AM reception
02-06-13, 11:18 AM
#1
AM reception
I took our RX in for the 5000 mile service this morning, and asked them to check the radio. Although everything else works as advertised, the reception for the AM bands is very poor. They told me that others have mentioned the same thing, but only on 2013 cars, NOT limited to the RX. According to them, there are no TSBs for poor reception. They suggested that I mention it again at the 10K mile service, and maybe by then Lexus will have a solution!
If it really is a a common issue on 2013 cars, I would be surprised I haven't read about it on Club Lexus already. Has anyone else noticed poor AM reception?
If it really is a a common issue on 2013 cars, I would be surprised I haven't read about it on Club Lexus already. Has anyone else noticed poor AM reception?
Last edited by User 41924; 02-07-13 at 08:58 AM.
02-07-13, 06:23 PM
#2
The pursuit of F
Mine is fine and actually better than my '11 CT. There is a slight dead spot in my commute but again it's consistent and slightly worse with my CT. I believe there's a cellphone tower nearby which might explain it.
Woodrow, do you have this issue with another car? Can you bring with you a battery powered radio in the RX and test along the route see if it's poor too? Maybe your area has more interference than others?
Woodrow, do you have this issue with another car? Can you bring with you a battery powered radio in the RX and test along the route see if it's poor too? Maybe your area has more interference than others?
j/k
09-15-13, 08:12 PM
#4
Pit Crew
Woody, did you ever get a resolution to this? My wife's '13 RX has the same problem. Everything else sounds great, but AM has a lot of static, even with HD enabled. I didn't think static on HD was even possible.
Mark
Mark
09-15-13, 09:33 PM
#5
I'm having a MAJOR problem with this but mine is an '08 400h. And, I discovered when you shift to neutral, the reception clears up immediately. It did not do this when new.
09-16-13, 05:00 AM
#6
Nope. It still has horrible reception.
We aren't exactly in a fringe area! The station antenna are less than 20 miles from our house. We have had a lot of different cars, and we've never had anything like this before on any radio is any of our cars (and we have had some pretty crummy cars and radios over the years!). The only identifiable difference with this car is that this is the first one we've had with HD radio. I have just assumed that this has something to do with either the HD part, or the antenna. It seems odd to me that others have reported this, and the Lexus dealer has no explanation. I would have thought they would at least look at the AM antenna connection, but no. I suppose the good news is that they at least acknowledge that they admit they have seen this on other '13s rather than the typical "everything is working as designed" response I often get until I prove to them there really is an issue.
We love our Lexus cars, and the dealer is great (you should see their incredible new facility!). They take awesome care of us when we come in for routine service! I just don't understand why it is so hard to get them to really investigate possible issues that are NOT routine. From what I read in this forum, this is NOT uncommon experience, and it is extremely frustrating.
We aren't exactly in a fringe area! The station antenna are less than 20 miles from our house. We have had a lot of different cars, and we've never had anything like this before on any radio is any of our cars (and we have had some pretty crummy cars and radios over the years!). The only identifiable difference with this car is that this is the first one we've had with HD radio. I have just assumed that this has something to do with either the HD part, or the antenna. It seems odd to me that others have reported this, and the Lexus dealer has no explanation. I would have thought they would at least look at the AM antenna connection, but no. I suppose the good news is that they at least acknowledge that they admit they have seen this on other '13s rather than the typical "everything is working as designed" response I often get until I prove to them there really is an issue.
We love our Lexus cars, and the dealer is great (you should see their incredible new facility!). They take awesome care of us when we come in for routine service! I just don't understand why it is so hard to get them to really investigate possible issues that are NOT routine. From what I read in this forum, this is NOT uncommon experience, and it is extremely frustrating.
Last edited by User 41924; 09-16-13 at 05:41 AM.
10-10-13, 03:02 PM
#7
Pit Crew
Woody, I just noticed you are in Colorado, too. I was playing around with the car the other night, and found that KOA is coming in only in analog, and that is really staticy. If you search for HD-only channels, it doesn't even stop on KOA. For those of you not from Colorado, KOA is a 50K watt station here in town. The other radios we have in the same area work fine, both in analog and HD.
What dealer did you see? We are thinking of taking ours to Stevinson in Golden.
Mark
What dealer did you see? We are thinking of taking ours to Stevinson in Golden.
Mark
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10-14-13, 12:15 PM
#10
The new Kuni location is about a mile from where I work, so it's really convenient for me to stop by. They even make it easy to work from there, when necessary. I have a good relationship with the service advisor who knows my eccentricities (I have my share!), which really helps! After all, they ARE a car dealership. I just pay close attention to what I need them to do.
11-06-13, 10:17 PM
#11
Pit Crew
I took my wife's car to Stevinson last week for this issue. The first thing I noticed when I got in the 2013 ES350 loaner was how awful the AM reception was. [sigh] Even so, they called later and said it needed an "updated part". It turns out they are replacing the radio, with the new one going in on Friday. I am not optimistic...
Mark
Mark
11-09-13, 10:12 PM
#12
Pit Crew
The new radio fixed it! AM sounds great now. The only odd thing is that the rear speakers play with very low volume, even if the fader is moved all the way to the rear. I'll have to call them about that on Monday.
Mark
Mark
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