New owner with questions

[circi2000]

I bought a 2011 SV/SL AWD a few weeks ago. Last car was an 07 Mazda6 but living in the country in an area with bad winters, it had to go. I'm loving the Rogue in most respects but a few things are bothering me and I want to find out if it's "normal" or if I should question the dealer.

For a car with supposedly upgraded sound system I was suprised to find that sound quality is worse than any car I've owned in the past! Also the center speaker seems much louder than the rest, is there a way to even it out with the rest of the speakers? The XM radio sounds tinny, is that normal? This is my first experience with satelite radio. Radio reception with FM is worse than any car I've ever owned! This is my biggest disappointment with my Rogue at this point other than the SERIOUSLY outdated maps on the navigation system.

If I try to start the car with the driver's door open it gives a message about the key not being there. If I close the door before trying to start, no error. Normal?

The first time (and only time so far) it was outside when it rained there were white rain drop marks on both windshield and body of the car. I've never seen that on past vehicles, should I be concerned? Not liking the idea of having to get a car wash every time it rains!

[casperfun]

I was disappointed in the sound quality too while in radio mode, but then again I only got the base model. The Cd's sounded much better and I am pretty satisfied there.

Also I get rain spots. It is hit or miss, sometimes it's prominent and other times it's not so bad. Maybe it's dirty rain or what not.

It's also worse on a darker car. Never really noticed it on the lighter cars until now.

[circi2000]

I can change the bass and treble to make the sound better tho it's annoying that I feel the need to change it if I'm listening to XM, but that center front speaker is still louder than the others no matter what I do.

I've had quite a few different color cars in the past, the car I traded in was black, and I've never seen the "rain marks" like this before. I'm not one to wash and wax my car all the time so it's annoying.

Anyone able to comment on the intelligent key issue? I didn't realize how often I start my car to let it cool down with the door open until now. I'm also wondering about if I start it to warm up and then go back in the house in the winter - am I going to end up locked out by the automatic locking doors? I know many like this feature but I'm not a fan, is there a way to disable it?

[rowdy_canuck]

We've got the bose radio in our 09 Rogue. I've been really impressed with the sound quality in all modes except satellite radio. Like you said, the satellite sounds really tinny on certain stations.

[sethareno]

I too have a 2011 SV AWD and have to say that it is the same quatlity if not better than my old GM with premium Pioneer factory system. As far as the XM sounding different, it is my understanding that depending on the channel popularity they adjust their bitrate (sound quality) accordingly. I did some googling and found that XM only allows something like 60 - 80 kps for those not so popular channels. Considering that CD quality is 128kps, there is no doubt that the quality isn't as good as it could / should be.