Explorer SiriusXM Stuck "Acquiring Signal" (Intermittent) 2018 Models

[SassyAZ]

2018 Sport here just started acting up the other day. Tried a master reset and a signal refresh and nothing has helped

Got a new antenna put on today and so far so good. Fingers crossed!

 

[peterk9]

2018 Sport here just started acting up the other day. Tried a master reset and a signal refresh and nothing has helped

Welcome to the Forum.
I don't think a Master Reset or battery disconnect would have any effect on this issue. It will be interesting to see if the new antenna SassyAZ received will solve the issue.

Peter

 

[sfagnetwoodland]

I had the dealer replace my antenna on my 2018 Explorer Sport - radio worked for about a week or so and back to the Satellite Acquiring Signal message. As I posted earlier - the dealer is going to look at my 2018 Sport on Tuesday and also wanted my VIN on my 2017 Explorer Sport so that they can do some comparisons. I really think it has something to do the 4G antenna and possibly the shielding they use. So bizarre - I am going to see if we can replace Audio Control Module with 2017 version along with older antenna - given the connectors will fit - so frustrating!

 

[SassyAZ]

Mine is working so far...fingers crossed!

 

[ShelleyT13]

I just got my 2018 Explorer Limited 3 weeks ago today. For the last week, I have had this exact same issue. The radio worked great the first two weeks & now it's acquiring signal constantly. Makes it extremely frustrating when it take 20+ minutes to cycle through and I only drive 10 for work. I've called Sirius/XM a few times and they have been absolutely NO help. All they did was a signal refresh (even their advanced technical support team) and it did not work. It seemed all they wanted to do was sell me a package (even though I wouldn't be charged until my trial runs out). Why would I pay for a package when I can't even listen to it now. Stupid. Spoke with my dealership and now I'm waiting for them to call. Very disheartening. Never had this problem with by 12 Chevy Traverse. Wonder if the stint Sirius just did with the unlocking of all radios had anything to do with it. Here's to hoping everything comes back to the way it was. Really like my Explorer but had I known this is an issue, I may have just kept my other vehicle.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Shelley.
This seems to be a 2018 model year issue. I have a 2017 and have not had the same problem although there do seem to be a few more 'updating' sessions than before. I don't believe anyone has actually pin pointed the cause of the problem or a real 'fix' for it.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

Same problem here, had a 2012 Ford Fusion that never had satellite signal issues, and it's been constant over the last few days with the 2018 Explorer I just bought three weeks ago. Very, very frustrated as my commute is 70+ minutes.

I'm assuming there has been no official acknowledgment or recommended course of action from Ford yet?

Although a little late, "Welcome to the Forum".

Your last statement is correct. As mentioned in this thread, the only change made to the 2018 antenna is that the GPS antenna, which used to be under the dash, was incorporated into it. Not sure if anything else changed that might affect the signal or if in fact it is an antenna issue.

Peter

 

[ShelleyT13]

Although a little late, "Welcome to the Forum".

Your last statement is correct. As mentioned in this thread, the only change made to the 2018 antenna is that the GPS antenna, which used to be under the dash, was incorporated into it. Not sure if anything else changed that might affect the signal or if in fact it is an antenna issue.

Peter

Thanks. It’s just strange that it worked perfectly fine and then all of a sudden it started.

 

[Robert Mueller]

Had my 2018 Explorer Sport for about three weeks, with about 1100 miles, when the same problem started. I contacted Sirius. After an hour on the phone, they said they did what they could and contact Ford. I called my dealer and made an appointment. I went online with a Ford rep at owner.ford.com and discussed the issue. They researched and said they had nothing on it. I had a dealer rep come to my house and refresh the software, still same issue. "Searching for Satellite Signal." Mysteriously yesterday, the radio started working correctly again. My theory is that I got a bad or partial Sirius update. Then a correct update, and it is working. Canceled the appointment with the dealer, so now it will probably happen again.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Robert.
That's a name that's been in the news a lot. I don't know what these Sirius updates consist of but I always thought it was more to do with the music they play rather than software updates. Perhaps that is not always the case. Hopefully you won't encounter any further issues regarding the signal. If you do, I'm sure we'll hear about it. Thanks for posting.

Peter

 

[sfagnetwoodland]

Okay - dealer had vehicle for two days and test drove to recreate issue. As expected, the satellite radio performed perfectly - no issues what so ever. I give up - guess I will just alternate between BT streaming when it does it again and just live with it.

 

[peterk9]

Okay - dealer had vehicle for two days and test drove to recreate issue. As expected, the satellite radio performed perfectly - no issues what so ever. I give up - guess I will just alternate between BT streaming when it does it again and just live with it.

If more and more 2018 owners encounter this problem and the cause can be pinpointed, then Ford may come out with a TSB to correct it. That is usually what happens. Just make sure that the dealer documents it when you bring the vehicle in so there is a record.

Peter

 

[Robert Mueller]

Had my 2018 Explorer Sport for about three weeks, with about 1100 miles, when the same problem started. I contacted Sirius. After an hour on the phone, they said they did what they could and contact Ford. I called my dealer and made an appointment. I went online with a Ford rep at owner.ford.com and discussed the issue. They researched and said they had nothing on it. I had a dealer rep come to my house and refresh the software, still same issue. "Searching for Satellite Signal." Mysteriously yesterday, the radio started working correctly again. My theory is that I got a bad or partial Sirius update. Then a correct update, and it is working. Canceled the appointment with the dealer, so now it will probably happen again.

