[Nyyyce&Eeeezy]

I hesitate to bring this up, but there's a rather bizarre problem that's developed recently (2 weeks+/-) with my radio. The station that I listen to 98% of the time has started to "skip". Actually, it's not a skipping of text and music, it's more like a stutter. Once or twice (maybe 3 times) in an song, for example, lyrics are repeated.

For example:
Somewhere over the over the rainbow... or
Old MacDonald had a had a farm...

Now, it could be the stupid music I choose to listen to, but I've only noticed it on this one station. Even stranger, I don't notice the problem if I listen to the same station on a different radio.

I don't want to call the station as I'm sure they'll think I'm nuts, but can it be that only this radio has this problem only on this station??

BTW, I've never taken drugs and only drink each evening before, and sometimes with, &/or after dinner.

 

[Favog]

Me too, same thing. I feel your pain. My car's a 2014 E250 with standard Harman/Kardon system. But for me it happens (I think) only when I'm listening to an HD station, and only when (and every time) I'm in my condo's basement garage. Otherwise no problem. But when it does happen, it's exactly as you described, and it's astonishing to hear the radio repeat itself, which would seem impossible. My guess is that it happens only when reception is compromised. One would think that if reception were bad you'd lose bits of the broadcast, but instead you get extra! My solution? Don't listen to the radio in the basement.

 

[MB1stXmer]

Mine happens whenever the analog station switches over to HD - there's a "hiccup" whenever it goes digital, although it doesn't happen all the time. Try switching off the HD (uncheck the "HD" box) and listening for a few days and see if you experience the same problem!

 

[Nyyyce&Eeeezy]

I really wouldn't mind if this only occurred while listening to the radio in my condo's basement garage, and if I had a condo basement garage, I'd would definitely follow your solution.

My problem, however, is this happens everywhere else I go, so although the symptoms may be the same or similar, the situation and circumstances during which they occur is quite different, wouldn't you agree?

 

[Foozini]

I have noticed this from time to time, and it is always when my radio is bouncing in and out of HD to regular reception (most notably it happens when I am passing through the parking garage at work).

 

[Favog]

I really wouldn't mind if this only occurred while listening to the radio in my condo's basement garage, and if I had a condo basement garage, I'd would definitely follow your solution.

My problem, however, is this happens everywhere else I go, so although the symptoms may be the same or similar, the situation and circumstances during which they occur is quite different, wouldn't you agree?

I'd hoped you would notice the tongue in my cheek. Still, I'm sticking by my basic diagnosis of the problem: You must be getting weak reception. Maybe?

 

[Nyyyce&Eeeezy]

I must admit I didn't see your tongue, Favog! :eek

To MB1srXmer and Foozini, however, who suggested that this problem might be related to an HD issue, there may be something to it.

Although I haven't driven the car over the past couple of days, I did take a moment this afternoon to go sit in it to check this hypothesis. I never realized there was an HD button, but when I did some exploring, the button was engaged. When I turned the HD off while continuing to listen to the radio for another few minutes, there was no stuttering on either of the two songs that played, and previously, it would stutter 2-3 times each song.

I expect I'll know more once I have the opportunity to actually spend a little time in the car without just sitting in the cold garage, but didn't want to let this theory go without following up.

Although I know quite a bit about a few things, and I can converse about many others subjects without appearing too foolish, I'm continuously amazed regarding the countless subjects about which I know nothing at all, and frankly, I wouldn't have thought it possible that having HD turned on would cause this kind of problem. Now I wonder if this can be corrected.

Thanks to all, and I'll follow-up once I've had some additional time to more thoroughly evaluate whether the problem is temporarily solved

 

[Foozini]

Although I haven't driven the car over the past couple of days, I did take a moment this afternoon to go sit in it to check this hypothesis. I never realized there was an HD button, but when I did some exploring, the button was engaged. When I turned the...

Wait... there's a button to turn HD on and off? Huh... now I am going to have to go looking.

 

[Josh]

I'm going to echo the sentiments about it switching from Analog to HD. In the upgraded headunits in both my 190E and the 500SE (both about 30 years old), I'll have the same stutter and "repetition" due the change in signal.

It can be annoying and bothersome to a few folks, but I do believe there is a way to disable HD band radio to prevent this from happening. I just have an old iPod plugged in for both cars to act as a hard drive for music and listen that way. Can't stand the repetitiveness of radio and their commercials!! (Reminds me a lot of Grand Theft Auto, for those who are familiar with the game and listening to the radio in it.)

 

[Nyyyce&Eeeezy]

During some errands today, I had the opportunity to listen to 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted radio. No stuttering since switching off the HD yesterday. Once I turned the HD back on, however, the stuttering started immediately. In fact, the radio stuttered each time I turned in on before continuing to stutter every 30-40 seconds until I turned it back off.

I guess the next step is to try to find out why it's happening during normal HD play, and what, if anything(?), can be done to correct the problem.

BTW, for those like Foozini and I who didn't know there was a "button" to turn the HD on and off, just click on radio on the screen and scroll down to HD. Then you click for on/off. Mine even has a little check mark so show whether it's on or off.

Who knew this would ever be such a trivial annoyance?

 

[Favog]

During some errands today, I had the opportunity to listen to 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted radio. No stuttering since switching off the HD yesterday. Once I turned the HD back on, however, the stuttering started immediately. In fact, the radio stuttered each time I turned in on before continuing to stutter every 30-40 seconds until I turned it back off.

I guess the next step is to try to find out why it's happening during normal HD play, and what, if anything(?), can be done to correct the problem.

BTW, for those like Foozini and I who didn't know there was a "button" to turn the HD on and off, just click on radio on the screen and scroll down to HD. Then you click for on/off. Mine even has a little check mark so show whether it's on or off.

Who knew this would ever be such a trivial annoyance?

Back to my original suggestion: I suspect you're getting poor reception. What happens when you listen to other HD broadcasts, different stations, different frequencies? Does the problem occur on only one HD station or on every HD station you try? Does the problem occur only when you're some distance from your HD station's broadcast tower?

The only HD station to which I normally tune is my local Public Radio station. It offers one regular FM frequency and three HD frequencies. When I tune to the regular FM frequency, my radio automatically switches to the station's first HD frequency, a duplicate of the regular FM broadcast. From there I can use the COMAND knob to move to HD 2 (an alternative version of HD 1 with delayed broadcast of NPR programming and other features) or HD 3 (BBC) if I wish.

As others in this thread have pointed out, when I'm listening to HD 1 and drive into an area where the HD signal is compromised, my radio switches from HD 1 to FM and back again, giving me the annoying repetitions we've discussed. Whenever I'm listening to HD 1 and I drive into my basement garage, I can count on the problem occurring. Otherwise, no problem.

If you're experiencing the problem regularly while driving in the open, my first suspicion is that your location is on the margin of your HD radio station's broadcast range. If you turn off HD and the problem goes away, well, there you are -- you just needn't try to listen to your favorite station's HD signal from your distant or obstructed location.

I'm pretty sure. I think. Probably. Maybe.

 

[Alex3]

You guys with 2014 cars are trying to fix something that is a warranty item.
Why fool around with guesses and maybes?
Take it back and make them diagnose it and fix or replace it.

 

[Josh]

A warranty item for the behavior of local radio broadcast towers and the various frequencies they broadcast at?

You wouldn't happen to have the Service Bulletin for this "warranty item", would you?