OEM XM is horrible!

OK guys and gals, here is where I am at:

Last October I purchased a 2013 Tacoma Dual Cab with XM. I made this purchase in Hawaii, a place where there is NO XM coverage. However, I did it because of a planned move to Colorado.

A few weeks ago I picked up the Truck in Seattle and XM reception was very poor. There was a lot of static and it kept cutting out. I figured it may be location, so I drove to Colorado from Seattle. I figured I would try it intermittently to see if it got better. A few miles east of Seattle and I started getting a "Check Antenna" message. Owners manual said to take to a service center. It did this all the way to Colorado.

I have spent three days at a Toyota dealership here in Colorado, just got the truck back today (Each day they said they needed to order more parts and I have had to drive there each time and leave the truck all day and schedule a new appointment after they got the parts in). They replaced the Shark Fin, the Antenna Cable, the XM receiver and the connector cable to the head unit before they pronounced it "Fixed".

Now all I get is a "No signal" error. Even though I knew it was pointless I tried the reset signal from the Sirius/XM web site. I am at a loss for what to do with this other than just yank the whole pile out and go with 100% aftermarket.

What else can I do to get thing working?

 

Satellite radio sucks a lot I mean my dad had it in his Chevy when it first came out and it still is just as bad

 

Actually my wife has an OEM Sirius unit her '11 Kia Sorento and I have yet to have an issue with it. I listen to it more than FM when I am driving it.

 

I listen to XM constanly and barely lose signal. Thats shitty, but the same thing happened to my friends XM in his Ranger. He just left it as is.

 

When it says "No Signal", do you get any audio, or just silence? My '12 is doing the "Check Antenna" trick, but not constantly. Some days it will, some days it won't. I've checked all the connections physically, checked for continuity, etc.

The problem seems to have cropped up when I did the latest software update (it's pretty old, now, nothing super-new). I get signal just fine and I'm starting to think it's a software issue.

 

Time to open a case with Toyota corporate.

 

Mine pissess me off all the time....it only works in open areas. As soon as I get close to tall trees or a building it goes out. I think the stock XM antenna is the culprit....need to look at aftermarket options.

RJM

 

I have has both Siruis and XM in a few of my vehicles. 5 Years in my Charger without any issues. I would get the occasional signal drop when going under long bridges, tunnels and trees but it always worked. No static. I get the same with my 2012 Baja. I have seen the check signal message from time to time, usually when going under a bridge. The audio doesn't cut out (4 sec buffer) but I think its just a "warning" Still listen to it WAY more than FM.

 

Mines the same way! Crappy! I've lost signal for days at a time, and it always just randomly goes out!

 

I have a 2013 and listen to XM all the time. Loses signal under trees and in the shadow of buildings. I don't think the reception is as good as my wife's 07 Acura.

 

I love my satellite radio! OEM works flawless! Very happy!

 

Not a bad idea ...

[EDIT]
The only good thing about all of this is that it is warranty work ... but it is killing my work schedule.
[/EDIT]

 

Just an update.

I was so busy fighting with the XM that I didn't notice that now the GPS Navigation is also not seeing any satellites and the no longer functions as well. Just out of curiosity I pulled the head unit from the dash, it was easy since they didn't put ANY of the bolts back in. All four were missing. I have since fired off on e-mail to corporate customer service.

 

I was surprised how shitty the Taco's satellite reception was too. Constantly cutting out if I drive near a tree or anything even remotely large or tall. I had Sirius in the MINI I had before this and it worked flawlessly as did the satellite in my wife's Kia before we let her subscription lapse, so I know it's not the area, where I'm driving, etc. The antenna has good placement... I wonder if it's the antenna or the stereo (I've got the JBL) that sucks, or maybe both?

 

I have it in my 2010 and have never had any issues whatsoever.

 

My XM is working just fine too... You may want to make a case out of it with Toyota Corporate as mentioned above.

 

i have had XM for 8 years. No Problems with any of them...

 

weird. maybe you got a bad batch of equipment or something. i've had oem xm for the better part of two years and i've yet to have a single issue. i think i lost reception once for all of 10 seconds driving through some back roads but i've driven this thing from texas to south carolina and never had an issue. if i were you and even the dealership is scratching their head, i would just go aftermarket. save you time and more money having to go back to the dealership every couple days.

granted, xm isn't exactly a god send but i like it soooo much more than radio. radio down here in san antonio plays the same ghetto shit 4 times every hour then the next dj next hour plays it 4 more times and if they're not playing that same damn song, it's 10 minutes of commercials. so, for me x is the lesser of the two evils plus it's like 12 bucks a month, small price to pay to have to listen to radio in my opinion

 

Have never had any issues with my satellite radio in the 5+ years I've had it. I started having trouble with reception a few years back but a new antenna made it work perfectly again. I'd say maybe you got a faulty OEM antenna? About a year ago I switched from my aftermarket stand alone unit to using the stock antenna and have never had an issue with reception, unless under bridges or heavily wooded areas it cuts out occasionally

 

I think there is an issue with the antennas. My 2013 loses signal much more often than any vehicle that I have owned, and I have had XM since 2004. My wife's Acura is an 07 and performs much better than my Taco.