2010 Prius II Head Unit Upgrade: Sirius/XM is a must.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by greekchampion04, Sep 10, 2012.

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  1. greekchampion04

    greekchampion04 Member

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    Greetings!

    I am a brand spanking new owner of a 2010 Prius II with 27,000 miles on it. It has the base radio, no nav, ect. I want to upgrade but I am not sure what is the correct path to take. I have read through this forum (all 90 pages!) and gotten a pretty good idea of the options available but I can't make up my mind. I am hoping some input from those who have gone through it will help me.

    First off is my list of musts in an upgrade:
    -Navigation
    -Sirius/XM
    -Bluetooth
    -Retention of steering wheel controls
    -OEM-Like look
    -Ability to add backup camera in future would be nice (not a need per se)

    From what I gather my options are as follows:
    1.) OEM Nav Unit: Very expensive and seems to be an overall piece of shit... NOPE
    2.) Rosen Nav Unit: Costs $950, will do what I need, but I can get the Advent for the same price.
    3.) Advent Nav Unit: Gets my what I need, seems to be the best of the OEM-Like units but $950 is steep, and Sirius/XM is an additional fee.
    4.) Fly Audio: Said to be cheaper than the Rosen/Advent but I can't find solid specs or prices for it.
    5.) Ottonavi: Costs $600, but no Sirius/XM support.
    6.) OEM Sirius/XM installation: Costs $250 for parts, bluetooth will have to be done separately.
    7.) iSimple Sirius/XM and Bluetooth: Costs $290 for parts.

    6 and 7 both keep my existing base head unit, which I am fine with, and the $300 price point is hard to ignore. The one drawback here is that I will have to use an external device for GPS (my smartphone) and I am wondering if it is wort the extra $600 to have the all-in-one unit and the ability to add a backup camera if I choose. For what its worth, in my old car I used the phone for GPS every day and it never was an issue.

    For now, I will either put the Sirius/XM app on my phone or get one of those $50 portable units to hold me over until I make my decision. Any suggestions on which way to go on this?

    I know there are a million threads on this already, but I have not seen one that puts each option head to head. I know I am a little late to the game but hopefully my research and insights from you guys who have been around for a while and actually done the work will help me and anybody else who is thinking of replacing/upgrading the head unit.

    Thanks!
     
    #1 greekchampion04, Sep 10, 2012
  2. mrstop

    mrstop PWR Mode

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    I have been looking at some of the new units with MirrorLink. They look pretty neat in that they link the head unit to your phone in a pretty integrated way. Sony has a couple of models out right now and others are following. The big issue I see at this time is limited phone compatibility. I'm hoping more phones or a generic app is added soon.
     
    #2 mrstop, Sep 10, 2012
  3. greekchampion04

    greekchampion04 Member

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    interesting, i had not considered mirrorlink as an option... but im assuming that none of them are OEM-like... if im spending the big bucks i really want it to look worth it.
     
    #3 greekchampion04, Sep 10, 2012
  4. savegas52

    savegas52 Junior Member

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    I hear ottonavi is coming out with a radio with xm/satellite radio.
     
    #4 savegas52, Sep 10, 2012
  5. greekchampion04

    greekchampion04 Member

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    got a link to that? i would be VERY interested in that.... and it explains the price drop on their website.
     
    #5 greekchampion04, Sep 10, 2012
  6. savegas52

    savegas52 Junior Member

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    the unit would be the same according to ottonavi tech but they are getting the xm/satellite module if you need.
    you wuold need to call them at 323-881-0566 and see if they can maybe special order you one..

    there waiting for more customers to be intersted in it before they make the move
     
    #6 savegas52, Sep 10, 2012
  7. greekchampion04

    greekchampion04 Member

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    ah thanks! i will give them a call tomorrow.
     
    #7 greekchampion04, Sep 10, 2012
  8. savegas52

    savegas52 Junior Member

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    say you were refereed by daniel maybe they give me a discount =]
     
    #8 savegas52, Sep 10, 2012
  9. greekchampion04

    greekchampion04 Member

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    hopefully we both get a discount!

    if they do make this thing available, my shopping will be DONE.
     
    #9 greekchampion04, Sep 10, 2012
  10. savegas52

    savegas52 Junior Member

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    i think they said its about $120 price difference...
     
    #10 savegas52, Sep 10, 2012
  11. savegas52

    savegas52 Junior Member

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    great news!! i just got off phone with them and in about 2 weeks they should have it but they do require a deposit since they are ordering it from overseas...they don't want to be stuck with 15 xm/sat radio and no one wants it
     
    #11 savegas52, Sep 10, 2012
  12. greekchampion04

    greekchampion04 Member

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    so, we buy the normal ottonavi and then an additional xm/sat radio module? if i am correct, how much does this module cost?
     
    #12 greekchampion04, Sep 10, 2012
  13. savegas52

    savegas52 Junior Member

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    the xm/sat module will cost around $120? it comes w the unit...
     
    #13 savegas52, Sep 10, 2012
  14. savegas52

    savegas52 Junior Member

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    so im not sure what price is but im guessing maybe 799? for xm/sat radio

    they got the xm/sat for tacoma radio which runs off same platform/software... and are charging $100 more
     
    #14 savegas52, Sep 10, 2012
  15. greekchampion04

    greekchampion04 Member

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    ahh gotcha.. im gonna have to save up a bit for that, but the fact that it exists makes me very very happy.

    thanks for the heads up!
     
    #15 greekchampion04, Sep 10, 2012
  16. greekchampion04

    greekchampion04 Member

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    #16 greekchampion04, Sep 14, 2012
  17. prius2010II

    prius2010II Member

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    AFAIK There are 2 major Chinese mfg making OEM look units for the Prius. Roadrover makes the unit being marketed by Ottonavi. Flyaudio mfg the units being marketed by Audiovox (Advent) and SimpleSoft. The company selling the units is responsible for handling warranty issues, firmware upgrades and even some design issues. Audiovox has upgraded the firmware several times. I believe they're using newer hardware then some of the flyaudio units being sold on the web.

    Ottonavi has been hinting about XM/Sirius support for over a year. I wouldn't buy it hoping for an update in the future. I'd only buy it now if it will ship with XM/Sirius and you can return the entire unit if satellite doesn't work satisfactory.

    The audio quality of XM/Sirius continues to take a big hit as more channels are added. You'll get vastly superior sound quality with a CD or iPod.
     
    #17 prius2010II, Sep 16, 2012
  18. Hank101

    Hank101 Member

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    #18 Hank101, Sep 16, 2012
  19. greekchampion04

    greekchampion04 Member

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    thank you both very much.. a lot of good information there!

    one note on the sirius/xm... i had it in my old car and my fiance has it in her car so i am used to having it
     
    #19 greekchampion04, Sep 16, 2012
  20. prius2010II

    prius2010II Member

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    I've had Sirus now XM for years. Used to love it. I now use the iPad (Advent HU). Sound quality is so much better.
     
    #20 prius2010II, Sep 16, 2012
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