lindros2

Have other RL owners experienced recurring problems with XM?

Over the past 9 months my NavTraffic (traffic flow) and XM radio have been very flaky. This is on the heels of duplicate accounts, incomprehensible call center reps, and service shutoff without warning. Calling XM "Listener Care" has done nothing other than frustrate me further.

I'm trying to gauge overall RL owner experiences as I unleash a response to them at their DC offices.

kirbyflorida

Mine has been absolutely perfect for 14 months.

Thumper

I let my original free subscription lapse. Then after about a month I called to renew with a supposed discount flyer @ $77.00 a year. No problem, XM was turned back on in about 10 minutes. However, this time some of the channels I used to enjoy were now just advertisments for XM this and XM that.

Maybe it is a crippled offering at $77, not the full spectrum.

Does anyone have any ideas about the supposed merger between XM and Serius.

Chuck091279

No issues at the 77 rate. It's been absolutely perfect.

lindros2

So for those that said XM is "perfect," I offer these references on why XM is not anywhere near perfect (the technology is only a VERY small part of my problem):

1. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...n2836087.shtml

2. http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1791

3. https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=411

To show you how "broken" internally XM really is:

1. http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/job-JNQ12R6LYID
(they can't even retain Human Resources people)

2. http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=XM+Satellite+Radio

neuronbob

I am leaving this in the main forum for now at the OP's request so he can gather some opinions.

Have you had your radio itself looked at by the dealer? I assume so.

I've not had issues with my XM radio or NavTraffic service other than slow updates to NavTraffic.

I do have an issue with the barely comprehensible phone staff. When I call, I can often hardly understand what is being said.

nisreo

Have your dealer check out service bulletin 05-022. Its mostly for a parasitic draw, rel-time traffic not updating, and slow XM refresh, but I wouldnt be surprised this is the source for other problems.

The bulletin basically calls for replacement of the XM (Acuralink) control unit.

Chuck091279

Every company has service outages. I think the value that XM is providing for how much many people on this forum are paying is just fine. If you don't want to deal with service outages or spare satellites in orbit, then don't activate your XM. And who cares about their staffing model and how many HR people they have on deck? Not me at least.

I don't have the traffic feature activated yet. I called them yesterday, but they told me they would charge me 9 dollars to activate it + 3.99/month. I think the installation fee is a bit silly, given the fact that I already have XM in the car. I suppose I'll push for it when it's time to renew my XM Radio.

getakey

I started thread in the electronics section about intermittent problems with my XM. Mine has been going out approx once a week. Displays "XM Loading" with no sound on any channel and no Navtraffic. Problem stays for as long as the car is on for that trip, but if I turn off the car for at least 10 minutes, and restart, the problem goes away.

Chas2

No issues for over one year in a 2006 RL except for disappearing traffic, which turned out to be self inflicted when I turned all the icons off, and my not realizing traffic was an icon type.

VOdoc

Ditto on the incomprehensible reps. They somehow "lost" 3 months of credit I had coming when I upgraded from TL to RL. I emailed and got in touch with a senior VP of programming, who helped smooth the way to a 3-month goodwill extension (which simply made me whole). Nonetheless, I continue to receive erroneous statements and cannot make heads or tails of my account on the website. The SVP is a great guy in a very dysfunctional organization.

As an MBA, it is obvious to me that their customer-service strategy is seriously misaligned with their business model. Since their fixed cost is what it is and their marginal cost per additional subscriber is essentially zero, they should aggressively lower the price to keep all existing customers. Any "extra" revenue is pure profit. Duh....

tonyc

don't have an RL, but i do have 2 XM $77/year subs. there is no crippling. not sure how the rate affects the xm traffic data. i'd surmise it doesn't.

lindros2

Still an ongoing mess. XM is trying to determine if there is an outage in my area (um, that doesn't help now - that I don't have NavTraffic any longer).

Interestingly enough, they went back through my records and said "do you remember the conversation on November 27?" - a conversation where an agent told me I could go online to renew my NavTraffic service.

Of course, that isn't the case (the online renewal part). So they now understand my (our) frustration with an army of mis-informed reps...

johnhayd

as others have said, call center people not understandable, don't know anything.

as someone said: email is the way to go. in my case, took a while for a response but they solved my problem.

wstr75

I have the intermittent XM service problem. My service manager looked like a deer in the headlights when I told him about numerous other RL owners having the same problem and that the answer was to replace the module. We are going to replace the module (as well as the power steering hose) in January.

Maybe I should drive down to Conway, SC and visit with Jackzilla - - - he and I could pop the XM module out, change out the power steering hose and then go play a round of golf (along with zillions of Canadians) at one of the nearby Myrtle Beach courses. If we have time remaining, we could also work on a method for locking out first gear for better in town gas economy!

acuralvr1

XM in my third vehicle and have had no issues. I love the service. Was given a 6 month extension to my XM service after I realized they were billing me for a car that I had turned in on a lease 6 months ago.