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AM Radio Mandate Passes the House: What It Means for Your Next Car

For a few years it looked like AM radio was quietly on its way out of the American dashboard. Tesla dropped it from base cars. BMW and Volvo pulled it from electric models. Ford removed it, then put it back after a public backlash. On September 15, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives tried to settle the argument: it passed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, a bill that would make an AM tuner standard equipment in every new passenger vehicle sold in the country, with no extra charge allowed. The bill still has to clear the Senate, and the calendar there is tight. But this is the furthest the effort has ever gotten, and if it becomes law it will change how several brands build their cars. Here is what actually passed, why automakers have fought it, and what it means if you own or are shopping for a vehicle right now. What the House Actually Passed The measure, H.R. 979, passed by voice vote under suspension of the rules, a fast-track procedure reserved for bills with broad support. It had 317 co-sponsors going into the vote, according to Radio Ink, and was led by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.). Because it was a voice vote, there is no roll-call record of how individual members voted. In plain terms, the bill does four things: It directs the Department of Transportation to write a rule requiring AM reception in new passenger vehicles manufactured, imported or sold in the U.S. The Transportation Secretary would work with FEMA and the FCC on that rule. It makes AM standard equipment. Not an option package, not a trim-level feature. It bans charging for it. Automakers could not attach a separate fee or subscription to AM access — a direct response to the industry's growing habit of putting features behind paywalls. It includes an eight-year sunset. Unless Congress renews it, the requirement expires eight years after enactment. Radio World reported that broadcasters originally wanted ten years and accepted eight as part of the compromise that got the bill to the floor. Coverage of the bill also notes an interim disclosure piece: until the rule takes effect, a vehicle sold without AM would need to say so on its window sticker, so buyers know before they sign. The Senate Is the Real Test The companion bill, S. 315, is led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) — an unusual pairing that tells you how bipartisan this issue has become. It cleared the Senate Commerce Committee back in April 2025 and has more than 60 co-sponsors, which on paper is enough to beat a filibuster. The problem is time. Radio Ink points out that the Senate's 2026 calendar has senators out for nearly all of October, from the week of October 4 through November 1, ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. That leaves a narrow window for floor time. President Trump has said he supports the measure, so if it reaches his desk, a signature is expected. It is worth remembering that a nearly identical bill died in 2023 after automaker pushback. The difference this time is momentum: a House floor vote, a filibuster-proof list of Senate sponsors, and presidential support. Why Automakers Removed AM Radio in the First Place The industry's objection is not simply that nobody listens to AM anymore. The core issue is physics. An electric vehicle's inverter switches high-voltage current on and off thousands of times per second to control the motor. That switching throws off electromagnetic noise, and a lot of it lands in the low-frequency band where AM broadcasts live. The result, as InsideEVs describes it, is buzzing, whining and static that can make AM stations sound bad or unusable. FM sits at much higher frequencies and is far less affected, which is why most EVs that dropped AM kept FM. Faced with the choice between engineering the noise out or removing the tuner, several brands chose removal: Tesla does not include an AM receiver in base versions of the Model 3 and Model Y, according to TechCrunch. BMW, Volvo, Polestar, Mazda and Volkswagen have dropped AM from some electric models. Rivian's new R2 has neither an AM nor an FM receiver, though it offers radio streaming through iHeartRadio at no charge. The Cost Argument The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the main industry trade group, has leaned on an industry-funded study by the Center for Automotive Research that put the cost of fixing EV interference at roughly $3.8 billion across the industry over seven years. At the individual vehicle level, the numbers are more modest. Automaker data supplied to that study, as reported by autoevolution, puts shielding on high-voltage cables at $35 to $50 per vehicle and filtering hardware at another $15 to $20 — roughly $50 to $70 per EV in total. That is small against the price of a new car, but automakers point out that it arrives on top of tariff costs, softer