[Dadonator]

Does anyone have advice on an XM Radio problem, where reception fades out with no obstructions overhead, clear blue skies? This happens 75% of the time.

Dealer's answer: "The antenae should be on the roof, which can't be done on the XLR due to folding" obvious BS, since I've read here about most owners loving their XM Radio--any ideas what is wrong/how to fix?

Also, my thanks to all writers regarding Brake Squeal. I'm using a printout of all of your threads in one last negotiation for new (FIXED) rotors and pads, followed by the lawsuit. My dealer's service writer's fix for the problem was at 2,500 miles: "the problem you are having in your February car was fixed in the February cars (obviously not!)

Next visit at 4,000 miles his brilliant comment was this: "my girlfriend's Porche's brakes squeal too, you just have to get used to it on these kind of cars."

Last visit to service I figured it out, I always know the service writers are lying as soon as they move their lips!

:banghead
I love the car except for the squeal/screaming brakes and the intermittent XM, in spite of the service BS!

 

[rick1827]

I have a black on black car that I got in May. I put foose 19" speedster wheels on it. Best Looking XLR you will ever see. Anyway, I have a couple of vechiles with XM install. It is strange because on my Escilade, the reception is extremely good. It even works inside most car washes! That really surprised me. My XLR does not get nearly as good reception. It will fade out just briefly on heavely tree lined streets. That said, if you have a clear view you should not have fade. There most likely is an installation problem (like they didn't hookup the antenna properly). Also, XM reception does vary depending on you location. For example, When I was in the northern most part of Michigan I experienced more outage than when I was in southern states. It has to do with satellite positioning, weather, etc.

Hope that helps.

Rick

 

[1_XLR]

Dadonator,
what state are you in?

 

[Dadonator]

Dadonator,
what state are you in?

NY, NY and XM claims no outages. Can't believe XM wouldn't service NYC properly...

 

[alk3997]

Could you describe what terrain or area of NY you are in? What you need is clear line-of-site to the south at about a 60 degree angle above the horizon. The exception to this is if there are ground repeaters nearby.

 

[Dadonator]

Lower Westchester County, which is hilly, but I have the problem so much, that I can't believe its not hardware related. Is everyone else thrilled with a system that barely works, if you make any turns in the car?

 

[aviator]

Clear view of southern sky

A clear view of the southern sky is required. Hills, trees, skyscrapers all affect my reception if they are to my south or southwest. If obstructions are to the north, no problem. Clouds do not seem to affect it unless they are cumulonimbus - in which case I'm on the WX band anyway.

Seems roughly 45 degrees from the horizon is the magic angle down here. Farther north the critical angle would be lower, NYC or not. :yesnod

I agree, that if the problem is bad it is likely hardware related.

3500 miles and no brake squeal. Still about 19 mpg. Will be doing our first road trip this weekend - going to Dallas to get "invisishield" installed. Will report.

Good Luck.

 

[Dadonator]

XM Hardware failure?

Any thoughts, short of a lawsuit, as to how to get the dealer to fix the hardware--I fear the XM head-unit is expensive, and GM doesn't want to fix it (like the brakes).

 

[Eyedoc]

XM Radio

Agree with what has been said about satellite radios.

I had a rental with Sirius while traveling in CT last year down the expressway (Tree lined). I would loose the station on a regular basis. I figured out that it was when you had a big stand of trees on the right hand side of the car (which is in the direction of TX). The satellites (whether Direct TV or XM or Sirius are all stationed in geosynchronous orbit over TX (although I think XM has two satellites).

If you are in the Northeast or Northwest, look at how low the Director TV dishes are pointed to get an idea of how low in the sky the satellites really are. IN my area (Washington DC), the Director TV satellites are at 22 and 27 degrees above horizon. I presume that XM is in the same area.

In NY, they would be even lower in the sky and in northern Maine, even lower.

I guess if enough people complain to XM, they might try to put a satellite on the east and one on the west (but we are talking big bucks).

 

[Dadonator]

Xm Does'nt Work In Ny

So, in other words, XM doesn't work in the Northeast.

I guess I'll just cancel my subscription--I'm sick of hearing the whole joke and losing the punch line , or having my blood pressure rise as the music cuts in & out 75% of the time--we don't have roads without trees where I live! :rant

--Bob

 

[aviator]

Just a suggestion...

Try this: Find several locations that have clear sky and park for a while with the acc on. Eat some cheese, drink some grape juice (you're driving!), plug a cool concert video in the DVD, and rap for a while with your main squeeze. Monitor reception in several locations. (She'll think your being romantic, and we won't tell her otherwise, will we, guys? :rolleyes ) If XM fades in and out while parked in the open, it's likely hardware.

If not, you probably have hit on the best solution. While that would be disappointing, the experimentation may improve your love life! :yesnod

We are flat as a flitter down here in Houston, but we do have skyscrapers (just a few compared to NYC) and heavy forest. She fades when I'm in it.

