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

[sfagnetwoodland]

I received a telephone call from a Ford Customer Service Regional Director who asked that I forward the video I have of the SAS issue. She assured me that she would forward this issue to Ford Engineering. I explained to her that many 2018 Ford Explorer owners are challenged with this issue and directed her to this forum. My signal has been rock solid for the last 4 days after 1 month of the SAS nonsense. Just does not make sense. I will keep you posted as the issue moves through Ford. The Ford Sync conflict mentioned by Dave Z kind of makes sense - very interesting

 

[sfagnetwoodland]

Maybe we should all email her directly??

 

[Robert Mueller]

I have made a few previous posts on my efforts to get the radio issue resolved. My last effort was going to owner.ford.com and going to my vehicle and downloading sync updates to a flash drive (32g or more). Put it in the car and ran for about a half hour, then said update was complete. Radio and all was working well. Next day headed for work, and radio was on but screen was dark, with fuzzy lettering etc. Sync did not function, and only way to switch radio stations was with up and down button When I got out of work and started car, all worked well. It has been working well since the screen issue. (About a week.) I have an appointment with my dealer to review the issue in the service department on the 19th of June.

 

[peterk9]

I have made a few previous posts on my efforts to get the radio issue resolved. My last effort was going to owner.ford.com and going to my vehicle and downloading sync updates to a flash drive (32g or more). Put it in the car and ran for about a half hour, then said update was complete. Radio and all was working well. Next day headed for work, and radio was on but screen was dark, with fuzzy lettering etc. Sync did not function, and only way to switch radio stations was with up and down button When I got out of work and started car, all worked well. It has been working well since the screen issue. (About a week.) I have an appointment with my dealer to review the issue in the service department on the 19th of June.

Did your account actually show an available update? The 2018 models all should have come with the latest V3.0 from the factory.

Peter

 

[Robert Mueller]

Did your account actually show an available update? The 2018 models all should have come with the latest V3.0 from the factory.

Peter

It said it was up to date, but I thought it was worth the shot. Thought perhaps their might be corrupted files.

 

[David Zimbrich]

For what it's worth, I have been trying to update my Synce3 software and when I connect to my home network WiFi, it starts to download a GZ file but then says it could not complete. I will try to get a screen cap or picture and post it here.

 

[peterk9]

For what it's worth, I have been trying to update my Synce3 software and when I connect to my home network WiFi, it starts to download a GZ file but then says it could not complete. I will try to get a screen cap or picture and post it here.

Your Sync 3 should have been up to date. As I mentioned in my post above (#64) all 2018 Explorers left the factory with V3.0

Peter

 

[Robert Mueller]

Mine was said to be up to date also. But as I mentioned earlier, tried the download to flash drive and that seemed to resolve the issue. When I tried over wifi I also noticed it would fail. Fingers crossed it keeps working.

 

[uskern]

Hey all,

This is so sad, we're having the exact same issue with our brand new 2018 Ford Explorer Sport:

• Sirius has been working totally fine for about 4 months...
• ...until about 4 days ago, when it changed to basically being unusable

This is what it sounds and looks like:

http://greencard-gewinner.ch/wp-content/uploads/sirius.mov (49 MB)
http://greencard-gewinner.ch/wp-content/uploads/sirius.m4v (25 MB)

• audio is fading in and out
• satellite is trying to acquire a signal intermittently

(watch the entire 2 minutes above)

We tried a refresh here: SiriusXM

No luck... Not even sure what to ask the dealer to do... I guess replacing the antenna is a good starting point?

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
From the sounds of it I don't think it would be the antenna if it worked for 4 months. Not sure if it's just me but I was not able to get your sirius.mov link to work.

Peter

 

[uskern]

Welcome to the Forum.
From the sounds of it I don't think it would be the antenna if it worked for 4 months. Not sure if it's just me but I was not able to get your sirius.mov link to work.

Peter

Oh no, I am sorry - does this one work (different format and only about 24 MB)? Also going to update the original post.

http://greencard-gewinner.ch/wp-content/uploads/sirius.m4v

 

[peterk9]

Oh no, I am sorry - does this one work (different format and only about 24 MB)? Also going to update the original post.

http://greencard-gewinner.ch/wp-content/uploads/sirius.m4v

Yes, that link works. Very strange thing with the music cutting in and out. Not really sure what to make of it but can understand how that would be very annoying. Does this only happen when listening to Sirius/XM?

