Any fixes for radio static?

Is this on AM or FM or XM......or when using another source, like a CD ??
Strong local stations or weak, far away ones ??

Who replaced the back glass ?
Sounds to me like they mis-diagnosed the problem and you should insist that they
give it another shot......on their dime, not yours.

Wherever the antenna cable plugs into the windshield one wire should go to the plated on antenna and another one
should go to frame ground somewhat nearby.

And I don't understand what you are saying about the LED lights.
They will have a tiny faint glow sometimes when "off" and you can't get rid of it.
Other times, that indicates a bad ground.

 

You need to go back to that dealer.
It is possible that your new window has a defective antenna in it......or they didn't connect things right.
It is also possible that you have an electrical problem somewhere else in the car causing excess static.
If the station is strong enough that it doesn't fade in and out, you should NEVER have any static of FM.....never.

On second thought......
A visit to a store that does installations of upgrade radios might be the best route to go.
Hopefully they know about antennas and grounding and such and can test to actually find the problem.
It is even possible that your radio is defective.
Typically NOBODY at a dealers service department is really qualified to work on radio problems.

 

The antenna is on the top of the car and unscrews. No antenna in the rear window.

But the hatch needs the protective rubber bellows or the wires may become chafed.

Grounding issues in a car do funny things. Something may be chafed in the hatch to body wire run.

Does your car have the back up camera and if so does it work? You'll know if it has a back up camera as it will also have SKS key system with the black key fob with silver Toyota emblem and you can start the car without inserting the key fob into the slot. That would be a package 2 like my car.

Also if have a Touring model with separate JBL amplifier under the pass seat that has different grounding points also. It also has a nav box under the drivers seat.
That model would have mags and fog lights in the front bumper. That model package has an antenna amplifier that is mounted right under the radio.

Please identify your model so we may help you further.

 

I have a 2005 Gen II that developed severe hash/static on AM reception about 7 months after I bought it new in March 2005. The static problem went downhill from there. Sometimes a harsh bump in the road would knock it out then the next bump would bring it back. But that stopped happening too. Now just all static all the time - especially when either motor is working or I'm actively braking - unless I'm in a very strong signal zone. I listen to a 50,000 watt station that has no problems in my 2002 PT Cruiser radio or any other vehicle that I have driven in the same area. But the Prius design is hopelessly bad. My Toyota dealer tried replacing the antenna once, cleaning connections, replacing the radio once...virtually all the things suggested here in this and other threads. But no matter what success they achieved, it deteriorates within a few weeks or months back to severe hash and static. Two years ago I bought a used but supposedly working OEM Toyota Gen II radio/CD unit from a local aftermarket dealer, and that lasted almost a year before the hash/static returned. I have given up. Toyota won't talk to us because I believe they don't know how to fix it and are ashamed to admit it. I have concluded that this problem is permanent and the result of a bad vehicle design that does not maintain an effective ground shield around the engine electronics that produce a large amount of EMI/RFI, combined with a subpar radio/antenna design. Maybe the aftermarket has a replacement radio with superior filtering on its AM tuner and a passive replacement antenna that does not amplify the static. Note - I've never had problems with FM reception but todays FM radio sucks for an older baby boomer like me :-(

 

Wow. No prejudices or mis-information in that post.........

You hear the static on AM because of lack of a good signal.......not because of inherently poor design......and not because any antenna "amplifies the noise". It is not possible to correct a low signal input problem with any "filtering" in the radio itself.

There is and has been a defect somewhere in the antenna system in your specific car.

If you choose to not hold Toyota's feet to the fire to actually FIX it.......that is your decision.
Millions of other owners do not have that problem......either with the radio OR with sticking with it until it is fixed when they have a difficult problem.

 

Wow.
I haven't been on the forum for years. The problem with the radio is annoying to anyone who wants to listen to it. I have owned a 2005 since new and the problem started shortly after delivery. It is a problem that now matter how positive on I am on Toyota can't be ignored. From what I can tell there are many of us who don't find this a small matter. This is a problem that should have been corrected by recall. NO question about it. Sorry easy rider but you response is way out of line. Sorry to see that an old handle I had used for many years when I raced motorcylcles is used by a small mind. This is a real problem that a lot of us are living with. An even a very mechanical person shouldn't forced to take his headliner and dash apart to fix what is an obvious design flaw. Man, all we want to do is listen to our radios. I was thinking of getting a new prius but I want to that you for reminding me that as good as they are Toyota is no different than an other company out there.

 

I bought a 2008 Prius in late 2010. There are very few channels I pick up clearly although I live in an urban area. The problem began a while ago but I didn't put two and two together until recently. After a car wash at Toyota I noticed the rubber around the base of the antenna is cracked. I hope replacing the antenna will fix the problem. Stay tuned...

 

Sorry that you feel that way.
I did NOT say that you did not have a real problem.

The analysis of the problem and possible fixes by the poster that I was replying to, however, is seriously flawed.

Without being there I can not say for sure what the problem IS but I have been in the electronics/radio industry for about 50 years and can say with some certainty what it is NOT.