I'm really surprised at the response you got from Hyundai Consumer
Affairs, as the one time I've needed to deal with them they were very
helpful and accommodating. I would call back and speak with a different
agent. If that doesn't work, demand to speak to their supervisor. Keep
pushing your way up the chain until you reach someone that will work
with you.

In this case, it's possible that there's little or nothing that can be
done, since the nature of the problems is not fully known (at least to
us). Unless there's a simple modification or bolt-on part that will fix
the problem, it's not likely that Hyundai will do anything about it.
They obviously can't recall vehicles to replace substantial portions of
the electrical system.

While I understand your concerns about EMI, if it was a systemic
problem, there would be rampant failures in the ECUs and other
electronic components, plus I would expect static on FM radio, too.
Since that's not the case, it seems more likely that the problem is
confined to the AM radio. Most car audio companies just toss in a crappy
AM section so the radio has one, without any real regard for signal
sensitivity or sound quality. It would be interesting to see if the same
problem occurred with a better quality AM tuner, if such a thing even
exists anymore.

Since you have a background in EMC/EMI, perhaps you could suggest some
shielding ideas that might reduce or eliminate the problem.

 

Brian Nystrom wrote:
>
> Since you have a background in EMC/EMI, perhaps you could suggest
some
> shielding ideas that might reduce or eliminate the problem.

I'm pretty sure that's NOT the way to go, because I'm reasonably sure
my fixing it will void lots of warranty.

Regards to all.

 

I've just been reading everyone's comments with great interest. I have a
2002 Santa Fe which I bought new. I have absolutely terrible AM reception
and have been living with this problem since I had the car. Only one AM
station (which is the biggest local station here in the Boston area) comes
in clear and has no static whatsoever. However, the station I want to
listen to, which is also far reaching, has ridiculous static. I only live
15 miles from Boston and EVERYONE else I know gets this station crystal
clear in their cars. I finally brought it to my Hyundai dealer, they said
they checked all connections and the radio seems to be working fine - when
I showed them the terrible reception for myself, their only reply was they
have had many complaints about AM reception in various Hyundai models and
they're not sure what's causing the problem so there isn't anything they
can do about it. They won't replace the radio free of charge because they
say anything related to the radio was only covered under warranty for 3
yrs/36,000 miles, which has expired. I asked him directly if I go to a car
stereo store and replace the whole unit (at my expense) will that fix the
problem, he said not necessarily, the problem could even be the window
antenna. He didn't seem too concerned. They even charged me $35.00 just to
look at the radio at the dealer that day. He also said (as if this was
going to make me feel better) a married couple came in and purchased 2
identical new Hyundais, I forget which model, and one has excellent radio
reception and the other - terrible). I'm at my wit's end, all I want to do
is listen to baseball games on the station I mentioned and talk radio on
that same station and the season has begun and I am FRUSTRATED!! Any
opinion out there - if I do replace the entire unit (AM-FM, CD/Cassette
player), should that fix the problem in all likelihood? Any feedback would
be greatly appreciated.

 

2002SantaFe wrote:

A lot trimmed...
>
> Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Windshield antennas have a nasty way of being very unpredictable in
their behavior. Given your situation, I'd try temporarily substituting
a stainless steel whip antenna. Don't do anything to mount it until you
know how it will work out, just plug in the antenna lead in place of
the windshield antenna lead and hold the whip up outside the car close
to where you would mount it. Sometimes grounding the base of the
antenna makes a difference, sometimes it doesn't; try both to be sure.
Note that some radios (mostly older ones at this point) also have a
variable cap accessible through the front of the radio for tuning the
radio front end/antenna combination. If your radio has this and it is
grossly misadjusted, nothing else you do will make much difference.

I drove a 2004 Sante Fe in Arizona for 2 weeks last summer. I don't
recall having any particular problems with the AM, other than there
isn't much to listen to when you travel southeast from Tucson.

For those of you following along on the Elantra saga, the dealer simply
doesn't get that the complaint is against the EMI situation, and that
the radio is just the most accessible symptom. Anyway, they have now
refused to list the problem on a recent service visit. Funny that they
would do this, in that a refusal of this type is an automatic trigger
to the start of the New York State lemon law process. Oh well, I guess
it just fits the whole situation with this dealer.

Regards to all.

