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Radio problems in 2011 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by EHG, Jun 23, 2016.

  1. EHG

    EHG Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    5
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    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Up until this past weekend, my car radio (2011 Prius) has had perfect
    reception (AM and FM). Sometime this weekend, the FM reception
    suddeenly became very spotty (AM is fine), but here's the strange
    thing. I first noticed the problem when leaving an underground
    parking garage. Whenever I go into a garage, the FM reception
    naturally becomes poor; however, when leaving the garage, the
    reception did not come back. Later on in the day, I took the car out
    again, and the reception was fine. Sunday afternoon, I went back to
    another underground parking garage, and again, when leaving the garage,
    the reception did not come back. However, unlike the first time, the
    reception did not improve on Monday morning - or since then.

    OK, I know this is very likley just a coincidence... but is there any
    way this might not be a coincidence? For example, is it possible that
    the radio tries to detect when the signal deteriorates, and then
    compensate - in the same way that a pad or phone will compensate by
    dimming the brightness when it gets darker? But imagine if that
    functionality started deteriorating, and once it got brighter again,
    it started taking longer and longer before the brightness level would
    increase. So is it possible that the radio has some similar
    compensation method that is breaking down - and is not adjusting
    itself, even though I've been out of the garage for several days? Just
    a thought...

    thanks
     
  2. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2005
    3,686
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    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Have you checked the proper fitment of the radio antennae, it may sort of loose................
     
  3. EHG

    EHG Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    5
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    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I checked the antenna. I was able to rotate it, but it didn't seem loose. Didn't make a difference. Don't know if you should be able to rotate it. Never had a reason to touch it before this week.

    thanks
     
  4. EHG

    EHG Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    5
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    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    This radio problem got resolved by my local Toyota dealer. They claimed it was the antenna amplifier - which is buried in the roof of the car. Presumably, they got it right - because the radio works fine.
    Except...

    This morning the radio started acting strange. The sound was perfect; however, there was no display when I turned the car on (i.e. no LCD display indicating "FM1 <station> volume"). I could use the buttons on the steering wheel to change stations, volume, ... but there was no display. However, the buttons on the radio itself did nothing. Then the display suddenly came on, then went off. Then the buttons on the radio started alternating between turning the radio on/off (i.e. I pressed preset-1 and the radio turned off, I pressed preset-2 and the radio turned on). Eventually the display came on for good, and everything worked normally. It was almost as though the radio needed to "warm up" for 5 minutes. Later today, after my car was parked at work for about 9 hours, the radio was fine.

    But the behavior this morning was bizarre . I don't believe in coincidences. So I believe that these two radio issues are somehow related. Perhaps there is some electrical issue that is stressing out sensitive electrical parts - first the antenna amplifier, and now the radio display? Is so, this would mean the Toyota dealer only fixed a symptom, not the actual problem.

    Does anyone have an idea what could be causing the current problem and thoughts on whether these issues are related?

    thanks
     
  5. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2016
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    15,481
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    Location:
    Bay Area, California
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    How many miles on your Prius? Any other electronic issues other than the radio?

    I have had issues recently where the display will be blank, but the radio will be playing. I push on the radio display and it returns to normal.

    Some here have had issues with the radio and have replaced them. A replacement can be found cheap ($40 or less from a salvage yard). It could be as simple as a loose connection, but with buttons not working as designed under certain circumstances, a replacement might be in order.
     
  6. EHG

    EHG Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2012
    5
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    0
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    35,000 miles on the Prius.
    Besides the problem with the radio, and the original problem that the dealership claimed was the antenna amplifier, there is an intermittent issue with the climate contro LCD display that shows temperature, heat, AC, ... Sometimes when I turn the car on, that display is blank. I then need to push a few buttons to get the display back on, then push a few more buttons to undo the (unwanted) changes that I made to the heat, air conditioning, ...
    So I see 3 issues that have occurred all within several months:
    - poor radio reception (which Toyota claimed was a bad antenna amplifier)
    - issues with the radio display and buttons
    - issues with climate control display
    To me, all 3 issues being independent would just be too much of a coincidence. Perhaps there's and under/over voltage issue with the electrical supply to all 3 components, causing them to fail? The car is only 4 years old.
    Note - this morning, when I turned the car on, the display said "d. 1"76_i.@". Something's wrong...

    thanks
     
  7. Pamy

    Pamy Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2016
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    Location:
    Cherry Hill
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I have been having radio problems as well with static in certain areas of driving. The dealer couldn't find anything wrong with it.


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