Does your AM/FM radio work reliably? Mine does not

[AltadenaAir]

Yes, stations may have a streaming version. But "radio" is that it is a broadcast medium: you don't need an Internet connection to receive it. This is especially important in areas where there is poor cell coverage, and in all disaster scenarios.

 

[Jono]

Many stations have a streaming version on iHeartRadio or another service.

Yes, I use Tune In for most of them, but I find myself going back and forth between car play streaming stations and tune in stations. It all seems a bit clunky. Ideally there would be a favorites screen that includes stations/content for all the possible inputs so the driver doesn't have to go several menus deep to change inputs. And while that would be great, the FM radio is unacceptably bad.

 

[michiganice91]

My whopping 3 month Sirius/XM trial ended today so I started using the local radio. I noticed FM favorites seem to come and go in the saved list depending on the signal strength. Unfortunately the signal strength seems to be very weak compared to every vehicle I've ever owned with an actual physical radio. I find myself having to manually dial stations way too often.

 

[Bobby]

My whopping 3 month Sirius/XM trial ended today so I started using the local radio. I noticed FM favorites seem to come and go in the saved list depending on the signal strength. Unfortunately the signal strength seems to be very weak compared to every vehicle I've ever owned with an actual physical radio. I find myself having to manually dial stations way too often.

I use my SiriusXM subscription from my other car through CarPlay in the Lucid. No extra cost and works great.

 

[AltadenaAir]

Good luck using your SiriusXM subscription during a natural disaster when cell towers down and emergency cell traffic takes precedence. Broadcast radio will work when other services will not.

And, we were sold a car with AM/FM radio. It should work reasonably well, don't you agree?

 

[michiganice91]

Good luck using your SiriusXM subscription during a natural disaster when cell towers down and emergency cell traffic takes precedence. Broadcast radio will work when other services will not.

And, we were sold a car with AM/FM radio. It should work reasonably well, don't you agree?

100%. I don't have a satellite radio subscription at all because there's plenty of great local radio in southern California. Unfortunately the only requirement to listen to it is that your AM/FM radio actually WORKS!

 

[FooFighter]

My whopping 3 month Sirius/XM trial ended today so I started using the local radio. I noticed FM favorites seem to come and go in the saved list depending on the signal strength. Unfortunately the signal strength seems to be very weak compared to every vehicle I've ever owned with an actual physical radio. I find myself having to manually dial stations way too often.

The FM signal is super weak. I live west of Chicago and it seems like the car needs an unobstructed line of sight to the eastern sky in order to get a clear signal. The radio station is broadcasting from downtown Chicago.

Never had any problem with Tesla and Rivian.

 

[michiganice91]

The FM signal is super weak. I live west of Chicago and it seems like the car needs an unobstructed line of sight to the eastern sky in order to get a clear signal. The radio station is broadcasting from downtown Chicago.

Never had any problem with Tesla and Rivian.

Yeah it's kind of disappointing on a pricey vehicle to be lacking in something so simple and common as a radio. Especially since radios on cars have been commonplace for many decades.

 

[Sandvinsd]

The antenna on the Lucid is very poor. Stations in San Diego which are crystal clear in other cars are problematic in the Lucid. Yes, I use iHeart radio, but, for Bobby and others, the wifi towers are not great, even in SD to get reliable all the time audio from Whereas my other two cars get great OTA reception on the radio 100% of the time here.

It’s the antenna. Lucid just assumed people don’t listen to AM/FM and that shows in the lack of attention to quality OTA radio. For people to say use iHeart, it is just a cop out for poor engineering on Lucid’s part.

 

[michiganice91]

The antenna on the Lucid is very poor. Stations in San Diego which are crystal clear in other cars are problematic in the Lucid. Yes, I use iHeart radio, but, for Bobby and others, the wifi towers are not great, even in SD to get reliable all the time audio from Whereas my other two cars get great OTA reception on the radio 100% of the time here.

It’s the antenna. Lucid just assumed people don’t listen to AM/FM and that shows in the lack of attention to quality OTA radio. For people to say use iHeart, it is just a cop out for poor engineering on Lucid’s part.

. I am in San Diego as well

 

[segbrk]

Yeah it's kind of disappointing on a pricey vehicle to be lacking in something so simple and common as a radio. Especially since radios on cars have been commonplace for many decades.

