Jump to content


Dealer Installed Sirius Radio


Recommended Posts

Does anyone else have the dealer installed "Sirius Radio"? I was just wondering about the location placement of the antenae. I was told it was built in, but apon delivery I discovered it was added on instead. Its OK, but I would have prefered cleaner lines. It was one of those magnet styles, but I think it was permnantly attached in the rear driver side corner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a dealer installed Sirius Radio and our antenna is mounted on the dash on the passanger side up close to the windshield. It's the small about 1 1/2 " by 1 1/2 " magnetic s type. It's there and you see it but not distracting. We do have trouble with ours in that we tend to loose signal more than we should. We live in a rural area but generally have full view of the sky other than trees. I would not think that should cause us to loose signal. On open road / freeways we don't seem to loose the signal as much. We think it's a problem with the Sirius radio but unless it does it at the dealership there is probably not much to do about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Roady 2 XM add-on that I have mounted in our RX350. I followed the instructions from a site I found on the internet (http://yoren.org/xmradio/lexus.html). He suggests putting the antenna on the driver side trunk ledge.

I tried it there, then moved it onto the small window ledge near there, but the signal was intermittent, much more intermittent than when I had it mounted on the roof of our previous car. We deal with a lot of trees and coastal mountains here on the south Oregon coast.

I now have the antenna mounted on top of my radar detector in the front windshield, with the wire threaded through the radar detector power cord, pretty much invisible. The signal is still not as good as I had in the old car/roof mount, so I am going to try to find a way to put it out on the roof.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Roady 2 XM add-on that I have mounted in our RX350. I followed the instructions from a site I found on the internet (http://yoren.org/xmradio/lexus.html). He suggests putting the antenna on the driver side trunk ledge.

I tried it there, then moved it onto the small window ledge near there, but the signal was intermittent, much more intermittent than when I had it mounted on the roof of our previous car. We deal with a lot of trees and coastal mountains here on the south Oregon coast.

I now have the antenna mounted on top of my radar detector in the front windshield, with the wire threaded through the radar detector power cord, pretty much invisible. The signal is still not as good as I had in the old car/roof mount, so I am going to try to find a way to put it out on the roof.

I just got my 08 RX 350 and had the XM Radio installed because I had it on my prior car and my wife's as well. The dealer mouted the antenna in the middle of the roof, just in front of the rear hatch opening, which is where it was on my prior car. It is inconspicous, and unless you are right next to it, you really don't notice it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone else have the dealer installed "Sirius Radio"? I was just wondering about the location placement of the antenae. I was told it was built in, but apon delivery I discovered it was added on instead. Its OK, but I would have prefered cleaner lines. It was one of those magnet styles, but I think it was permnantly attached in the rear driver side corner.

I also had the dealer install satellite radio. I was very disappointed in the look of the antennae. Instead of a clamshell or something upscale looking, I have a little antennae next to the regular, dealer installed antennae. I feel the installation looks cheap and like something you would expect from Circuit City. For over $700 I expected better. I wrote to Lexus about my disappointment, and didn't even receive a reply.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone else have the dealer installed "Sirius Radio"? I was just wondering about the location placement of the antenae. I was told it was built in, but apon delivery I discovered it was added on instead. Its OK, but I would have prefered cleaner lines. It was one of those magnet styles, but I think it was permnantly attached in the rear driver side corner.

I also had the dealer install satellite radio. I was very disappointed in the look of the antennae. Instead of a clamshell or something upscale looking, I have a little antennae next to the regular, dealer installed antennae. I feel the installation looks cheap and like something you would expect from Circuit City. For over $700 I expected better. I wrote to Lexus about my disappointment, and didn't even receive a reply.

Did you get the XM or Sirius? When I asked about my Sirius installaton I was told that the XM had the built in antenae, which eliminated the need for anything extra attached to the outside and this was not the case with Sirius. It needed a different antenae which was not built in.

Does anyone have the XM dealer install that can cofirm the antenae being built in? or does it require extra an antenae?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

XM antenna is not built in, whatever that means. It's added to the outside of the vehicle, pretty much like all cars I've seen. Some have moved the antenna to the inside rear deck, but that would be difficult for the RX. Both the XM andSirius antenna are pretty small. Not sure why some people complain about it. Has anyone seen the antenna on the GM vehicles? Thats ugly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

XM antenna is not built in, whatever that means. It's added to the outside of the vehicle, pretty much like all cars I've seen. Some have moved the antenna to the inside rear deck, but that would be difficult for the RX. Both the XM andSirius antenna are pretty small. Not sure why some people complain about it. Has anyone seen the antenna on the GM vehicles? Thats ugly.

In terms of "built in" my dealer told me it was located in the rear glass. I guess he was mistaken. My complaint has more do with the exposed wire leading to the antenna.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

The Sirius Lexus kit clearly calls for the antenna to be installed on the top of the car across from the big factory antenna. It's identical to the aftermarket Sirius antenna that came with my old S50. Sticks onto the top of the car near the tailgate. This antenna should not be installed inside the car. Odd that the factory installed big rubber antenna on the back left of the car doesnt work for XM or Sirius.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is an external antennae (sirius and XM) and should have been integrated with the fm on the passenger side. Putting in the system is a lot of work and the cost is justified. I did it and would not do it again. I would recommend an IPOD interface. Easy to install and with the cost differential and annual sat fees, you could have a load of tunes and better functionality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is an external antennae (sirius and XM) and should have been integrated with the fm on the passenger side. Putting in the system is a lot of work and the cost is justified. I did it and would not do it again. I would recommend an IPOD interface. Easy to install and with the cost differential and annual sat fees, you could have a load of tunes and better functionality.

