Anyone with AM radio reception problems?
 

My '02 A4 (April build) just developed a problem with the Bose radio I have not seen mentioned in the forum or the archives. On Sunday the AM radio reception was fine... this morning on the way to work all stations are coming in weak with static and distortion. FM and CD sound fine (well as fine as the Bose ever sounds, but that's a different issue). The dealer says they will pull the fuse and reset the radio and "download some codes" into it as a cure when I bring it in on Thursday.

Has anyone else had this problem? It sounds almost like there is a loose antenna connestion somewhere or the AM antenna amplifier (if there is one) is malfunctioning. I'd rather fix this myself if it is a simple matter.

Thanks to everyone on this forum for making me much smarter on my car. BTW, except for this problem the A4 is great and the first 800 miles have been a pleasure.

Steve with a Silver '02 A4
1.8QT bose,xenon,premium,sunroof,16" wheels, cold

I've noticed that my AM and FM reception is noticably poorer than my 2001 was

My FM is fine, I've never used my AM.

I recently traded in my 2001 for my 2002....
 

and on my way to work, the same stations are noticably more unclear on the 2002...maybe I have an issue as well...

Perhaps it may be a result of the integrated antenna?

Um...
 

The Symphony II AM reception is...um...less than ideal. Let your dealer see if they can sort it out a bit.

Re: Um...
 

Unfortunately the quality of radio receivers has been heading downhill for years, but in this case I have suffered a large drop-off from the baseline. My wife's 99.5 A4 radio is much better, however, the 2002 A4 is much better than the 1999 BMW 528 it replaced. The BMW had problems with some 50,000 watt clear channel AM stations less than 15 miles from the transmitter.

My AM reception is much better than in my '96 A4
 

My old A4's AM band was so bad it was practically useless. But my new car's reception is much clearer.

Check antenna booster in the "D" pillar ...
 

Sometimes the connection becomes loose or disconnected. Have the dealer check it.

Is there any access panel to remove to get to it? Thanks.