klpete

Anyone know how to access the antenna on a 2004 W211 to see if it's loose? I'm out of warranty and this would be worth a try.

konigstiger

MY04 antenna is bonded to rear glass.

06e320cdi

I think he was referring to the Sirius antenna. Mine is on the roof, only accessible by pulling the headliner down

konigstiger

Right, klpete MY04 SIRIUS antenna should be located on trunk lid you will need to remove trunk lid paneling.

klpete

Yes, mine is on the roof too. My badly worded question was referring to how to get the headliner pulled away.

Sfguy

My 2008 E350 loses signal every 5 to 10 minutes for a few seconds on channel 79. When it loses signal it show "Acquiring Signal" message. I took it to the dealer today and they said that they checked the radio and it works fine. They said they could not reproduce the problem. They also showed me a memo saying that Sirius starting on March 22 will begin distributing an update which will solve the reception problem for the 35 channels that have reception problems. Did this update solve the reception problem for anyone yet?

E2233

The old update did not solve the problem. Replacement of the unit solved the problem. I could never duplicate the loss of signal at the dealer. The service manager told me there was no problem with the radio.

Sfguy

Thanks for your reply. How did you convince the dealer to replace the unit? My dealer just blames it on Sirius and says the radio is fine.

E2233

I called Sirius several times and sent them many E-mails. Sirius blocked my E-mail address. Sirius kept telling me it was the unit. The various dealers that I visited could never duplicate the reception problem.

It got so bad I visited the dealer that always serviced my vehicle. The service manager told he has been driving various vehicle from his company and there were no such problem.

I contacted MB in New Jersey to open a case. The representative was not aware of the radio problem. A couple of days later before MB New Jersey started their review the shop foreman from my local dealer called to tell me that he had found a service bulletin about the radio.

The dealership replaced the radio without anymore questions.

You should list your location there may be a dealer near you that may be able to assist you. Other member on the board have had success with some dealers.

Sfguy

Thank you again for your very detailed response! I would greately appreciate any suggestions about helpful dealers in San Francisco Bay Area especially in east bay.

E2233

I am in the Los Angeles area.

I just read on another board that someone had their antenna wiring replaced. The message said no problem after replacement.

I think they check the antenna wiring a couple of time at various dealers.

The problem was the unit in my vehicle.

I read on other posting that units were being replaced if there were reception problems with the stations listed on the service bulletin.

You may try to get a copy of the service bulletin from your dealer. My dealer offered to give me a copy. I did not take it because they were replacing the unit.

Once you get a copy see if there are any recommendations then go to the service manager tell them you want your vehicle fixed. If they do not list contact MB Customer Service. It will take them a little while but they will get back to you. May be someone else in your area may post information about the same problem.

Sfguy

Thanks again for the information. My dealer did not want to give me a copy of the memo they showed me, but the memo just said to assure customers that the software update from Sirius will solve the reception problem over the next several months. I think the best strategy for me now is to contact MB Customer Service as you suggested.

DSperber

Just to repeat my own experience, which was to almost always lose Sirius reception (specifically on channel 90, which was on that list of 35 channels supposedly defining the supposed group of supposedly problem channels) after about 5 minutes of use every day. I'd bring the car home at night (radio still out, and just could not be "kick-started" into working), let it "rest overnight", and then the next morning as I drove out of the garage it would once again work... for 5 minutes.

The SA at the dealership looked into it, and decided to replace the 2010 Sirius unit in my 2010 E350C with the 2011 part (under warranty). Did not help. Same problem returned.

Then, I brought the car back again and let them have it for about 5 days. Through a research effort of theirs chasing the antenna cable from the trunk where the Sirius module lives, up to the roof-mount (they had to remove the interior headliner to get to the antenna roof-mounting bracket and bolt), they discovered that the roof mounting bolt WAS LOOSE!

I'm guessing it wasn't "flopping around" loose, but apparently it was not "torqued tight", and they then "torqued it tight".

The result, so they said, was that the ground plate under the antenna was now making correct contact with the antenna itself, and that this was the explanation for both the problem and also the solution (i.e. that the radio now works 100% perfectly and NEVER LOSES ANY CHANNELS, EVER!!!).

It's now been a few months, and I continue to experience 100% PERFECT RECEPTION ON ALL SIRIUM CHANNELS.


Again, first "solution" to replace the expensive 2010 Sirius tuner module with the equally expensive 2011 part -> no effect (fortunately, no expense to me as it was a warranty replacement).

Second "solution"... tighten the roof-mounting bolt from below (headliner removal required, to get to it) holding the satellite antenna onto the roof and securely planting it onto the grounding plate below -> 100% SUCCESS in fixing the problem!

