I've been experiencing an odd problem with my XM radio lately (using the Lexus XM part, not a third party device). When I turn on XM, the music rapidly fades in and out and then completely stops (the fading is almost like a record skipping). The unit, however, continues to update the song and artist information and never reports that it is "loading" or that there is "no signal." Turning off and on the radio doesn't help. The strangest part is, if I turn off the car and turn it back on again, everything is fine. AM/FM/CD/AUX all work fine. This has been happening for the last three days. I called XM...they have refreshed my radio three times, and are now telling me that I have a bad XM tuner.

Anybody else experience a similar problem? Any thoughts? Is this a tuner problem or a problem with the stereo itself? Just looking for some insight before I get the run-around from my Lexus dealer for installing XM myself. Hopefully the parts department will be understanding and replace my tuner, which has otherwise worked well for the last 6 weeks.

Thanks.

 

I have this EXACT same situation. I've had XM in this car for a year now (dealer installed) and this has just started happening no more than 2 months ago. For me, it is VERY intermittent, I would say it happens approx. once every 2 weeks. When it happens, I pull over somewhere, shut the car off and turn it back on and XM is back. Nothing else brings it back other than that. I've been procrastinating on bring it in to the dealership since it doesnt happen too often for me, but I think I'm going to have them look at it next week and see what they say. I have this feeling that they won't be able to replicate the problem and not figure out what the deal is, but we'll see.

 

I have the same problem. It was happening rather infrequently..maybe 2 or 3 times a month. I had the dealership check it out at my 10K oil change, but they could not identify any problem. This past week, it happened 3 times in 3 days. Took the car in yesterday for its 15K checkup, told the service advisor that it was still happening, but it was becoming more frequent. Once again, they could not identify an issue. They keep telling me that maybe it is because I have my antenna installed inside near the brake light. I keep telling them that that isn't the issue as my Mom has a 2006 GS 430 and her antenna is mounted there with no issues. Also, if it was a reception issue, then why does it continue to display and change the song info.

Sorry that you are having the same problem, but I am glad to know that I am not the only one.

 

My 350 is a 2007, so I'm using the sharkfin connection. It is not a signal problem.

 

Sounds like it is a tuner issue. I would be interested to know what your dealership has to say about it.

 

I had that issue with the OEM xm sat on my g35. Every once in a while, it would quit and just display "loading." Shutting off and restarting the engine fixed it every time. However, I haven't had that issue with the IS... *knocking on wood*.

BTW, my antenna is on the rear deck by the third brake light. No issues with this or reception.

 

I have also had this problem in the past. Nothing helped but turning off the car. I haven't had this happen for a couple of months so I will just keep my fingers crossed. However, this is obviously not an isolated problem. My antenna and XM are dealer installed with the antenna outside on the trunk.

 

and while my antenna is on my rear shelf next to the 3rd brake light, this is def. not a reception issue, as the radio data is still displayed...unlike when you temporarily lose reception, the display reads "no signal".

 

I've had the same problem. It's only happened seldom though; about four or five times since I installed the tuner in Apr 06.

 

When mine looses reception, I loose the audio and hear a hiss type noise for a little bit, then the audio comes back on. It never states " No Signal".
Whereas when I had Sirius and it lost the signal, the sound would mute completely and it would say something like "No Signal".

Is the hiss type noise normal when the satellite signal is lost?

 

It usually is. I get the same hissing sound when I use my XM at home and at the office.

Hopefully this isn't an issue with these OEM Pioneer tuners.

 

Five minutes after I read this thread I went out and experienced this problem for the first time in 4 months. Never had it before. Turning the car off and back on fixed the problem. Something to keep an eye on, but unless there is a TSB issued on it your Lexus dealer won't be able to duplicate it unless it just happens to act up when its in their possession (not likely).

 

When I lose signal for a few secs. in bad reception areas, I do get a very faint hissing sound, the radio display goes blank for a sec., then "no signal" appears on the display.

 

Add me to this growing list

Lex

 

Shortly after my system was installed, the reception degraded over time, drop outs etc. I took it back and the dealer fixed it--in my case, it was a problem with the aftermarket xm tuner (long story but after a second tuner was installed, this was later replaced with a third Lexus xm tuner, which they should have installed in the first place)

Another possibile fix for signal degradation is to do a "signal refresh". Go on XM's web site, or call their customer support and (you'll need your radio ID) and request a refresh. Your radio needs to be on, the car stationary with unobstructed access to the sky. Over the next 15-30 minutes, the radio is reprogrammed--basically you are repeating the same process you go through when the radio is first activated. This is supposed to take care of many reception problems.

Another possibility is that the antenna wire got kinked. When I had a Sky Fi 2 portable radio, I had the antenna wire wound too tight and it the reception was poor. When I rewound the wire, the problem went away.

Just a couple of ideas, but it might help. I would definitely recommend trying the signal refresh one more time.