DAB Reception

[mcmaddy]

It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!

[Jim_mk7.5]

It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!

Does DAB not require an aerial specific to the car?

I'd say generally, the reception in both my Golfs has been worse than previous cars. It also has a habit of making a weird noise when cutting in and out of reception, whereas before it was always reception or no reception.

[rajb]

I find the DAB in the GTI really good. I'd say slightly better than the 3er too tbh in the same area etc so at least a direct comparison.

But ultimately it will be down to the area you are in,.

[funboxster]

I've recently bought a 4 month TCR which I'm very pleased with. However, the DAB reception on local and national stations can be poor. Most of the time it's fine, then in my own road or close locality, it sounds like you're in a tunnel and it goes, then cuts back in. I live in West Sussex, by the coast. DAB reception in our other 2 cars is fine with no drop out.

I plan to book it in with local dealer but just wondered if others had experienced similar problems?

I find BBC stations ok, commercial stations a bit patchy

It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!

It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!

Does DAB not require an aerial specific to the car?

I'd say generally, the reception in both my Golfs has been worse than previous cars. It also has a habit of making a weird noise when cutting in and out of reception, whereas before it was always reception or no reception.

It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!

Does DAB not require an aerial specific to the car?

I'd say generally, the reception in both my Golfs has been worse than previous cars. It also has a habit of making a weird noise when cutting in and out of reception, whereas before it was always reception or no reception.

Thanks for all your replies. DAB plays up on BBC and local stations, and makes a funny sound, as per Jim_mk7.5 car.

 It's booked in on Friday to be looked at. I suspect they'll say nothing wrong with it, but will advise.

[fredgroves]

Could be a bad earth on the aerial.

[funboxster]

It's booked in on Friday to be looked at. I suspect they'll say nothing wrong with it, but will advise

So, car went in this morning to local VW dealer. The report from their tech says, and I quote "Checked for any TPI's and found TPI 2044806/4. This TPI relates to issues with the radio reception and that this can be related to eqpt plugged into 12v sockets"!! That's a telling statement isn't it?

The tech states he thinks my dash cam 12v power lead is causing the interference on DAB and that I should have the dash cam hard wired into a fuse, by them.  So I unplugged the power lead to the camera for the journey home. Surprise, surprise, exactly the same problem with DAB in the same road as the dealer!! It looks like they didn't test drive their theory, before writing the report!

Thinking ahead, is it a major job to hardwire? I know you just piggyback onto an existing fuse with a kit, presumably the one for the infotainment system.

Both our other non VW cars have dash cams just plugged into their 12v sockets for power, with no problems at all. I think my chain is being yanked!

Any thoughts please.

[mcmaddy]

If you've got a rear facing cam it could in theory interfere with the dab aerial which is situated in the same area. Front only cam and everything should be ok. Sounds like the dealer being lazy to me.

[Talk-torque]

If you've got a rear facing cam it could in theory interfere with the dab aerial which is situated in the same area. Front only cam and everything should be ok. Sounds like the dealer being lazy to me.

Yes, my rear facing camera destroyed DAB reception. I was expecting this after Googling showed it to be a recognised problem. There are fixes, but I don’t use the radio much and FM reception is OK, so I haven’t bothered trying. My dashcam setup, which I installed, is hard wired into a piggy back fuse on the main fuse board at the left hand end of the glovebox.

Before I installed the dashcams DAB reception was very good. I have no doubt that removing, or turning off, the cameras would restore reception, but I haven’t even tried.

[mcmaddy]

I've got hardwired thinkware front and rear cams and don't have any issues with dab at all. 🤷‍♂️

[Talk-torque]

It’s down to the make of camera. The design of the units and how the leads are protected influences whether you get interference. Solutions include fitting more of those wrap around magnetic choke devices. My rear camera lead already had one near the camera end, but, apparently, in some installations, you also need them elsewhere.