Has anyone noticed the XM signal strength to be weak? Compared to my past 2 vehicles (Ford: 10Escape, 12Focus) both with Sirius. The signal on my nicer (IMO) 2013 RDX Tech seems weaker.

Is it an XM vs Sirius thing, or an RDX thing, or ?

I noticed this the day I drove off the lot, and 3 days later in the dealer's 'loaner' 2013 RDX when mine was in for add-ons.

Symptoms: driving on open road, random fuzz/signal loss for approx 1 second. Consistent loss of signal in my garage. (open road loss is rare, but shocking)

(neither Symptom was present with my Ford vehicles in the past 5 years)

Strangely different, the RDX XM radio doesn't seem to loose signal under bridges (viaducts) where I would expect. This is why I wonder if it is an XM vs Sirius behavior.

Thoughts/experiences?

 

My thought would be it probably has to do with different designs on the antennas.

 

I have not noticed this on the 2013 RDX, after 6000 miles. So far, it seems to perform as well as the MDX I had for 7 years/127k miles, which is pretty good.

There is a specific tall building I drive by daily where I will lose signal for 3 to 5 seconds (one way street, building is blocking me on the southwest side, which I believe is the view you need for the sat signal).

Other than that, I might lose signal:
(1) if stalled in traffic beneath a very wide overpass, or
(2) on a twisty mountain road with trees on either side;
but not always, and only for short periods.

I am completely happy with XM/Sirius (except for their scammy commercials).

Contrast that with a friend who has a Prius with XM, where the antenna seems to be a little puck mounted inside on the dash. He loses signal if the wind blows, and swears he will never bother with XM again.