Radio Interference W/ Rear Window Defroster On?

Picked up my brand new GT LTD Sedan yesterday evening. Rides like a dream. I get home, Start checking out all the controls, Programming my favorite radio stations and stuff. I push the button for the rear defroster... [b]And my FM radio reception dies out.[/b] Nothing but static. Tried many more different stations, push the rear defroster on, the radio (FM & AM it turns out) reception craps out, turn the defroster off, radio sounds fine. Anyone ever hear about a problem like this before? Will the dealer diagnose/repair on the spot? Within an hour or so? Or must I make a service appointment, take time off from work, leave car behind? Dealer is 70 miles from where I work, 30 miles from my home. I know it's a minor issue, but I won't live with it, and I don't enjoy leaving a brand new car to be diagnosed/repaired while I drive our "back-up" car. (A 94 Geo Prizm) I'm calling them as soon as they open this morning. I took the day off work today to enjoy my new car purchase, but it looks like I'll be back to the dealer to check out their service department. Something I wasn't ready to do so soon.

Haven't experienced anything like that. There is dew and stuff on the windows almost every morning up here now...use it just about everyday, with no problems.

No problems in that area with mine. I do wish the FM reception was better in general.

if you had the windows tinted, the metal in the tint will cause a short between the defroster grid and antennea grid in the rear window. if you dont have tint, might be a short within the glass, take it back to the dealer

if you had the windows tinted, the metal in the tint will cause a short between the defroster grid and antennea grid in the rear window. if you dont have tint, might be a short within the glass, take it back to the dealer

Called the Dealers service dept. Explained the problem. Gave me an appointment for Monday @ 8:00 AM. As soon as I said I had picked up my car last night, he knew who I was. And he promised he'd have my hood deflector there by Monday as well. (Should have been there yesterday) No, no tint. Bone stock. less than 100 miles. Only options were the all-weather floormats and the compass/mirror. Thanks guys! Now I'm off for a ride, gonna' go fill it up with some gas and take a nice ride through the State Park. Take a couple of pics too!

If you are lucky the antenna booster amp is not connected and it will be an easy fix.

[quote name='rao']If you are lucky the antenna booster amp is not connected and it will be an easy fix.[/quote] what is this you speak of?? antenna booster amp? My radio reception is horrible after my tint job. Could this be a solution?

[quote name='thatmank'][quote name='rao']If you are lucky the antenna booster amp is not connected and it will be an easy fix.[/quote] what is this you speak of?? antenna booster amp? My radio reception is horrible after my tint job. Could this be a solution?[/quote] Did you use a metalic tint for the windows? That will certainly kill reception....You aren't supposed to use a metalic tint if you have an in-glass antena

Could be. There is an antenna amplifier in the rear of the car (it is in a different place on wagons and sedans) that boosts the signal from the in-glass antenna (most in-glass antennas work like this). If the power has been disconnected you can expect really poor reception. There is a plug on the amp itsself and behind the radio.

[quote name='D-2.5-GT'][quote name='thatmank'][quote name='rao']If you are lucky the antenna booster amp is not connected and it will be an easy fix.[/quote] what is this you speak of?? antenna booster amp? My radio reception is horrible after my tint job. Could this be a solution?[/quote] Did you use a metalic tint for the windows? That will certainly kill reception....You aren't supposed to use a metalic tint if you have an in-glass antena[/quote] Where were you 2 months ago? :roll:

[quote name='thatmank'][quote name='D-2.5-GT'][quote name='thatmank'][quote name='rao']If you are lucky the antenna booster amp is not connected and it will be an easy fix.[/quote] what is this you speak of?? antenna booster amp? My radio reception is horrible after my tint job. Could this be a solution?[/quote] Did you use a metalic tint for the windows? That will certainly kill reception....You aren't supposed to use a metalic tint if you have an in-glass antena[/quote] Where were you 2 months ago? :roll:[/quote] About 2 weeks away from buying my LGT :D ...there have been a few posts on here reguarding that topic... Basically the metalic tint scrambles the signal. Not sure what to suggest...i bet it would be a pain to try and change it now...a professional installer should have known not to use it though... :roll:

