Has anyone else noticed the poor reception on the stock radio. Talked to dealer and they say that there is no adjustment for sensitivity. Just seems unacceptable for this car and BMW/MINI.

 

my radios been working great. sound quality, reception great. i have no complaints.
are you sure your with in broadcasting range of that station, ie. have you tested it in other cars at same points.

 

Where are you located?

 

Your results can vary from location to location.

Are you looking for better AM or FM reception?
Is XM radio an option in your area?

See
http://www.wmht.org/radio/radio_reception.html

Try removing the MINI antenna, check reception.
Try using a shorter antenna than stock (borrow one from another MINI owner). Honda S2000, element or Fit antenna will work and is shorter than stock MINI antenna.

Check with radio shack about getting alternative antennae or booster.

Or do what I do-
Play music from ipod, MP3s or CDs.

 

This is a 2007 thread, but I can tell you that my 2006 MINI does not get as good reception as the stock radios on my previous cars (Honda and VW).

 

I find that the stock radio in both of our MINIs ('05 and '06) have better FM reception than any other stock radio that I've ever had. This is in central NJ where I mostly listen to a country station from Philadelphia (maybe your MINI doesn't like your music selection ).

 

For the stock Radio on the new Mini - does it tell you the name of the song and artist?

 

Our AM reception is exceptional. Good DX (distance) receiver...amazingly so for a car radio. The FM sensitivity seems to be plenty good too...no complaints! Pulls in Portland FM stations...135 miles away from here.

 

For the Record. I live 25 miles from Sacramento. Plenty of strong radio stations in that city. My other cars have much better reception. XM is not something I care to do at this moment. I have it on my motorcycle and SUV and have mixed feelings about programming and sound quality. Will probably go with Sirius next time due to the additional satelite that they have for coverage. Thanks for all the feedback. I think I will try another antenna and if that does not work, I will try to get Mini to swap out the radio.

 

That depends on the station and whether they broadcast the info. Some of the larger commercial stations in the SF Bay Area are doing it, but not all.

In my area I'm able to pick up all the stations my previous cars do, but I have found some more remonte places where the signal was weak in previous cars and the MINI didn't find the station at all. I can live with it though because of the CD and Aux ports, and I'll also be getting the Sirius module when available.

 

I usually only listen to my iPod or National Public Radio which has about three stations for every major city. So I really haven't noticed a problem with reception. But even when I stick to one station from going from Sacramento to San Francisco I don't notice the single going out at all.

 

it can - if the station is broadcasting it.

 

Cool, thank you.

 

I live 30 miles from NYC so I have always gotten GREAT radio reception. I was really shocked at how bad the radio reception is on my MCS '07. I'm hoping someone will have a good solution.

 

Put me in the lousy reception group. I pulled the stereo out of my 2006 MINI this weekend, not a particularly easy task, hoping to find the antenna disconnected. No such luck.
The reception is really bad. One hometown station that I receive in my other cars up to 100 miles away, I can't get any reception 5 miles out of town.

Does Radio Shack have something that will help?

 

count me in on the bad reception , I have a 2009 with base radio and have a hard time getting stations 10 miles out of town. My dodge truck radio has no problem at all as well as merc sable. Is there a fix for this at the dealer??

 

It sounds like all of you that have reception problems need to take the car in and have it tested. There is a antenna amp/combiner unit that can go bad on these cars and if it is bad you will get the kind of lousy reception you are talking about I.E. only getting 10 miles out of town and the signal gets week.

The antenna amp/combiner has two antenna inputs one for the roof antenna and one for the side window antenna.

A few other people have complained about this over in the NAV and Audio Section where this thread should be and there repair was to have the amp/combiner replaced and all is now good for them.

 

I think I get good reception on my stubby antenna, I'd get it checked out or just compare it with another MINI at your dealer.