Sirius XM radio static

[Fxnbonz]

I have model X that I purchased in October 2019. I have all access SiriusXM. Periodically, I will get significant static in the radio. The static is only with Sirius. Streaming, tunein, FM is fine. Signal refresh did not resolve the problem. I had to power cycle the radio by switching off Sirius, then doing a signal refresh. Once I do this, everything sounds perfect. I have had to do this twice. It worked for about 2 weeks. I’m thinking this maybe a software issue. If you have had this problem, please share your experience.

 

[araxara]

I have model X that I purchased in October 2019. I have all access SiriusXM. Periodically, I will get significant static in the radio. The static is only with Sirius. Streaming, tunein, FM is fine. Signal refresh did not resolve the problem. I had to power cycle the radio by switching off Sirius, then doing a signal refresh. Once I do this, everything sounds perfect. I have had to do this twice. It worked for about 2 weeks. I’m thinking this maybe a software issue. If you have had this problem, please share your experience.

I get this too on my Raven Model X. For me it's a crackling sound. But rebooting the the car with the scroll wheels fixes it. I have other problems, including the XM stations dropping out and coming back. Also, the XM radio goes away completely and only doing a power down of the car will fix it.

There are many discussions regarding this problem. There is even one at the "official" tesla.com forum: SiriusXM Issues | Tesla

 

[ajdelange]

Sirius transmits digitally. With a digital system there is no noise. If perfect reception is not possible then the packet is dropped (the audio output is silenced). Thus it's not a problem with Sirius. It's a problem with the way the car's computer handles the audio. The fact that resetting the computer resolves the problem (if temporarily) is proof positive of this.

 

[bob_p]

In the past, the onboard media player has had problems with USB/streaming audio - with periodic pauses or dropouts - caused by software problems.

Because XM is transmitted digitally - if you're hearing any audio from XM, it should be without static. If you were having a signal problem - you'd be getting dropouts (periods without any audio at all) and not static.

If the issue is only with XM, that rules out interference in the signals being sent to the speakers (bad or loose connection).

So the likely cause is a software issue - something in your vehicle or configuration that's causing a conflict while XM is running - and by rebooting, you're eliminating that conflict (at least for a short time).

When this happens, recommend doing a "bug report" through the car's voice system - and hopefully if Tesla gets enough reports on this, they'll be able to find the problem and implement a solution.

Not seeing this on our 2017 S or 2018 X when we listen to XM.

 

[Mase408]

I have had the same issue once in the past, but rebooting fixed it.

 

[davezforce]

In the past, the onboard media player has had problems with USB/streaming audio - with periodic pauses or dropouts - caused by software problems.

Because XM is transmitted digitally - if you're hearing any audio from XM, it should be without static. If you were having a signal problem - you'd be getting dropouts (periods without any audio at all) and not static.

If the issue is only with XM, that rules out interference in the signals being sent to the speakers (bad or loose connection).

So the likely cause is a software issue - something in your vehicle or configuration that's causing a conflict while XM is running - and by rebooting, you're eliminating that conflict (at least for a short time).

When this happens, recommend doing a "bug report" through the car's voice system - and hopefully if Tesla gets enough reports on this, they'll be able to find the problem and implement a solution.

Not seeing this on our 2017 S or 2018 X when we listen to XM.

Same issues. How do you do a big report?

 

[PM90D]

I notice the crackling sound only when playing music via blue tooth. Autoplay bug will start your audio without your interaction so dbl check it. Gets rid of the crackling for me.

 

[davezforce]

I have to say after the .36.2.1 update for the past 4 days my xm has been working flawlessly. Maybe they fixed it. Anyone else notice a difference?

 

[araxara]

I have to say after the .36.2.1 update for the past 4 days my xm has been working flawlessly. Maybe they fixed it. Anyone else notice a difference?

Yes, I noticed that it has been much better. Right after the .36.2.1 update I did get some clicking/static noise, which was remedied via a scroll wheel restart. Sometimes, when I come back to the car (mostly overnight), I noticed that the XM radio is on Station 0 (XM ID), but I am still able to switch to my last station.

I did a 4 hour drive last weekend with no problems. Actually, I got bored listening to XM some times and switch to USB. In the past, XM would cut out and I would have to fiddle with it and would get frustrated. This time it didn't have any problems. I will be doing a longer drive this weekend and will see if it continues to behave.

 

[Canucken275]

I have model X that I purchased in October 2019. I have all access SiriusXM. Periodically, I will get significant static in the radio. The static is only with Sirius. Streaming, tunein, FM is fine. Signal refresh did not resolve the problem. I had to power cycle the radio by switching off Sirius, then doing a signal refresh. Once I do this, everything sounds perfect. I have had to do this twice. It worked for about 2 weeks. I’m thinking this maybe a software issue. If you have had this problem, please share your experience.

We haven't had that issue (Model X) but we get a ton of fade in and fade out. The antenna on the X is dreadful. We've had Sirius for well over 10 years on several vehicles and never had this issue. The other problem with Sirius on the car is that it doesn't play on the rear speakers, only the front. FM, streaming, phone will play 'normally' but not Sirius. Oh, and one other thing. I'm still annoyed they took away the categories. Trying to find stations now is terrible.

 

[araxara]

We haven't had that issue (Model X) but we get a ton of fade in and fade out. The antenna on the X is dreadful. We've had Sirius for well over 10 years on several vehicles and never had this issue. The other problem with Sirius on the car is that it doesn't play on the rear speakers, only the front. FM, streaming, phone will play 'normally' but not Sirius. Oh, and one other thing. I'm still annoyed they took away the categories. Trying to find stations now is terrible.

Are you talking about these Categories:

 

[Canucken275]

Are you talking about these Categories:

View attachment 477712

Yes. We don't have them anymore on our screen. Just the number pad. For some reason Tesla decided to remove in an update. Idiotic if you ask me.

 

[araxara]

Yes. We don't have them anymore on our screen. Just the number pad. For some reason Tesla decided to remove in an update. Idiotic if you ask me.

I have the “latest version” (2019.36.2.1) and that screen shot was from that version.

 

[Brave Ulysses]

The categories seem to come and go for no reason.

I have the static, and it pops up pretty frequently. Before V10 I didn't have any issue with static on XM stations. since then I have it, including with the latest update. software reboot fixes it but only for a few minutes or a few hours. very frustrating.

 

[Fxnbonz]

Maybe the computer module
Are you having any issues with LTE connectivity?

 

[Sir Earl Grey]

I have model X that I purchased in October 2019. I have all access SiriusXM. Periodically, I will get significant static in the radio. The static is only with Sirius. Streaming, tunein, FM is fine. Signal refresh did not resolve the problem. I had to power cycle the radio by switching off Sirius, then doing a signal refresh. Once I do this, everything sounds perfect. I have had to do this twice. It worked for about 2 weeks. I’m thinking this maybe a software issue. If you have had this problem, please share your experience.

I have a 2020 Model X that does not have this issue, however my wife's 2021 Model S does have this issue. We took it to the service center weeks after taking delivery. After several days in the SC we were told they couldn't duplicate the issue. I immediately noticed that the radio was not tuned to SiriusXm but was tuned to Slacker. I tuned into SiriusXm and the static was very audible. I took the assistant service manager and a lead tech out to the car so they could hear what we've been hearing. They took my car back in to their shop so they could take another shot at locating the issue. Several days later we received a call telling us we could pick up our car and that the engineers have no prior reports of this issue but they will continue