Weak FM radio reception in 2010 Prius?

[Milo'sPrius]

I've been experiencing poor FM reception on my new 2010 Prius V. It sometimes seems to improve when I'm stopped, and occasionally it will be good for part of a day, but 85% of the time the signal has a lot of static. My 2008 Prius IV doesn't have this problem.

I've checked to make sure the whip antenna is screwed in firmly, which it is.

Anybody else having this problem? Any solutions?

[Boo]

I've read some people saying that the reception on their Gen III is not as good as on their Gen II.

But I don't know if that's why your Gen III reception is terrible.

Curious, does your Gen II whip antenna screw into your Gen III? If so, then maybe you can test if the problem is with your Gen III antenna.

[pakitt]

I have the Prius 2010 since 1 week and I can confirm that the FM reception is not very good. I will tell my dealer to report it back to Toyota. It is not a show-stopper, but quite annoying.
On the same route I used to do with my older car, I would get normal quality signal and no static at all (at least that I can remember). With the Prius instead, the is very faint, but noticeable, static on the same route with the same radio station, in many different parts of the route.
It is my opinion, that the new antenna is too short and compromises on FM signal reception. AM reception is likely even worse, but who uses AM these days???

[rrolff]

Originally Posted by Milo'sPrius

I've been experiencing poor FM reception on my new 2010 Prius V. It sometimes seems to improve when I'm stopped, and occasionally it will be good for part of a day, but 85% of the time the signal has a lot of static. My 2008 Prius IV doesn't have this problem.

I've checked to make sure the whip antenna is screwed in firmly, which it is.

Anybody else having this problem? Any solutions?

It's nothing scientific - but where I live (somewhat remote corner of the OC), we get good - not great reception. In the Lexus GX, and my CFC Nissan, it was never perfect. There are just stations you can't listen to always. So it's probably a good spot for testing...

The stock 2010 is not as good as either Nissan, or Lexus.

I have a new head unit that is worse than the stock one (not alot, but it is worse).

I have been told that in Europe, there is an amplified antenna (they have similar frequencies - so it makes sense ours should have the exact same antenna).

I haven't figured out if while setting up the new HU, I didn't plug in the power to the antenna - and haven't confirmed if the antenna in the US is even amplified....

[blue bird]

I am also experiencing static on all of the FM stations, even where it should be crystal clear. I am frustrated, but I am hoping that there will be a solution at some point.

[rrolff]

Originally Posted by blue bird

I am also experiencing static on all of the FM stations, even where it should be crystal clear. I am frustrated, but I am hoping that there will be a solution at some point.

I got an FM antenna booster today - we'll see how it goes - probably won't get it in for a few days....

[fuzzy1]

Has anyone tried swapping in a pre-2010 antenna? If the radio tuner is very good but the antenna signal is weak, a booster will simply amplify the inherent thermal noise in the line, which improves nothing.

[pakitt]

I wrote a letter to Toyota's customer support in Germany to tell them about it (including a few other annoyances). Let's see if and when they will answer me about it.
I hope they fix it, because it is frustrating.
Everybody owning a Prius 2010 should write to Toyota about bad FM reception.

[rrolff]

So I dropped in an antenna booster - and true to form, it does boost the signal - along with the noise and hiss... A $15 mod (and 5 minutes to install) that is truly worthless...

[pakitt]

Has anybody tried using a longer antenna, maybe from a Prius II gen? or from another car (the screw should be all of the same size).