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Sirius free 3 years included with PiP

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by DadofHedgehog, Jun 14, 2015.

  1. DadofHedgehog

    DadofHedgehog Active Member

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    2012 Plug-in Advanced Sirius + data three-year incentive... this is what happened when it ran out in April 2015 (three years after my purchase date):

    I found I missed the NAV Traffic service and the NAV Weather service:
    - NAV traffic because in three years of ownership, I've gotten used to planning around traffic as I saw it displayed during my daily travels in Wash DC metro area.
    - Nav Weather because, especially during long interstate travel, it became a key information helper on those occasions when it mattered during a long drive.

    Additionally, although I never use SAT radio in my daily driving, I do use it a lot on long road trips - so the lack of SAT Radio (Sirius) became slightly annoying for those long jaunts from Virginia to Kentucky and back.

    Wait, you say: why not simply use your smartphone to get traffic info, weather info and stream all those internet radio stations, for free? Ah, because when I travel through West Virginia via the mostly completed Corridor H route (much better - shorter - less crowded - more interesting than the truck-laden I-68, Penn Turnpike or the toll I-64 routes) I lose T-Mobile contact in the mountains, but the SAT stuff keeps on working.

    So, in mid-May I contacted Sirius after getting another "we miss you" flyer. They tried to sell me the basic Sirius package of mostly uninteresting channels but without NAV Traffic or NAV Weather - my dealbreakers. Finally, they offered to restore the PiP Advanced package for five months at $42 total ($42 for all five months). That's what I have now. No renewal commitment. No contract commitment past the five months.

    As most of our initial PiP Advanced Sirius incentive three-year deals are expiring right now, I wanted to "put this out there". Make yer own deals ;-)
     
    #1 DadofHedgehog, Jun 14, 2015
  2. rxlawdude

    rxlawdude Active Member

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    Just be careful if you gave them a credit card - they WILL renew you at full price when your five months is up!
     
    #2 rxlawdude, Jun 15, 2015
  3. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    The full monthly price for NavTraffic + NavWeather + Travel Link is $8.99/mo. Discounts for longer subscriptions. Sounds like their price for 5 months is $42, or $8.40/mo.

    My understanding is that as of the 2014 model, Toyota stopped using XM Data for the Advanced, and are now using (free) HD Radio instead, which is fine if you are in a metropolitan area that has HD Radio.
     
    #3 CharlesH, Jun 15, 2015
  4. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Allergy problems lately...
    Thought the title was "Sinus Free 3 years".

    Disappointed...now taking antihistamine.
     
    #4 The Electric Me, Jun 15, 2015
  5. rxlawdude

    rxlawdude Active Member

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    Nope, not true. I have a 2014 Advanced, and it definitely uses XM data.

    I subscribe to XM for music (and Internet "radio"), so the "full price" is over $200/year. But XM will bargain with you and find a "special" they can put you on. Just be aware of the auto-renewal at full price, and cancel prior to the renewal date if you want to bargain with them. Once they have your money, they are not as sanguine to bargain. :)
     
    #5 rxlawdude, Jun 15, 2015
  6. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    #6 CharlesH, Jun 16, 2015
  7. bfd

    bfd Plug-In Perpetuator

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    Entune worthless, Sirius-XM worthless. Toyota PiP, now practically worthless.

    The fact that there's NO way in the Entune environment to use a cellular signal to power a traffic app tells all.
     
    #7 bfd, Jun 17, 2015
  8. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    Until recently, auto manufacturers have designed their navigation systems to be entirely self contained little worlds. Then they opened up a bit to allow the system to get some information from the outside world via things like Sirius/XM. This all seems hopelessly last-century today. Their way was immensely profitable (q.v., outrageous prices for map updates vs. free Internet map updates), so I can see why they are dragging their feet.
     
    #8 CharlesH, Jun 18, 2015
    DadofHedgehog and rxlawdude like this.
  9. bfd

    bfd Plug-In Perpetuator

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    Frankly, this is just one more reason to look into a better manufacturer. Tesla comes to mind…
     
    #9 bfd, Jun 20, 2015
  10. rxlawdude

    rxlawdude Active Member

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    Except I believe their navigation update service is "free" for the first seven years of ownership. No one knows what happens after that, but given the deep pockets of Tesla owners, it may not be cheap.
    Then again, it's actually Google data.
     
    #10 rxlawdude, Jun 20, 2015
  11. Kurt Weiske

    Kurt Weiske Active Member

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    Old post, wanted to correct. My Prius 2014 with display non-Bose navigation gets its traffic information from Entune on my bluetooth-connected Android phone, not Sirius. I haven't had Sirius since the 3 month freebie.
     
    #11 Kurt Weiske, Apr 28, 2018
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