:seeya

 

[mswaim]

Does anyone have advice on an XM Radio problem, where reception fades out with no obstructions overhead, clear blue skies? This happens 75% of the time.

Dealer's answer: "The antenae should be on the roof, which can't be done on the XLR due to folding" obvious BS, since I've read here about most owners loving their XM Radio--any ideas what is wrong/how to fix?

Also, my thanks to all writers regarding Brake Squeal. I'm using a printout of all of your threads in one last negotiation for new (FIXED) rotors and pads, followed by the lawsuit. My dealer's service writer's fix for the problem was at 2,500 miles: "the problem you are having in your February car was fixed in the February cars (obviously not!)

Next visit at 4,000 miles his brilliant comment was this: "my girlfriend's Porche's brakes squeal too, you just have to get used to it on these kind of cars."

Last visit to service I figured it out, I always know the service writers are lying as soon as they move their lips!

:banghead
I love the car except for the squeal/screaming brakes and the intermittent XM, in spite of the service BS!

Good luck with the brake issue, I sympathize and feel your pain.. mine don't squeal all the time, however when they decide to let go it's the devil's own noise.

Just FYI - My XM reception is very good. I do lose it once in a great while due to physical blockage, ie, freeway overpasses, trees, etc. but here in central CA. that's not that much of a problem.

I had XM installed in my 03 Cobra and the antenna was placed on the front-edge of the dash inside the car. I never had issues with that setup either.

Good Luck. :cheers

 

[Dadonator]

THANKS EVERYONE, unfortunately I'm back to the "threaten the liar, I mean Dealer" option on both the brakes and the XM radio.

It's great to have others to hear from though, I just found this site yesterday, and have gained a lot from it already!

--Bob

 

[1_XLR]

Dadonator,
what state are you in?

wow!, good feedback on XM in NY

but the reason for my question was my concern of our Break Squeal thread in a potential lawsuit. uke I'm just glad to hear you're not here in California!
While you may not be able to get good XM in NY,
you can surely get a good lawyer there....if you're not one yourself! :skep

Bottom line, while I too have done my fair share of complaining on this board and at the dealer, Customer Satisfaction has turned out to be first rate, I think most here will agree. :yesnod Give them a fair chance to work it out, they will!:thumbs

 

[mswaim]

What I'm seeing is a combination of issues with the Cadillac dealers in my area. It is a mixture of trying to service a car that is very new to them and quite different, and having only one tech trained to work on the XLR's. Mix that with the fact most of them rarely see one in for service and you have a recipe for disaster.

The remedy seems to be their willingness to admit to the issues above and our willingness as owners to work with them as they try and resolve our problems.

If the dealer is a good one, they will meet us half-way and admit to the fact they don't have all the answers.

The less-than-good ones will try and blow smoke up our butts, however that's harder to do when we seem to know more than they do on some issues.

Forums like this provide solid information that equates to power if you use it correctly. My service writer has reached a point now where he asks me "have you read of anyone else having this problem?" before he assigns the job to the one mechanic who works on the XLR's in his shop.

Case in point was the recent swap-out of my daytime running light bulb. His service books tell him to remove the wheel for access, however someone here (sorry, I forgot who) told me their mechanic was able to do the job by simply turning the wheel all the way out to a point where he could do the job. They tried that first and saved themselves from having to lift the car.

 

[Dadonator]

XM ENDING (Long One

Well, I've cancelled the XM subscription, now I'm only out the $325.00 for the dealer install/antenae. I'm a real estate lawyer--any of you class-action lawyers out their need a plaintiff? I want my $325.00 back, plus 2 or 3 million from XM & GM for punitive damages, to teach them not to waste our time & money--not to mention that I've altered the appearance of the car, and to remove the antenae, requires body work to the trunk, paintwork, etc.

As much as you guys want to defend and love GM/Cadillac, I've got a different attitude.

I'm a "former middle class, coupon clipping guy, who went way into debt to get thru law school (2nd career) found his niche, and "made it to the big-time."

I DON'T appreciate being lied to, and being forced to return 3 times to get the problem fixed.

The way I see it, GM & Cadillac have 2 strikes against them, lying and wasting my time for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON. The lying is forced on the dealer by GM's lack of backing--if GM said "change the guy's rotors and pads" the dealer would've done it, but apparently, GM must torture every owner before allowing the dealer to be paid for fixing the problem.

What a beautiful business model. 1) build an awesome car 2) charge a lot for it 3) market it brilliantly 4) sell it 5) send 2,000 questionnaires to each owner for quality control 6) ignore all customer complaints/issues and questionnaire results 7) bail on customer, hope he'll go away (don't worry, we will--the Ford GT is looking very good to me) 8) finally, if the customer gives you 2 or 3 chances, (maybe) fix the problem we should've gone berserk to fix the first time the customer came in 9) get sued, spend a fortune defending our incompetence and 10) wonder why the cusomers are all gone.

