Hey I am looking into buying a 2019 RDX this week...can any current owners let me know what they think about the radio? When I took the model overnight, the radio volume would periodically (about once every 5 minutes) drop to a whisper for about 2 seconds before returning to the normal volume. I had the navigation on so I was thinking the navigation might have been trying to interject over the radio and the dealer said it is most likely the HD radio losing signal. We were in a heavily populated area. Just curious if other people experience this and if the HD radio can be turned off?

 

My last 3 vehicles have had HD radio and that's a common symptom. Don't know if there's an option to turn it off in the RDX. You could access the online owner manual and search through it.

 

I find HD radio fades/drops signal out a lot.

 

 

I'm on the road a lot and at times listen to AM sports talk radio and haven't had any issues with volume.

I have had an issue where I turn off the car with the AM on, and when I get back in and drive off, the AM radio is still showing being selected but it never comes back on audio-wise. I have to reselect AM radio and then it will activate. It doesn't do it that often, but it does do it on occasion.

 

Interesting, I've never had an issue with XM/Sirius dropping out - not counting tunnels and deep mountain valleys where there's no reception of any kind. Agree about the twice a year negotiations on the subscription being a PITA but worth it if I can get the service for $5/month.

 

 

It's a promotional plan that, as far as I can determine, can only be authorized by the "Cancellation Department".

To get it you have to call to cancel your service, they then try to entice you with some 'special deals'. (My personal favorite is instead of $16/month I can get 6 months for $96. )

I just keep saying "No, I'm retired and only use the car 2 or 3 days a week and it's not worth it", or something to that effect. Eventually they get down to a 5 month for $25 promotional plan that will renew at the regular rate which I grudgingly accept. (It's sometimes 6 months for $30.) You just have to make sure you call to cancel before it renews and then have to go through the same BS script again.

I've been doing this for about 6 years. Now I just call and say if I can't renew with what I have now I don't want anything - it sometimes speeds up the process depending on the rep you get on the phone.

If they do eventually do away with the program I will cancel and revert to using the thousands of hours of music in my digital library.

 

 

If I select AM radio via the apps button on the steering wheel, turn off the vehicle, then start up the next time, I have to use the HOME button on the console and reselect AM radio.

It might work by reselecting via the APPS button, just haven't tried it

 

 

I used to have that arrangement as well. A few years back that was no longer an option and you have to use a credit card. I just put a reminder on my calendar to call and 'cancel' a couple days before it will auto renew.

I could use my CitiCard feature which has the ability to create a 'single use' CC# which will cause any transaction after the first to reject but I'd still have to call Sirius/XM to renew so there would be nothing gained.

 

I agree that this issue occurs. I only notice it however when using AM Radio. If I have it on the secondary screen it hangs on "Loading". I simply turn the power for the radio off and back on and it works fine. Just assumed it's a bug.

 

I've had HD Radio in the last couple of Acura's I've leased and the the issue occurs when the quality of the signal does not allow the HD component to connect. Any degradation of the signal strength drops HD support first and the radio goes into SD mode. It can drive you crazy when bouncing in and out. I think I remember a setting in the setup where you can change how and when HD is used.

 

Has anyone noticed that the volume level will drop when you pass under over passes? Mine does this all the time when listening to the radio (AM and FM)

 

Weaker signal - happens in all my cars.

 

I have never ever had this happen when listening to normal AM or FM

 

Don't know what to say. Is there an option to disable HD to see if you can isolate that as being a factor?

 

 

I'm not talking about HD, actually. I am talking about normal AM/FM radio. HD will lose signal a lot but the lowering of volume as I go under overhead obstructions is something new and bizarre. I can't figure out why it does this.

 

Maybe the engineers thought a reduction in volume was less offensive than the blast of static you'd get when losing the signal under a bridge?

 

Yeah, that must be it

 

Maybe its the "Speed Volume Compensation (VSC)"? I wonder if you turn it off (if you have it on), it will stop doing that.......

 

It is the strangest thing. I have the VSC off, by the way. I have never been a fan of that. I can only guess that the antenna is pretty weak... I will have to play with it a bit.. it doesn't do that while listening to streaming or USB audio sources, only radio

 

Ah ok. Then I have to agree thats its most likely the antenna is weak, and it looses signal dramatically under the tunnel.

I will check the Service manual to see if it mentions anything.

 

This is my only complaint with the RDX so far. I'm trying to set it up so that I get the least amount of complaints from my wife since she will be the primary driver. Thank you for the tip about just using the off/on button. That's much faster than having to go back to the Home screen. Hopefully she won't complain about having to do that. I hope Acura is aware of the problem and gets a solution.

 

I have the same problem with AM radio. When I restart the car the small on dash display shows AM "loading" but it never comes on without going back to the home screen and selecting AM radio again. I've let it stay with the "loading" message for 30 minutes to no avail.

 

Same thing happens to me and if you press the power button on the steering wheel to power off and then back on the system, it addresses the issue. I have reported this to Acura and they are supposed to add this fix to the first system update

 

If I select AM radio from the steering wheel APPS button, the next time I restart the RDX, I get the "loading" screen but it doesn't come on until I restart the audio system or change use the main system to reselect AM Radio

 

I would try turning the HD part off in the settings and see if you notice the drop on regular analog stations. I have noticed this on several cars with HD that it will try to lock onto the HD part but when it can't if reverts to analog part of station creating the sound drop.

 

I can't find anything in the Owners Manual about HD radio or how to turn it off.

 

Page 277:

Change the AM/FM settings.
1. Select MENU.
2. Select HD Radio Setting.
3. Select Automatic or Analog Only.

'Analog Only' should disable HD.