2009 XM receiver problems??

My new 09 Prius dealer was very cooperative when I pointed out that the XM antenna was receiving poorly and would be better placed on the roof behind the fm (I found this out on a thread here on PC). It is the recommended install location on the Sirius radio installation that was available till late 09. My reception improved 90% with the move.
Good luck :rockon:

 

i am having the same problem on my 07 that i just got xm in. they have done everything but move the antenna outside, including replacing the entire unit. the dealer tells me that the antenna cannot be mounted outside because it is not weather-resistant even though it is a car antenna & magnetic. is this true? will it hurt the current antenna to be outside? i know of no other xm car antenna that cannot take the weather. if this is true, however, can you buy an aftermarket outside antenna to go with it? if so, anyone know of one that works with the oem receiver that i can buy & take to them to install? mine works decently until i start heading east (exactly half of my commute), at which point the satellite must be getting blocked by the huge dome that is the roof of my car, & anything over a shrub on the side of the road makes me lose reception. if it is ok to use the antenna that came with it outside, i am ready to tell them to go ahead & do it & i won't hold them accountable if it gets ruined, but they really don't seem to want to do it. any input on this is greatly appreciated. thanks,

 

I don't know anything about their antenna...that said personally I'd have a magnetic based antenna installed on the roof behind the fm in a heartbeat. Put an extra wrap of black tape around the exposed wire that extends from the antenna to the hatch. There are Sirius installation directions posted (somewhere, I'll find them if you can't) that show the routing. Please let us know how it goes.

 

Try this for antenna instructions...p7...

http://priuschat.com/forums/attachm...structions-2007-prius-sirius-instructions.pdf

 

thanks. did you just use the antenna that came with your car that they put on the front dash & move it outside? has it withstood the weather ok? i guess that is my question.

 

YES
Original parts were :
1 86180-0w031 XM Receiver $179.10
1 PT546-47060 FITKIT, XM, Prius $90.00

When I requested the antenna be moved from the dash to the roof the technician wrote on the work order:

"moved existing antenna to roof"
No other parts were listed.

I had this done 8 months ago...I just checked the antenna and it looks new and works the same as ever. Heavy trees, tall buildings, and mountains still cause some dropouts but the reception improved from intollerable to good.

By the way :welcome:

 

thanks, that is ultimately the answer i was looking for. they said "just look at the end of it & you can tell it's not meant to be outside," & I said "I have never heard of a magnetic xm antenna for a car that wasn't meant to be on the roof." the reception i am getting now is simply not worth having it in there.

can you tell me who your dealer was & the service technician you dealt w/ there? I can then tell the guy here to call that person & confirm that, yes, it can & has been done before & yes, this is a recurrent problem w/ installing the antenna on the inside like toyota says. thanks,

 

Jim Barkley Toyota
777 Brevard Road
Asheville, NC 28806
828-667-8888

Service Advisor: Jeff Haskins Invoice # TOCS546137 Invoice Date: January 5, 2009 Customer #82153
"Customer requests to move XM antenna in behind radio antenna on roof. Can use new antenna in passenger seat. Phil Morgan okayed work. Cust supplied antenna would not work. Wrong style connector." (one I thought would be better) "Relocated existing antenna to cust required space."
I'll scan and send you a copy of RO if your dealer needs it.
Good luck.
Charlie

 

thanks, i think i've found someone at the dealership who shares this view & is willing to help me. if not, i'll certainly point him in your dealer's direction. N

 

Ahhh...so here I am, with my '09 Prius Touring, with the "satellite-ready" radio. I bought the car in June, and then coughed up the additional $450 to add XM. It took me a few months (and discovering this forum) to realize that the ant-trap thing on the dashboard was my antenna! I'd assumed that the "satellite-ready" part included having Toyota pre-locate an antenna on the roof, where every other satellite radio antenna goes! Before long, though, I began having reception issues--the worst I've ever seen in a car with XM.

But, as everybody knows now, that's not what Toyota tells its installers to do.

I just brought my car in today for 5k service, and bitched about how the radio cuts out when I'm driving down a road with trees on the side. The tech looked into, wrote on the ticket that he couldn't duplicate the "concern", and they called me to tell me the car was ready.

I spoke with the installer personally when I went to the dealer (Fred Anderson in Raleigh NC). I tried my best to get him to at least acknowledge my concern about the location. I asked why I'd paid $450 for XM in a "satellite-ready" car, when I could have gone to Radio Shack and dropped less than $100--including a weather-proof antenna?

"Well, Satellite-ready means it integrates into the audio system..."

"Yeah, but a radio's performance BEGINS with the antenna. If it isn't right, nothing else matters..." Thought I had 'em with that one.

Nope. I pulled out the page from the Toyota instructions for a Sirius install, showing a roof mount. Nope.

Finally, the tech offered to move the dash antenna to the back roof, but it would "void" the warranty on the audio system. I decided I'd give it a try. After all, he doesn't own the dealership.

20 minutes later, the car was ready. He did do what looks like a professional job routing the wires inside the trim, using some of the foam tape that's called for in the Sirius directions. It still looks like the antenna from my dash, and he did warn me about going through car washes, but it looks pretty solid to me.

I'll give it a try. I can already tell that the reception's at least as good as before--it will take a few weeks to see if it's really improved.

I must admit that the dash-mounted antenna DOES do a good job for an indoor antenna...but to get one of those when you're paying through the nose for a professional OEM-type job is just ridiculous.

So I'm sort of happy. Would have been happier if they'd offered one of those meant-to-be-outside antennas Toyota puts on their SUVs, but I didn't see anyone offering that today. I think the dealership could use a refresher course in customer service; it took a lot of whining to get what I got.

 

Welcome to PC you'll learn lots of neat things about your car here. The antenna should do better...mine did. Dropouts can still be a problem when passing high structures to your south; even trees with leaves if heavy can cause blips but we love the variety of music and 97 % reception.
You might want to practice using the search function to study up on the gas tank bladder, tire air pressure, grill blocking, Toyota's Owners Site, etc
:welcome: