Has anyone else had problems with poor FM reception? I almost always receive static where I never used to in my previous cars. I wonder if the head unit (non-jbl) or antenna is defective. I haven't hit 3k miles yet but I'll have it looked into when I get the car serviced. Thanks for any helpful replies in advance.
i have not noticed anything amiss with mine although i must admit i have not played the radio one time since getting my AIC
Yeah, I have the same problem. Sometimes it is great the whole day, other times it's really static-y. Doesn't seem location specific... also, it seems better for me on rainy days, which is the opposite of what I'd expect. I also have non-JBL, with about 5K miles on it now.
Same Static Problem With My 05 TRAC Loaner - Possible Loose Antenna Here in Flat South Florida, I've never had an FM reception or a static problem problem listening to my favorite stations until the Prius arrived. There's definitely an intermittant, low level static noise in my base non-JBL radio. I do take the antenna off for my local car wash (they wrecked my MDX antenna), so thanks to Green Machine's suggestion, I was able to give the antenna a few extra short turns. I'm headed out to the in-laws later today; I'll report back on the possible antenna fix later.
Not a Loose Antenna Well, I tightened the antenna and made the round trip to the in-laws this afternoon with the same low level intermittant static I heard before. I hope it's just a problem with the base radio in my TRAC car, because I'm going to be upset if I hear static in the 06 Premium JBL system.
Ugh. Sounds like a few people have this problem. I'm hoping somebody reads this who has any knowledge of service bulletins or repairs for poor FM reception.
YES! The radio reception on my '04 is really bad! Stations that I used to pick up in the old car ('95 Geo Prizm) and still pick up in my other car ('00 Honda Odyssey) sound horrible in the '04 Prius. Same route to work, same radio stations, horrible reception in the Prius and acceptable to great reception in the Odyssey. My iTrip for the iPod is unusable in the Prius. I don't have an explanation. I have seen antennae booster products on the market in the past, and just today was thinking that I would look around to see if they were still available. Thanks, Mark
I did not mean to imply that my reception is bad all the time but was bad for a brief period while driving in the Fog. My radio is tuned to 88.5. I don't know if it was the fog, the station or sun spots.
The left side of the radio dial (I am dating myself ) is generally populated by lower powered public radio stations as opposed to the mega powered commercial stations.
Guilty KPLU NPR and all that Jazz. The best Jazz and Blues radio station in the world. Doubt me? Listen your self at http://www.kplu.org click on the listen now button. Live radio, news stream, Jazz stream, Blues stream, 24/7. Listen to me clapping at the annual Christmas Jam Concert on Christmas Day. Don't forget to pledge if you listen!
Excellent FM reception in central California (yes, on the "lower or left side" of the dial) - including the Pacific Coast, Coast Ranges, Great Central Valley, Sierra Nevada and Great Basin east of the Sierra Nevada. Even better listening now with Sirius satellite radio and additional NPR - PRI channels. Any limitations are with the transmitter, not the receiver in the Prius. FM broadcasting is line-of-site. FM reception generally improves as you go up in elevation (up to 3100 meters) with more choices from the San Francisco Bay Area.
I've noticed 88.5 works better in a north/south direction from Seattle. 94.9 works better east/west. So if you are listening to the news, switch to t'other NPR station. Sorry, that doesn't really answer your question!
