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Radio Reception

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by babsrocks, Mar 12, 2005.

  1. babsrocks

    babsrocks Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2005
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    Location:
    Pawcatuck, CT
    Hello there. I got my 2004 Prius a few weeks ago. I am very disapointed with the stereo.
    Stations that came in fine in my old car come in very poorly. There is sometimes a high pitch noise that comes out. Also my iPod with iTrip worked fine in my old car, but same thing as radio stations, static and high pitch noises. I tried getting another FM transmitter, that didn't work, so I got another one, that didn't work either. So I'm back to the iTrip and have to sometimes hold it to get good reception. Also a funny thing that happens it that I get better reception with my foot on the gas, it gets worst when I let my foot off the gas.
    Could a wire be loose or is there something else I can do to improve the situation? I am getting an aux-box to connect the iPod direct to the radio, but that will not help with overall radio reception. Would a new antenna work?
    Any help would be appreciated. And so far that is the only thing I do not like about my Prius!!! :)
     
    #1 babsrocks, Mar 12, 2005
  2. knowledgeseeker

    knowledgeseeker New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2004
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    Location:
    Walnut Creek, CA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    If you can take a loaner Prius from the dealer, or maybe even just a test drive, you can see if the other car behaves similarly. If it does, then the problem is probably due to poor design of the radio; if not, you have evidence to cite when you ask that your car be fixed. Reception on our Passat is better than it is on the Prius, and neither is as good as it was on our old '90 Acura Legend.

    Note that the location of the antenna is probably not ideal for the iTrip etc. - no clean line of sight between the iPod and the antenna. Cars with conventional antennas on a fender, or antennas in the window, ought to work better for the iTrip.
     
    #2 knowledgeseeker, Mar 12, 2005
  3. duffetta

    duffetta New Member

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    Oct 7, 2004
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    Boston, MA
    I too have had troubles getting the iTrip to work well in the 2004 Prius. It works great in our Honda minivan where the antenna is line of sight with the iPod when its in use.

    The other problem is that the Boston radio market is so chocked full of stations that it is hard to find a station that is clear. I don't have a cassette player, so I can't use that method. I've decided to hand on until Coastal (our Saviour) invents around the problem.

    Mark
     
    #3 duffetta, Mar 14, 2005
  4. babsrocks

    babsrocks Junior Member

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    Mar 5, 2005
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    Well today I got fed up and went to Auto Audio, a local car stereo place and next week they will be installing my PAC Aux-Pod. That will fix the iPod problem, but I'm still going to have problems with getting radio stations in, but with a few thousand songs available without commercials, i don't think I'll need the radio too much. :)
     
    #4 babsrocks, Mar 14, 2005
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