When I got into the Genesis last night and fired it up to go pick up my preschooler, I pushed the radio knob once to turn on the radio, but all that greeted me was silence. The nav screen indicated that the radio was, indeed, on, but there was nothing coming out of the speakers. Even if I turned the volume knob all the way up (see picture above), nuthin. I switched around from satellite to FM to AM, and still bupkis. I turned the radio off and then back on again. Zilch. I searched for a "mute" button that I may have inadvertently pushed. Nope; there isn't one. While at a stoplight, I even pulled out the manual to see if there was a troubleshooting section for "If your radio is silent," but I couldn't find one before the light turned green.
After I got to the kid's preschool and cinched her in her car seat, I started the car up again and the radio instantly came to life, like nothing had ever happened. Sounds like one of Dan Edmunds' "reboot" situations that we've seen with other cars? Everything was fine when I started it up this morning, too.
Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com
adavis2493 says:
12:45 PM, 11/ 4/09
I would find that to be one of the most annoying broken accessories in a car ever.
Which reminds me, the slightly redesigned Altima doesn't have a radio as a standard feature. For $18,000+, wouldn't you expect a stock radio in the car?
carguy622 says:
01:18 PM, 11/ 4/09
@advis2493: I had to check on the Altima. I can't believe it! You're right. No radio in the base Altima. Jeez.
altimadude00 says:
01:36 PM, 11/ 4/09
It's for all the people out there that rip out the stock radio and put in an aftermarket system. Nissan is just skipping that first step.
Many automakers are doing that.
adavis2493 says:
01:41 PM, 11/ 4/09
altimadude00:
What other automakers other than Nissan, and Hyundai/Kia are doing this?
Honda abandoned it on the Civic, and all other automakers still put in radio's.
bradyholt says:
08:33 PM, 11/ 4/09
The lack of a stock radio isn't meant for people who don't want a radio. It's so people won't buy the least expensive car.
zoomzoomn says:
05:06 AM, 11/ 5/09
Working at a premium brand dealer myself, I can tell you that occssional "booting" issues like this occur more often than we would like. Sometimes it is a software or hardware issue causing the crash. Often it is just like your PC...it has a "moment" during boot up. :) Such is the price of progress what with all of the computers in your new car hubbed together in a network and all.