3rd Gen - Poor FM Radio Reception (?)

My rural reception sucks. In out HD and static. XM even worse. My 1968 rambler with FM adapter was better at staying tuned in. Anyone who solves this will be hailed.

 

I was told many moons ago, the higher end receiver, the less stations you will get. Something about more filters and not picking up the weak signals.

 

Yes, Ive noticed poor FM reception too, but have not worried about it much. There’s a thread somewhere on TW I’ve seen about the shark fin and the three different Entune system antenna inputs, and how the AM/FM wire antenna that is seperate from the shark fin can get messed up and bent during installation. Its your homework to search for it though...

 

That little thingy on the roof that looks like a shark fin isn't there to keep your pointed straight. That's the antenna.

SB

 

Low transmission fluid=impaired radio.

 

I don't know if this will help any of you but I just bought a new Tundra with the top of the line Entune system. Unless I was on high level ground the reception was horrendous so Toyota just replaced the radio yesterday. No better with the new one either. I decided to test a few things so I have this dashcam hooked up and the wiring runs from the power plug under the dash and straight up to my dashcam on the windshield. I unplugged it and guess what, clear as a bell. I don't know if its cause I have a cheap Chinese 12v plug and usb cable going to my dashcam or what but i'm going to see if other plug in devices do the same thing? More to come.

 

There's a guy on YouTube who was on a quest to find the best dash cam for his wife's car. All but one of the cameras he tried interfered with the radio reception in the car. Granted he was also running wires to the back for a rear camera, but it can definitely interfere with the radio signal.

 

My reception on FM and before I canceled it XM are both terrible.

 

I've addressed this twice with my local dealerships and both times they said they performed an "update" to my radio. Still sucks - I think they just wanted to tell me they did something. I'm going to call corporate to see if they can help me because it still can't hold a signal well. Anyone else find a solution?

 

Yes.. Some areas has weak signal.. That's why i made this high tech mod.. problem solved ang getting HD signals too.

 

Someone here will no doubt believe you.

 

I have a similar thread on here concerning the exact same topic. I don’t know how to provide a link to it here, but it is titled, “Adding real am/fm antenna.

I want to mount an old fashioned antenna to the fender, believing that will improve reception.

The factory HU has three separate antenna inputs. Am/fm and Xm are both located in the “shark fin”. The navigation antenna is located in the dash.

In theory, adding a fender antenna and an adapter to plug into the HU is all it will take to make this work.
The parts are out there, I just need to make sure I get the right ones.

I’ll be investigating this further when the heat index drops significantly!

 

Same issues here. I drive the same route 30 miles 1 way to work and in my old F-150, my old VW Golf, my old Nissan Titan(all factory stereos) and my wifes Acadia I had ZERO issues picking up the 3 FM radio stations I listen to often. In the Tacoma(Tech package w/ JBL) 2 out of 3 stations are in and out literally 75% of the drive, the 3rd station seems fine. Very annoying to say the least.

Additionally my bluetooth calling reception sucks too. People can't hear me/I can't hear them constantly. I can be on my phone in certain areas and not drop calls/have issues but when connected via bluetooth it acts as though I have 1 bar or no bars of signal strength when I really should.

 

Same problem here but the Tacoma is 10x better than the Dodge I traded in.

 

I just made this mod. The first hangers I tried bending kept snapping, not sure how you got the plastic to bend like that.

 

Unless you're Australian, this isn't going to work for you.

Consult a world map if you wonder about this.

 

Oh I got it. The joke is that the antenna is actually the outline of Australia, which you didn't seem to get. Emoticate away.

 

my 2014 challenger and my 2000 land cruiser pick up a local fm station I like perfect. 2018 Tacoma nope noda just hissssssssssssssss