[quote name='rao'] Basically the metalic tint scrambles the signal. Not sure what to suggest...i bet it would be a pain to try and change it now...a professional installer should have known not to use it though... :roll:[/quote] The real and true reason that metallic tint hoses radio reception is this: Basically, you are laying a sheet of metal which is coupled to the antenna by proximity. This combined antenna is no longer the proper size for the wavelength of the radio signal. Optimum antenna gain length occurs at even multiples of the wavelength (1/4x, 1/2x, 1x). Also, you are essentially making a planar antenna instead of a dipole or loop antenna. This makes it more directional rather than omnidirectional which is what dipole and loop antennas are, which further hampers reception.

I thought tint only affected AM reception? I wanted to get metallic type tint, but now Im not sure if ill go that route.

Drove it about 120 miles earlier today. What a beautiful ride! Lets hope this is my one and only problem with my new love..... My pics: [img]http://www.pifiu.com/upload/uploads/102004/006.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.pifiu.com/upload/uploads/102004/007.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.pifiu.com/upload/uploads/102004/014.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.pifiu.com/upload/uploads/102004/015.jpg[/img]

why don't you post those beautiful pics to the calendar thread? it'd be great if you have higher resolution pics.

I was driving my mother's 05 legacy limited (no gt) and noticed the FM goes almost completely out when the rear defroster is used. NO tint on the car.. I am hoping this does not affect my 05 LGT coming on monday.. Any other word on this ?

[b]Believe it or not, they just ordered me a new rear windshield.[/b]:cry: He said something about too much resistance. (I'm no electrical expert for sure) Also said I'd get a loaner while they replace it. My only reservation is if the dealer can do a quality job, [b]as good as factory,[/b] or I'll be very upset. I think I'd rather have an external antenna added rather than a poor quality glass replacement. What do you think?

I know SOA can do it right... it worked perfectly on my 02' LGT .. I got great erception, and never had to worry about if the antenna was up etc.. Worked well even with the tint i had on.. MY '05 LGT should be in today .. so i will see if its an issue with mine... but I would always go internal window vs external antenna any day. Google shows that this was a problem going back to 2000, and a fluke.. could have been cut trace, or bad grounding, etc.. but if they are repalcing the windshield... then that should fix it. My only concern would be that they seal it very well around the window... take a couple of test drives in the back to make sure its nice and sound... and reserve the right to come back and get it redone if it preforms poorly..

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I just wish it was an easier fix.

if its the worst thing to happen to your car... then you are ahead o the curve. windshields are dropped in at the factory... not 'built in' with the car... so it *should* be fairly straightforward

Here's the latest update. I dropped off the car this morning, it seems a "vendor" will replace the rear glass. I don't care who fixes it, as long as it's done neatly and properly and I can listen to the radio with the rear defroster on. I sure hope they diagnosed the problem as the rear windshield correctly. Otherwise I'll freak! They promised I'd get the car back later today. I'll update again.

Well I got the car back Friday evening. The radio and defroster both work perfectly! I waited on the update because it was dark when I got home and being the perfectionist I am, I wanted to give it a real good "eyeballing" before I commented on the quality of the repair, and I wanted to use my infrared thermometer to make sure the rear defroster actually worked. EXCELLENT WORK! The only things I found were a little dirt on the back seats and 1 or 2 plastic "clips" holding the headliner weren't pushed back in. So with just a little push on the headliner..... I'm very, very happy! Great work Subaru!

i have that same problem. Turn on the rear window defroster and my radio gets static. no window tint. Have you fixed it?

read the thread. It clearly states this is a known prob, and the dealer will replace your rear glass to fix