I just bought this 2006 TL with Navigation and I got XM connected, but noticed really spotty signal ever since. Happens on all channels, so I think it's a bad antenna or something.

It's like I've gone under a bridge, but there's nothing there. Just seems to fade in and out and loose signal easily.
Is this just a standard "feature" or is there something wrong with my radio / antenna?
To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of XM as the signal is so highly compressed anyways, that the sound quality is garbage, but I thought I'd give it a try again.

If it's gonna be like this, I'll just cancel and get my money back.

 

I recently purchased a 2006 TL as well; I've been considering signing up for their free 30-day trial to see how it works. Did you go for the trial period first or just jump in to the XM world with both feet?

 

Wait for a good trial offer... I can't remember exactly, but think it was like 6 mos for $50 or something like that. The Acura dealer must have added me to their mailing list, but if you go to XM1 (the free station), you'll hear promo offer ads all the time.

 

Hmmm, 30-days for free isn't a good trial offer?

 

Not if they bill you more after that, but yeah, give it a try.

 

As I understand it from my brief review of the offer, they have no option of billing you beyond the 30 days.

 

Let's be clear, my question is related to the radio signal loss. If anyone has an input, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

 

The XM antenna is that little module on your roof. Maybe it's disconnected. The XM unit is also in the trunk. Depending on where you are, it could be a bad area reception.

 

Given I also have a 2006 TL, I selected the XM-1 station several times this week during my commute to see if my car has a similar signal strength issue as yours; it does not, the signal remains strong from the moment I get in the car until the moment when I turn it off at the other end.

Just one data point for you.

 

The navi model has a diagnostic screen in it for XM satellite signal. I would start there and see your signal strength or identify any other issues.

 

It's probably because you're driving in areas that have little to no signal. Mountains, large buildings, in between lots of trees, etc.

 

its possible your XM module crap out over the years, I would trying to swap with a used unit to see if it goes away (WARNING!!! If you swap the unit you will need to update XM with the new unit radio ID)

 

Nope - as a new car owner (be it used or not) with XM capability you are entitled to a 90 day free trial, not just 30 days.

Very possible. We have three cars with active subscriptions and all get much worse reception on the heavily tree lined roads in the woods of Maine, when we are up there. With that said going under certain bridges, overpasses or train trestles have the XM reception cut out for a few seconds. And the odd thing is that going under one direction vs the other direction makes a difference -

100% accurate regarding swapping the unit. We had one replaced under warranty and needed to work with XM to get the account updated. They wanted to charge me a reactivation fee, and I said "hell no." They relented and made the update / change for free.

 

I have an 2005 TL and have had XM on it the last 12 years. For me, i have had signal degradation over the last year or so.. Started with random drop outs that happened every couple days to issues with every drive. Could be a bad unit like other mentioned, but my gut says corrosion on the antenna connectors, which could explain the slow progression of getting worse. But I never dug into it.

I got fed up with the yearly calls to XM to keep a decent rate, so I ended up just adding an iSimple Connect unit to stream from my iPhone. I forgot how compressed the XM music is! Bass is deeper and punchier and highs are crisper. Could not be happier.

 

"HELL NO" is exactly the stance to take! Don't take any shit from the cust svc reps at Sirius/XM as they're merely robots reading from a script. If necessary, demand a supervisor, or better still, ask to be connected to a rep in the United States since most of them in the Philippines (where most call centers are located nowadays) can't properly speak or understand English.
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XM audio quality is absolute rubbish. As an audiophile, I really can barely stand it, and not sure how others can. But so much of the general population is so used to listening to highly compressed music (low bit rate MP3's, etc) that many don't know what good sound quality is anymore. Truth is they try to cram hundreds of channels, including all the talk, sports, every MLB game, etc and only way to do this without paying for more bandwidth is to keep compressing the audio quality. It's always been pretty bad, but I feel like it's gotten worse over the years in their quest to try to continue to expand offerings that seem like they appeal to everyone under the sun.

And, given all the hundreds of channels, there's only 3-4 that are any good.

I won't be subscribing after my trial is over.

 

I'm not even an audiophile and the level of compression on XM drives me nuts. My hearing is not anywhere near where it was when I was in my teens and 20s...and I can still easily tell it is highly compressed.

I gave up on XM years ago when I grew tired of the pricing games and I finally got a smart phone. The fact that during my commutes, most stations I liked had DJ's on them that liked to talk too much. If I wanted to hear people talking, I would listen to FM radio. When I pay for music, I want to hear music, not a bunch of idiots rambling on and on. About the only time we use XM is during the holiday weekends when they do the one week limited trials on all radios.

I haven't even tried to use the XM in my car for several years so no idea if the signal quality has changed. I noticed a major change many years ago when I assume is when they took down the terrestrial repeaters in the KC metro. When I first got my TL, my XM worked inside the multi-story parking garage at my office which I assume is because of the terrestrial repeaters. By the time I left that job in 2012, my XM barely worked at all while in downtown KC.

 

OP, as others have said, if there's trees / buildings / mountains in the area, the signal can get blocked for as long as the object is between the antenna and the satellite. If you experience loss of signal with no obstructions, then you might have other issues.

I picked up the lifetime XM / best of Sirius deal for $499 back in March of 2009. Best deal I ever did.

But you don't listen to XM for audiophile music. I use it for news/ comedy/ sports/ talk radio and the lifetime deal has been worth every penny, currently at $59/year and going lower every month

 

Uh, you're aware that some of the satellite reception in the mid to major urban areas comes from cell towers; what the Sat companies call 'terrestrial repeater network.' Switching and decoding the signal can and continues to be an issue, something XM still has issues with. FYI

 

My guess its also an issue with the antenna used. If I drive past certain water towers or buildings with cell/microwave transmitters it goes to static. Drive my wife's Pilot, new TSX, etc past the same places and there is no issue.

 

In October I activated the 3-Month free trial and rarely had any signal issues with the signal; some bridges, some mountainous areas and such, but 99.99% of the time I had a strong signal.

 

I have the same thing occurring to my 2019 MDX. At first , thought it was just more sensitive than my other cars that have or had siriusxm radios. What I learned about the radio which was not explained by the salesman, these radios have a hard drive. According to the manual, xm radio stations are recorded on the hard drive periodically (?) so when you tune to station, the song starts from the beginning. A Jeep Cherokee I looked at had the same thing. Also, you can play CDs and they will be recorded to the hard drive as well...... or you can specify not to record the CD. The idea being you can now access all your music and create playlists, etc. I think that the erratic xm playing with dropouts may be part of a malfunctionig hard drive ?

 

I have this problem almost everywhere. In fact, it works better in midtown Manhattan on side streets in between tall buildings than in open areas. I've replaced BOTH the XM module and the roof antenna and STILL have this problem. What else could it be?
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That's only on the recent offerings from Acura with the tech and higher package. 3rd generation TLs don't have that feature.

 

My guess is still the areas in which you're driving.

 

May be, but those areas where I have the problem are in wide open ones.

 

T-Mobile cell towers cause interference with satellite signals. It's a known issue.

https://blog.solidsignal.com/tutoria...ith-reception/

 

I my 09 TL I have the same problem XM radio fades in and out and sometimes it will say no signal depending on where I'm at but my wife's 2018 truck it works great with no problems.