Mediocre radio reception in 2nd gen Rogue

[iRogue]

I have noticed that the FM/AM radio reception is really poor on my radio. Wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same?

[otto888man]

It might be a loose wiring on the antenna circuit. Have it checked by the dealer. How about the XMSirius Satellite radio?

[iRogue]

Satellite radio reception seems fine.

[rebound2]

I haven't been very pleased with the radio reception (Bose radio with Nav) especially at night. It's often static-y sounding - one of the stations I listen to often sounds better than the other and the studios are both here in town. The reception in my 08 Maxima wasn't that great either. Otherwise the stereo system sounds great.

[Ferrisfan]

Depending on how much it bothers you, you might want to try "The Stubby Antenna" from Craven Speed. It is powder coated billet aluminum, and might work better than the factory one (money back guarantee if it doesn't). Barring that, you could try a longer mast, or even go whole hog with a signal amplifier.

Since it is under warranty, has the dealer checked it for a loose connection?

[andygold]

2015 SL here. Same issue! I get a total of 6 AM stations, all with static (not ignition whine), and the closest FM station to where I live sounds like it keeps going from stereo to mono, along with static. When I travel a few miles further from the station, I start to lose it completely. My 3 other vehicles get that particular FM station perfectly. The XM sounds just fine, without issue, as does the rest of the system (BT, AUX, CD, etc...).

I've read that some cars have arrived with the antenna just barely plugged into the back of the radio. How does one easily access the back of the radio? Can it be done from under the dash, or must the unit be removed? Is there any sort of "gain" adjustment for the antennae? And from looking at parts diagrams, it looks like the antenna wire leading from the antenna to the radio is multi-piece. Is this correct, and if so, can the connections be easily accessed or do panels and headliners need to be removed?

I've also read that someone unscrewed the flexible antenna, cleaned the threads and then screwed it back in place and this supposedly helped...

[andygold]

2015 SL here. Same issue! I get a total of 6 AM stations, all with static (not ignition whine), and the closest FM station to where I live sounds like it keeps going from stereo to mono, along with static. When I travel a few miles further from the station, I start to lose it completely. My 3 other vehicles get that particular FM station perfectly. The XM sounds just fine, without issue, as does the rest of the system (BT, AUX, CD, etc...).

I've read that some cars have arrived with the antenna just barely plugged into the back of the radio. How does one easily access the back of the radio? Can it be done from under the dash, or must the unit be removed? Is there any sort of "gain" adjustment for the antennae? And from looking at parts diagrams, it looks like the antenna wire leading from the antenna to the radio is multi-piece. Is this correct, and if so, can the connections be easily accessed or do panels and headliners need to be removed?

I've also read that someone unscrewed the flexible antenna, cleaned the threads and then screwed it back in place and this supposedly helped...

[rebound2]

I had my car back at the dealer to fix the radio reception issue and they came up with nothing. I don't know if they tried tightening any plugins or what but the gist of it was " we can't do anything about it". It's disappointing. Satellite radio sounds crystal clear.

[Maximus099]

In my '14 sv the satellite radio keeps on searching/loading every 5 minutes and cuts off the music for about 10 seconds each time. Starting to get annoyed so I'll let the dealer know when I go in for my oil change. Funny thing is that XM called me asking if I wanted to renew my term with them since my trial period is ending in 30 days...told them I'll see if Nissan fixes the issue or I will not.

[Ferrisfan]

In my '14 sv the satellite radio keeps on searching/loading every 5 minutes and cuts off the music for about 10 seconds each time. Starting to get annoyed so I'll let the dealer know when I go in for my oil change. Funny thing is that XM called me asking if I wanted to renew my term with them since my trial period is ending in 30 days...told them I'll see if Nissan fixes the issue or I will not.

Send Sirius the repair paperwork and ask if they will extend your free trial period since you did not get the allotted time to evaluate them.

[Maximus099]

Good idea Ferrisfan.

[andygold]

Looking at the shop manual, it states that the antenna mounting bolt has to be torqued to a specific amount. Too tight will bend the roof, and to loose will cause AM/FM reception issues. I noticed on mine that the gasket between the antenna and the roof seems a bit loose in spots, and i wonder if the antenna was not torqued to the proper amount. The front half of the gasket seems tight between the antenna and roof, but the rear half of the gasket has an easily seen gap of about 1/16" between gasket and antenna. My next step is find the two pins on the connector to see if the amps are getting the"on" signal from the head unit, and to see if there' s the proper voltages and continuity.

[iRogue]

1) Interesting fact: I live in Greater Boston Area and almost always have poor AM/FM reception on my Rogue. It's poor to the extent that if I search for stations, I may pick one or two up. However, while spending a weekend in Vermont, I had really good (not great) FM radio reception. All over Vermont the reception was solid and music sounded good and it was stereo.

2) When I took by car to Nissan service they said that they cleaned the radio connector that was causing this issue. However, the issue was never resolved.

3) How do I get to the antenna connector on the roof or elsewhere to check if everything is properly connected?

4) Has anyone tried attaching a different antenna?

5) Is the radio antenna located on the back top of the roof or is it the windshield antenna right above the rearview mirror?

[khulk]

I've had my 2015 (w/ Premium) for a little over a month now and I've noticed the worse FM/AM quality. I wasn't sure if it was the radio stations, because sometimes the stations come in clearer. I wanted to believe it was coincidence that some of my radio stations got worse when I switched from my Escort, but this thread makes me wonder differently. I have no problem with satellite radio reception.