How hard would it be to modify the factory radio to add an auxiliary input, to accommodate an iPod or some other mp3 player?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is an external antennae (sirius and XM) and should have been integrated with the fm on the passenger side. Putting in the system is a lot of work and the cost is justified. I did it and would not do it again. I would recommend an IPOD interface. Easy to install and with the cost differential and annual sat fees, you could have a load of tunes and better functionality.

How hard would it be to modify the factory radio to add an auxiliary input, to accommodate an iPod or some other mp3 player?

There is an aftermarket item made by USA SPEC, Model PA-12 (I believe), that is compatible with the factory unit. It supplies both an IPoD interface as well as a stereo auxilliary input which can be used by an XM or Sirius tuner. They can be had on eBay for $149.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is an external antennae (sirius and XM) and should have been integrated with the fm on the passenger side. Putting in the system is a lot of work and the cost is justified. I did it and would not do it again. I would recommend an IPOD interface. Easy to install and with the cost differential and annual sat fees, you could have a load of tunes and better functionality.

How hard would it be to modify the factory radio to add an auxiliary input, to accommodate an iPod or some other mp3 player?

Sewell (Toyota/Lexus parts) sells the OEM IPOD interface and has instructions for installation. This allows the IPOD to set in the glove and be controlled by sat buttons as well as charging. I do not believe it has an aux input. You can not have SAT installed if you want to use this interface, but like I said, I have SAT and wish I went this way for better quality sound and tune selection. Installation is easy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope to clarify some comments/questions for the exact devices everyone is referring to (Ipod, XM, Sirius, Aux In). I do NOT own a Lexus, nor do I work for Lexus, but I DO install all of the above devices into all models of Lexus. I am NOT the final authority on what I'm about to say but have managed to get a good amount of info during the last 3 years. Most of this info below is available in other threads and forums.

-----If any Lexus did NOT come off the boat w/ the OEM XM tuner/antenna pre-installed at the factory, the dealer CAN add OEM XM to a new vehicle. This is not favored because of cost and time to order/receive OEM XM Tuner, but does vary from dealer to dealer.

-----There is an aftermarket company ( www.vaistech.com ) that sells XM, Sirius, Ipod, and Aux in interfaces for almost all Lexus/Toyota vehicles. I use this company the most because of quality and flexibility for add ons. If you have an branded XM or Sirius Antenna in your front/back window or outside then most likely you have this companies device installed in your Lexus and was done at the dealer level.

****** Special (or not) note here: The Vaistech adapters are a very high quality adapter and have been designed to work/function almost identically to the OEM XM tuner. Without seeing the antenna, most of you would have never known the difference. Also, because of this, some salespeople do not understand the difference (or know) and "tell" people it is OEM XM or that "it comes w/ the vehicle" when it may not, and is added after the sale.

-----For Ipod adapters the same applies to the above special note. I have yet to see any Lexus "come with" an Ipod adapter. In newer models there is an aux in jack in some locations and trim levels. If you have an Ipod cable located somewhere it was almost certainly added at the dealer level, and done w/ an aftermarket device. There are 3 or more companies that make Ipod adapters for Lexus/Toyota. 1) Vaistech , 2) DiceElectronics.com , 3) peripheral.com , Usa Spec and more.

----- The above paragraph is the same for Aux in adapters. Several companies make aux in adapters for Lexus/Toyota if yours did not come with it. I would sometimes laugh how a 2006 Scion had the Aux jack from the factory, and a 2007/8 GS did not.

----- For every adapter noted above that is made by Vaistech, they also make them with Aux in as an additional option. So you could do XM, or XM and have an aux in for another device. You could have an Ipod adapter or an Ipod and Aux in. You can also combine multiple devices, so you can do the XM and Ipod interface and daisychain them together and both will work through the factory system.

In regards to the previous comment about having XM and NOT being able to add Ipod. I have never run into this problem... meaning, you should be able to add an Ipod device whether your Lexus has "OEM" or Aftermarket XM added to it. Even if you are using your factory "Aux In" jack for a portable XM unit, or for an Ipod, you can still add any XM or Ipod interface to come through your factory radio. If you have been told otherwise I would recommend doing a little research to find out why as it has never been an issue for me.

Vaistech is the more expensive but offers all options plus adding aux in to those options, Dice Electronics is the next best alternative and like the USA Spec noted earlier is only for IPOD but does come with the Aux in within the same interface.

I hope this helps with some questions I've seen here. If there are more I will try to answer them when available. I only stopped by to look for Navi entry bypass for the RX, so if you can help point me somewhere that would be appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dealer installed Sirius kit in '08 RX350.

The install sounds the same as the other posts - small "magnetic" stick on - driver side - above back hatch on roof.

Reception is fine, occasional outages in expected locations around town.

Question for others - does anyone have issues with the song/artist name display truncating at 10 chars?

Does anyone have a scrolling display? Like another post stated - for $500-$700 one would expect the same functionality

as the $99 external models.

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I was told by the dealer that the Lexus ipod interface conflicts with the Lexus sat radio and that both cant be used on the same head unit at this time. I had the factory sat radio kit installed last week and it works well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership