Two weeks after taking delivery I went on a month's vacation. So I haven't registered or started Entune or Sirius or anything else yet. But I came home to a letter from Sirius saying my trial subscriptions have already been activated. Are the other ones activated automatically too, or will they start running when I do something on line?
The dealer usually activates them when you pickup your car. Usually it is done with entune and they in turn activate the XM services. I discovered that my dealer didn't activate them properly so even though I had XM radio (3 month trial) I didn't get XM weather & traffic which is included for 3 years (on advanced trim package at least). FYI - if you signup for XM radio, make sure you get the 5 months for $25 or 1 year for 77+royalty fees. If they don't give you that then call back. If they hold tough, then try to get to customer retention. Also don't give them a credit card but have them invoice you. That way it won't auto-renew at a higher rate in 5 months or a year. Normal rate is about $160/year - waaaay too much.
They're hard to get rid of if you decide that you don't want to subscribe after the 3 month free trial ends. And I signed up myself; it wasn't done by the dealer.
As I found out the hard way, the XM data subscription for the Advanced is NOT something you manage directly with XM, and it may or may not be visible on your XM account page. The data subscription is between XM and Toyota/Entune, and you deal with Entune to manage that subscription. If you ask XM about the three-year complimentary data subscription, they will tell you that there is no such thing, and flag your account as a potential fraudster. Entune customer support clarified this for me, and reassured me that my data service subscription was in good standing. OTOH, the XM audio subscription is your personal responsibility after the free 3-month trial expires, to renew or not as you see fit, but it has no effect on the data subscription.
The answer to the original question is, all the complimentary subscriptions start the day you get the car, even if you don't "activate" (in the case of Entune) for a month or more afterwards. As far as extending the XM Radio subscription - look around. If the thread on this page is any indication, there are some amazing deals around if you call them and whine a little. Let us know how you make out.
Just called XM and was able to get 1Yr subscription (starting Jan 13) for $86 + royalty fees / taxes - $94.43 total. The initial rep wouldn't give me any discounted pricing and in the end transferred me to someone else that completed the deal in about 5 mins. The original rep was trying to sell me the service at $17.99 a month ($215.88 a year) + any taxes etc... and said they would email me any offers / coupons available but there were none at the time. Just be persistent and you should be able to get a 1yr subscription (starts when your trial ends) for the $86 rate (good for first year only)
Actually, if I remember correctly, I got 6 mos for about $27. I have to call them back on 12/21 to renew at the same rate. Basically, I will tell them to cancel unless they give me the same rate.
There was supposedly a 6 mos for $25 deal - the person said it was a one time only price - I just went with the year pricing as it seemed a pretty good deal - no harm in seeing if you can get you 6 mos rate repeated. I'd be interested to see what they do for you for future reference.
Me.. my wife's XM was also shut off pretty promptly at the 3 month mark back in 2010.. I have read of cases where people didnt have their XM shut off.. ever. Oh, you're probably asking about the Advanced XM services huh?
Don't confuse the 3-year Entune subscription, which includes XM data services on the Advanced, with the 3-month trial subscription for XM radio (which everyone gets). Two completely unrelated subscriptions.
Yes, mine was cut off. I then called back a week or two later and paid about $27 (w/ tax) to renew for 6 mosas per above post. I really don't listen to it that much. Only when my wife is in the car. I typically listen to podcasts which I download to my iPhone 4s.
No, the regular subscription. I am wondering if having the advanced package subscription for data maybe obfuscates the rest of the process for the entertainment side - at least in some cases.
It took long discussions with XM and Entune customer support for me to find out that the data subscription on the Advanced is in Toyota's name, not the user's. If you contact XM about the data subscription on your car's XM radio, they will say that there is none, and furthermore, accuse you of fraud for insisting that you have a three-year data subscription. Toyota Entune has the data subscription, and if you have any issues with it, you contact Entune customer support, NOT XM. And when the three years is up and you want to continue it, you renew with Entune, NOT XM. Same idea with the Safety Connect cell phone on the Advanced: the cell phone service is between Toyota and Verizon, not the user and Verizon, and you deal with Toyota if you have any issues with the service.