Peter

 

[Riverboy]

Just got the acquiring satellite signal issue today. Did a factory reset on the radio and it worked for about 2 minutes then went back to acquiring satellite signal. Hopefully it clears itself up soon or find out some more details about why this is happening. My ‘18 Sport is 4 months old with about 2200 km.

We too have a 2018 Explorer Platinum and 3 hours after taking delivery, the Sirius radio stopped playing with the dreaded "acquiring satellite signal" message. Dealer checked it our today (ownership day 2) and advised that problem is the antenna wiring and connector and the part is on back order with a mid-August delivery date. Tomorrow, I will call Sirius and see if they can put my 6 month trial subscription on hold, while Ford tries to get replacement parts.

 

[peterk9]

We too have a 2018 Explorer Platinum and 3 hours after taking delivery, the Sirius radio stopped playing with the dreaded "acquiring satellite signal" message. Dealer checked it our today (ownership day 2) and advised that problem is the antenna wiring and connector and the part is on back order with a mid-August delivery date. Tomorrow, I will call Sirius and see if they can put my 6 month trial subscription on hold, while Ford tries to get replacement parts.

Welcome to the Forum.
Please report back after the dealer has completed the work and let us know if it worked. Thanks. Seeing as how the parts are back ordered, perhaps this is the 'true' fix.

Peter

 

[vbubba47]

I have a new 2018 Ex Plat with 200 miles on it. The SiriusXM radio works...sometimes. I am often left without anything as the radio displays "Acquiring Satellite Signal", often after I have been listening for a while.

Has anyone else had a similiar problem?

Had the problem so often that my Dealer replaced the ACM (Audio Control Module) under warranty. But, the problem still exists. I'm now fussing with Sirius. After doing some looking I'm thinking it's a Sirius repeater problem in my area. Getting ready for a road trip and will know quickly if the problem is local.

 

[Gerry1]

My dealer just replaced the ACM also on friday for the "aquiring signal" issue. The adviser stated their test equipment measured the signal in & out and determined the ACM was bad. it is a complete assembly including the cd player. I have a 2018 sport purchased in february. Just started having the issue about two weeks ago. Will keep you posted if it comes back. The original ACM was fine as of 6/30 and was fine when I dropped it off at the dealer this past thursday. They had the replacement acm overnighted. Looking at the service order, seems like the acm contains four parts: 18806, 18C815,18C869,18K931.

 

[peterk9]

Had the problem so often that my Dealer replaced the ACM (Audio Control Module) under warranty. But, the problem still exists. I'm now fussing with Sirius. After doing some looking I'm thinking it's a Sirius repeater problem in my area. Getting ready for a road trip and will know quickly if the problem is local.

If you check the profiles of the other posts in the thread you will see that this issue is not limited to your area/

Peter

 

[peterk9]

My dealer just replaced the ACM also on friday for the "aquiring signal" issue. The adviser stated their test equipment measured the signal in & out and determined the ACM was bad. it is a complete assembly including the cd player. I have a 2018 sport purchased in february. Just started having the issue about two weeks ago. Will keep you posted if it comes back. The original ACM was fine as of 6/30 and was fine when I dropped it off at the dealer this past thursday. They had the replacement acm overnighted. Looking at the service order, seems like the acm contains four parts: 18806, 18C815,18C869,18K931.

Welcome to the Forum Gerry.
I'd be surprised if that was the issue but I hope all goes well.

Peter

 

[DaveG1966]

Brand new Ford Explorer owner and brand new member to this forum... first thread I searched on was the SiriusXM issue I was having: Acquiring Satellite Signal error. Low and behold - a known problem in the 2018 Explorer Sport's (which is what I just purchased). Worked solidly for a week and then over the last 3-4 days intermittent and frustrating. It appears many of you in this thread have also seen this issue. I have an appointment with Service on Saturday. Will update if anything comes out of it. I can only hope that the fix is there and Ford is definitely aware of this issue in the new 2018s. Thanks all for the info! Really helpful.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Dave.
I hope Ford figures it out soon.

Peter