2000 Pontiac SSEI radio reception problems

[pint4]

We have had the radio in our 2000 SSSEI changed 3 times since new. It has never worked right on AM. It might pick up a local station or two but that is it. Everything else is full of static and hard to hear. Any ideas?? I have never had a car with such poor reception. I listen to games on AM and some talk shows so I miss it when we are on a long trip. Is this a bad radio design? Or is there something that can be adjusted to improve reception? I can't believe Pontiac made a $35,000 car and couldn't put a decent radio in it. I have radio with AM/FM, cassette, CD, and CD changer in the trunk. Any ideas?
Thanks.
Bob

[GTP Dad]

The best advice I can give you is to put a grounding kit on the car. You can purchase them at various locations and they sell them on e-bay. They are designed to eliminate electrical discharge from various electrical components and make the car as well as electronic devices work better. I would also check the ground on both the engine and radio to make sure they are good. The last thing is to find your antenna wire and check it from the radio all the way back. It could be touching a metal part of the vehicle and picking up interference. And if you have a windshield antenna get rid of it and get an external one. If it is external check the area around the antenna it may be covered with paint and not grounding properly. Good Luck!

[ToyStory]

I also have a 2000 SSEi and had AM radio reception problems; mine stemmed from a specific type of window tinting that I had installed. I lived in Florida when I got the car, and had 80% tint on all but windshield. I cannot remember the name of the film used, but it apparently had some sort of metal in it that interfered with the radio antenna in the rear window. I had it replaced after moving to Ohio due to their more stringent 50% darkness... Since then, no radio reception problems on am. HTH, Tom