Weak FM radio reception in 2010 Prius?

I will try that this afternoon when I get back to my car. Thanks.

 

I had my radio replaced today per the TSB. I have a JBL without navigation. The bluetooth works fine, no problems with weak microphone. The radio has better reception with weak stations, but I would not consider this fix a slam dunk. On a scale of 1 to 10, with the original radio being a 4, I would say that this radio is a 7. The bass and mid range levels seem stronger. I have my bass at 2, mid at 1, and treble at 2.
John

 

I had my Nav/JBL head unit replaced yesterday. As far as the reception goes, I pretty much echo what others have said. It's barely an improvement, but clearly something is different. There is just as much static for me, but the static is not as loud and "bursty". It's softer and more gradually fades in and out and therefore is slightly less intrusive. However, reception is nowhere near what my '04 Prius gets.

My BT seems to work fine, but I was getting "No DVD, Insert the Nav DVD" messages about every 2 minutes or so on the drive in this morning. I ejected the nav DVD once at work and saw a slight smudge on it, so I am hoping that was the cause of my problems. If not, I may have a defective replacement unit.

 

I give up. I tried all the suggestions but it keeps ignoring my IPhone Ipod so I have to stop the dumb car (God Forbid that I might get distracted more by pushing the screen than by cursing at the nav screen), push buttons and re-pair the player until it decides to stop again.

I just went to KMart and bought a short wire connector so I can plug in from the headphone socket to the aux connection in the console box. Works fine, but a pain in the neck when it was working just fine for the first 5 days after the radio change.

 

Only one more thing I could suggest: Disconnect the 12V battery power (right side of the luggage area) for a minute. You'll need to reprogram various things on the Nav, but it will force a reboot of the Nav system. Maybe there's a software lockup going on.

You MIGHT be able to accomplish the same reboot by removing the Map DVD and then turning off the car, then turn it back on and reinstall the Map DVD. Not sure about this, though.

 

It seems to me that those who get the radio replacement are getting the same reception (or reproduction) of FM signals as in my radio after getting the "software update" (see a few posts back).

My radio is 8-speaker with CD only (no Navi), but is not sold in EU as "JBL" - there is no "JBL" radio option in Germany and some other EU countries. But still there is the "8-speaker" option.

I had a "software update" by which the noise is still there, but less "bursty" as evil_attorney describes. I have also volume variations which before where less present.
IMHO the "software update" on my radio and the new radio for you guys in the US, is nothing more than a "tentative patch" on a faulty design and no real final solution. I was driving a friend's Mini the other day and the reception was flawless with no noise - it was like a CD player. I think Toyota is going cheap on this whole issue.

The TSB is not valid in EU - if you read the TSB's first page in the middle is read "Country: USA". And no wonder it is not valid - the TSB refers only to JBL radio options which are not sold in EU (as mentioned before).

I think we are all screwed with this FM radio problem and Toyota is not going to fix it.
If changing the radio, as some of you have done were the real deal, you would have perfect reception and flawless functioning - it seems it is not the case.

I have read a recent review of a Lexus model, and the tester (german managazine) was complaining about radio reception and noise - on a Lexus!!!

What annoys me the most is the way Toyota (Germany/Europe) is (not) handling the whole issue. I thought I had bought a car with Japanese level customer service, where the customer is king, it seems to me that Toyota Japan is not really caring what their subsidiaries are doing in the regions, what the customers experience, and the regions behave exactly as I would expect a EU manufacturer's customer service to behave - careless and dismissive. Since 1 year I am reporting issues and got no compensation whatsover or solution. The only "solution" I received was to change the radio with another one, not designed for the Prius, that would render my BT commands on the steering wheel useless - is that a solution? I don't think so - the BT option with commands on the steering wheel costs 350€... not to mention the loss of value of my car.

An FM radio is not a big deal, but at 27k€ buy price for the car, such a radio is a rip-off.
It will end up with me buying an iPod nano (with FM receiver) when my iPod Touch gives up and likely, if I want to take the plunge in the lawyer's mess, a litigation with the dealer for not fixing a defective part of the car: in EU responsible is the dealer selling you the car, not the manufacturer - the liability lies by the dealer - which I find pretty bad in comparison to the US - I cannot sue Toyota, only the dealer, that then has to sue Toyota Germany...

Welcome to Europe where consumers are, as you see, for some issues not well protected...

 

The issue is clearly the radio, and not a 'software update'.

In the US, they just started with the 'JBL' - but I suspect now that this is a real and known issue - the 'TSB' will go to other radios/countries. Keep in mind - they must first identify the 'fix' - which will be very specific to "each radio*.

This generally means a fix for:
1. Stock JBL US (not addressed)
2. EDIT: Forgot to add the TSB is for JBL Nav)
3. Stock non-JBL US (not addressed yet)
4. Stock EU (not addressed yet)
5. Stock EU Nav (not addressed yet)

These are all unique radios (HU), and each require unique fixes.

I'd just suggest that if you are dissatisfied, keep complaining, and moving it up the food chain...

