Expert: Cleggsan - 9/6/2010

Question
I have a used 2009 Civic and I get terrible AM reception.  good FM reception.  I notice it doesn't have an outside antenna.  Should it have one?  If not, where is the antenna and how can I improve reception?  I live in San Diego so I should be able to receive plenty of stations.

Answer
Yes, it needs an antenna.  Some civics use the defroster heater elements of the back window as the antenna, some have an electric antenna that may not be coming up if the fuse is gone or if the antenna rod is stuck in the down position.

So, you must find out where the antenna is located.  Since you are getting good fm you must assume there is an antenna somewhere on the car.  Since am and fm operate on totally different frequencies it is possible the fm could be working fine but the am is not.  

Do you know how to pull the radio out of the dash?  If so, take a look at the back side to make sure the antenna is properly attached to the radio.

In the worst case the am section of the radio could be defective. But, since you seem to be getting some audio it indicates the problem is more likely an antenna problem.

Hope you find the problem.