Hi All: I am considering an "Ultimate Prius V Car Cover" from CarCovers.com. It doesn't accommodate the short "pole" antenna which is standard equipment. The company includes a "patch" in their shipment that can be used to cut a hole in their cover and then apply the patch where necessary. Has anyone had an alternative antenna installed, like a "Shark Fin" or "Flat" antenna? I called my local dealer and they said the stock antenna (pole type) was part of the radio and nothing to date has arrived to modify that standard equipment. Any one know of an Prius Vs with shark fin or flat radio antennas?
Yup. Plenty of us have installed the Shark Fin antenna. Works great, looks better than the OEM, and an easy install.
Could you tell me how easy to install and does it involve removing roof lining?Any advice would be appreciated.
Very simple install. All you do is unscrew antenna. Screw in new antenna which is under shark fin. Clean around the antenna area and use the blue 3m tape to properly align. Remove plastic covering the adhesive and install using your alignment tape. Shark fin will go right over the other antenna after you screw new one in.
Thanks for your quick response. It's appreciated. I don't think the Prius chat shop will mail to the United Kingdom so will have to try from eBay (uk). Do you recommend any particular make / model. Thanks again. Mike
The only thing that stopped me from making the purchase are the numerous complaints of reception loss. I hope there are improvements to come.
There are many other posts which say that the shark fin has no effect on reception. I've been very satisfied with mine.
Before making the installation final, I did a comparison using weak distant stations with both the original and the shark fin antennas. There was no difference. The weak stations didn't get any better or any worse.
Shark fin does not effect SAT or GPS, but it DOES impact distant reception on FM. If you are within 10 miles of the transmitter I am sure you will have no problem.
