gambari

I am almost at my wits end. I am used to getting the occassional "acquiring signal" message every once in a while in tunnels, under overpasses, and so on, However, in the last 2-3 weeks, my COMAND unit looses signal even with a direct sky view, all day and night. What gives? Anyone experiencing same problems?

Could this have anything to do with using the 5+3+7 button to select AMG211(so the AMG logo shows at startup)?

Can't think of anything else I could have done to cause this. Tinting the windows?

Muucha Gracias!

Fantasm

the button pushing, no.

tinting the windows, yes.

where is your sat antenna located?

Esh

I have an aftermarket head unit with Sirius tuner and the darn thing goes out on me all the time even with a clear sky. Love it when it works, curse it when it doesn't.

Great for the 2-3 hour drive or longer.

harjothundal

ive noticed it too... but the weird thing is that my antenna is mounted on the trunk on the oem location, and occasionally the signal will either cut out or take time to acquire... i just live with it... with their new channel lineup, i dont find myself listening it much nowadays anyways...

Wryfox

Local ground interference can affect signal. When I lived in San Antonio metro area had lots of problems, but now here in Daytona Beach have had zero problems for a year and a half now. Perfect signal.

jrcart

I have had XM and/or Sirius in most of my vehicles since it came out years ago, I have always lost my signal in tunnels and most underpasses or even when parked next to a tall building or even when driving semi trailers on the highway that is located to the south of my car...I just thought that was normal.

The Law

I live right by John Wayne Airport and noticed that when I'm around the airport the signal is very iffy.

gambari

Fantasm,

Antenna is located (recessed) in the trunk lid where MB put it. I asked the tint shop and they swear it is a non metallic tint and should not cause any inteference. Any ideas? Thanks...

Xiaolong

could be a few things.
your connection to the antenna or head unit may be loose or going bad.
have the dealer check it out, if ya want.

if it worked fine before the tint, they didnt touch the antenna, and then it didnt work well after the tint, it could be the tint.

maybe you are just noticing it more now for some reason?

may be a repeater down or maintenance in your area may be out of date. they probably arent spending much money in this area lately, they have enough money problems as it is with stock at .12 cents and a big loan due next year.

rkao

I noted on New Year's Day, though since improved today, that the title/artist data were not being updated with each track and reception was questionable. But like I said, I noticed no service problems today.

Tritech

I was told the satellites are low in the sky during the winter months in the northern hemisphere. I've noticed less problems during the spring/summer fwiw...

Esh

Tritech,

I get 10x better service in the winter months than in the summer. I get almost no service sometimes in the summer, and questionable in the spring/fall. Any reason for that?

LOVEMYBS

My Sirius is factory installed and the antenna is located on the trunk. I too have noticed unexpected loss of signal in wide open areas. I also think their programming sucks now and seldom listen to it. I'm back to CD's and will drop them when its renewal time.

Xiaolong

the satellites rotate in a "figure 8" orbit over north america.
two are always transmitting while one is past the equator recharging.
they follow this same pattern over and over.
not sure why the reception for some has gotten worse over time and during certain times of the YEAR. now during certain times of the DAY may be of concern of you are stationary, say using a portable piece in a house with the antenna in one place. sometimes this causes an issue as the satellites are moving and may be out of sight of an antenna that is not placed properly.

i worked for sirius for 5 years, was part of the reason you have sirius in your car in the first place, they laid us all off 2 weeks ago. cutting a lot of costs. who knows how they are handling technical issues as of late.

harjothundal

I could not agree more... I'm not pleased with their new lineup, and rarely hear anything i like...

red60R

I'll tell ya, I lose my signal ALL the time and its especially frustrating when you go through an underpass for like 2 secs and lose the signal. My wife's car has XM and this NEVER happens to us unless we go through an actual tunnel.

Esh

That is unfortunate. They have probably eliminated the technical service department entirely. Perfect for all of us Sirius subscribers.

I've heard at some corporations they have even eliminated voicemail on phones, claiming it saves them $1 million a year.

Yacht Master

SIRI just sucks.......Only thing worse is XMSIRI.........Yet Howard still gets 500 million???
Mel is a tard.....

Can Drive 55

I had terrible reception problems a few months ago. The dealership changed the head unit and the radio tuner. It improved a little, but was still in the toilet. It quit working entirely two weeks later. They changed another trunkload of components, including a new antenna. That last repair fixed the problem and reception has been flawless since. My feeling is that it was the antenna all along. Too bad for Mercedes that they spent about $5K on an antenna.

LOVEMYBS

Their music selection is benign, mono-syllable, tasteless, same tempo, not creative, and outright boring. I listen to 60's, 70's 80's, and several other "oldies" stations but I never hear anything interesting or what I like (Stones, Doors, British Invasion, etc.). I'm sick of listening to the Carpenters, Barry Manilow, The Supremes, Tony Orlando, Neil Diamond, and others like them. It seems that's all Sirius plays anymore. I also don't like Cousin Brucie and what seems to be increasing "dj chatter". Sirius appears to be trying to please everyone when in fact they continue to appeal to no one. JMHO, and BTW, although Sirius is installed and active in all three of my cars I will drop them soon. I have already discontinued the two other non-vehicle systems I had. I'm very disappointed in Sirius and personally do not think they will survive in 2009's bad economy. Look at their stock after they acquired XM, it's worthless.

rkao

I actually really like the Sirius programming for the music I listen to: classical on Pop & Symphony, 80's new wave on First Wave, 90's alternative on Lithium, and trance/house on Area.

I've had XM before on my previous Audi and currently have it on my wife's Honda Odyssey, and I actually prefer Sirius - except no NHL Home Ice on Sirius which is a bummer. I am glad that XM now has most of the same programming as Sirius so I can get the same stations while in my wife's Odyssey.

myredbullduc

I actually thought it was only my car that had problems but stand corrected. I think it is the antenna. This conclusion is only because I have two aftermarket Sirius radios in other vehicles without problems. Both antennas are installed on the interior dash and rarely lose signal even through short tunnels.

I have been out of the industry for a while but I am willing to bet that after changing the antenna it should clear the problem. I will let you know my results soon I hope.

Prior to Sirius and XM merging, Sirius had three satellites roaming the skies to triangulate for better signal and XM was using the figure eight give more overhead signal strength.

gambari

Thanks to all for the comments and insight: I will contact my Dealer and see about replaciing the Antenna in the trunk for starters. If it works, this post will be updated accordingly.

Wryfox

Howard gets 20m/yr + 400m in stock at time of contract.

MikeAg

I have the same issues with my E63. Sirius reception has been poor since new. I have complained to the dealer and MBUSA and eventually the antenna and all wiring was replaced and although the reception improved slightly, it is still problematic. I always though the issue was either the antenna or a signal amplifier somewhere in the system - maybe the head unit next.

The new Sirius-XM programming stinks. I too expect to drop it when my contract expires.