RDS not working/Stereo or Surround Option

[slojay]

I was wondering if anyone has any insight as to why my RDS doesnt work on my 2011 Fusion SEL. when i turn on the radio and hit the text button i believe, instead of the radio station and song name appearing which accourding to the dealer came with the car, it says no station info available or something of that nature....im wondering if anyone else has this problem? is there something i have to set up in the car to make the RDS function properly? secondly, im wondering what the difference is between the stereo and surround options in the sound menu? with the stereo option set, i notice alot more bass which overtakes the vocals and on the flipside, with the surround enabled there is less bass and the vocals are heard much more but im wondering if aside from sound whether one is better for the actual stereo components? will leaving stereo on all the time shorten the life of the speakers due to constantly pounding bass? any insight on either topic would be most appreciated

[xmech2k]

As far as the RDS, I have never had to use the 'text' button to get RDS info on an FM station. I always thought it was just for Sirius, since it makes the Sirius display cycle between the station name and the artist/song info. I'll give it a try on an FM station today if I remember. You're aware that not all FM stations broadcast RDS info, right?

[dabige]

I was wondering if anyone has any insight as to why my RDS doesnt work on my 2011 Fusion SEL. when i turn on the radio and hit the text button i believe, instead of the radio station and song name appearing which accourding to the dealer came with the car, it says no station info available or something of that nature....im wondering if anyone else has this problem? is there something i have to set up in the car to make the RDS function properly? secondly, im wondering what the difference is between the stereo and surround options in the sound menu? with the stereo option set, i notice alot more bass which overtakes the vocals and on the flipside, with the surround enabled there is less bass and the vocals are heard much more but im wondering if aside from sound whether one is better for the actual stereo components? will leaving stereo on all the time shorten the life of the speakers due to constantly pounding bass? any insight on either topic would be most appreciated

You shouldn't have to hit the text button, but yes, there are a couple steps to turn RDS on. This is how it worked in my 2010 SE: hit the menu button a couple times until RDS ON/OFF appears on the screen, then use the arrow buttons (SEEK/TRACK) to toggle on or off. After doing that, it should function in whichever RDS mode you set every time you turn your radio/car on. If not, then there is something wrong with your radio, as I've never had to repeat this process. As a side note, every rental I've had for work, GM's and Dodges, I've had to do the same/similar procedure, as RDS was never turned on in any of those vehicles. Apparently the other rental customers were more into the satellite radio.

 

As for your second question, that must be a feature available on the SEL and not the SE, unless I've never noticed it (entirely possible). I doubt either will have any significant impact on the life of your stereo components. If the bass level is a concern, you can always manually turn that level down independently.

Edited January 24, 2011 by dabige

[xmech2k]

I tried the 'text' button with RDS, and found it cycles through a few different display modes, so it does do something there. Dabige is probably on to something there. I never had to do that to mine.

[dabige]

You're aware that not all FM stations broadcast RDS info, right?

Regardless of if the station broadcasts the info, I believe an RDS icon should be illuminated on the radio display if you've activated the feature and are listening to an FM station. If I would have had my morning caffeine, I would have remembered to check my radio when I went out for lunch a little bit ago...

Edited January 24, 2011 by dabige

[slojay]

Regardless of if the station broadcasts the info, I believe an RDS icon should be illuminated on the radio display if you've activated the feature and are listening to an FM station. If I would have had my morning caffeine, I would have remembered to check my radio when I went out for lunch a little bit ago...

 

 

Thank you all for the info. yes i am aware that not all stations broadcast RDS but i am specifically referring to stations i know for a fact do bc i have seen it in other peoples cars. I know that i dont have to cycle through the text button to see the info but i am wondering what the different things are ie... i know that when i push the text button, its not just the station name and song name that can be displayed there is other info that i cant remember at the moment being that i have nt been in my car in a few hours. ill look tmw and repost thank you all for your help. now my new question has to do with sirius.... does anyone know how many song alerts can be saved? when i try to save a song sometimes i get the message "cannot save" i know that there is space available bc as an experiment i deleted all the previous songs i had. so one song will not save but then if i try a different one it will work?!?! any ideas?

[slojay]

Thank you all for the info. yes i am aware that not all stations broadcast RDS but i am specifically referring to stations i know for a fact do bc i have seen it in other peoples cars. I know that i dont have to cycle through the text button to see the info but i am wondering what the different things are ie... i know that when i push the text button, its not just the station name and song name that can be displayed there is other info that i cant remember at the moment being that i have nt been in my car in a few hours. ill look tmw and repost thank you all for your help. now my new question has to do with sirius.... does anyone know how many song alerts can be saved? when i try to save a song sometimes i get the message "cannot save" i know that there is space available bc as an experiment i deleted all the previous songs i had. so one song will not save but then if i try a different one it will work?!?! any ideas?