Satellite Radio Constantly Going In and Out...

I also have a 2016, the radio has zero buffering, and since I live in the mountains, every tree that hangs over the road causes it to go out. Toyota has a major problem here. The HD radio is kinda funky too, because when the signal gets week, it goes back to analog signal, so it kinda skips and changes tone. If your right on the edge of the stations HD footprint, it goes in and out frequently.

 

The XM thing explains it then. Noticeable signal drops, no buffering, no rewind to hear the song again, no data stream for weather, traffic, movies, gas, etc, instead of using HD (rare in my rural area) or Phone (entune that doesn't work on my BB). I loved the 8.4n the Dart had before I traded it in for the Taco.

 

Question for the group - I have the 3 month free trial of XM and the sound quality sucks. I thought it was the non JBL head unit, then I plugged in my
iPod to the AUX port and the stereo sounds phenomenal. Does XM have variable resolution? Do I need to activate better res? My wife has Sirius in her
new Forester and it has awesome sound quality. Any thoughts on if this is the antennae mentioned above or a loose wire or ??? Good news is if it's just
the way it is, it will be easy to not renew...
@rewted you mentioned XM should be better performing and sounding - any thoughts? It cuts out occasionally but the sound quality is my issue...

Edit: by sound quality sucks I mean it sounds like FM radio and kind of flat, equalizer settings help somewhat but the iPod is way better sound quality.

 

Contact Sirius. They will send somebody out to try and correct your issue.

 

Mine all works fine.

 

Thought this might help some of the ideas in this thread concerning satellites.

http://www.n2yo.com/satellites/?c=33

 

I've noticed this issue from day one. Mine cuts out the second I lose line of sight with the satellite. Every other radio receiver that I've had operated on a delay to give you 5-10 seconds of audio after you lose line of sight so you wouldn't constantly lose reception for trees and tunnels. I don't believe that the Tacoma and its Entune setup have that feature.

 

Maybe it's a 2016 thing. I listen to mine every day.

 

I've noticed signal losses a few times in TN on I-40 as well as I-24

 

The location of the Sirius and XM satellites apparently have more of an effect than one would expect.

My wife and I both had Sirius (portable unit in her '09 Acura, built-in in my '08 Ranger) and when we both went to new vehicles last month, each came with built-in XM units.

With Sirius we each rarely lost the signal (tho about 8 years ago we did with regularity in certain locations). Now that we both have XM we notice trees along our road are blocking the signal much more often.

I don't know if this is because satellites Sirius 5 and 6 (from '09 and '13) are newer than XM's ('06 and '10) or if it's just their positions in the sky. Each have one satellite of these pairs placed in geosyncrous orbits over mid North America and western North America.

 

It's a strange issue. I stopped using is after I got to Kodiak Alaska. The reception is shit up here. Driving to Alaska, I encountered it cutting in and out around mountains and stuff. What I think is funny is that in Seattle. I drove up a 15 story parking garage under layers of cement and the signal was perfect lol. I'm missing my Howard Sterns =\

 

I've had satellite radio since its inception. This is not new. All of my cars have had it, my current cars have it and lose reception in the same spots. Just got my 17 and its the same as my other 2 cars.

 

Have you taken it to the dealership yet for this.

 

@kerrdog Sorry to reply so late.... After the subscription expired, I didn't renew..... and haven't taken it in.

 

Yeah, with the XM satellites at an elevation of 3 degrees above the horizon or so for Anchorage, satellite radio is going to suck up there.

See http://www.satellite-calculations.com/Satellite/lookangles.htm

As to your experience in Seattle, they have a number of land-based repeaters to provide coverage in such instances. See http://www.dogstarradio.com/sirius_map.php?state=Washington

 

I read in toyota prius chat that the antenna replacement fixed the issue. Terk XMicro2 Antenna

https://priuschat.com/threads/improving-xm-satellite-radio-reception.129447/

 

Mine very rarely goes out - passing under the occasional overpass; deep, narrow canyons - but I get that. The only real anomaly is when I visit my local grocery store and park too close to their "shop online and we'll bring your stuff out to your car" lanes. It has a metal roof, and I think that knocks out my reception, too.

 

I believe there is something wrong with my antenna. Really, it goes out when it shouldn't. I don't have the problem in my Subaru. The only time I even check it is when I get the free weekend deal, but to be honest, I think the programming is garbage and don't have any incentive to repair it.

Pandora/Podcasts give me more for cheaper.

 

Pandora/Podcasts give me more for cheaper.[/QUOTE]
I've come to the same conclusion. I live in SC hill country and drive through western NC a lot. radio cuts out constantly. when I switch source to my phone I notice an extreme difference in sound quality. I to like to listen to NFL games but guess what? You have to go online to find the channel schedule. The truck only displays numbers not content? It is a cumbersome system to use and basically garbage in my opinion.