2016 1500 XM Satellite issues

[Mark De Souza]

I have a 2016 1500 Bighorn and have some issues with my entertainment center on XM. If I'm scrolling through my presets and I hear a song that I recognize as just starting, but I click to the next preset then think "Ooh- I want to hear that" and go right back like 3 seconds later to the previous preset, the song will be in the middle or near the end!! Also, when driving near tall trees and the signal becomes intermittent, the song will skip way ahead. Another goofy thing is when I look at my favorites, let's say there are 5 of them listed and I click on one of them. I listen to the whole song and go back to the favorites and some are still there, so I select one of them- it will JUST be starting!! Not that THAT is an issue, just friggin' weird!!

My wife has a 2016 Durango and my buddy has a 2016 2500 Laramie Ltd and neither of them have the same issues. Obviously this is a "first world problem"- I'm just wondering if anyone else out there was having the same issue. It's been doing it since day 1. Wondering if there's some sort of software update or something someone may know about. -Mark

 

[Elevated 2013]

Mark, based on every Dodge I’ve owned and every car that I’ve ridden in with SiriusXM, Favorites only tells you that a song or artist that you have favorited is playing. The song could be at any point when you see it listed. I know most of the time when I see Favorite whatever pop up at the top of my radio a favorite band or song just started. If there are multiple listings within the Favorites screen, then those songs could be at any point within those songs. I know that newer vehicles now allow you to rewind or skip to the next song from that station or to what is currently playing because they’ve started keeping a 1 hour playback list from before what is currently playing that they allow the listener to listen to. It’s like using the SiriusXM app on your phone or laptop in some of the newer cars.

As for the intermittent signal loss when driving through an area with tall trees. That’s an old school satellite issue that has to do with the way satellites project their signal and the type of signal they use. If the trees are dense enough (lots of them in a tight area like in a forest) the signal will become spotty at best and there isn’t much of anything that can be done about it. I’ve worked on satellite communication equipment for a few years and it’s extremely sensitive to a lot of things unless you’re using an old school satellite dish that you can throw a huge party on because they’re like 15 feet wide in diameter.

First thing you can do is check to make sure that your radio doesn’t have an update available for it in case there might be some know fixes that are waiting to be done. Second thing you can do is look at the antenna on the top back of your cab and make sure it isn’t damaged. I’ve had cars/trucks with better SiriusXM reception/service and I’ve had some issues like you with a couple areas near me where the trees do block signal every now and then and there just isn’t much you can do about it. Some of it is our system in our trucks. Other parts is just because it’s a signal from a satellite. I hope this helps you!