I've seen post where people complain about the factory head unit's radio signal not being very strong. Today while driving around on the back roads the signal faded in and out quite a bit. I don't remember it happening before like that. I was curious if a Pioneer head unit would have the same issue due to using the same antenna or if it's just the factory head unit causing the bad reception.
It all depends on how much Power the Station is running, how close you are to the transmitting antenna, what kind of antenna you have, whip, shark fin, coat hanger! If it's a hilly location, that does not help either. A good test is get a friend of yours drive you on a route you know you have reception problems. If your friends car acts OK, then your HU is not as sensitive as your friends radio! At that point try to convince the Service Dept the HU FM is defective, try to get it replaced. Or you could just gut the stereo and start over!
I installed a Pioneer HU (DVD4100) and it made very little difference in reception. Just the nature of the setup in the vehicle. Have a 11 Corolla and the reception is just as bad in it.
Here in Richmond VA, the Prius has much better reception than our 2003 Subaru Outback and better than our old 1997 Camry.
My 2010 Camry SE gets much better reception than the 2011 Prius with JBL premium sound. The Camry has an OEM sharkfin style antenna too, whereas the Prius has the standard stubby whip antenna.
