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Satellite Radio without Subscription???

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Gadgetdad, May 29, 2009.

  1. Gadgetdad

    Gadgetdad New Member

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    I picked up my '10 Blizzard Pearl with Misty Gray interior and Sunroof today and, to my amazement, the Satellite radio works. What gives? Is there a free trial subscription going on for the new model? :confused:

    In case you are curious:

    Gadgetdad's 2010 Prius - a set on Flickr

    Lee
     
  2. sluday

    sluday New Member

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    Yes first 3 months free. Then you could get a year for $77 if you ask nicely.
     
  3. Gadgetdad

    Gadgetdad New Member

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    I take it that there are ask nicely brochures in the pile of manuals I received! Does that price extend by 12 months the 3 months free or merely complete a year from purchase of the car?

    Lee
     
  4. dc202

    dc202 Member

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    If it works like it did on my Honda, after the free three months, you can elect several different plans. Regardless, the first three months are free and not deducted from whatever plan you choose.
     
  5. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    i was told and was later verified by another owner here, that the SAT people would be calling to check on me and give the sales pitch.

    never used sat radio before and was kinda bummed by the loss of signal that happened frequently on memorial day while driving the remoter areas of WA. it seems to work pretty well around town and i love the variety, but there are a bunch of stations i can get here...now if the remote areas worked better, but then again, was cruising near and around a lot of mountains
     
  6. FireEngineer

    FireEngineer Active Member

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    You just live to far northwest. It works real good in the mountains of Colorado.

    Wayne
     
  7. sluday

    sluday New Member

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    I have XM radio and Nav traffic on my Infiniti. I did not receive any calls from XM but I did get a few letters in the mail about subscription plans after the first month. The $77 a year is a last ditch effort to keep you on and they will not mention it unless they think you will leave. I knew about the deal and asked for it right away and got it. The nav traffic is a seperate service and is none negotiable. When I got it is cost like $4 or $5 a month extra but I heard now it costs $10. Check Sirius XM radio for current pricing.
     
  8. LTRAiN

    LTRAiN New Member

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    im in the seattle area and i have a aftermarket radio im my accord and the only thing that gives it trouble is tall tress on narrow roads. mountains or being in the middle of no where dont effect it at all.

    sounds like a weak/bad antenna.
     
  9. dawtips

    dawtips New Member

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    I live in Seattle too and I agree, when I had sat radio the only thing that blocked it was tall trees. Being in the middle of nowhere was never an issue.
     
  10. blamy

    blamy Member

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    I Had Sirius radio once for a year. Got tired of listening to Olivia Newton-John and the Carpenters!! Bought an 8 gig MP3 Player and loaded all the songs "I" prefer to listen to. Right now I have about 30 hours of music loaded so most trips you never hear the same song twice. Even loaded about 6 hours of Christmas music for when the season arrives. Much cheaper than the "rent a radio" and once again it is what I care to listen to.
     
  11. Notinarush

    Notinarush Junior Member

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    Satellite radio offers much more than music. There is great deal more including Howard Stern, sports, news, comedy, and talk. The music though is great. There are music stations for all types of tastes. If you aren't into oldies, you will find the best of today's music in many genres. If you are into oldies, there is a long list of stations playing all kinds of music from rock to Bach as the saying goes. Though, I am an oldie myself, my favorite is the new stuff on the college rock radio station. My teenage daughter on the other hand gravitates to the 90's alternative station. I have had my Sirius since '04 and love it.
     
  12. AirKuhl

    AirKuhl New Member

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    It's touchy where I live because I'm surrounded by redwoods, which ain't exactly short.

    I like it because I routinely discover bands I never heard of before, something you can't get via your MP3's.

    My ultimate wish: Pandora for the car. :music:
     
  13. eglmainz

    eglmainz New Member

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    In addition, you can get most major league sports from the NBA to the NFL, MLB to NASCAR, etc.. Most local channels will only broadcast the local games, yet on Satellite, you can get games nationwide. I am not sure on how they are displayed on the screen in the Prius, but I know that on my standalone Sirius Unit, I am also able to see the scores displyed on the screen.

    In the same way, when you listen to CNBC or MSNBC, they will often scroll stock tickers on the radio.

    If you like to listen to NPR, there are a few different NPR feeds to listen to, and they play all day (as opposed to in some local markets, NPOR only be heard a few hours per day). I would not want to be in my car without a satellite subscription for more than a day or two. Once you hear the selections, and the commercial free channels, there is no going back.
     
  14. RebelScum

    RebelScum New Member

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    If you have an iPhone, you will get your wish. iPhone has Pandora, and the 2010 has an aux input for your stereo. Plus, if you get the bluetooth-enabled stereo, it should work with A2DP, or bluetooth audio, which is coming in the new iPhone 3.0 upgrade.

    Personally, I have a G1 (Android) phone, which is also getting A2DP, but unfortunately it doesn't have a Pandora app. It does have imeem, however, which is pretty much exactly the same thing.
     
  15. AirKuhl

    AirKuhl New Member

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    I thought about that but I'm wondering how well the 3G connection will work on the move as it doesn't buffer very much. Will be interesting to test once 3.0 is out.
     
  16. RebelScum

    RebelScum New Member

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    I've been using imeem in my car (aux input) for a while now, and it works great! Only once in a while a song will start over due to buffering issues, but this is pretty rare.
     
  17. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    I actually do that using my iphone and the aux input.
     
  18. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    well, i had audio dropouts when on I-5 in the great wide open and noticed it happened a lot when i was near a semi...

    as far as being out in the "outback" it worked pretty well most of the time and seemed to work great when i was between mountains and lesser so in the plains just outside Forks.

    maybe it is my antenna. although FM uses a diff one, some of the radio stations dont sound all that great either. on my SPM i have a shark fin which is supposed to not work as well and stations come in clearer
     
  19. dbacksfan

    dbacksfan Member

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    In my current car (BMW X3), when using my Sansa connected using aux port, I have to turn the volume way up in order to hear the music. So much so, that if I forget and turn on the radio, I get a real wakeup call. :eek: Is this the case with the Prius connection? Or is unique to my mp3 player or aux hoookup?
     
  20. ljbad4life

    ljbad4life New Member

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    well if you get the navi, you get stereo-bluetooth. If you have an iphone 3g or blackberry (curve or newer) you can stream pandora radio (you pick the music it plays, by artist, genre or songs). It works pretty well too. oh even if you don't get the navi, you can plug the curve/iphone in via the aux jack!