Anyone have a functional Shark Fin Antenna?

I just ordered one of these in Seaside Pearl (thanks for the deal, Danny!) and I had a few questions for those of you who actually have one:

1. Anyone get one in Seaside Pearl? How is the color match?

2. A couple of people have mentioned plans to put a sat radio antenna under the Sharkfin, has anyone actually done this successfully? Is the reception still OK? Based on the location of the Sharkfin, can you still see the antenna wire or does the Sharkfin go right up to the top end of the rear hatch?

3. Has anyone tried to take one off? Is the adhesive messy or is it a pretty clean removal? Any word on how it is when reattached? I'm considering getting the Toyota XM kit when it comes out but I'm anxious to put this on (so I may need to remove it later to install XM and reapply).

 

This will be NO problem to remove. It is double-stick foam tape like what holds the emblems on. A bit of heat and a bit of prying and you're home-free. Getting it back on properly is another story. You'll need a die-cut sticker kit like it comes with. Not sure if you can order that separately... but there must be a way. Would be a bit ugly to try and cut the tape to match.

 

If you go to post #71, there's a picture of one in Seaside Pearl.

 

I think in general, it would be good to read the thread. The removal part was also mentioned earlier....

 

2. A couple of people have mentioned plans to put a sat radio antenna under the Sharkfin, has anyone actually done this successfully? Is the reception still OK? Based on the location of the Sharkfin, can you still see the antenna wire or does the Sharkfin go right up to the top end of the rear hatch?

The sharkfin does not go all the way to the top end of the rear hatch opening. There is a 4-5 inch gap where the sat radio antenna wire will show as it travels into the hatch door area. Several pictures earlier in the post will demonstrate this better than I can describe it.

 

I am planning to install my fin this weekend; schedule permitting. Just for grins the other day while my car was in the driveway I placed the shark fin over the XM antenna on the roof and it did not appear to change the reception. Now it did not sit all the way down because it was the full size XM antenna, but it almost fit completely.

I have the new micro XM antenna and will be swapping the XM antenna out when I do the fin. I will take pictures of the proocess and post them.

 

Folks that got their shark fin from PC, how long did it take you to get it? I ordered mine on March 4th and status is "the order is with the manufacturer and will be shipped free!"

How long did it take from placing the order to your home? Can't wait to put mine on! Thanks......

 

Here is the process of installing the Shark Fin antenna and the new Micro XM antenna under the Shark Fin.

The first pictures show you what I bought, then pulling down the dome light in the rear, the plugs you remove at the back edge of the roof to be able to pull the headliner down to get your hand inside of the roof, the 22mm nut which secures the factory antenna to the roof, and then the new XM antenna on the roof, the wire is run down inside of the factory roof hole and then the factory antenna roof rubber gasket was notched (picture 11; sorry it is hard to see the notch) to accept the new XM antenna and then the factory antenna base was reinstalled.

Note that the Micro XM antenna requires an adapter to fit the PriusXM unit since the Micro only has one lead and the PriusXM has two. The adapter was $19 if I recall the Micro XM antenna was $29. The unit is nicely made and plugs right in and works just as promised.

The roof was measured, the center found and then the Shark Fin was secured in place. Then a couple of shots of the finished product. Note some of the pictures are in the next post since I ran out of space.

 

continued pictures -enjoy - Oh, the last picture is looking from the front of the car towards the rear. (Sorry the car was wet when I took the last few pictures, I had to test drive it for reception before I buttoned it all up and it was raining pretty heavy out.)

Now the report re reception. With the Shark Fin placed over the Micro XM antenna I noted NO reception loss at all. In fact this Micro XM antenna seems to receive better than the Prius XM antenna during my regular 100 mile commute today. Now for the FM/AM reception, It is somewhat less than the factory antenna, but better than the stubby antenna I had on for a while.

Overall, I love the new appearance with the Shark Fin. Radio reception is fine for me in the SF Bay Area.

The entire job took me about 1 hour; the hardest part was removing the old XM antenna without damaging the paint-that magnet is extremely strong; definitely did not need the two-sided tape to hold it in place! The Shark Fin fits the roof without having to heat it or anything, perfect fit. Good luck fellow Prius owners.

 

Great pictures cairo. One question: Did you have to heat up the fin to make it conform to the roof, or is the roof basically flat in this area?

 

Thanks for the pictures! It looks pretty sweet. I have the Micro XM antenna too, so it should fit fine.

 

My replacement antenna finall arrived with much better paint. Put it on this afternoon after the sun came out for a short while. See my antenna page:
http://www.darelldd.com/ev/prius_antenna.htm

And don't miss the cool roll-over image!

Oh, and cairo, I forgot to mention: Your garage looks nicer than my living room!

 

I still don't call the paint on my new one "great" but it is far better than the first one. Arthur says they had trouble only with the Classic Silver for some reason. Figures!

 

Darelldd -
Excellent picutes and I really liked the roll-over picture. What a difference this simple modification makes to the look of the car.

Oh, and thanks for the garage comments; but the garage is a mess in that picture because I have some painting materials spread out on a table as I am changing the color in my family room, home office and gym. Normally it is much cleaner. The decorations on the walls are just taking a break from being inside of the house as my wife changes things around every once in a while.

Efusco - If you are careful when removing the old antenna you should not have a problem. I outlined my old one in two layers of the blue painter's tape to make sure I did not damage the paint. Once removed I used wax to clean the surface and then installed the new parts. I just could not stand having the XM wire route down the exterior of the roof into the hatch. It looked to much like an add-on to me.

 

Doc-
I got the Micro XM antenna and adapter from Amazon.Com; the XM was The Terk Satellite Radio Mini Roof Mount Antenna, cost $28.08 including shipping. The adapter was the XM-SP Terk Satellite Radio Single to Dual Antenna input splitter, cost $16.99 delivered.

 

I am in the same situation. Can you let me/us know the steps you take to remove the larger XM antenna? That is my biggest concern.

Thanks.