very odd
04-18-16, 04:05 PM
#1
Pole Position
Thread Starter
very odd
I got in the car this afternoon and noticed my satellite reception was gone. While driving, I flipped channels and the sound was just popping in and out. Called XM and they did a refresh signal and nothing. I started reading about bad antennas, bad units, but yesterday it was working just fine.
Got to my appointment and I just couldn't get it off my mind. Finally as I left, I kept saying to myself: "Please work!". Started the car and it was as if nothing ever happened. Working perfect.
Anyone have a clue as to what may have happened?
Got to my appointment and I just couldn't get it off my mind. Finally as I left, I kept saying to myself: "Please work!". Started the car and it was as if nothing ever happened. Working perfect.
Anyone have a clue as to what may have happened?
04-18-16, 04:25 PM
#2
I think I have experienced what happed to you a few times, on both my '07 and '14 and I don't think it is anything to be concerned about.
Mine seemed to be brought on by starting the car in an area where the satellite signal was marginal, such as a sheltered gas pump area at a service station. Never a problem in starting in an open area or in an area where the satellite signal was completely obstructed. I suppose you might have this condition caused by shading from tall objects too.
I have found that you can get out of this condition by finding a safe place to turn the engine off and restarting the car. On one occasion I turned my car off and restarted it at a red traffic signal - maybe not a good idea but the point is, it works.
Sorry, I am unable to give you a technical explanation as to why it happens.
I have also had this happen with my Sienna.
I hope this helps.
Mine seemed to be brought on by starting the car in an area where the satellite signal was marginal, such as a sheltered gas pump area at a service station. Never a problem in starting in an open area or in an area where the satellite signal was completely obstructed. I suppose you might have this condition caused by shading from tall objects too.
I have found that you can get out of this condition by finding a safe place to turn the engine off and restarting the car. On one occasion I turned my car off and restarted it at a red traffic signal - maybe not a good idea but the point is, it works.
Sorry, I am unable to give you a technical explanation as to why it happens.
I have also had this happen with my Sienna.
I hope this helps.
Last edited by jmcraney; 04-18-16 at 04:28 PM.
04-18-16, 04:26 PM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
Were you driving in a tunnel while it happened? Did FM radio also drop in and out?
It could have been atmospheric interference. A temporary anomaly that is actually kind of common and can partially disrupt satellite signals. While error correcting is pretty good at fixing digital signals, if you've ever seen pixelation on your TV (and you have satellite), it's often caused by interference.
XM radio is not immune either, although it takes a pretty hefty disruption to overcome that buffer that these radios have, I think? Well, it would have least have to last a few seconds for it to disrupt (not sure how big that buffer is).
Even on a clear day, there could be atmospheric disruptions, magnetic fields/charged particles in the atmosphere, etc. Not saying this is what caused you to lose signal, but it's not outside the realm of possibility.
Or it could have been a fluke! In any case, hope it never comes back, lol!
It could have been atmospheric interference. A temporary anomaly that is actually kind of common and can partially disrupt satellite signals. While error correcting is pretty good at fixing digital signals, if you've ever seen pixelation on your TV (and you have satellite), it's often caused by interference.
XM radio is not immune either, although it takes a pretty hefty disruption to overcome that buffer that these radios have, I think? Well, it would have least have to last a few seconds for it to disrupt (not sure how big that buffer is).
Even on a clear day, there could be atmospheric disruptions, magnetic fields/charged particles in the atmosphere, etc. Not saying this is what caused you to lose signal, but it's not outside the realm of possibility.
Or it could have been a fluke! In any case, hope it never comes back, lol!
04-18-16, 04:44 PM
#4
I've experience it all the time when driving thru wooded areas but occasionally is seems to quite working for no reason. But it always come back in and I never thought to much about it. Just use to it.
04-18-16, 05:48 PM
#5
Pole Position
The above and some other service challenges is why I dropped my Sirius sat radio subscription.
Even while driving on a highway, when a large truck was next to the car on when driven under an overpass the signal would cut out for a second or so. Not so bad on talk stations or sports channels but was awful on music. I was using an older "Sportser" radio so don't know if the built in versions have buffering to prevent that issue or not.
Using the cell phone apps like Amazon or Pandora either via BT or analog (head phone jack into the Aux port) this never seems to happen (and I still have unlimited data so no worries about running up an large data usage bill). There is a Sirius/XM smart phone app as well but I found the user interface lacking so it was not attractive to go back to that service for me.
Even while driving on a highway, when a large truck was next to the car on when driven under an overpass the signal would cut out for a second or so. Not so bad on talk stations or sports channels but was awful on music. I was using an older "Sportser" radio so don't know if the built in versions have buffering to prevent that issue or not.
Using the cell phone apps like Amazon or Pandora either via BT or analog (head phone jack into the Aux port) this never seems to happen (and I still have unlimited data so no worries about running up an large data usage bill). There is a Sirius/XM smart phone app as well but I found the user interface lacking so it was not attractive to go back to that service for me.
04-18-16, 06:37 PM
#6
The above and some other service challenges is why I dropped my Sirius sat radio subscription.
Even while driving on a highway, when a large truck was next to the car on when driven under an overpass the signal would cut out for a second or so. Not so bad on talk stations or sports channels but was awful on music. I was using an older "Sportser" radio so don't know if the built in versions have buffering to prevent that issue or not.
