Radio Antenna Replaced

[Jdagr]

Has anyone been able to get Lucid to replace their radio antenna?

I get very poor FM radio reception across multiple stations. I have had my radio evaluated by Service at Goose Island and was told it is a software issue, the hardware of fine. I have read on this forum that others have experienced this as well, but the problem seems to go unresolved. The problem is clearly the antenna though because I can drive my wife’s $40k minivan and get perfect reception across all of the same stations when driving in the same areas that I get very poor reception in my Lucid.

 

[borski]

t the problem seems to go unresolved. The problem is clearly the antenna though because I can drive my wife’s $40k minivan and get perfect reception across all of the same stations when driving in the same areas that I get very poor reception in my Lucid.

That doesn’t make it “clearly the antenna.” The software may be poorly parsing the stream, or have buffering issues, or any number of other issues when trying to play back the radio to you.

I’m not saying it’s definitely a software issue - but it’s also very possible.

 

[Bobby]

Has anyone been able to get Lucid to replace their radio antenna?

I get very poor FM radio reception across multiple stations. I have had my radio evaluated by Service at Goose Island and was told it is a software issue, the hardware of fine. I have read on this forum that others have experienced this as well, but the problem seems to go unresolved. The problem is clearly the antenna though because I can drive my wife’s $40k minivan and get perfect reception across all of the same stations when driving in the same areas that I get very poor reception in my Lucid.

I’ve gotten spoiled by crystal clear radio “reception” via streaming. I use iHeartRadio for my favorite stations. Most major stations now have a streaming variant. It’s especially nice on longer drives. Of course, it does depend on cell signal. Have you tried that?

On a separate note, please refrain from the “my cheap other car does this better” narrative. It doesn’t add to the quality of your post.

 

[Jdagr]

That doesn’t make it “clearly the antenna.” The software may be poorly parsing the stream, or have buffering issues, or any number of other issues when trying to play back the radio to you.

I’m not saying it’s definitely a software issue - but it’s also very possible.

You are correct…I am certainly no software engineer and have absolutely no idea what is causing the problem. I’m just frustrated that it continues to go unfixed. I love everything about this car, but this one detail really does bother me.

 

[Jdagr]

I’ve gotten spoiled by crystal clear radio “reception” via streaming. I use iHeartRadio for my favorite stations. Most major stations now have a streaming variant. It’s especially nice on longer drives. Of course, it does depend on cell signal. Have you tried that?

On a separate note, please refrain from the “my cheap other car does this better” narrative. It doesn’t add to the quality of your post.

I have used the streaming services which work fine, but I am someone who prefers listening to the morning radio shows in my area on my commute. I am also someone who doesn’t like commercials and frequently switches stations when commercials come on. As lucid has not implemented a feature that allows you to easily toggle between favorite stations on the various streaming platforms, I find myself taking my eyes off of the road for long periods of time to switch stations. My commute involves high traffic areas and I just find this practice to be unsafe and so I have reverted back to AM/FM radio stations.

While I appreciate your criticism of the “my other cheaper car does this better” argument, I think it is valid in this situation. For most people, the very first thing you hear when you get in your car is the stereo. Lucid clearly went to great lengths to ensure a great listening experience by implementing an awesome sound system, but has fallen short on a seemingly basic function of playing sound on that stereo system in the AM/FM radio. Its difficult not to compare it to other cars just because it is such a “basic” feature. It’s very possible that I am just “old school” in my listening habits, but I continue to hope that they fix this.

Again, I love everything else about this car and have otherwise had excellent experiences with customer service.

 

[mraschko]

I’ve gotten spoiled by crystal clear radio “reception” via streaming. I use iHeartRadio for my favorite stations. Most major stations now have a streaming variant. It’s especially nice on longer drives. Of course, it does depend on cell signal. Have you tried that?

On a separate note, please refrain from the “my cheap other car does this better” narrative. It doesn’t add to the quality of your post.

I hadn't considered iHeartRadio. That's an interesting idea. Do you find the stream quality comparable to HD radio?

 

[Bobby]

I hadn't considered iHeartRadio. That's an interesting idea. Do you find the stream quality comparable to HD radio?

Streaming sound is perfectly clear. I use it through CarPlay.

 

[davo44]

My FM reception is pretty terrible too. Hoping this gets resolved with software updates.

 

[PhotoEye]

I have used the streaming services which work fine, but I am someone who prefers listening to the morning radio shows in my area on my commute. I am also someone who doesn’t like commercials and frequently switches stations when commercials come on. As lucid has not implemented a feature that allows you to easily toggle between favorite stations on the various streaming platforms, I find myself taking my eyes off of the road for long periods of time to switch stations. My commute involves high traffic areas and I just find this practice to be unsafe and so I have reverted back to AM/FM radio stations.

While I appreciate your criticism of the “my other cheaper car does this better” argument, I think it is valid in this situation. For most people, the very first thing you hear when you get in your car is the stereo. Lucid clearly went to great lengths to ensure a great listening experience by implementing an awesome sound system, but has fallen short on a seemingly basic function of playing sound on that stereo system in the AM/FM radio. Its difficult not to compare it to other cars just because it is such a “basic” feature. It’s very possible that I am just “old school” in my listening habits, but I continue to hope that they fix this.

Again, I love everything else about this car and have otherwise had excellent experiences with customer service.

No need to feel guilty about your frustration over such a comparably "basic" local radio reception -- that is, truly local stations, ala local broadcasting.

Yes, you are "old school" as are many of us mature owners. This was the single, most perplexing design/engineering decision that completely missed me. Unless your favorite "local" station has a streaming platform, you're out of luck -- period.

So, lick your wounds and get ready to build new relationships with different radio outlets!