EV demand and growing competition from Chinese manufacturers. The industry's other argument is about relevance. Alliance president John Bozzella has contrasted AM tuners with safety equipment Washington already requires, arguing that seatbelts and airbags save lives directly while AM radio does not. The Alliance also cites a 2023 survey finding that only about 1% of American adults had received an emergency alert through AM radio, and notes that FEMA's warning system already runs across FM, satellite, internet radio and cell networks. Broadcasters dispute both the cost figures and the idea that apps are an equivalent backup. Their central point is simple: during hurricanes, wildfires and grid failures, cell towers and internet service can go down, while a high-power AM station can still reach a car hundreds of miles away with nothing more than a battery and an antenna. Proof That the Problem Can Be Solved The strongest evidence against the "it can't be done" argument is that several large automakers already do it. Toyota and Lexus shielded battery and motor components rather than delete the tuner. Chevrolet kept AM across its electric lineup. Honda retained it, and Mercedes-Benz EVs still carry physical AM and FM tuners. Ford is the most telling case. In 2023 it announced it would drop AM from the F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and the gas-powered 2024 Mustang, citing interference and internal data showing under 5% of owners used it. Within months, after pressure from lawmakers and customers, CEO Jim Farley reversed course and Ford restored AM to affected EVs through a free over-the-air software update. That episode did more than any lobbying campaign to show that AM in an EV is an engineering and cost decision, not an impossibility. What This Means If You Own a Car Right Now Nothing changes for your current vehicle. The bill applies to new vehicles covered by a future DOT rule. It does not force anyone to retrofit a car already on the road, and there is no indication that owners of existing EVs without AM would receive anything. If your car lacks AM, plan for emergencies another way. This is the practical takeaway regardless of what the Senate does. A small battery-powered or hand-crank AM/FM radio with NOAA weather bands costs very little and belongs in any emergency kit, especially if you live in hurricane, tornado or wildfire country. Enable wireless emergency alerts on your phone, and know the frequency of your area's primary AM news station. If you are shopping for a new car, check the spec sheet or ask the dealer directly whether AM is included. Do not assume. If AM matters to you — for sports, talk radio, rural coverage or peace of mind — it is currently a real differentiator between brands. Timing is uncertain even if it passes. Signing the bill starts a rulemaking process at DOT, and the compliance timeline would be set through that rule. Do not expect every new car to gain AM overnight. The Bigger Picture Strip away the lobbying and this fight is about who decides what goes in your dashboard. Automakers want the freedom to build software-defined cars where every feature is an app, and some of those features carry monthly fees. Broadcasters want to keep a free, universal channel that works when nothing else does. The "no additional fee" clause is arguably the most important line in the bill, because it draws a boundary around one feature that cannot be turned into a subscription. Whether the Senate acts before the midterms will decide if that boundary becomes law this year, or if the whole effort starts over in the next Congress. Quick Facts Bill: AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, H.R. 979 (House) / S. 315 (Senate) House passage: September 15, 2026, by voice vote House co-sponsors: 317 Senate status: On the legislative calendar; 60+ co-sponsors; awaiting a floor vote Requirement: AM as standard equipment in new passenger vehicles, no extra fee or subscription Sunset: Eight years after enactment Industry cost estimate: About $3.8 billion over seven years (industry-funded study) Frequently Asked Questions Is the AM radio mandate law yet? No. It passed the House on September 15, 2026, and must still pass the Senate and be signed by the president. Will my current car get AM radio added? No. The bill covers new passenger vehicles under a future rule. It does not require retrofits to vehicles already sold. Why don't some electric cars have AM radio? Electromagnetic noise from an EV's inverter and motor interferes with the low frequencies AM uses. Some automakers removed the tuner rather than pay to shield and filter the interference. Which brands still offer AM in their EVs? Ford (after reversing its 2023 decision), Toyota, Lexus, Chevrolet, Honda and Mercedes-Benz have kept AM reception in their electric models, according to recent reporting. Could automakers charge for AM radio under the bill? No. The bill specifically prohibits a separate fee or subscription for AM access.