My radio reception seems poor- I tend to get static more easily than with other cars I have driven through the same areas. Living in New Jersey, the issue is more about selectivity than it is strength (of course, there are all those power lines...)

Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know of an effective way to improve this? Where is the damn antenna anyway?

 

Yes, This is a known issue.

I don't know an effective way to help this.

The damn antenna is integrated into the top of the rear window.

 

FM radio reception is poor! I hear static on the most popular radio stations in San Diego, which I've never noticed on any other car before. Unless someone else figures out a solution, I'm gonna consider experimenting with another interior antenna or maybe a glass mount (seen them on antennaworld.com). Roof mounts like on Audi's or VW's or even my MDX and Protege5 look kinda cool, but I don't want to drill a hole in my roof.

 

yes the reception in ours is also poor.....
im glad other people are admitting to it lol....

 

Are you sure it is the reception or is it just the speakers rattling the door?

 

no the reception in the tsx stinks!!!

 

When I'm in Chicago and major Chicago radio stations have static, you know the reception sucks. It's kind of amazing really. My CL-S had fine radio reception. The good news is that AM reception rocks on the TSX!

 

It seems fine for me in the Valley. Most buildings are fairly low, which should keep multipath distortion at a minimum. I'm a fan of the integrated antenna because of its stealth and durability, like the one on my old Camry, but the embedded antennas are not as good as the standard kind. There's not much that can be done to improve this, but I guess if you really like radio a lot, you might try satellite radio. I think that's part of the justification, if you really care you can get great quality from space.

 

Intersting... I only start to get bad reception once I'm well west of Rt59, at the edge of their service areas. I never have problems when I am near or in the city.

 

I find the reception in the TSX is better than any of my other cars. Yesterday I noticed I was getting good reception (FM) two levels below ground in my office parkade - my Accord would lose the signal on the first level. This isn't a particularly crowded area for FM (12 stations or so) so interference isn't much of an issue.

 

TSX had singal booster, but lots of statics..... :'(

 

I have a pontiac with an integrated antenna and it had a lot better reception than the TSX.

The other day I couldn't stand it so I started listening to the CD player... then I noticed the speakers rattling.

1700 miles on a $28000 car .... the speakers rattle and the FM reception is horrible. Whats wrong with this picture?

 

yea i tested out the radio reception....... even on stations with the STRONGEST signals i get static on them, and i noticed when i put it up to volume 20 on some stations you can barely hear any bass........ as soon as i switch over to CD the BASS kicks in pretty decent. Yes i know CD quality is 100times better......... i was just comparing the volume to be set at.

 

Well, FM isn't going to compare with CD for frequency response, but it seems that some people have had problems while others have not, interesting. BTW, a VERY strong station can cause problems as well as underpowered stations.

 

I thought I saw that Crutchfield had an antenna booster of sorts - anyone else tried to use one of these?

 

Unlike most cars, the TSX already has an Antenna Amplifier. It is located behind the drivers side rear curtain airbag cover. It is also part of the Window Defogger Coil unit.

In the TSX service manual, there is a 2+ page section on 'Poor Radio Reception or Interference' (pages 22-270 thru 22-272 for those playing along at home).

There are several testing steps to perform, but at the end, if no troubles are found, they end up replacing the Antenna amplifier of the audio-HVAC display module. I say go complain to your dealer and let them know others are not having this problem.

 

On the plus side, I am able to listen to a few Chicago AM radio stations in Columbus, OH. That's 350 miles away!

 

Any of you have tinted windows? In particular "titanium" lined tint? An aftermarket signal booster will just make the static louder by the way

 

Don't think of it as boosted static, think of it as your own little mobile SETI project

 

yeah, amplifing the signal on a receiver is sort of silly. If you could amplify the emitter more that'd be one thing. Otherwise it's similar to turning up the amp.