At least one other poster (in Illinois) on another forum just this week posted a similar success story on his 2011 E550C, after bringing the car into his dealership and suggesting the same "solution". The shop did exactly what I described above, and this other poster now has a 100% working Sirius radio like mine.

Pushing_Tin

Anybody pulled their headliner down to tighten the bolt down? My radio isn't too bad, but it's by far the worst of my past 4 vehicles dating back to 2006. Pretty disappointing in a car of this "quality."

fly2nite

Bump for those of us that like to DIY. After realizing that my Sirius cuts out in underpasses, clear air...AND in hard turns, I think I've got a loose antenna. I've also noticed a difference in bitrate quality between my car and my wife's XM equipped Acura, I wonder if my radio is choosing the lowest quality stream because the reception is bad or if that's simply the difference in brand Of transmitter (since I believe XM and Sirius still use their respective original satellites). I know the current quality in my car on SiriusXM U and AltNation sounds like a low quality mp3.

So, any tips on removing the headliner and accessing the antenna?

loudbmw

After three years and three unsuccessful visits to the dealer for my Sirius cutting out, I decided to take matters into my own hands. My Sirius would cut out the day after a rain or car wash. I was convinced the antenna was loose and water was getting in. Sure enough the Torx bolt holding the antenna was only finger tight!

I hand to drop the rear portion of the headliner to get to the antenna. Do this part at your own risk as its a pain. You have to remove the two rear roof handles and the headliner over the pillar by the rear door. The headliner is held up only by Velcro so with the help of a couple on tennis ***** I had enough space to get my arm in by reaching in by rear door.

After the Torx bolt is removed, there is enough slack in the antenna wires to lift the antenna out. It had moisture inside and you can see from the pictures the corrosion around the antenna's metal base. The roof hole the bolt goes through is painted so there's no actual "ground" to the roof (Sirius reception was even fine while unbolted). I removed the plastic antenna cover (really small Torx bolts) and removed the rubber seal.

I put everything back together with a very thin coating of silicone sealant on the top and bottom of the gasket. Put everything back together but snug this time. Went through first heavy rain storm three days ago and no cutting out.

DSperber

Congratulations!!!

Given what we know now, that it appears to be a manufacturing defect, I would have taken the car to the dealership, insisted that they look up the "service advisories" on the subject (since it's now been installed into the national system), seen the proven solution, and let them take the headliner off to fix the antenna. I'm impressed with your abilities, but given that it's an MBZ design/assembly problem (no matter how old or out of warranty) I'm sure they would have done it for free.

I had a 380SEC (1983) which was the first year of that car, and the first year with that engine. There was only a "small 380" engine for one year, until MBZ could meet California emission standards. The next year the car was the 500SEC.

Anyway, in the 380 engine they only had a single timing chain. Starting the next year, with the 500 engine they had a double timing chain.

Well, it turns out that the single timing chain was simply inadequate and it turns out that EVERY 380 engine's timing chain broke at "exactly" 50,000 miles. Didn't matter how long it took you to drive those 50,000 miles... when you reached 50,000 miles the chain would break. And your car would stop dead as the engine cut out.

And depending on how much you tried to re-start the car (of course you had no idea at that moment what the explanation was), the amount of additional major damage you did to the cylinders and valves could be almost nothing, to complete destruction.

Well, the repair job is major, and is about (or was) $5,000 when my 380SEC hit its 50,000 mark (actually about 10 years after purchase, long after expiration of warranty). Turns out MBZ was long aware of the design defect of the single chain, and had long established a policy that whenever an owner would bring the car in for repair after the 50,000 mile breakage that was guaranteed... no matter how long it took to reach the 50,000 mark... that MBZ would pick up 50% of the repair cost, even if the car was out-of-warranty.

And, their dealership repair of 380 engines included replacing the original single chain with the double chain from the 500 engine. And that double-chain lasted for the next 75,000 miles for me... which was another 18 years (I'm a low-mileage driver), until I finally sold the car last year.

My point is simply that given the now publicized service advisory regarding that roof antenna issue and the "loose bolt" solution to the problem of "Sirius cutting out", I'm speculating MBZ would just fix it for you at no cost... or at least you have a decent chance of getting them to do it if you argue hard enough.


Anyway, I'm glad your problem is now finally solved.

ghettoroadster

I wonder if this is the same for MY05s as well? and if the dealership would fix it under MBUSA extended warranty.

It's seriously beginning to BUG. Thanks!

XXBogey

Is your Sat. radio still working? Having a similar problem...dealer replaced the Sirius radio yesterday with no positive results.
Thanks!!!