Volume control died

So my 2012 RC MT, which I bought new in 2013, has been more or less flawless since day 1.
However yesterday I discovered the radio volume control has 'stuck' at a fixed level. The dial spins but the volume does not change. Luckily it stuck a reasonable level.
And, yes I do actually listen to the FM band!

Is this a fatal error?
Has anyone else had this happen?
Was I lucky to get this far?

I haven't done anything to diagnose the issue beyond working the other sound controls (balance, bass, treble, etc.) - they all work. Was thinking I would disconnect/reconnect the battery to see if it would "reboot", but that is admittedly a long shot.

 

Nope, disconnect the battery and see what happens.
If it still doesn’t work, it’s likely the radio (head unit).
You aren’t the first person to have it fail. The factory unit sucks in the 2nd Gen anyways.
Worst case, you can upgrade to a better unit.

 

The stock radios on gen 2’s start crapping out usually after 8 to 10 years. What you describe is a typical problem when they start going. Mine did the same thing. Since it’s 12 years old I wouldn’t mess with it. Just get a new one they aint that expensive. Although you can get as fancy and costly as you want. I too like my fm stations.

 

Thanks for the feedback TnShooter and Sprig
I take it there is no secret ‘fix’ button, or TW hack.
I’ll try disconnecting/reconnecting the battery, because, why not.
Otherwise, yeah. Guess I'll learn to live with it or actually do something about it.
Besides whine about it in the tech chat, I mean.

 

Mine did the same, I found if you turn the knob real slow sometimes that works sometimes not.

I'm at the point now where it's at a good volume so I just turn it off if I need to answer phone or talk to somebody.

 

Yup....my '13 does same thing.

Some work arounds include:

After pushing in to turn on radio, physically pull knob out/back slightly.

Turn knob real slow.

While adjusting volume, give it some lateral force in any direction (N,S,E,W) . This works really well.

Use steering wheel control if equipped.

 

My 2011 has been doing this for a few years now too. It's annoying, but I just use the steering wheel controls instead. The radio will also occasionally just turn off for no reason, but can be turned back on immediately.

 

Good intel, thanks guys.
I've tried pushing, pulling, flexing, jiggling, wiggling, coaxing and bribing that control knob. I tried as I turned it slowly. Or spun it fast. Clockwise. Counterclockwise. Back and forth. Forth and back. Alas, no joy.
Hopefully this thing doesn't deteriorate much more, too soon.
But it sounds like it's on borrowed time.

 

Did you try the volume buttons on the steering wheel? If it works, then don't worry about the knobs.

 

It's SR, so I don't have steering wheel buttons; just the big one in the middle.

 

Oh well. If you can't get it working, then take it to the dealer to get it fixed or get an aftermarket head unit.

If it was me, I'd get aftermarket head unit.