'08 RX400h ~37K miles.

The AM radio started exhibiting a LOT of static in the 1210 range a coupla months ago. It has now become unlistenable.

Today, I happened to notice that when the ignition is in ACC position, it plays just fine. Turn the key to "ON" and the static starts.

Anybody else experience this? Lemme guess; it means there's a short somewhere in the traction battery pack or somewhere else in the hybrid system culminating in a $5K repair bill.

For what it's worth, everything else on the vehicle is working perfectly including the FM radio band. The 12V battery was replaced under warranty at 3.5 years.

The bizarre coincidence is this also happened our '04 Toyota Sienna Minivan after a deer hit, although I don't remember if the position of the ignition key made a difference or not.

 

Maybe the antenna connection is loose somewhere?

 

That was my first thought. The question is, if it is a loose antenna connection, why would it work better with the ignition off? Unless the loose connection allows RF coming from the electrical system to interfere MORE with the reception.

I was just hoping that someone else might have experienced this phenomenon.

It's not due for inspection & service until November and I'll have the dealer check it out then.