AM radio may be one of the oldest technologies left in a modern vehicle, but Congress is moving to prevent automakers from removing it.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the bipartisan AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, advancing legislation that would require access to AM broadcast stations as standard equipment in new passenger vehicles sold in the United States. Automakers could not charge buyers an additional subscription or equipment fee for that access.
The measure now moves to the Senate, where its companion bill has substantial bipartisan support. It is not law yet, and the requirement will not appear in dealerships immediately.
If enacted, however, the law would force the Department of Transportation to establish a federal AM-radio requirement covering gasoline, hybrid and electric vehicles.
Congress has apparently identified the last automotive feature that cannot be moved behind a monthly subscription.
What would the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act require?
House bill H.R. 979 directs the Department of Transportation to require AM-radio access as standard equipment in new passenger vehicles manufactured, imported or shipped within the United States.
According to the official House bill, the required feature must be easily accessible to drivers and provided without an additional charge.
The DOT would have one year after enactment to issue its final rule. The requirement would generally take effect no later than two years after the rule is finalized, although smaller manufacturers could receive as many as four years to comply.
That means AM radio would not suddenly become mandatory the morning after the president signs the bill. Federal regulations must still be written, finalized and implemented.
The legislation may also allow compliant digital methods of accessing AM stations, depending on how the DOT writes the final rule. That detail could become important because streaming an AM station through a connected infotainment system is not the same as receiving its terrestrial broadcast when cellular service is unavailable.
Why does Congress care about AM radio?
The central argument is emergency communication.
AM broadcast signals can cover large geographic areas, particularly at night, and can continue operating when local internet, cellular and electrical infrastructure is damaged. Stations can distribute evacuation orders, weather warnings, road closures and other emergency information without requiring a paid account, smartphone or functioning cellular tower.
Supporters therefore describe AM radio as part of the country’s public-warning infrastructure rather than merely another entertainment source.
The Senate Commerce Committee says tens of millions of Americans continue to use AM radio for emergency information, news, sports and local programming. The committee previously advanced companion legislation, and its Senate sponsors have assembled enough cosponsors to demonstrate broad bipartisan support.
Cellular alerts and connected navigation services can provide more detailed information, but they depend on networks that may become congested or fail during a major emergency.
AM radio is not especially glamorous, but neither is a flashlight until the power disappears.
Why are automakers removing AM radio?
Several manufacturers have removed AM receivers from selected vehicles, especially electric models. Tesla, BMW, Volvo and other brands have cited electromagnetic interference created by high-voltage propulsion systems.
The issue is technically legitimate.
AM radio occupies a relatively low-frequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Unfortunately, electric vehicles contain multiple systems capable of producing electrical noise within or near that range:
- High-voltage traction motors
- Power inverters
- DC-to-DC converters
- Battery chargers
- High-current wiring
- Pulse-width-modulated controllers
- Switching power supplies
- Climate-control compressors
- Regenerative-braking electronics
An EV inverter rapidly switches electrical current to control the motor. Those switching events generate electromagnetic energy that can enter an antenna, receiver or wiring harness as unwanted interference.
Instead of hearing a clean broadcast, the driver may hear buzzing, whining, static or noise that changes with vehicle speed and motor load.
Anyone who has installed an amplifier using a questionable ground connection has heard the low-budget version of this experiment.
Why is AM more vulnerable than FM?
AM and FM describe how information is carried by a radio signal.
An AM receiver extracts audio from changes in the signal’s amplitude. Electrical interference also changes apparent signal amplitude, making unwanted noise difficult for the receiver to separate from the intended broadcast.
FM encodes audio through changes in frequency. It is generally more resistant to common forms of amplitude-based electrical interference.
That does not make FM immune to poor reception or electrical noise. It simply explains why high-voltage switching hardware creates a more obvious problem for AM reception.
The challenge becomes greater inside an EV because its propulsion system can generate considerably more electromagnetic activity than the alternator, ignition coils and accessories found in a conventional combustion-powered car.
Can automakers suppress the interference?
Yes, but effective suppression requires engineering, testing and additional components.
Common solutions include:
- Shielded high-voltage cables
- Improved motor and inverter enclosures
- Ferrite cores and filters
- Carefully routed antenna wiring
- Better grounding and bonding
- Noise-resistant receiver designs
- Strategic antenna placement
- Software changes to switching frequencies
- Suppression components at individual noise sources
The objective is to contain electromagnetic energy before it reaches the radio system. Engineers may also relocate antennas and receiver modules farther from the motor, inverter and high-current wiring.
