SiriusConnect TOY-SC1 Died Under Warranty

I'm wondering what I should do here. Back in February I ordered the SCC1/TOY-SC1 combo from Crutchfield, and then paid a local car audio store $135 to do the install. It worked fine up until a few weeks ago. I turned on my Prius (2008) and got the message "No Tuner" on the display. So I took it back to the shop and they said a cable came loose. They told me they glued it together so it shouldn't happen again. And when I drove away it was working fine.

I had it parked for a few days, and when I started it back up for the first time, the satellite was non-functional again. Only this time there was no message -- I couldn't even change the input to SAT. Every time I tried to toggle the AM/SAT button it remained fixed on AM. So I took it back to their shop again, and this time they told me the TOY-SC1 was dead. They recommended contacting the store where I bought it so I could get a new one.

So I called Crutchfield, and they told me to call Directed Electronics since it was outside the typical return window yet still under warranty. I called Directed Electronics, and with little difficulty they gave me an RMA number and asked me to ship back the defective TOY-SC1, with the expectation that they'd soon ship me a brand new one. So I go back to the audio installer again, and ask them if they can remove the defective part. The first two troubleshooting incidents they did complimentary, but to remove the TOY-SC1 they said they would have to charge me an hour labor, $90. And then, a month or whatever later when I get the new part, another $90 to install again.

So what this means is if I try to take advantage of the warranty coverage, it's gonna cost me $180 (uninstall + reinstall). That's pretty much the same price as ordering a brand new TOY-SC1 from anywhere and then paying for the install. So I'm not too happy about it. I tried persuading all three parties (Crutchfield, Directed Electronics, and Sound Solutions, the installer) to no avail. Crutchfield said they don't carry the TOY-SC1 anymore so they can't help. Directed has refused to "pre-ship" a new part, saying it's policy that they receive the defective part first. And Sound Solutions has refused to cut me a break on the labor, saying it's $90 out and $90 back in.

At this point hell I'll try pulling out the TOY-SC1 myself, only I have no idea where it's at or how to get at it. Another thread I saw talked about a fuse inside the TOY-SC1, so that's an option too (assuming the installer didn't try that), if I can figure out how to get to it. Any suggestions or opinions on this dilemma?

Thanks.

 

Thanks for the quick suggestion. I pulled fuse #24, which I think is the "radio fuse". (I don't have my user's manual handy so I had to Google for the fuse list.) But after I put it back in and started up the car, the SAT input was still unselectable.

I'm going to try asking the installer to describe where he mounted the TOY-SC1, in order to try the same trick with that fuse. So hopefully this will resurrect the thing.

 

Just to follow-up on this -- the installer now tells me the tech who installed it no longer works for him. So no one there is able to tell me simply where they installed the TOY-SC1 so that I can get at it to cycle the fuse. And we're back to a situation where it's $90 of labor just to cycle the fuse.

My two cents is don't go to Sound Solutions for installations if you're in Northern Virginia. They should stand behind their installs no matter if the techs up and quit on them or not. Now I'm seriously skeptical of their 5-minute diagnosis that the TOY-SC1 is dead in the first place. It's probably working fine and is either poorly installed or needs the fuse cycled.

 

Just to conclude: this forum rocks. I downloaded some docs I found here: one was how to get at the air filter, and another was how to remove the stereo (the Dragon doc). Between the both of them, I was able to find and access the TOY-SC1. And you guys were right -- pulling the fuse for 30 seconds did the trick.

Today I took out the glove box and was looking for the component on the right, since some threads indicated that was a popular location. The installer did put the tuner there, but actually he'd put the TOY-SC1 on the left of the glove box. So I had to pull the silver vent between the stereo and the glove box. Following the Dragon doc was perfect in that regard. And once the the fuse was out (30 seconds to be sure), when I replaced it and started up the car, sure enough the SAT was back.

I saved at least $180 in labor, plus an unnecessary warranty claim since the TOY-SC1 wasn't even defective like the installer diagnosed (although since it locks up like this we could argue the design is inherently flawed).