 

"JohnInRochester" wrote:
> 2002SantaFe wrote:
>
> A lot trimmed...
> >
> > Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Windshield antennas have a nasty way of being very
> unpredictable in
> their behavior. Given your situation, I'd try temporarily
> substituting
> a stainless steel whip antenna. Don't do anything to mount it
> until you
> know how it will work out, just plug in the antenna lead in
> place of
> the windshield antenna lead and hold the whip up outside the
> car close
> to where you would mount it. Sometimes grounding the base of
> the
> antenna makes a difference, sometimes it doesn't; try both to
> be sure.
> Note that some radios (mostly older ones at this point) also
> have a
> variable cap accessible through the front of the radio for
> tuning the
> radio front end/antenna combination. If your radio has this
> and it is
> grossly misadjusted, nothing else you do will make much
> difference.
>
> I drove a 2004 Sante Fe in Arizona for 2 weeks last summer. I
> don't
> recall having any particular problems with the AM, other than
> there
> isn't much to listen to when you travel southeast from Tucson.
>
> For those of you following along on the Elantra saga, the
> dealer simply
> doesn't get that the complaint is against the EMI situation,
> and that
> the radio is just the most accessible symptom. Anyway, they
> have now
> refused to list the problem on a recent service visit. Funny
> that they
> would do this, in that a refusal of this type is an automatic
> trigger
> to the start of the New York State lemon law process. Oh well,
> I guess
> it just fits the whole situation with this dealer.
>
> Regards to all.

has anyone tried th ccrane company’s am radio antenna product that is
suppose to enhance am radio reception to help the weak am reception on
the elantra. My new elantra’s reception is awful and Hyundai says they
can’t do anythink about it. The c crane co. internet site sells the
antenna for $35. I assume a new antenna couldn’t affect any Hyundai
warranties.

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chipsi wrote:

> has anyone tried th ccrane company’s am radio antenna product that is
> suppose to enhance am radio reception to help the weak am reception on
> the elantra. My new elantra’s reception is awful and Hyundai says they
> can’t do anythink about it. The c crane co. internet site sells the
> antenna for $35. I assume a new antenna couldn’t affect any Hyundai
> warranties.

I don't think I want a 54" whip on my car.

 

"Brian Nystrom" wrote:
> chipsi wrote:
>
> > has anyone tried th ccrane company’s am radio antenna
> product that is
> > suppose to enhance am radio reception to help the weak am
> reception on
> > the elantra. My new elantra’s reception is awful and Hyundai
> says they
> > can’t do anythink about it. The c crane co. internet site
> sells the
> > antenna for $35. I assume a new antenna couldn’t affect any
> Hyundai
> > warranties.
>
> I don't think I want a 54" whip on my car.

crane says its am antenna is 24 inches collapsed and expands to 54 in.

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chipsi wrote:
> "Brian Nystrom" wrote:
> > chipsi wrote:
> >
> > > has anyone tried th ccrane company’s am radio antenna
> > product that is
> > > suppose to enhance am radio reception to help the weak am
> > reception on
> > > the elantra. My new elantra’s reception is awful and Hyundai
> > says they
> > > can’t do anythink about it. The c crane co. internet site
> > sells the
> > > antenna for $35. I assume a new antenna couldn’t affect any
> > Hyundai
> > > warranties.
> >
> > I don't think I want a 54" whip on my car.
>
> crane says its am antenna is 24 inches collapsed and expands to 54 in.

Sure, but it needs to be extended to work best. Otherwise, they wouldn't
have made it 54" long. It would be somewhat pointless to spend the money
for an improved antenna, then not use it in the optimum manner.

 

"Brian Nystrom" wrote:
> chipsi wrote:
> > "Brian Nystrom" wrote:
>  > > chipsi wrote:
>  > >
>   > > > has anyone tried th ccrane company’s am
> radio antenna
>  > > product that is
>   > > > suppose to enhance am radio reception to
> help the weak am
>  > > reception on
>   > > > the elantra. My new elantra’s reception is
> awful and Hyundai
>  > > says they
>   > > > can’t do anythink about it. The c crane co.
> internet site
>  > > sells the
>   > > > antenna for $35. I assume a new antenna
> couldn’t affect any
>  > > Hyundai
>   > > > warranties.
>  > >
>  > > I don't think I want a 54" whip on my car.
> >
> > crane says its am antenna is 24 inches collapsed and expands
> to 54 in.
>
> Sure, but it needs to be extended to work best. Otherwise,
> they wouldn't
> have made it 54" long. It would be somewhat pointless to spend
> the money
> for an improved antenna, then not use it in the optimum
> manner.