Using the cell phone apps like Amazon or Pandora either via BT or analog (head phone jack into the Aux port) this never seems to happen (and I still have unlimited data so no worries about running up an large data usage bill). There is a Sirius/XM smart phone app as well but I found the user interface lacking so it was not attractive to go back to that service for me.
Even while driving on a highway, when a large truck was next to the car on when driven under an overpass the signal would cut out for a second or so. Not so bad on talk stations or sports channels but was awful on music. I was using an older "Sportser" radio so don't know if the built in versions have buffering to prevent that issue or not.
Using the cell phone apps like Amazon or Pandora either via BT or analog (head phone jack into the Aux port) this never seems to happen (and I still have unlimited data so no worries about running up an large data usage bill). There is a Sirius/XM smart phone app as well but I found the user interface lacking so it was not attractive to go back to that service for me.
04-19-16, 02:47 AM
#7
Love the xm. Could it better? Yes. And besides . I'd hate to spend any more time with the iPhone while driving. So phone apps are not for me when it comes to streaming music.
Jam station alone is worth it for me. GD station is a bonus, only wish the Pink Floyd station was also available.
And in case you want to touch base with reality, just listen to FM for a week to put things in perspective .
Jam station alone is worth it for me. GD station is a bonus, only wish the Pink Floyd station was also available.
And in case you want to touch base with reality, just listen to FM for a week to put things in perspective .
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04-19-16, 06:35 AM
#8
Pole Position
Thread Starter
My car journey always starts from the garage. I've had this car about a year and a half and yesterday was the first time this happened. While driving to my appointment, I spoke with XM and one of the questions he asked was did I have bluetooth enabled. The 08 doesn't have bluetooth audio so it certainly wasn't that.
Just glad to know once the car was turned off and later back on, satellite was working again. Speaking of owning the car a year and a half, when I got the car it had 52,100 miles. Today I should finally hit 60,000! Of that 7900 miles, 180 was the drive home from the dealership, a trip to Chicago, and Birmingham.
Just glad to know once the car was turned off and later back on, satellite was working again. Speaking of owning the car a year and a half, when I got the car it had 52,100 miles. Today I should finally hit 60,000! Of that 7900 miles, 180 was the drive home from the dealership, a trip to Chicago, and Birmingham.
04-19-16, 08:10 AM
#9
I am currently "enjoying" the SiriusXM free trial period.
However, I have to note that the bitrate (quality) is very low... it may not make a difference for talk radio, but for electronic music channels like BPM and ElectricArea it's just not acceptable.
I have the ML system is my LS460, and when I stream music from my smartphone using an application via Bluetooth Streaming the quality is much, much higher (can be as high as 320K with certain apps).
The constant cutting out of satellite radio is also annoying... the most minor overpasses will cut out the signal... I'm surprised they don't "buffer" the feed a bit to account for this issue.
In any case, I won't be paying for the service once the trial expires, as none of the SiriusXM-specific content can justify the cost for me (Howard Stern may justify the cost for some people, though, since the content is proprietory).
However, I have to note that the bitrate (quality) is very low... it may not make a difference for talk radio, but for electronic music channels like BPM and ElectricArea it's just not acceptable.
I have the ML system is my LS460, and when I stream music from my smartphone using an application via Bluetooth Streaming the quality is much, much higher (can be as high as 320K with certain apps).
The constant cutting out of satellite radio is also annoying... the most minor overpasses will cut out the signal... I'm surprised they don't "buffer" the feed a bit to account for this issue.
In any case, I won't be paying for the service once the trial expires, as none of the SiriusXM-specific content can justify the cost for me (Howard Stern may justify the cost for some people, though, since the content is proprietory).
04-19-16, 10:17 AM
#10
It depends where the Satellite(s) is/are positioned, environmental factors, etc.
I have had this happen with Lexus, Jaguar, BMW, Land Rover, Ford, Acura, Dodge, Hyundai, MINI, etc.....
I have had this happen with Lexus, Jaguar, BMW, Land Rover, Ford, Acura, Dodge, Hyundai, MINI, etc.....
04-19-16, 03:34 PM
#11
I've had the same thing happen in my LS and A6. I just turn the car off and turn it back on and it fixes itself. Never been able to figure out why that happens but I just shrug and move on. First time it happened in my A6 my heart dropped though because replacing the XM module or the MMI is quite spendy. But I turned the car off and back on and it was as if nothing happened (had to also open the door since the car retains power to everything until the drivers door is opened). So when it happened on the LS I just turned it off and back on and it worked.
04-20-16, 03:43 AM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
I don't have issues with mine dropping in and out, and yes the portable models have more issues with this than the built in models.
04-20-16, 01:41 PM
#13
I've had the same thing happen in my LS and A6. I just turn the car off and turn it back on and it fixes itself. Never been able to figure out why that happens but I just shrug and move on. First time it happened in my A6 my heart dropped though because replacing the XM module or the MMI is quite spendy. But I turned the car off and back on and it was as if nothing happened (had to also open the door since the car retains power to everything until the drivers door is opened). So when it happened on the LS I just turned it off and back on and it worked.
-Joe
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