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XM Radio Problem - Anyone else have this happen?

6K views 18 replies 17 participants last post by  deviltailedfast 
#1 ·
The my car is hot the audio system claims to have no satellite radio. After a minute or two it remembers that it does and works fine after that.

Help!
 
#6 ·
I have heard about this problem before with the SAT radio. Either live with it for the three month trial or you have to take it to the dealer and I believe they have to switch out some control box for the radio. Under warranty of course. Just a pain in the @ss and your loss of time.
 
#7 ·
my car came with xm even through i already had a subscription to sirius. i was told that in order to cahnge from xm to sirius one would have to not only replace the head unit, but also a "transponder" or some sort of reciever unit in the car at a cost of about $1000. He told me the cheapest way to do so would be to find a wrecked car for parts. I said so much for switching over, even through i like sirius better. Ive made it since march on my "free trial" of xm though, so maybe things arent so bad... ;) in so far as failing to recognise the satellite service, i occasionally had that problem and chalked it up to the trial. i just turned the radio off and back on and generally things worked out. point of this story is if you think you have any legit problem at all i think you should definately have it checked out as a warrenty because therwise things can get very very expensive.
 
#8 ·
There is a module you can switch out to go from xm to sirius Its about 600 bucks. the boxes are made by the same company, just the coding on it. The box is in the trunk. You may be able to find someone to trade out with you, or buy one on ebay. If you live on the west coast, you may loose xm reception because I'm told their sat is located over the eastern u.s. and sirius's is located more over the center. I've heard many people say they lose reception on 101 or if there are mountains or trees to the east of them.
 
#9 ·
I live in Seattle, and I have the same problem with XM. About 1 in 20 times I start the car and start driving, I suddenly realize I'm listening to the CD when I should be listening to the satelite. Sometimes I even have to push Sat twice before I get it.

Fast Freddie said:
There is a module you can switch out to go from xm to sirius Its about 600 bucks. the boxes are made by the same company, just the coding on it. The box is in the trunk. You may be able to find someone to trade out with you, or buy one on ebay. If you live on the west coast, you may loose xm reception because I'm told their sat is located over the eastern u.s. and sirius's is located more over the center. I've heard many people say they lose reception on 101 or if there are mountains or trees to the east of them.
That's really interesting to hear, because I've noticed sometimes when I'm stuck in traffic I'll get a drop-out from even a pedestrian bridge as I crawl underneath it. But I still love having the comedy channels to keep me laughing when I spend an hour getting from work to home. I used to hate traffic...
 
#10 ·
Fast Freddie said:
There is a module you can switch out to go from xm to sirius Its about 600 bucks. the boxes are made by the same company, just the coding on it. The box is in the trunk. You may be able to find someone to trade out with you, or buy one on ebay. If you live on the west coast, you may loose xm reception because I'm told their sat is located over the eastern u.s. and sirius's is located more over the center. I've heard many people say they lose reception on 101 or if there are mountains or trees to the east of them.
where exactly is this box in the trunk? I am looking to get xm instead of sirius
 
#14 ·
There is now a TSB for the No Sat problem. My ride is going to the dealership on Thursday for this.

#00 06 05
Oct. 18, 2006,
2013187, RVU - Radio, Premium Sound (Panasonic) Software Update (OP)

The dealer needs to update the radio firmware to version 21
 
#15 ·
I have had the same xm problem-it go's to no sat then back again. I had vw check the unit and all is ok, its the reception. I am also getting rid of xm, I ordered sirius, vw gave me a price beak but it was still expensive. I did it because I want more sports and with nascar moving I figured why not try it. I will attempt to change it out myself. Also discovered my GTI '06 has a left head light motor adjuster problem-makes too much noise, they will replace it. This is the second electircal problem, the first was the cooling fan would not turn off.
 
#16 ·
I have had Sirius for awhile now and on occation the signal does drop out. It's not a perfect system and I guess it will get better over time like everything else. The signal drops out even under bridges sometimes. The other thing that I have noticed is on some days it has a hell of a time finding a signal for some reason. I would still prefer to listen to satalite over terestrial radio any day though even with the occational hick up!
 
#17 ·
2 issues with sat radio. 1. complete failure of the XM controller module located under the front passenger seat. It required a remake of the unit by VW and affected cars were without sat radio (mainly XM) for almost 5 months. New modules are now available under warranty if a failure occurs (unit reads "loading" and then "failure", and only the preview channels are available. I am aware of over 150 vehicles affected in the US, per my source. The 2nd issue is the no sat radio message with the head unit returning to the previous mode whether CD or terrestrial radio. The new control module does not solve this issue, but it is usually only temporary. Also be aware that Sirius does not have as extensive of a ground repeater system as does XM and there will be more drop out issues noted. I have not been aware of any dealer reprogramming options to solve the 2nd issue discussed here, maybe someone else does. :(
 
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