AM Radio distorted

I just bought 2004 Jetta TDI wagon. I love the "retro" look and feel of the simple am, fm, cd, cassette radio (not monsoon). It has two knobs and 6 push buttons: nothing fancy!

BUT the AM band sounds really lousy: distorted speech.

Has anyone else had the same problem? I'm told it's quite common on VW radios by my dealer, who says that so far, YES, it sounds bad but well, that's how they all sound.

Is it true? Does yours sound bad on AM, too?

And if so, what would be a good replacement, i.e. a simple "2 knob" am,fm, cd radio?

I have a 1999 Jetta which had the same issue. In my case, the problem was a loose connection between the antenna and the pre-amplifier hooked up to it.

There is a simple check to see if you have a loose pre-amp connection. With your car parked, tune into an AM station, turn the volume up, step outside, and shake the antenna a little bit. If you hear a significant difference in sound quality when you flex the antenna, you most likely have loose pre-amplifier connection too.

I'd perform the same demo at your dealer to encourage a warranty fix if the pre-amp connection is the problem in your case.

If you have to do any work yourself, get the Bentley repair manual....it describes how to remove your head liner and get at the pre-amp.

Hope this helps....

2004 is warranty, take to vw dealer and they will fix!