pressing the SRT button twice will not only bring up the Drive Modes screen but also put it in your Custom mode.

- Track and Sport drive modes only allow you to configure the HP level (500/700+). However, if you want to drive in one of those modes temporarily but still want full traction control (I recommend keeping the traction control on Street most of the time) you can achieve this by selecting the Drive Mode you want and then pressing the T/C button and cycle through until you are back in Street mode. This WILL be reflected on the Drive Modes screen. This saves you from re-configuring your Custom Drive Mode.

- For A8 owners: When driving in ECO mode, paddle shifters are disabled, however if you wish to manually shift you CAN shift with the shifter by moving the shifter over to 'M'. This is useful if you wish to engine brake to slow down to reduce brake dust being put on the rims. I haven't confirmed yet if this is available in Valet mode. I know the paddle shifters are disabled, but not sure if you can shift with 'M' or not. Edit: Confirmed that it works the same in Valet mode.

- Based on a recent post I want to put this out there.. If you're going to put your car on a dyno, make sure the ABS Fuse (#36 in the Front Distribution Center) is pulled before making a pull. Otherwise, your ABS will want to intervene since the front wheels are stationary and your rear wheels are moving at a high rate of speed. This ends up cooking your rear brakes and therefore will not put down as much power. Your T/C, ESC and 'BRAKE' lights will be illuminated in the dash -- don't worry as this is normal since the ABS is pulled. You will not need to turn off T/C as it will already be done from pulling the fuse. Remember to re-install the fuse when you're done!

- If you're frustrated with the load times for the SRT Performance Pages and just want to quickly read some info, nearly all of the same functionality is available through the DID (Driver Information Display). You can access gauges, current and past performance data much quicker this way. There also seems to be less lag (at least to me) on these gauges rather than the Performance Pages gauges.

- Hood height adjustment - if your hood's height is slightly off it can be adjusted by the opening the hood adjusting the posts near the front of the engine compartment. Pretty self-explanatory. Adjust down to lower, adjust up to raise.

- Exhaust tip adjustment - if your exhaust tips are crooked or otherwise misaligned they can be adjusted. There is a single bolt (I believe 13mm if I remember right, somebody correct me if I'm wrong) holding each tip on. After loosening you can adjust the position and re-tighten.

- Oil cooler location - if you plan on changing your own oil or if your dealer is not familiar with where the oil cooler is, you'll want to know this as you must drain the oil cooler during oil changes. First remove the primary belly pan's 4 bolts in order to get to the main drain plug. To access the oil cooler, there is a second panel that must be removed. There are multiple plastic pins holding it in place, be careful when removing as they can break easily. Once the panel has been removed, the oil cooler is on the passenger side and the drain plug is located immediately after an elbow. The drain plug will be facing down and to the passenger side. See attached picture.

- Engineering mode: You can access an Engineering mode within UConnect that allows you to view numerous items. Disclaimer: I do not take responsibility if you break anything while in these screens! In order to access, hold both driver-side temperature buttons at the same time for 5-7 seconds and the menu should open.

- Dealer mode: You can access Dealer mode within UConnect. This is typically used by service technicians. For non-navigation units you can activate Navigation IF you have the 15-digit code that is generated elsewhere. Sorry, no free Navigation upgrades. Disclaimer: I do not take responsibility if you break anything while in these screens! In order to access, hold both driver-side temperature and front defrost button at the same time for 5-7 seconds and the menu should open.

- UConnect Screenshots: You can take screenshots of any screen, including back-up camera image as long as a USB thumb drive is plugged in. Once the drive is plugged in, hold both driver-side temperature and rear defrost button at the same time for 5-7 seconds. Make sure that your USB thumb drive does NOT have the swdl.iso file from a radio firmware upgrade on it!

- Driving in snow: I know a lot of owners will never let their Hellcat see snow or ice. For those owners (like myself) who choose to drive in these conditions anyway, or for those that may find themselves caught unexpectedly in snow/ice here are some tips. First off, if you have summer/3-season tires on your car, if at all possible do NOT drive in snow/ice! You may be able to 'get around' but it will be far from safe -- even if you get going, stopping and turning will be an issue and you will have to plan for things very much ahead of time and emergency maneuvers are pretty much out of the picture. More often than not, if it's a decent amount of snow you'll just be spinning and going nowhere. Now, if you have all-season (or even better, winter/snow tires) it's a different story and the Hellcat is perfectly capable of driving in snow/ice, just be careful of ground clearance as the front splitter can also serve a dual purpose as a snow plow. That said, I'd recommend driving in 500 HP mode as you really don't need the full power in these types of crappy conditions. If you have an A8 transmission, ECO Mode + 500 HP mode is even better as ECO Mode reduces throttle response and is therefore less prone to tire spin. When the tires do lose grip and if the rear end starts getting loose, remember to counter steer and NOT slam on the brakes! The TC and ESC systems do a good job of keeping things in check -- you probably only need to disable to get going then put it back to Street mode. If you have it all off, it's all on you and try to keep it between the ditches. :)

- Driver Information Display Bug: I've discovered a bug of sorts within the DID when resetting your fuel economy info. If your page #3 has 'Peak G-Force' selected and you at some point go to page #4 and reset your fuel economy all 4 values for 'Peak G-Force' get reset to 0.00. If I have the page to the right of 'Peak G-Force' (I believe it is lap timers) and then reset the fuel economy on page #4 the values remain. Took me a bit to realize this and was disappointed the first time it happened since I lost my previous high values.

- Forgotten (or unknown) PIN for Valet Mode: So, you've either forgot your one-time PIN for Valet mode or someone played an evil prank on you and enabled Valet Mode and won't tell you the PIN. There is a way around this. Disconnect both positive and negative terminals from the battery and leave disconnected for at least one minute then re-connect. Cycle your ignition to RUN position without touching the brake pedal. Hit the ignition button once more to get into OFF position. Start the car up and Valet mode has been cleared.

- Satin Hood Finish Care & Protection: If you have the satin hood option, or get your hood painted to mimic the satin hood option you should know that the satin finish requires difference maintenance than the rest of the car. Technically this also includes the spoiler and fuel filler door. Rather than go into details, see the attached PDF which is a Service Bulletin on the satin finish.
 

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#3 ·
I thought I would post some helpful tips and tricks that I've figured out along the way. Some of these are likely already known but I wanted to put them out there anyway. Feel free to add to the list and I will update the first post. Perhaps this can become a sticky thread, who knows.

- From the factory, your car will not honk the horn when you lock the doors. Go in to Settings, Doors & Locks, and make sure that 'Sound Horn With Lock' is selected.

- Different themes for your 8" touchscreen can be set. There are multiple themes for red and blue colors. I prefer theme #5 (blue). To access, go into Settings, Display, Set Theme.

- Accessing the Drive Modes screen is as simple as pressing the SRT button. Quickly pressing the SRT button twice will not only bring up the Drive Modes screen but also put it in your Custom mode.

- Track and Sport drive modes only allow you to configure the HP level (500/700+). However, if you want to drive in one of those modes temporarily but still want full traction control (I recommend keeping the traction control on Street most of the time) you can achieve this by selecting the Drive Mode you want and then pressing the T/C button and cycle through until you are back in Street mode. This WILL be reflected on the Drive Modes screen. This saves you from re-configuring your Custom Drive Mode.

- For A8 owners: When driving in ECO mode, paddle shifters are disabled, however if you wish to manually shift you CAN shift with the shifter by moving the shifter over to 'M'. This is useful if you wish to engine brake to slow down to reduce brake dust being put on the rims. I haven't confirmed yet if this is available in Valet mode. I know the paddle shifters are disabled, but not sure if you can shift with 'M' or not.

- Based on a recent post I want to put this out there.. If you're going to put your car on a dyno, make sure the ABS Fuse (#36 in the Front Distribution Center) is pulled before making a pull. Otherwise, your ABS will want to intervene since the front wheels are stationary and your rear wheels are moving at a high rate of speed. This ends up cooking your rear brakes and therefore will not put down as much power. Your T/C, ESC and 'BRAKE' lights will be illuminated in the dash -- don't worry as this is normal since the ABS is pulled. You will not need to turn off T/C as it will already be done from pulling the fuse. Remember to re-install the fuse when you're done!

- If you're frustrated with the load times for the SRT Performance Pages and just want to quickly read some info, nearly all of the same functionality is available through the DID (Driver Information Display). You can access gauges, current and past performance data much quicker this way. There also seems to be less lag (at least to me) on these gauges rather than the Performance Pages gauges.

- Hood height adjustment - if your hood's height is slightly off it can be adjusted by the opening the hood adjusting the posts near the front of the engine compartment. Pretty self-explanatory. Adjust down to lower, adjust up to raise.

- Exhaust tip adjustment - if your exhaust tips are crooked or otherwise misaligned they can be adjusted. There is a single bolt (I believe 13mm if I remember right, somebody correct me if I'm wrong) holding each tip on. After loosening you can adjust the position and re-tighten.

- Oil cooler location - if you plan on changing your own oil or if your dealer is not familiar with where the oil cooler is, you'll want to know this as you must drain the oil cooler during oil changes. First remove the primary belly pan's 4 bolts in order to get to the main drain plug. To access the oil cooler, there is a second panel that must be removed. There are multiple plastic pins holding it in place, be careful when removing as they can break easily. Once the panel has been removed, the oil cooler is on the passenger side and the drain plug is located immediately after an elbow. The drain plug will be facing down and to the passenger side. See attached picture.
Thanks for taking the time to prepare all of us future owners for what we will face, one day.....I hope!;)
 
#5 ·
I thought I would post some helpful tips and tricks that I've figured out along the way. Some of these are likely already known but I wanted to put them out there anyway. Feel free to add to the list and I will update the first post. Perhaps this can become a sticky thread, who knows.

- From the factory, your car will not honk the horn when you lock the doors. Go in to Settings, Doors & Locks, and make sure that 'Sound Horn With Lock' is selected.

- Different themes for your 8" touchscreen can be set. There are multiple themes for red and blue colors. I prefer theme #5 (blue). To access, go into Settings, Display, Set Theme.

- Accessing the Drive Modes screen is as simple as pressing the SRT button. Quickly pressing the SRT button twice will not only bring up the Drive Modes screen but also put it in your Custom mode.

- Track and Sport drive modes only allow you to configure the HP level (500/700+). However, if you want to drive in one of those modes temporarily but still want full traction control (I recommend keeping the traction control on Street most of the time) you can achieve this by selecting the Drive Mode you want and then pressing the T/C button and cycle through until you are back in Street mode. This WILL be reflected on the Drive Modes screen. This saves you from re-configuring your Custom Drive Mode.

- For A8 owners: When driving in ECO mode, paddle shifters are disabled, however if you wish to manually shift you CAN shift with the shifter by moving the shifter over to 'M'. This is useful if you wish to engine brake to slow down to reduce brake dust being put on the rims. I haven't confirmed yet if this is available in Valet mode. I know the paddle shifters are disabled, but not sure if you can shift with 'M' or not.

- Based on a recent post I want to put this out there.. If you're going to put your car on a dyno, make sure the ABS Fuse (#36 in the Front Distribution Center) is pulled before making a pull. Otherwise, your ABS will want to intervene since the front wheels are stationary and your rear wheels are moving at a high rate of speed. This ends up cooking your rear brakes and therefore will not put down as much power. Your T/C, ESC and 'BRAKE' lights will be illuminated in the dash -- don't worry as this is normal since the ABS is pulled. You will not need to turn off T/C as it will already be done from pulling the fuse. Remember to re-install the fuse when you're done!

- If you're frustrated with the load times for the SRT Performance Pages and just want to quickly read some info, nearly all of the same functionality is available through the DID (Driver Information Display). You can access gauges, current and past performance data much quicker this way. There also seems to be less lag (at least to me) on these gauges rather than the Performance Pages gauges.

- Hood height adjustment - if your hood's height is slightly off it can be adjusted by the opening the hood adjusting the posts near the front of the engine compartment. Pretty self-explanatory. Adjust down to lower, adjust up to raise.

- Exhaust tip adjustment - if your exhaust tips are crooked or otherwise misaligned they can be adjusted. There is a single bolt (I believe 13mm if I remember right, somebody correct me if I'm wrong) holding each tip on. After loosening you can adjust the position and re-tighten.

- Oil cooler location - if you plan on changing your own oil or if your dealer is not familiar with where the oil cooler is, you'll want to know this as you must drain the oil cooler during oil changes. First remove the primary belly pan's 4 bolts in order to get to the main drain plug. To access the oil cooler, there is a second panel that must be removed. There are multiple plastic pins holding it in place, be careful when removing as they can break easily. Once the panel has been removed, the oil cooler is on the passenger side and the drain plug is located immediately after an elbow. The drain plug will be facing down and to the passenger side. See attached picture.
Well said. Thanks for sharing all this in one place.:)
 
#9 ·
I thought I would post some helpful tips and tricks that I've figured out along the way. Some of these are likely already known but I wanted to put them out there anyway. Feel free to add to the list and I will update the first post. Perhaps this can become a sticky thread, who knows.

- From the factory, your car will not honk the horn when you lock the doors. Go in to Settings, Doors & Locks, and make sure that 'Sound Horn With Lock' is selected.

- Different themes for your 8" touchscreen can be set. There are multiple themes for red and blue colors. I prefer theme #5 (blue). To access, go into Settings, Display, Set Theme.

- Accessing the Drive Modes screen is as simple as pressing the SRT button. Quickly pressing the SRT button twice will not only bring up the Drive Modes screen but also put it in your Custom mode.

- Track and Sport drive modes only allow you to configure the HP level (500/700+). However, if you want to drive in one of those modes temporarily but still want full traction control (I recommend keeping the traction control on Street most of the time) you can achieve this by selecting the Drive Mode you want and then pressing the T/C button and cycle through until you are back in Street mode. This WILL be reflected on the Drive Modes screen. This saves you from re-configuring your Custom Drive Mode.

- For A8 owners: When driving in ECO mode, paddle shifters are disabled, however if you wish to manually shift you CAN shift with the shifter by moving the shifter over to 'M'. This is useful if you wish to engine brake to slow down to reduce brake dust being put on the rims. I haven't confirmed yet if this is available in Valet mode. I know the paddle shifters are disabled, but not sure if you can shift with 'M' or not.

- Based on a recent post I want to put this out there.. If you're going to put your car on a dyno, make sure the ABS Fuse (#36 in the Front Distribution Center) is pulled before making a pull. Otherwise, your ABS will want to intervene since the front wheels are stationary and your rear wheels are moving at a high rate of speed. This ends up cooking your rear brakes and therefore will not put down as much power. Your T/C, ESC and 'BRAKE' lights will be illuminated in the dash -- don't worry as this is normal since the ABS is pulled. You will not need to turn off T/C as it will already be done from pulling the fuse. Remember to re-install the fuse when you're done!

- If you're frustrated with the load times for the SRT Performance Pages and just want to quickly read some info, nearly all of the same functionality is available through the DID (Driver Information Display). You can access gauges, current and past performance data much quicker this way. There also seems to be less lag (at least to me) on these gauges rather than the Performance Pages gauges.

- Hood height adjustment - if your hood's height is slightly off it can be adjusted by the opening the hood adjusting the posts near the front of the engine compartment. Pretty self-explanatory. Adjust down to lower, adjust up to raise.

- Exhaust tip adjustment - if your exhaust tips are crooked or otherwise misaligned they can be adjusted. There is a single bolt (I believe 13mm if I remember right, somebody correct me if I'm wrong) holding each tip on. After loosening you can adjust the position and re-tighten.

- Oil cooler location - if you plan on changing your own oil or if your dealer is not familiar with where the oil cooler is, you'll want to know this as you must drain the oil cooler during oil changes. First remove the primary belly pan's 4 bolts in order to get to the main drain plug. To access the oil cooler, there is a second panel that must be removed. There are multiple plastic pins holding it in place, be careful when removing as they can break easily. Once the panel has been removed, the oil cooler is on the passenger side and the drain plug is located immediately after an elbow. The drain plug will be facing down and to the passenger side. See attached picture.
 
#11 ·
Edited first post to confirm that you can shift via shifter in Valet mode. Man that thing is locked down power wise, lol.

Hellcat Trivia: Supposedly the Valet mode is 300 hp and has similar power curve to the V6, per Ralph Gilles.
 
#15 ·
That I'm not sure of. While I'm familiar with how line-lock systems work I'm not sure how you would wire one up in a Challenger. My guess/theory is that perhaps that fuse can be switched and activating the line lock could disable ABS.
 
#16 ·
Edited first post to add info about engineering menu, dealer menu and taking screenshots for upload to USB drive.
 
#19 ·
tsc - Great idea and lots of great information all stored in one thread. I hope the forum will get information to you as needed for you to place it on this thread. Great stuff.
 
#23 ·
It doesn't match our car. Don't worry about it. Lol. There are about 4 or 5 different red ones though;). I figured you would be sitting in your baby playing with those buttons!
 
#21 ·
hellcat1 I decided to put the screenshot feature to work to show you.. I guess it was #6 that I use and not #5 as listed in my original post. See attached pictures.
 

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#24 ·
I would maybe do the main screens, but at least with the Engineering Menu screens, there are quite a lot to go through. It's really just an Easter egg -- not much value to us consumers. Basically a lot of ID, version numbers, database builds, etc.

I was hoping to find an option for remote window down as in 2011 and older Challengers, but no luck. Probably the only thing I miss from my 2010..
 
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#28 ·
I noticed that after holding the three buttons (both temperature and rear defrost) that the rear defrost light blinked a few times. I think that may be the indication.
 
#30 ·
Edited first post to add info about driving in snow/ice. Seeing the snow fall outside my office, I figured I'd put that out there too..
 
#32 ·
First post updated again with a bug I've found in the DID regarding resetting fuel economy and losing your peak g-force values. But there is a workaround..
 
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