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

Well here we are in the “next few weeks” and “mid December” as some were told here and about to enter 2019 and NOTHING!!!???
 



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OK, brand new member here with similar issue. Mine has a weird twist to it, though. Got our vehicle in late June, 2018. We are 9800 miles, currently and the car has exceeded almost all of our expectations. Yesterday, took it into Sarasota Ford for its first oil change, which we were notified by the vehicle itself that it needed to have. They gave me the complimentary car wash afterwards and I was on my way.

Last night, we went out to dinner and experienced the same satellite acquiring signal message as all the others. Having had satellite in my vehicles since 2003, I know what is "normal" and what is not; this was definitely NOT a normal situation for when signal would have been lost. I thought maybe the antenna had been messed up during the car wash so after arriving at the restaurant, I checked and sure enough, it was bent about 30 degrees from normal. I immediately called the dealer and he had me come in today and get a new one. (The satellite DID work as usual on the drive to the dealer, today.) He was not convinced that this new antenna was going to "fix" the issue, but he was replacing it simply because the other one was bent. (After reading this thread, I am strongly thinking that he was aware of the "acquiring signal" problem that others are having. It is a VERY large dealer and I'm sure that someone has been down this road with him before.) He simply screwed on the new antenna and we were on our way. FWIW, the "new" antenna is a very flexible, all rubber tube, not the twisted metal previously used. He said there had been quite a few of these damaged by car washes, so he was guessing Ford changed the style for that reason.

Either way, I will stay in touch with this thread with any changes or recurrences.

timmy
 






OK, brand new member here with similar issue. Mine has a weird twist to it, though. Got our vehicle in late June, 2018. We are 9800 miles, currently and the car has exceeded almost all of our expectations. Yesterday, took it into Sarasota Ford for its first oil change, which we were notified by the vehicle itself that it needed to have. They gave me the complimentary car wash afterwards and I was on my way.

Last night, we went out to dinner and experienced the same satellite acquiring signal message as all the others. Having had satellite in my vehicles since 2003, I know what is "normal" and what is not; this was definitely NOT a normal situation for when signal would have been lost. I thought maybe the antenna had been messed up during the car wash so after arriving at the restaurant, I checked and sure enough, it was bent about 30 degrees from normal. I immediately called the dealer and he had me come in today and get a new one. (The satellite DID work as usual on the drive to the dealer, today.) He was not convinced that this new antenna was going to "fix" the issue, but he was replacing it simply because the other one was bent. (After reading this thread, I am strongly thinking that he was aware of the "acquiring signal" problem that others are having. It is a VERY large dealer and I'm sure that someone has been down this road with him before.) He simply screwed on the new antenna and we were on our way. FWIW, the "new" antenna is a very flexible, all rubber tube, not the twisted metal previously used. He said there had been quite a few of these damaged by car washes, so he was guessing Ford changed the style for that reason.

Either way, I will stay in touch with this thread with any changes or recurrences.

timmy

Sounds like you are referring to the radio (am/fm) antenna, not the satellite antenna...the screw on antenna will not affect satellite reception.
 






Sounds like you are referring to the radio (am/fm) antenna, not the satellite antenna...the screw on antenna will not affect satellite reception.

I'm aware of that. That's why I said it was a bit strange at the beginning. Not had this problem before the incident with the wash yesterday, and didn't have it at all today. Coincidence? Probably, but quite strange to say the least. We'll see if it recurs or not.
 






Sounds like you are referring to the radio (am/fm) antenna, not the satellite antenna...the screw on antenna will not affect satellite reception.
I wonder if that 'new' AM/FM flexible type antenna may be the 'fix' to the issue? Why else would Ford suddenly change it? Less interference than from the twisted metal OEM one.:dunno:

Peter
 






I wonder if that 'new' AM/FM flexible type antenna may be the 'fix' to the issue? Why else would Ford suddenly change it? Less interference than from the twisted metal OEM one.:dunno:

Peter

I'll leave that for the antenna experts to argue over. I'm just hoping I had one bad day of it and that was it! :)
 






I wonder if that 'new' AM/FM flexible type antenna may be the 'fix' to the issue? Why else would Ford suddenly change it? Less interference than from the twisted metal OEM one.:dunno:

Peter

The 2019s use the same am/fm ‘twist’ antenna as the 2018s, so no change. It wouldn’t surprise me the service manager put on an aftermarket antenna that is car wash safe.
 






The 2019s use the same am/fm ‘twist’ antenna as the 2018s, so no change. It wouldn’t surprise me the service manager put on an aftermarket antenna that is car wash safe.

Not likely. I was with him when he called his parts department and gave them the part number for my vehicle and when they told him they had one, he went straight over and picked it up.
 






Not likely. I was with him when he called his parts department and gave them the part number for my vehicle and when they told him they had one, he went straight over and picked it up.

Hopefully it works for you and solves the issue...as a minimum you will have less issues going thru a wash, so that’s a win already :)
 






Hopefully it works for you and solves the issue...as a minimum you will have less issues going thru a wash, so that’s a win already :)

Yep. I'm definitely glad I don't have to worry about that. Funny thing is, I got it washed regularly at a nice drive through wash a dozen times with no problem; first time at the dealer, and... :D
 






As I figured they need to replace the antenna.

Contact your service dept and get yours fixed...

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN #18-2358
Sirius Satellite Radio With 4G TCU Modem - Loss Of Signal/Acquiring Signal Message Displayed - Built On Or Before 13-Nov-2018

Issue: Some 2018-2019 Explorer vehicles built on or before 13-Nov-2018 equipped with a 4G telematics control unit (TCU) modem may exhibit an Acquiring Signal message with a loss of satellite radio reception while driving in unobstructed areas.
 






As I figured they need to replace the antenna.

Contact your service dept and get yours fixed...

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN #18-2358
Sirius Satellite Radio With 4G TCU Modem - Loss Of Signal/Acquiring Signal Message Displayed - Built On Or Before 13-Nov-2018

Issue: Some 2018-2019 Explorer vehicles built on or before 13-Nov-2018 equipped with a 4G telematics control unit (TCU) modem may exhibit an Acquiring Signal message with a loss of satellite radio reception while driving in unobstructed areas.

So, help a newbie out here, Jason. Is this saying that all dealers are now being told to replace the antenna or just that the problem exists?

Thanks.

t
 






The fix is to replace the antenna. They will probably have to order it unless some larger dealers decide to stock it.
 






The fix is to replace the antenna. They will probably have to order it unless some larger dealers decide to stock it.

OK, thanks. I am guessing by "replace the antenna", you/they are saying the entire component attached to the roof, not just the screw-on part of it. (?)
 
























OK, thanks. I am guessing by "replace the antenna", you/they are saying the entire component attached to the roof, not just the screw-on part of it. (?)
I believe that antenna they gave you is "the fix" as I thought.

Peter
 






Its the entire antenna assembly. They have to pull trim inside and drop the rear of the headliner. Time is give as 1 hour for the repair.
 



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Joined the forum to jump in on the conversation. I've had the same issues as described by others in my new 2018 Explorer. Bought it a few months ago and SiriusXM was working fine for a week or two then stopped worked for about 10 days. Brought it into the dealer just to make sure I had a record of it in case it takes a while for Ford to fix. They basically said, as others have mentioned, that we'd just have to wait until a fix was released. It's been working off and on for the past couple weeks, but definitely not "fixed."

Today I noticed "SiriusXM Updating..." on the display shortly after I started the car. After that it has been working, so I'm not sure if this is related or not.
 






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