 

Well, today it worked perfectly. I am going to ignore it and if it stops working I will use the audio cable for a few hours until I can try it again. Weird.

 

2. EDIT: Forgot to add the TSB is for JBL Nav)
The TSB is for JBL radios, Nav and non Nav. You may want to read it

 

Keep in mind that almost all electronic hardware these days has some type of software/firmware control, even the analog circuits, which are often controlled by digital pots (controlled by software), software-controlled analog oscillators and filters, etc. You'd be surprised how many lines of software code run the simplest "analog" devices, including radios.

It's very possible the "fixes" for everything on the TSB are actually software fixes.

 

The JBL is sold in the EU, at least that's what it says on the front panel of the unit I removed from my Prius.

Having had the Kenwood fitted for some time now, I can say that FM reception isn't actually much better in the weak signal area where I live, but signal degradation on the Kenwood doesn't produce all the horrible burst noise that it did on the original JBL (non-nav) unit.

Reception overall is rubbish when compared to other cars I've owned, but that's probably down to the car being a fairly big source of background noise - in the weak signal area where I live the car EMI is probably comparable to the wanted signal.

I suspect that Toyota are 'fixing' the problem by making the radio less prone to producing the burst noise artefacts when the signal strength starts to drop - I doubt they are really doing much about the core issue of high VHF EMI from the car (which is definitely part of the problem, as anyone who's sniffed around the car with a decent measurement receiver and probe with confirm).

Jeremy

 

Hello
Took my Prius to the Bristol South dealer today for a software update to the radio which is supposed to improve the FM performance. However they were unable to do it as part of the process involves replacing two of the loudspeakers, which they didn't have. Sounds odd doesn't it?
The TSB number might be "BE-0083T-0710-E".
Does anyone recognise this or have the text?
Thanks.
Pavel

 

I took my Prius in for it's first service today and told them about the static. They said it's the first they have heard. Told them the 2007 Prius at work doesn't do this, my friends 2010 does it too. Love the mileage, and it's a nice little car, but this isn't hi-tech and Toyota should be able to give an antennae with good reception. So I'm happy to complain to their customer service.

 

Toyota replaced my nav unit. Did not make much of an improvement. The technician showed me one of Toyota's technical documents showing FM reception substantially weaker than satellite. I have ask that the issue be sent up the line.

 

A known issue, with lots of owner complaints here. We all need to contact Toyota, as it is completely unacceptable in any car in 2010.
I love the dealer responses; "...haven't heard of this before." Horse$h!t.
They receive regular TSB's, and hopefully read them. They generate business for the dealership.

 

I had my JBL replaced last week and I've seen a big difference. It's still not what I would call great but MUCH better than it was. I recommend the change-out.

 

Thanks to all of you who replied after getting this "fix". I think I have just decided that my FM reception isn't so bad after all. In fact it's almost as good as the $100 Pioneer radio I put in my old pickup truck. I guess I'll pass on this TSB.

It sounds like what you guys have gotten for replacement units are units that have been sent in for repair. After the repair they are upgraded by a marginal improvement to FM sensitivity and sent out as replacements for the TSB.

One possibility is that the repaired replacement units still have some of the original problem(s), just like a "rebuilt" anything. Such repairs are usually farmed out to contractors and their technicians are under a lot pressure to get them done in hurry because the company is paid by the unit, a lot rebuilt things go out the door without being properly fixed.

If I could be assured of getting new unit I might have this done because I would like to have better FM, but I'm not going to take a chance on a rebuilt one.

 

The TSB specifies that only cars with VINs "older" than a limit (for each model), implying that cars built after that have the improved FM tuner, presumably new. Now it could be that they are rebuilding returned radios as well; I did not see the replacement unit that they installed for me.

 

They are not replacing anything - they are only making a software update, IMHO which subdues and tries to cover the noise that is getting reproduced.
The reception in my opinion is good - there is noise added afterwards - I was yesterday in a tunnel where I used not to get anything and the radio played normally (with the standard noise I am getting already, that is) like nothing ever happened...
Toyota does not want to fix this - it costs them too much money - plain simple - if I were you, and since you can do it in the US, I would go legally against Toytoa for selling defective radios. The only thing I can do here in EU is going against the dealer that sold me a car with a defective - then he has to go against Toyota Germany.
If you guys let this go, you have bought a very expensive radio that doesn't work properly.
And no, I am not listeining to my iPod or a CD all the time. Otherwise, don't give me any radio - let me save money, my dear Toyota, and I will put in whatever I want and I will take care of the reception and noise.

 

Yea, after living with the TSB fix for a while, I would say that the improvement is so slight that it probably isn't worth doing for most people. The static is still there an much worse than my 2004 Prius and my 2003 BMW Z4. At this point, I give up on a fix.

I used to be a huge Toyota fan because of their engineering and quality. But this 2010 Prius has been a bit of a let down. I'm stuck with this car for a while, but when it is time to upgrade my 2004 Prius (which is soon), I will be moving to a Chevy Volt. Surprisingly, the engineering and quality they have put in that car is amazing (I rode in one recently).