AM Radio in Mach-E

[OffGridDave]

Whenever I use my AM radio, it is mainly static even for nearby stations that are not in my other cars. I like to listen to local sports stations and one talk station. I know it is tough to do AM radio due to all the electrical systems. I am wondering if this is expected in the Mach-E as I have a 2022. Anyone else having this issue? My work around for now is to use the iHeart Radio App on my iPhone.
I am wondering if I should I bring it back to the dealer to make sure the radio is properly grounded or the antenna is hooked up properly?

Sponsored

 

[sukhoi_584th]

Yeah my AM reception is quite poor compared to prior vehicles. I was going to complain about that until I talked to an EV reliability engineer who told me I should be thankful it even has AM. Apparently most/all Teslas and many other EVs don't even have AM radios due to how hard it is to deal with the electromagnetic interference from the motors and electronics. If you pay attention to our radio you'll notice how much software filtering is going on as it doesn't have the traditional "softness" of AM radio. I'm not sure about in the MME but in some EVs you can even hear the hum of the motor RPM increasing and decreasing when tuned to certain AM frequencies.

For me the total range is much lower for AM than prior vehicles, and I much more easily lose reception under overpasses. I believe some of the issue is from the tiny antenna but most of it is from it being an EV.

 

[mkhuffman]

Interesting. The AM reception in my car seems to be normal, same as my other cars. But I have not used it a lot. I will do some testing and report back.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Whenever I use my AM radio, it is mainly static even for nearby stations that are not in my other cars. I like to listen to local sports stations and one talk station. I know it is tough to do AM radio due to all the electrical systems. I am wondering if this is expected in the Mach-E as I have a 2022. Anyone else having this issue? My work around for now is to use the iHeart Radio App on my iPhone.
I am wondering if I should I bring it back to the dealer to make sure the radio is properly grounded or the antenna is hooked up properly?

Hello there, I'd be happy to look into your Mach-E's radio issue. Will you send us a message with your VIN and dealership info? I can look into things on my end.

 

[Mach-Lee]

The motor inverters make a lot of noise in the AM band so it's difficult to get good reception. I think AM radio is being removed for 2023 models, so enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[Bayviews88]

The motor inverters make a lot of noise in the AM band so it's difficult to get good reception. I think AM radio is being removed for 2023 models, so enjoy it while it lasts.

I hope not! In many areas of the rural United States AM bands are the only terrestrial radio
that works. AM. is also use for communicating traffic information for interstate construction projects or roadway issues, and visitor information for large outdoor venues outside of urban areas.

 

[dmastro]

My understanding is that as Mach-Lee mentions above, the electric motors really impact AM radio. Tesla does not include AM and I was really peeved about it when I bought the car, but with all of the streaming services they have, I was able to largely replace everything I was missing.

 

[Logal727]

I hope not! In many areas of the rural United States AM bands are the only terrestrial radio
that works. AM. is also use for communicating traffic information for interstate construction projects or roadway issues, and visitor information for large outdoor venues outside of urban areas.

There's probably some sort of external workaround like something plugs into a USB port or folks can use phone apps or satellite radio.

 

[Mach-Lee]

There's probably some sort of external workaround like something plugs into a USB port or folks can use phone apps or satellite radio.

Some AM radio stations have FM repeaters or are carried on an HD radio sub-channel, so you can listen to them on the FM band. Check with your radio station. Worst case you have to stream the station on your phone.

 

[Blue highway]

Whenever I use my AM radio, it is mainly static even for nearby stations that are not in my other cars. I like to listen to local sports stations and one talk station. I know it is tough to do AM radio due to all the electrical systems. I am wondering if this is expected in the Mach-E as I have a 2022. Anyone else having this issue? My work around for now is to use the iHeart Radio App on my iPhone.
I am wondering if I should I bring it back to the dealer to make sure the radio is properly grounded or the antenna is hooked up properly?

Many (most?) EV's give up on AM, because they can't make it work at all in the ridiculously noisy electrical environment of an EV.

 

[sukhoi_584th]

In an amusing coincidence I started up my car tonight in an underground parking garage with AM on and A/C on. I could listen to what I presume was the A/C compressor spooling up over the radio.

 

[ctenidae]

Wow, I hadn't even considered the possibility of an EV/AM issue. Rather interesting, honestly. It's been at least a decade since I used any sort of terrestrial radio with any sort of regularity, so not surprising I hadn't considered the issue.

What is the workaround for traffic data and construction broadcasts? Seems like a potentially large safety issue that they'd have to find some sort of a fix for?

 

[RickMachE]

Wow, I hadn't even considered the possibility of an EV/AM issue. Rather interesting, honestly. It's been at least a decade since I used any sort of terrestrial radio with any sort of regularity, so not surprising I hadn't considered the issue.

What is the workaround for traffic data and construction broadcasts? Seems like a potentially large safety issue that they'd have to find some sort of a fix for?

Traffic updates are part of Sync.

 

[ctenidae]

Traffic updates are part of Sync.

Right, but does SYNC pick up the highway advisory radio broadcasts? Those are AM band locally - would be one heck of a data collection and management program to collect it nationally and supply it over SYNC, I'd think.

 

[RickMachE]

Right, but does SYNC pick up the highway advisory radio broadcasts? Those are AM band locally - would be one heck of a data collection and management program to collect it nationally and supply it over SYNC, I'd think.

It does not.

I can honestly say that I have almost never tuned to AM to listen to any such broadcast unless I was by the sign in traffic and saw it.

Sponsored