Hey Gang,

I’m having a retractable antenna issue that I have not seen reported on this, or any other, forum. I hope someone can help with it.

I have a 98 SR5. I took the vehicle in for a 210,000-mile service and to have the main drive belts changed. When it came out of the service I turned the radio on as I was leaving the dealership. The antenna went up to its fully extended position but the antenna motor kept running. The antenna made a grinding noise for about 10 seconds AFTER the antenna was fully extended and then it stopped. When I shut the radio off the antenna retracts perfectly and the motor stops when it’s fully retracted. FYI, the radio works perfectly.

Another symptom is that I can turn the engine off but leave the ignition in the ‘ACC’ position. The radio will stay on fine and the antenna stays up. However, when I turn the engine back on the antenna motor starts AGAIN and grinds the already fully extended antenna for 10 seconds and then stops.

Ideas? The mast? The antenna relay? The antenna motor?

This entire thing started immediately after the 210,000-mile service at the Toyota dealer. I mentioned it to the service tech and he said it was total coincidence and that nothing near the antenna was serviced.