 

[doughertz]

No need to feel guilty about your frustration over such a comparably "basic" local radio reception -- that is, truly local stations, ala local broadcasting.

Yes, you are "old school" as are many of us mature owners. This was the single, most perplexing design/engineering decision that completely missed me. Unless your favorite "local" station has a streaming platform, you're out of luck -- period.

So, lick your wounds and get ready to build new relationships with different radio outlets!

I just dont buy this perspective. Am adn FM are 75 year old techs that only cost a few dollars to implement properly. I have ridiculously poor performance on most of the AM and FM stations in my area. I dont like the streaming services and one of the sells for me for a luxury car is to haev CHOICE. The poor implementation of AM and FM in this car is simply unacceptable. And yes my guess is that it is truly an antenna issue. Every other car I’ve owned travels these same roads with much better AM and FM reception so…

 

[doughertz]

And to continue, the general audio performance of my Pure is pitiful. The car sounds.Like it simply has no woofers. The basss response is non-existent. I have cranked the equalizer to the max on bass and still cant hear any. I have read the forum and know that others are having the same problem but I dont feel that I need to add sub-woofers to my car just to get an acceptable sound. Lucid should replace our woofers for free and offer an OTA update on audio performance to make this at least on par with a car half its cost. Thats not too much to ask.

 

[hydbob]

And to continue, the general audio performance of my Pure is pitiful. The car sounds.Like it simply has no woofers. The basss response is non-existent. I have cranked the equalizer to the max on bass and still cant hear any. I have read the forum and know that others are having the same problem but I dont feel that I need to add sub-woofers to my car just to get an acceptable sound. Lucid should replace our woofers for free and offer an OTA update on audio performance to make this at least on par with a car half its cost. Thats not too much to ask.

Did you ask service to take a look at it?

 

[Jdagr]

I’ve posted about this since I’ve had my Lucid. I’ve taken my Touring in to Goose Island. They have told me everything is working properly and that it is a software issue. There was a very mild improvement with the most recent large OTA update (I don’t remember the exact version), but it has since reverted back to previous form. This seems to be an issue that Lucid does not have any interest in resolving. It is very frustrating. @doughertz where do you live, out of curiosity? I’m in the suburbs of Chicago.

 

[Keithmaj]

I’ve gotten spoiled by crystal clear radio “reception” via streaming. I use iHeartRadio for my favorite stations. Most major stations now have a streaming variant. It’s especially nice on longer drives. Of course, it does depend on cell signal. Have you tried that?

On a separate note, please refrain from the “my cheap other car does this better” narrative. It doesn’t add to the quality of your post.

Curious, does iHeartRadio support an FM station's HD subchannels? My AT doesn't seem to natively allow me to "tune" across multiple HD channels...

 

[doughertz]

Did you ask service to take a look at it?

No, do you have reason to believe that this is a broken item, not a poorly engineered situation?

 

[hydbob]

No, do you have reason to believe that this is a broken item, not a poorly engineered situation?

Not sure, like I said in a previous post, we really have no idea because very few cars have been delivered without SSPro.

 

[PhotoEye]

Here you go!

 

[PompousAss]

I just dont buy this perspective. Am adn FM are 75 year old techs that only cost a few dollars to implement properly. I have ridiculously poor performance on most of the AM and FM stations in my area. I dont like the streaming services and one of the sells for me for a luxury car is to haev CHOICE. The poor implementation of AM and FM in this car is simply unacceptable. And yes my guess is that it is truly an antenna issue. Every other car I’ve owned travels these same roads with much better AM and FM reception so…

I've had two Audis and they both suffered from poor radio reception, both AM and FM, relative to other cars I've owned. It's been one of the very few complaints I've had about the S6. I think some manufacturers just don't put a premium on OTA radio, and I bought my first Audi in 1996, so that predates even satellite radio in cars.

Curious, does iHeartRadio support an FM station's HD subchannels? My AT doesn't seem to natively allow me to "tune" across multiple HD channels...

Can you be more specific about what it does and doesn't do? I'd like to try to duplicate the behavior. I had a 2022 model Audi as a loaner for a few weeks last year and it was ridiculously easy to confuse the MMI.

 

[Keithmaj]

I've had two Audis and they both suffered from poor radio reception, both AM and FM, relative to other cars I've owned. It's been one of the very few complaints I've had about the S6. I think some manufacturers just don't put a premium on OTA radio, and I bought my first Audi in 1996, so that predates even satellite radio in cars.




Can you be more specific about what it does and doesn't do? I'd like to try to duplicate the behavior. I had a 2022 model Audi as a loaner for a few weeks last year and it was ridiculously easy to confuse the MMI.

There is a local HD radio station that offers three subchannels: HD1, HD 2, and HD3 (each with different programming). My Lexus allows me to simply use the manual tuner to move between the subchannels. My AT FM tuner only sees HD1 (or at least I haven't been able to find a way to tune to HD2, etc.). Original question was whether iHeartRadio does allow you to tune and play all the HD subchannels.

 

[doughertz]

I've had two Audis and they both suffered from poor radio reception, both AM and FM, relative to other cars I've owned. It's been one of the very few complaints I've had about the S6. I think some manufacturers just don't put a premium on OTA radio, and I bought my first Audi in 1996, so that predates even satellite radio in cars.




Can you be more specific about what it does and doesn't do? I'd like to try to duplicate the behavior. I had a 2022 model Audi as a loaner for a few weeks last year and it was ridiculously easy to confuse the MMI.

Sorry, My Audis were WAY better at pulling in these stations. Ano I’m not looking for excuses. If you offer a radio with certain features, dont make it crappy. Thats no way for a luxury vehicle to behave. If you offer it, execute it properly. Otherwise you are not a true luxury vehicle. Period.