None of those measures is impossible. The disagreement concerns cost, complexity and whether every vehicle should be required to include a service that some buyers rarely use.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation previously cited an industry-funded estimate that providing satisfactory AM reception in electric vehicles could cost manufacturers approximately $3.8 billion over seven years. The group argues that emergency alerts can be delivered through other technologies and that the government should not mandate a specific entertainment platform.
Broadcasting advocates dispute both the cost estimates and the suggestion that internet-based alternatives provide equivalent emergency coverage. The National Association of Broadcasters argues that manufacturers already have workable methods for reducing interference.
Both sides have an institutional interest in the outcome. Broadcasters want to remain in the dashboard, while automakers would prefer to decide which receivers their dashboards contain.
Would drivers have to pay for AM radio?
The bill says manufacturers could not impose an additional charge for the required AM-radio capability.
That provision is important because automakers increasingly deliver features through software packages, paid connectivity plans and subscription services. A vehicle might already contain the necessary hardware while access depends on a particular infotainment tier or data plan.
The proposed requirement is designed to prevent AM reception from becoming a separate paid option.
Congress is effectively saying that drivers should not need an account, app or credit card to receive an emergency broadcast. This would place AM radio in a different category from connected navigation, satellite radio and streaming audio.
That distinction also intersects with broader questions about the information collected by modern vehicles and how much basic vehicle functionality should depend on connected services.
Does this mean every new car gets an old-fashioned radio dial?
Not necessarily.
The legislation focuses on access to AM broadcast stations rather than requiring a particular knob, physical tuner or dashboard layout. Modern infotainment systems could integrate AM stations into a digital menu or voice-control interface.
The final DOT regulation would determine what qualifies as compliant access.
For enthusiasts, the more important question is whether a compliant system receives an actual over-the-air AM signal or merely supplies an internet stream of an AM station. Streaming may reproduce the same programming under normal conditions, but it cannot replace terrestrial reception when cellular data stops working.
A streaming-only interpretation would preserve the station name while weakening the emergency argument used to justify the law.
The federal rule will need to resolve that difference instead of assuming every icon labeled “AM” represents the same underlying technology.
How does this affect older vehicles?
The primary requirement applies to new vehicles.
The House bill also contains disclosure provisions affecting certain vehicles manufactured before the mandate becomes effective. Buyers may need to be informed when a vehicle lacks AM-radio access, although the precise obligations and covered period will depend on the enacted legislation and DOT rulemaking.
The measure does not generally require owners to retrofit functioning older vehicles at their own expense.
Anyone driving a 1990s or early-2000s project car probably already has AM reception. Whether that radio remains audible over the exhaust, fuel pump, ignition system and collection of optimistic audio wiring is a separate diagnostic issue.
The larger fight is over the dashboard
The AM-radio debate is part of a broader struggle over who controls the modern dashboard.
Physical buttons have become touchscreen menus. Navigation has become a connected service. Remote start, performance settings and even some comfort features can depend on software licensing.
Manufacturers argue that integrated digital platforms create cleaner interfaces and allow features to improve over time. Owners reasonably wonder why a basic function that once worked without an account now needs cloud connectivity and a privacy policy.
Similar concerns surround federal in-vehicle technology proposals and the possibility of expanded driver monitoring. Pro Street examined those questions in our coverage of the federal impaired-driving technology mandate.
AM radio is technically simpler, but the underlying question is familiar: Should an essential vehicle function depend entirely on proprietary software and external networks?
What happens next?
The House has completed its portion of the immediate legislative process. The Senate must now pass the same legislation before it can reach the president.
The Senate version already has strong bipartisan sponsorship, but sponsorship does not guarantee final passage. The chamber must still schedule and complete a vote.
If the bill becomes law, the Department of Transportation would begin writing the detailed regulation covering implementation, compliance deadlines and acceptable methods of providing access.
Until that happens, automakers remain free to determine whether individual models include AM reception.
The legislation has moved considerably closer to becoming law, but the mandate is not active yet. For now, AM radio remains an old technology with a surprisingly modern argument for survival: it works without a login.
