What Happens if you "borrow" a Maps SD card from another unit??

I drove again last night. I had the ultimate test of reception: a one lane wide old trolley tunnel that is about 1000 feet long. No FM stations get a signal there. Apparently, there is an XM repeater in that tunnel because there was no dropout.

If I am in the line of sight of the Comcast towers in Center City, I get solid XM reception. Hills and trees affect the reception In the suburbs, and I get a dropout 5 seconds after making a turn. It is possible that the factory XM antenna can overcome this turn problem, since the Head Unit knows when the car turns. I will experiment by comparing the 2013 (non-factory antenna) and the 2017 (factory antenna).

I have found a road near me that I can use to test XM reception. It is a road that is at the bottom of a North slope of a hill. Philadelphia is on the other side of the hill, and XM totally drops out using the XM branded antenna on my 2013 on this road.

 

I didn't notice what year or trim level your Prius V is. The Prius V two (all years) did not have a MFD (Head Unit) that supported Nav or XM. To upgrade would have required the purchase of a $4000+ MFD and a new antenna, plus fishing the extra wires for the new rooftop antenna.

Prius V two's do not have:
- a GPS antenna
- The sophisticated Sirius/XM antenna located in the Sharkfin on the roof. There are three RF cables in that sharkfin antenna, one for AM/FM, two for Sirius/XM.
- An MFD that supports Nav or Sirius/XM

Upgrading to a used Nav/XM MFD is not difficult, but the antenna situation is a problem. You can choose between a 57011 (from a 2012 - 2014 Prius v), or the much nicer 510057 (2015-2016 Prius v). Connectors to the antennas are an issue, since the connectors changed between 2014 and 2015.

The GPS antenna is easy, as there are plenty of aftermarket GPS Magnetic Mount antennas that fit either unit with a little modification. These antennas are available on Amazon for under $20. They have a magnet on them for roof mounting, but I placed my GPS antenna stuck on the top of the MFD. Since only plastic, and the windshield are between that location and the sky, the GPS works fine. Also, no holes to drill, or hiding wires under plastic trim pieces to put it on the roof. Done.

This one fits the 57011 (with a minor modification):

(Amazon ID: B08DFS71QF)

This one fits the 510057 (with a minor modification + no strain relief, but works):

(Amazon ID: B07R6NL5G6)

The Sirius/XM antenna is more difficult. I found a rooftop magnetic antenna that fit the 510057 unit (mentioned above). For my initial testing, I just put it on the dashboard. Not happy with that, I ran the wire out the passenger side door, and placed it in the middle of the roof. The factory rooftop antenna has 2 RF cables coming out of it for XM. I am guessing this improves performance of the antenna. The MFD knows when the car turns, and how fast the car is moving. This might help the antenna keep a lock on the satellites when you make a turn.

I would be interested in the part number for that antenna. Getting a used XM compatible factory Sharkfin may be the ultimate solution, but I would also have to run the extra 2 RF cables from the antenna to the MFD. @rjparker had replied to one of my posts, that may help me here.

If you are interested in my 57011, I would be willing to part with it and the GPS antenna for cheap.

 

That makes sense. I didn't notice that the Nav on the 510057 unit shows red/Yellow/Green lines along major roads, which seems to be traffic. I don't recall seeing them on the o;der unit.

What I noticed last night is that the newer unit maps do not label "one way" streets like the 57011 did. This is vital in the many neighborhoods that have row houses. Typically these streets are a single lane plus a parking lane. This makes the street one way, but the alley behind them are considered by the map routing algorithm as two way. Google (and Uber + Lyft) often route the driver to pick up passengers in the alley behind their house (a very bad idea). This is because the passenger was sitting at the kitchen table, when they ordered the ride, at the back of the house.

As a 4 year veteran driver, I know to look at the list based directions in Google maps, and if the last turn is "Turn Right", it might be an alley. Looking at the one way streets on the Car GPS, I can overcome this routing error, by changing the last few turns to get to the front door on the address of the pickup / dropoff point. Doing this requires that I know what direction the surrounding one way streets run.

@rjparker:
So I only have one RF cable going to the roof. Am I assuming that the Dual RF connector on the back of the MFD is:

cable 1: AM/FM
cable 2: Safety Connect​

Am I assuming correctly?

If so, that means I can ignore that missing RG cable, and focus on installing my SiriusXM branded antenna in a better place. I may even be able to find a used Toyota antenna, and route a single wire from the MFD to the SAT portion of the antenna.

My current installation is very temporary looking. The XM antenna wire goes out the passenger door, and the puck is magnetically stuck on the roof. I am considering routing the wire through the firewall, and place the puck at the top of the hood.

BTW: your screen grab leaves off the last four (or six) digits of the part number. A search for 86300-Bxxxx-xx returns a lot of Antenna parts. I am still confused about what I would need if I wanted to convert my "Shark Fin" to support XM. There are not good pictures of where these parts are found in the roof of the car.

My more immediate goal is to get a "Voice Command" switch on my steering wheel. Being able to press a button on the left side of the steering wheel, then saying "Play XM Classic Vinyl", is something I can do in the 2017, but not the 2013. The 2013 being a "two" has a dummy button, where the Voice Command button would be.