I have a 2005 Elantra GT Hatchback, Automatic and had terrible AM
reception on 550AM near Cincinnati, Ohio (AM1290 in Dayton was always
ok). I have the whip antenna (not a window antenna and not an
electric antenna). I too noticed interference related to the onboard
computers, alternator, etc. Never did figure out exactly what caused
it.

I replaced the factory radio with a Pioneer DEH-P3700MP and don’t have
the feedback type of problems any more and the signal to noise ratio
is much better. It is still AM radio so it isn’t crystal clear
everywhere but at least I can listen to it without the noise drowning
out the broadcast. Before I replaced the radio I took the car in to
a dealer to have them inspect all of the grounding and antenna cabling
to make sure there weren’t any issues. Not only is my AM reception
drastically better but I can play MP3 or WMA cds in the car too with
this radio (an MP3 cd will hold the same number of songs as 10 or 11
normal cds).

I hope this information is helpful to those of you who, like myself,
searched the web but never saw anyone post something that definitively
stated that a new radio helped the AM reception problem. I went ahead
and bought a new radio anyway, even though I wasn’t sure it would
help, because the noise level was so high I just couldn’t take it
anymore.

Don’t know if it matters and/or helped or hindered my results (in
theory it should be better), but I soldered all of my wiring
connections rather than twisting the wires and crimping them.

If you do it yourself and haven’t ever done a car radio replacement
before, I would highly recommend using the resources available at
www.crutchfield.com (clicking What Fits My Car? on the left side of
the main page is a good place to start) to get a feel for what it
takes. On the Elantra you have to pull out your dash panel to replace
the radio and if you buy a stereo from them they will send detailed
instructions on what it takes to do the install. They have movies and
general information available on the web site whether you buy from
them or not. If you don’t buy from crutchfield go to
www.hmaservice.com, register, and one of the sections there had
instructions and pictures for pulling out the dash panel and radio.

If you choose to solder, Radio Shack has an assortment pack of heat
shrink tubing sizes for $2.39 - better than wrapping with electrical
tape which will over time dry up and fall off leaving exposed wiring.
You don’t need a heat gun to shrink the tubing, a lighter will do it -
just be careful (don’t let the flame touch the tubing) - and don’t
forget to slip the tubing over one of the wires before you solder
them together.

The factory ground wire is not screwed down anywhere under the dash.
If your new radio’s wiring harness has a connector on the end of the
ground wire just cut off the connector and treat the ground wire the
same as you do all of the other wiring.

A couple of other things I learned that weren’t in any instructions -
move your gear shift lever as far down as you can before you start
(with the automatic I had to leave the key in the ignition and then
shifted to Low gear - fortunately it worked even though the negative
battery terminal was already unplugged and the dash was pulled loose
before I figured out that it needed to be done). This gets it out of
the way for when you want to completely remove the dash panel.

When you remove the dash panel start at the left hand side of the dash
panel and gradually work your way over to the middle alternating the
prying between opposite sides of the panel - theoretically you can use
a screwdriver to (very carefully!) pry out the panel but I opted for
an upholstery panel tool (has a bend in it that made it easier to pull
the panel without mucking it up) that I bought at Advance Auto Parts
for $5 and change. It was metal but I would have purchased something
made out of plastic if they had something like that. No matter what
tool you use take it easy and go slow (you have to take out 4 screws
before you start pulling the panel so don’t forget that either - see
crutchfield or hmaservice.com for detailed information).

I am happy with the improvement I’ve gotten with the Pioneer
DEH-P3700MP (crutchfield included the dash installation kit, wiring
harness, excellent instructions specific to my car, and shipping for
free with this radio too so it was a pretty good deal) and being able
to play MP3 cds is a feature I planned to eventually upgrade to
anyway. The only extras I bought were the heat shrink tubing at
Radio Shack and an upholstery panel removal tool at an auto parts
store. Another thing to pay attention to at crutchfield is that they
have minimum price to get the harness, dash kit, and shipping for free
- if I had gone down to the next cheaper Pioneer I think I would have
ended up paying the same amount of money and gotten a lesser model so
you have to pay attention when you are shopping. When I bought it it
was on sale and was $15 cheaper than Best Buy, Circuit City and those
places make you pay for the harnesses and kits in addition to the
radio but they do install it for free if you don’t want to do it
yourself.

I chose the Pioneer because of the tuner specs and anti-feedback
circuitry they include, and since I wasn’t sure it was going to make
any difference I maximized everything tuner-wise to hope for the best.
Now that I know that replacing the radio made a big difference in my
particular case, I would imagine that just about any reputable
aftermarket radio will give better results than the Hyundai factory
radios do.

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