HEY GM, WE ACTUALLY WANT TO BUY AMERICAN. WE ACTUALLY WANT YOU TO HAVE THE BEST CARS IN THE WORLD. WE ACTUALLY WANT TO HELP YOU SELL THEM VIA WORD OF MOUTH. WE ARE YOUR RICHEST, MOST PROFITABLE CUSTOMERS. I KNOW YOU DON'T NEED US RIGHT NOW (THERE ARE PLENTY OF BUYERS) BUT IN 2 YEARS THERE W O N' T B E A N Y, J U S T L I K E A L W A Y S.

I don't work in the auto industry, but as a business-man and attorney who has only bought American cars for 20 years, I have a free suggestion for Cadillac/GM. Since you are going to fix all of the problems anyway, with or without arbitration and lawsuits, why don't you fix them THE FIRST TIME????????????? HOW DOES IT HELP YOU TO HAVE US COME BACK 2 OR 3 TIMES FOR EVERY STUPID THING?????? DO YOUR DEALERS GET MORE MONEY THAT WAY???????? DO YOU???????? WE WANT TO HELP, BUT YOU'RE MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE! I WANT TO LOVE THE ENTIRE XLR EXPERIENCE SO BADLY, I CAN TASTE IT--WHY ARE YOU TORTURING US?? :banghead

 

[aviator]

Wow! Sorry for your bad experience.

Like mswaim, my overall service experience has been good - despite having to take our XLR back 7 times to resolve the top malfunction issue.

Changing horses, however, does not protect you from having to deal with the horse's ass. (more Texas wisdom). I've personally had lots more problems with Mercedes service than with Cadillac's. I believe the problem you've encountered is not systemic.

As a former coupon clipping, school loan paying (we had engineering college and med school), kid's tuition paying, ford escort driving, ex-corporate-wonk-who-done-good: I've been to court many times for many reasons, and have never had anything good come of it. You just eat youself up.

My considered advice is to reason and be reasonable. Never negotiate with someone who is not empowered to say "Yes". Still water runs deep.

Good luck.

 

[alk3997]

OK, we may have gotten a bit off-thread...Let me throw in a few items on XM/Sirius and reception issues...

1) XM and Sirius use very different satellite orbits so comparing one, particularly in the northern areas, against the other isn't really a good comparison. XM uses two (soon three) geostationary satellites. If your XM system picks up either one of the two satellites then you will get a signal. In addition, in most cities there are ground repeaters to allow receivers to still pick-up the signal when the satellites are blocked by tall buildings/parking garages.

2) Sirius uses a system of three satellite that orbit in what is called a modified Molnyia orbit that is geosynchronous but not geostationary. Basically while each satellite takes 24 hours to orbit Earth, the high point is over the northern hemisphere and further away than geosynchronous orbit, while the low point is over the southern hemisphere and closer. This allows the satellite to "hover" over northern points of its orbit longer than the southern points. It also means that the "look angle" is much higher in the northern hemisphere than would normally be for a geostationary satellite. Three satellites are needed to fill-in gaps and normally two satellites are received. The operation of this type of system is much more complex but Sirius also needs less repeaters and should provide a better northern signal.

3) Rain fade is not common with S-band signals used for XM and Sirius - you should not see any difference in rain or sunshine. However, vegitation-fade is common. As the tree leaves get fuller during the summer what could be happening is that the tree leaves are starting to impare the signal. Just because Ku-Band satellite TV fades, doesn't mean that an S-Band signal behaves the same way.

4) Both Sirius and XM use a 10 second buffer to help off-set these effects. So, you have to loose the signal for around 10 seconds prior to not hearing anything. The impressive part is this means that there is 10 seconds of data from all of the channels over one second of reception.

5) XM is partially owned by GM.

If you have no signal or an intermitten signal when out in the open, then you probably have a system problem. If you have an intermitten signal when driving on the Taconic then the trees are probably getting you and the problem will go away once the leaves start falling. Thinking about a good place to test the system in Westchester - the middle of a large park or the Saw Mill area near the Taconic where there are no trees or hills would probably work. In the middle of any large open park with no trees nearby is a good test.

I hope that helps.

On the other front, I have still not had a reoccurence of the break squeal since the tires were rotated. It has been very nice. I'm sure it will return but so far, so good. It has been a welcome rest from the squeal from hell.

Andy

 

[Beemerboy]

XM radio

Now you have me worried. I'm bringing in my 2005 Steel Blue on Thursday to have the antenna installed. I certainly do not think the antenna enhances the look of the car. With you complaints of poor reception in NY (I live in NJ) you have me thinking twice. Anyone else in the Norteast having problems with their reception?

 

[BUDSVET]

I feel so bad that some of you guys are having these problems. I have been able to rx XM all over the USA with very little fade. I am going to get the recall fixed in Plano Tx on the 20th of this month and my gas mileage is still hitting 26-28.5 at 70-75n mph and no brake squeal. I guess I broke it in right.............