Yes. I spoke too soon. Was solid with reception for quite awhile. Now is solid about 80% of the time then of course "Satellite Acquiring Signal." Hope it is figured out soon.

 

[Robert Mueller]

Had my 2018 Explorer Sport for about three weeks, with about 1100 miles, when the same problem started. I contacted Sirius. After an hour on the phone, they said they did what they could and contact Ford. I called my dealer and made an appointment. I went online with a Ford rep at owner.ford.com and discussed the issue. They researched and said they had nothing on it. I had a dealer rep come to my house and refresh the software, still same issue. "Searching for Satellite Signal." Mysteriously yesterday, the radio started working correctly again. My theory is that I got a bad or partial Sirius update. Then a correct update, and it is working. Canceled the appointment with the dealer, so now it will probably happen again.

Called Ford. They had my report on file, and said it was escalated to the engineering staff. He claimed that they usually have resolution within a couple of weeks, but could be longer. Fingers crossed.

 

[POLARIS PRO]

Same issue on our 2018 Ford Explorer Sport. Just started doing this after 3 months of no problems. Figured this would happen right before our road trip. Never had issues on our 2015 Sport.

 

[Ashley Renninger]

Just bought my 2018 ford explorer XLT a week ago, sirius XM worked for less then 1 day! Took it to the dealer today & they told me it just needed to be updated, worked for maybe 3 minutes after the update then went back to "acquiring signal" now they said theyll look more into it and call me next week. from this forum doesnt seam like it will be fixed though. pretty mad i just bought it and something is already wrong with it that cant be fixed

 

[POLARIS PRO]

I’m guessing there are not any Ford Reps on here? I thought they previously monitored this. Sounds like a lot of people are having the same issue. I’m going to call the dealer when we get back from our FM listening road trip.

 

[peterk9]

I’m guessing there are not any Ford Reps on here? I thought they previously monitored this. Sounds like a lot of people are having the same issue. I’m going to call the dealer when we get back from our FM listening road trip.

The Ford reps left a few years ago although you can still contact them through the contact details they left on their posts here. It is possible that this issue with the 2018 models may be due to the fact that on 2018 models they re-designed the antenna and also added a cellular antenna for Sync Connect (AKA Telematics Control Unit or TCU). Sirius / XM no signal
If you are having a similar issue you should post it in the 2011 - 2016 MFT / IVT sub forum.

Peter

 

[clynn1220]

Just to update on where I'm at - my wife and I just had a road trip from Milwaukee to Detroit, and in frustration she sent around 4 refresh requests to Sirius successively to see if there was any way we could get the radio to respond. Miraculously, I had Sirius work with little/no interruption for the 6+ hours there, the entire time we were in Detroit, and the 6+ hours back. I was optimistic that maybe things were looking good, until I did my regular commute this morning and had the "Satellite Acquiring Signal" manifest itself again, however it was only for maybe 5-10 minutes of a 70 minute commute.

I definitely don't believe the issue is fixed, but at least I've had a large reduction in the amount of time I'm seeing the "S.A.S." message.

 

[David Zimbrich]

All:
I have been a Sirius subscriber since the "Sirius only" days (customer for over 11 years) through various Sirius "after-market" hardware models and also on the stock radio on my 2010 Ford Escape, and now on my 2018 Ford Explorer XLT. I have seen many instances of "Updating" occur over the years and this is perfectly normal to see, usually when SiriusXM is adding (or more likely, removing) channels to their lineup. This channel lineup is stored locally on your receiver as well as firmware updates which are occasionally pushed out to the units.

But, I too have been getting the annoying "Satellite Acquiring Signal" for several weeks now. I had absolutely no issues for the first three (3) months with SiriusXM. I even double-checked my account and it is up-to-date on the subscription. It might be completely coincidental, but the issues seem to have started around the same time I started using Android Auto on a regular basis. I am not sure if the two are related but it seems like there could be a connection (no pun intended). I also have the SiriusXM app installed on my Samsung S9+ which can be accessed by Android Auto and played on the car touchscreen and audio system. I really do not what to burn through my data plan on my phone when I am already paying for SiriusXM service in the first place. But this is a good backup plan if you really are in a "no signal" location (e.g. waiting under a highway overpass for an annoyingly long light to turn green, parking garage, etc.).

One thing that I noticed on my 2010 Escape (which also did this on quite a few occasions) was that if it happened, I could pull over (if it was convenient), turn OFF the Escape and open the door (override delayed sound system feature), close the door and restart the engine, this would immediately fix the issue and miraculously I had "signal" again. It almost seems like rebooting the audio system software fixes the issue (which indicates to me it is a software issue, doh!). So if this is the case, I can see how replacing the antennae would not fix the issue. My guess is that it is either a bug in the system software that Ford is either slow to fix, or choosing to ignore, or a "driver" conflict with the Ford Sync system and the Android Auto system. Ether way, it is still incessantly maddening to me to not be able to listen to CNN or anything else on SiriusXM on my 25 minute commute, let alone on longer drives.

--Dave Z