On the topic of radios can I ask a couple other questions? (Mods if this isn't allowed, let me know where to redirect my questions!)

1) So due to some Googling/this forum I've found out that there's no scan button on my Rogue.Is the Just the tune dial. Does anyone know how to tune with the buttons on the wheel? Or a scan-equivalent? I am very much scanning-the-radio type.

2) Can you turn off the radio with the wheel buttons? I haven't figured this one out yet.

[Maximus099]

There doesn't seem to be any scan option on the steering wheel nor any way to turn the radio off. Puzzling because we can turn it on but not off.

[andygold]

Not in the car right now...
I forgot exactly what i hit yesterday (ive only had car 1 week), but i think it was the tuning button on the right side, and held it for a few seconds. Everything seemed to turn off, and a very large digital clock display appeared on the dispay. That might be the "off" button.

As to scanning...dont know, but you can SEEK stations on either the nomal display or the old-fashioned linear scale display. Just hold the arrow buttons to the right side of the display. The unit will skip weak stations and go to the next strong station.

[iRogue]

THIS THREAT IS FOR RADIO RECEPTION & NOT FOR RADIO FUNCTIONALITY. TAKE YOUR CHAT SOMEWHERE ELSE, PLEASE.

[andygold]

My owner's manual says that there should be a STEREO indicator somewhere on the display. I've not seen it show up, even on stations that come in quite strongly.

Has anyone seen this STEREO indicator? Does it actually exist?

If it does exist, and we've never seen it, then is it possible the built-in signal amplifiers are not working?

And, hypothetically...if the amps were not working , would we still get enough signal to pick up stations?

[iRogue]

I believe that would be "RT." I get that sometimes, but when I do my audio quality is stereo and the station information is also displayed.

[andygold]

((RT)) is Radio Text, a digital information system. It gives slogans, station names, artist, title, etc...
I don't think it has anything to do with the analog stereo signal.


We don't have HD Radio, so the RT gives us the music info that HD Radio would have automatically provided.

Have you witnessed a STEREO indicator on your screen?

I've noticed that the stations that come in strong are around 60db in strength, and the static stations are around 40 db.

[iRogue]

That makes sense that I see the info when RT is showing. However, it only appears during good audio sound, at all other times when the sound is poor the RT never appears. This leads me to believe that RT is a good indicator of when streaming quality is stereo.

[andygold]

I assume that both the analog and digital info come in through the same antenna circuit and amp. You may be correct about the RT info only in the presence of a true stereo signal. But, have you witnessed the STEREO indicator that the manual talks about? I've never seen it myself.

[iRogue]

I have not. I have noticed that the manual is incorrect regarding some features. For example, the AWD indicator that always stays lit. I think Nissan's dept. that wrote the manual did so sometime before the car was put together.

[orkinman]

I too find the FM reception is not the best. FM basically works but the quality is what I have experienced with other cars I had.

[GivemeSixCyl]

I have a 2014 Murano SL and while a beautiful vehicle, the reception stinks. Intermittent at best, and I got none at all for any station last night. I have only had the truck for 2 days. I will take it back to the dealer and see what they can do. I really do not want to pay for music (XM), when I used to get the FREE in my Tiguan! SMH

[Mack0729]

Good afternoon,
I have a 2016 Nissan Rogue SL with a premium radio package, I live 10 miles from Manhattan New York. Currently the reception on the AM/FM radio is terrible. The dealer looked at it said nothing was wrong. I then took tech for a ride he agreed it was subpar. They order a new radio, installed it I drove 5 blocks and it still sucks. Mind you they gave me a 2016 Altma as a loaner traveled the same routes and it was perfect. I only have 600 miles on the car. Any suggestions or people having similar problems?

[Rogue One]

Good afternoon,
I have a 2016 Nissan Rogue SL with a premium radio package, I live 10 miles from Manhattan New York. Currently the reception on the AM/FM radio is terrible. The dealer looked at it said nothing was wrong. I then took tech for a ride he agreed it was subpar. They order a new radio, installed it I drove 5 blocks and it still sucks. Mind you they gave me a 2016 Altma as a loaner traveled the same routes and it was perfect. I only have 600 miles on the car. Any suggestions or people having similar problems?

We have an incredible SEARCH feature on this forum. Merged with existing thread.

--------> READ BEFORE CREATING NEW THREAD! <--------

[Mack0729]

Thank you, the reason I made a separate post was that I was looking to see if it was something specific with the 2016 Rogue as I have driven other 2016 Nissan's that didn't appear to have a problem so I didn't want post on the thread that is 2 1/2 years old when this radio or car wasn't even manufacturer yet.

[Rogue One]

Thank you, the reason I made a separate post was that I was looking to see if it was something specific with the 2016 Rogue as I have driven other 2016 Nissan's that didn't appear to have a problem so I didn't want post on the thread that is 2 1/2 years old when this radio or car wasn't even manufacturer yet.

Noob misconception. Age of thread is not relevant, it's the problem that counts. And AFAIK, other than firmware updates, the 14 and 16 have the same head unit, so yes this is a known ongoing issue.

OEM headunit specs are almost always inferior to that of any good brand name aftermarket unit. That's especially true for the FM sensitivity rating (lower numbers are better). Plus there's the fact that the head unit in the Altima was most likely made by a different subcontractor than the one in the Rogue, hence the difference in performance.