You say that as if it's an obvious necessity, but I have never once attempted to turn on the FM/AM radio in my car. I don't care. For better or worse, radio is going the way of the dodo, and I'm not convinced a market survey would show that it's worth Lucid's money to put effort into it until a lot of other things are in better shape.

 

[michiganice91]

You say that as if it's an obvious necessity, but I have never once attempted to turn on the FM/AM radio in my car. I don't care. For better or worse, radio is going the way of the dodo, and I'm not convinced a market survey would show that it's worth Lucid's money to put effort into it until a lot of other things are in better shape.

I say it more as a person who has never owned nor ever been a passenger in an automobile that didn't have a perfectly functional over the air radio.

I think terrestrial radio will always be around maybe not largely used by people who buy Lucid class autos but for those who are less financially fortunate or just people who prefer local stations.

Anyhow it seems Lucid considers it relevant enough to include it in all their cars so I guess I'm just disappointed it seems to be a poorly executed feature in my experience. If you're going to be a luxury auto then the features should be well executed. I don't think that's too much to ask for personally.

 

[segbrk]

I say it more as a person who has never owned nor ever been a passenger in an automobile that didn't have a perfectly functional over the air radio.

At one point not too long ago nearly all cars had actual cigarette lighters and ash trays. Does that mean they all should still?
Anyway I don’t mean to start a debate over nothing, and I agree that if it is there, it should work. I just wouldn’t be too shocked if the radio is removed rather than improved, that’s all.

 

[michiganice91]

At one point not too long ago nearly all cars had actual cigarette lighters and ash trays. Does that mean they all should still?
Anyway I don’t mean to start a debate over nothing, and I agree that if it is there, it should work. I just wouldn’t be too shocked if the radio is removed rather than improved, that’s all.

All good. I see your point of view as well. Another thing I will mention is that a lot of areas have fairly crappy or just too few local radio stations/DJs/options etc. If you happen to live where there's a lot of great local radio it might have more of an impact on how many people are listening too.

 

[Sandvinsd]

. I am in San Diego as well

And the radio should work well for both of us. It doesn’t.

 

[AltadenaAir]

For better or worse, radio is going the way of the dodo,

Sorry, but I think you missed the point of my post.

In natural disasters, the only reliable communication medium is broadcast radio. After the Eaton fire in January, cellular service in my area was non-existent. After a major earthquake, hurricane, ice storm, or similar, much or most cell service will be unavailable, overwhelmed, or re-prioritized to first responders.

I'm not using the radio to learn about new music or listen to my favorite DJ, things I can do over "internet radio". Broadcast radio is not going to be supplanted for emergency messaging.

I'm using my Lucid radio to get real time information. It seems like the Lucid radio should work well enough for me to hear a public safety alert message.

 

[segbrk]

Sorry, but I think you missed the point of my post.

In natural disasters, the only reliable communication medium is broadcast radio. After the Eaton fire in January, cellular service in my area was non-existent. After a major earthquake, hurricane, ice storm, or similar, much or most cell service will be unavailable, overwhelmed, or re-prioritized to first responders.

I'm not using the radio to learn about new music or listen to my favorite DJ, things I can do over "internet radio". Broadcast radio is not going to be supplanted for emergency messaging.

I'm using my Lucid radio to get real time information. It seems like the Lucid radio should work well enough for me to hear a public safety alert message.

I hear you, but why not just get a dedicated emergency radio in that case? While it would be nice for that one case to have a dependable version built into the car, I don't see it as an expected core functionality of a car. It's a car, not a radio.

 

[AltadenaAir]

I hear you, but why not just get a dedicated emergency radio in that case?

Well, I guess it's primarily because Lucid sold us a car with an AM/FM radio. It will always be in the car, never lost, and (essentially) never without power. It will power speakers that can be heard easily throughout the car. But, as we have discovered, it may not work as reliably as a $49 portable radio.

 

[Celeras]

Yup, very weak signal here too. To be honest I was surprised to even see AM as an option, I had thought there was something about AM and interference when it comes to EVs. Whatever they did to make it "work" is terrible, FM wasnt much better.

Anytime the internet goes out I'll opt for silence over the intermittent static.