Rx450H Dab Reception

[Hayabusa]

Hi,

I took delivery of my RX450h two days ago after a long time searching for a new car.

Previously, I had a BMW 5 series and with that I had DAB.

Having only pulled out of the car park for a mile or so I could immediately tell that there was a difference.

On my way to work (approx. 30 miles) the BMW only used to cut out on the national stations at one point and that is in a valley where the road is densely overgrown with trees and I can understand the reception not being able to penetrate the thick canopy. Outside of this it was flawless for the whole journey (and I've always used DAB for the entire 3 years that I've had it).

My RX appears to be fading in and out and crackling fairly consistently to the point that I could take no more this morning and have actually reverted to FM now as it's far more consistent.

I've booked it back into the garage a week on Tuesday but have a sneaky suspicion that I'm going to be told that this is it and there is nothing wrong.

Can someone please provide any soothing words about their DAB being absolutely fine that may make me feel better about my choice of car?

[PCthug]

I dont have DAB on my 2005 RX400h, so that should make you feel better.

Actually, dont choose your car because of the radio.

Who wants to listen to radio presenters, who like the sound of their own voice, in great quality anyway?

Sorry i cant offer any real words of comfort, but welcome to the site, and i am sure the benefits will soon become apparent.

[Swindon Andy]

I dont have DAB on my 2005 RX400h, so that should make you feel better.

Actually, dont choose your car because of the radio.

Who wants to listen to radio presenters, who like the sound of their own voice, in great quality anyway?

Sorry i cant offer any real words of comfort, but welcome to the site, and i am sure the benefits will soon become apparent.

Actually FM is higher quality than DAB (but there is virtually nothing on FM I want to listen to. I feel for Hayabusa.) It will be the aerial - needs fixing or an improved (external) aerial fitted.

[Rillo]

I have 2009 Rx 450 with DAB. Initially when I got the car the DAB was great but I have since had the windscreen replaced and when it came back the reception was awful. It turns out this was the problem so this may help you.

The DAB aerial is very position sensitive. When my windscreen was replaced I noticed the black receiver was not sitting square on windscreen. I pulled it away and with a view to refitting. The box actually has a small "window" in it which lines up with the top of the two metal strips that run down the screen.

I cleaned off excess glue and lined the window more closely with the strips and hey presto! much better reception. Still drops out in deep dips in roads but otherwise fine.

A Way to check if you have same problem is to ask a passenger to press the box against the screen when you experience poor reception. If it improves then this fix will cure it.

[Hayabusa]

Thanks to all. I've had a lot of cars in the past and as I spend a lot of time in the seat I quite like having a variety of entertainment. Swindon Andy has hit the nail on the head in that there's nothing that I want to listen to on FM. Fingers crossed for a week on Tuesday when hopefully that along with the annoying rattling noise from the centre of the dash will be sorted out, but that's a different topic of discussion!

Apart from that I love the car which quite frankly ticks all boxes required of it.

Sorry, special thanks to Rillo for the suggestions. I'll give the "push test" a bash (not literally) tomorrow and if the dealers fail to resolve it, it'll be out with the tools to do it myself!

[Rillo]

ah ha!!!!! you mentioned a rattle from the centre of dash?

Purely by coincidence this is where the DAB receiver sits - I had similar rattle and it was the DAB receiver has slipped from the rubber cradle it sits in. Could be a good place to start to make sure the connections are solid - maybe that is causing the poor reception?

[Hayabusa]

Well this all sounds like too much of a coincidence not to be related. I'll mention this to the dealers when they are looking at it. I've noticed the reception appear sometimes (but not always) to go ropey when going over uneven ground so this sounds highly possible.

Thanks again!

[3 MSF]

Well this all sounds like too much of a coincidence not to be related. I'll mention this to the dealers when they are looking at it. I've noticed the reception appear sometimes (but not always) to go ropey when going over uneven ground so this sounds highly possible.

Thanks again!

I have to say that my IS-F (LSD / HDD) has poor reception compared to my previous BMW Alpina B3 BiTurbo with Logic 7 / DAB. Very similar to your own I'm afraid...

Mark.

[Hayabusa]

Well, I've just had my RX back, rattles resolved from the centre console. AC ducting reconstructed and glove box rattle resolved however I still have one on the passenger door.

DAB reception problem has gone how I'd feared though. No fault found.

Can you get larger antennas for these at all? I'm assuming that they're just fitting someone else's DAB aerial kit and thus I can get better ones and DIY it!

If anyone has any information I'd be grateful.

[Hayabusa]

Just for completeness I thought I'd add the final update with regards to Lexus customer service handling of my DAB.

I have now had confirmation that the installation is technically correct and that the DAB add-on is what it is and my problems are down to weak signal (despite having DAB for 3 years with flawless signal in these areas).

It did get actually quite petty in that they even refused to tell me who developed their in car audio system too stating that their technical team were not privy to that information. A few minutes studying the manual actually showed me the Pioneer audio certificates which was quite disappointing to find after that response.

No indication that anything would be investigated for the future or any interest in the fact that a competing brand was far superior than theirs.

Ah well... I'm now out to seek enlightenment with a car audio specialist I guess.

On the flip side, I still love the rest of the car!

[tonyricha]

Hi, I have a Pure Highway DAD radio in my GS450h as an add on tuner to which I connected a glass mounted external mast of 300MM (had to fit it to the front screen as I have a powered sunblind on the rear )This gives me WAY better reception than the standard aerial in the rear screen and I find works really well all over the south of England, about £45 from DAB on wheels, never use the FM set now.

Tony