Full Map Nav And Mp3 Playback: Poor Sound Quality

[marcel groeneweg]

Hello everyone,

I have an Auris 2.0 D4D with the full map navigation since june, I like the car but am having problems with the navigation/radio.

Has anyone had problems with MP3 playback?

Sometimes, the sound is a bit garbled, like an MP3 at very low bitrate, or distorted.

The first time it happened I thought I had blown a speaker to pieces.

On other occasions, I get no sound at all. Also no radio, beeps from the buttons, no navigation instructions.

Everything seems to work, because I can switch between CD and radio, navigations works too.

And making a phone call is quite useless too, because I cannot hear the other person speak.

The next time I start the car, everything is fine again. The same MP3 that caused trouble then plays fine too.

The dealer already switched the entire navigation unit, this did not make any difference.

Unfortunately, when the car is at the dealer, it seems to remember the place and functions perfectly. :ffs:

I also tried listening to the radio only for a week to rule out the MP3 playback, this made no difference.

Anyone with an idea what causes the thing to go crazy?

[dpb]

Anyone with an idea what causes the thing to go crazy?

I'd guess you've got a speaker that's out of spec and is causing the protection circuit to clip, possibly a dodgy tweater. You've not got anything unusual connected to your speaker outputs or anything? I've also heard this as a consequence of an ground loop problem on a phone kit when fitted to a stereo... you don't have a 3rd party phone kit do you? If so, ground them both to the same physical point.

Sounds like it's linked to the heat build-up in the Speakers. Try very high/very low volumes and see if the distorsion kicks in sooner/later.

[marcel groeneweg]

I'd guess you've got a speaker that's out of spec and is causing the protection circuit to clip, possibly a dodgy tweater. You've not got anything unusual connected to your speaker outputs or anything? I've also heard this as a consequence of an ground loop problem on a phone kit when fitted to a stereo... you don't have a 3rd party phone kit do you? If so, ground them both to the same physical point.

Sounds like it's linked to the heat build-up in the speakers. Try very high/very low volumes and see if the distorsion kicks in sooner/later.

Thanks for the reply. I have not connected anything myself. Speakers are the standard Speakers.

As I use the bluetooth function, I have no additional carkit.

Distortion usually only kicks in at higher volumes.

I first suspected the auto volume correction thingy in the radio, which boosts the volume and acts as a sort of loudness function when I drive at higher speeds.

The factory default is medium, already put it to low.

[dpb]

Ah, sounds a little more like a faulty tweater then. The protection circuit is designed to detect and prevent short circuits but when something causes it to go wrong, but not completely, it sounds like distorsion witha sort of clicking effect on top. the minute you cut and restore the power, the protection should reset and you'll get perfect sound again. Normally the head unit would be the obvious source but as you've had 2 head units, I guess that rules that out. To diagnose, they'd need to switch in pairs of Speakers at a time, repeating 3 different combinations then they'd know the common one... but I guess if the fault is intermittent and not always repeatable, you'll have some difficulty :(

You've not got something silly like the bass/trebble cranked up have you? or the fader/balance all wrong? I know it sounds so obvious, but I have to ask :)

The auto volume thing shouldn't cause any problems at all, but you could just turn it down to minimum.

BTW, as you have the bluetooth integration, how do you find it? People I'm talking to say it sounds like I've got my phone in my pocket and am talking, ie. very muffled and quiet. What's your experience been like?

[marcel groeneweg]

You've not got something silly like the bass/trebble cranked up have you? or the fader/balance all wrong? I know it sounds so obvious, but I have to ask :)

No I have the auto sound thing to 'low'.

Balance and fader at center.

Treble down two marks, bass down three marks. We don't like too much highs in the sound, as we both find it a bit annoying with some songs.

And the auto adjustment also boosts bass and treble, a bit too much to our taste.

I like the bluetooth carkit. I hear the other person very good, with the volume setting at center or up one notch.

The other side sometimes complains about background noise. Then, I just speak a bit louder and everything is fine.

The toyota unit does not run down the Battery as much as a Mio unit I used to have..

[dpb]

In that case, if definitely sounds like a flaky speaker... very unusual as generally they either work or they don't (obvious distorsion at all volumes, or silence). You'll have a tough job convincing the dealer unless you can reproduce the fault easily. You could just try a speaker upgrade if you have money to burn ;)

[marcel groeneweg]

In that case, if definitely sounds like a flaky speaker... very unusual as generally they either work or they don't (obvious distorsion at all volumes, or silence). You'll have a tough job convincing the dealer unless you can reproduce the fault easily. You could just try a speaker upgrade if you have money to burn ;)

Well, thanks for the help anyway. This thursday, I have an appointment for the 15.000 km maintenance.

I will ask them to look into the sound issue.

BTW the last few days no problems...