2010 Prius - Satellite Radio Signal Weak

Danny,
Any solutions for the weak XM signal? And the radio is very
tinny/flat. How is the radio on your car?
Any ideas for fixes??
thanks so much.

 

I was worried about the signal since I'm addicted to XM. It seems almost the same as my other after-market installed radios, with maybe a few more dead spots, but really just spots. To me the sound seems fine, but I don't listen to rock, rap etc. so I don't know about the bass.

Rich N.

 

I think the sound of the built-in XM in my IV with NAV is much better than the sound from my portable RoadyXT or whatever that little thing is called. Unfortunately, the RoadyXT has noticeably better reception

 

Good discussion! Don't forget that the antenna is in a compromise position, pointing straight up, while the satellites, for those of us in the northern hemisphere, is off to the south somewhat, so buildings - and trees - to the south of you can interrupt.

But yes - the XM does seem awful sensitive. We have Sirius radios, too, and not this much interference. Still - it's better than over-the-air radio.

 

Just a thought but could part of the problems we are having be due to the fact that there is no buffering? When you have an aftermarket or even some of the more fancy built in receivers they have a memory buffer which serves two purposes. The first is to allow you to rewind and pause. The second is to create a buffer same as if you were streaming a video off the web. My friend and I who both have satellite radio, me in my 2010 with it built in and him in another car with an aftermarket went through the same area and when he watched his radio signal he saw it drop off in the same spots as mine cuts out but he still had audio and I did not, this seems to be part of the buffer effect. To try and prove it some more he stopped in the same spot and after a couple of seconds it cut out. BTW there was no pausing involved in these tests, just turn the radio on and drive.

 

There's no definite confirmation of this theory anywhere that I'm aware of, but my observations suggest that this is quite likely to be at least part of the issue.

 

I did a road trip this past weekend on I-81 through PA. I hit a few dead spots on the way back (which I didn't hit on the way up).

By and large, I'm satisfied with the signal. XM apparently has a good number of terrestrial repeaters in the DC area so I get no dead spots on my commute...which never happened with any of my Sirius plug-and-play radios.

 

I was impressed today. I drove in this thing that's sort of a tunnel but there are some open areas. With Sirius, my signal would drop in and out. With XM it stayed on the whole way through. Hooray for the repeaters.

 

I just drove from Wichita to Dallas and back...and my XM radio never missed a beat. Sounds great too!

Bryan

 

There are two times that my xm fades in and out, one is in the garage and the other is if I am beside a large brick building that is south of me.

 

I've had 4 portable XM units over the years and the reception on the Prius is definitely sub par compared to the other units. It works okay on the open roads but when I'm around trees, the reception cuts in and out a lot more than it did with the other units. I recently drove my parent's Hyundai Sonata which has built in XM and I did not have one issue so I believe it is a Prius issue.

 

I have my 5 week old 2010 Prius III with the EXACT same issue. Called the dealer and he told me to play with the ASL (Automatic Sound Leveling). Explained that it wasn't loss of sound, it is loss of signal. He is going to look into it and let me know. Will pass the word along as I hear it but I believe it is the antenna as well. It happens with all signals in my car. AM/FM & SAT. Go RED SOX!!!!

 

Looking forward to your feedback. And yeah, go Red Sox or something. Is baseball season still going? Man I can't wait for the Bruins season to start

 

Getting the brush-off with my dealer. they blame XM's satellite positioning and our northwest location.
makes me mad that i paid extra to get the nav/wanting the xm with touchscreen.

not sure what to do next. i feel like i should push them more, but i don't know what they can do about it........
suggestions?
thanks

 

I agree with what Paradox said to you. The dealer won't be able to fix it, and it sure does suck when they make stuff up. You have to wonder if they know they are BSing you or if they are really just that dumb.

I'd be sure they have your complaint on file, and I guess file a complaint with the big Toyota too?

 

I did some google searches today to see if there were any posts about losing signal, and there are several complaints as of recently that XM is turning off some of the ground repeaters, which may be the culprit. I also noted some commentary about "when traveling under a large row of tree's or in the parking garage (which used to work) that people now lose signal. It's a wide range of vehicles and models nothing pointed to the Prius.

Maybe time to call XM and complain and ask why this is happening. I didn't see any posts on how to boost reception, but in my Prius I had it happen one time, but found turning it off and back on did help. Also one poster to the XM FAQ's mentioned to refresh your signal to your vehicle which helped and you can do that by calling them, even on the road and tuning to channel 0.

Worth a shot..

 

Start at the beginning. Make sure there's a signal present for your car to pick up.

I'd start by checking XM user forums or local forums/blogs/web sites, or asking around in town to see if other people in your area are having the same problem.

You mentioned your friend with a Hyundai has the same XM problem -- maybe it's just a geographic thing and it happens to everyone in the area.

 

I just picked up my 2010 Prius V yesterday and am just getting the hang of things. On the subject of Satellite Radio, how long is the complimentary subscription? Any idea the cost to upgrade so it includes Howard Stern (like him or not) ?

 

The cost depends on the package you get. For Stern you need "Best of Sirius", with "XM Everything" comes to $499 lifetime ($399 without Sirius) or I think about $16.99 per month. The trial is 90 days and then I'm getting the lifetime deal.

Rich N.