Factory Sirius Radio for Prius

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Highly ImPriused @ May 25 2007, 10:37 PM) [snapback]450177[/snapback]</div>

I installed the unit on a 2007 Prius with option package 2 last weekend with no problems. The only catch is you need to use either the AM button on the head unit or the Mode button on the steering wheel controls to cycle through the SAT presets (there is no SAT button on the head unit).

 

Well, I got Sirius receiver installed today. The dealership did a decent job.









More pics here. Oddly, text output is still limited to 10 characters, even though I have package #4 (JBL). I guess you truly need NAV in order to get the full output for some reason. Other than that, quality and reliability are great.

 

No, I have package #5, and it's still clipped to 10 characters. I think this is true for all the Toyota satellite systems. I think this is a design decision on the part of Toyota, and not a great one.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(alanh @ Jun 20 2007, 09:42 PM) [snapback]465595[/snapback]</div>

Ahh, that sucks. I was under the impression that there wasn't a limit when it was installed in a "high-end" package Prius. Thanks for the info.

 

I just received my Sirus yesterday, ordered from the PriusChat shop. Thanks for the non-response to my previous post, I decided to take a chance.

FWIW, it does come with the FIT kit, and appears that it came from directly from Metro.

I'll be installing it on a Package #6, hopefully soon, and I can verify / deny the character limit.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PHPBrain @ Jun 21 2007, 09:36 AM) [snapback]465710[/snapback]</div>

I am picking up my Package 6 today, and I had the factory Sirius installed, and mine is a 10 character limit as well- very disappointing- there is no reason it can't display the whole thing....

 

do you have to have an 07 to get your local toyota dealership to install for you? i have an 05.
thanks
dan

 

The reception problem I had was to do with the old microdot antenna I was testing with.

Anyway, I ended up using the Directed antenna that comes with the kit, but offset to the right and about 3 inches from the lip of the hatch. I seem to get better reception there. I used the plastic "tail" from the microdot over the cable.

However, the reception is not as good as my old Sportster 4. I had this in the Prius temporarily, and only rarely got dropouts.

 

Just got mine from Metro and it was installed ($50) yesterday. Sounds great! They installed it behand the dash and all is well! Thanks Metro for the great deal.

Ray

 

I am thinking about buying the kit online but really don't want to install it myself (just too nervous about fouling up a brand new car).

Does anyone out there know of anyone reputable and/or affordable in the NYC area who will install Sirius in my Prius? I bought the car at Toyota of Manhattan but they're just bad evil badness and I don't want to ever have to go back there.

I'm also tempted to use my plug and play that I move back and forth between my Volvo and my home stereo. Is it really that much cooler to have it integrated into the Prius controls?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jehumi @ Jun 28 2007, 12:51 PM) [snapback]469479[/snapback]</div>

http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/ces-siri...ck-scvdoc1.html

At CES in January Sirius announced that a vehicle dock with the Sirius Connect connector would be coming out sometime soon. I would (and am) wait until that is available... then you will be able to bring your plug and play unit back and forth but still have full integration. May still need to get the interface adapters and stuff though.

 

I just want to thank everyone on this board, especially Vagabond (who convinced me the kit would work even though Toyota said it wouldn't) for letting me know about this.

I'm a big bluegrass fan and I had to have Sirius when I heard Del McCoury had his own show. But I was sure I'd forget to take a removable radio, and that someone here in NYC would have removed it for me.

I've got an 05, without the JBLs or the navigation, and it works great. Bought it from Prius Chat for $265. Came with free activation and 3 free months. Best Buy installed it for 55 bucks plus tax.

It's great. I drive a lot, maybe 25K a year, and I don't know how I ever got by without it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ag2828 @ Jun 28 2007, 06:09 PM) [snapback]469757[/snapback]</div>

Why someone would pay anyone to install it is beyond me, when the install is so easy.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rest @ Jul 1 2007, 06:09 AM) [snapback]470961[/snapback]</div>

Well, for a lot of people I know, speaking Chinese is easy too. PriusChat provided no instructions whatsoever.

I suppose, with no experience whatsoever, I could have opened up my dashboard and hoped for the best. It seemed a much better idea to pay the 55 bucks at the time. It took the guy an hour and a half. I suspect it would've taken me much longer.

I'm very happy with the results.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ag2828 @ Jun 28 2007, 06:09 PM) [snapback]469757[/snapback]</div>

You're welcome.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Buzzy @ Jun 11 2007, 12:53 PM) [snapback]459680[/snapback]</div>

Buzzy,
I got my Prius from Huntington Beach Toyota, you mean to tell me they want $600??? I'm not sure if I should get the kit

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ag2828 @ Jul 1 2007, 05:24 PM) [snapback]471218[/snapback]</div>

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought "Metro" said to PM him and he would provide the instructions. I've been so busy, I've not even had the chance to open the box and see if there were instructions in there...

Thanks

 

I installed Sirius a week ago after purchasing it along with the fit kit from Metro. I had requested (and received quickly) the install instructions from Jesse a couple of days prior to that. It took me (and my wife and daughter) a few hours, but I'm the type that gets impatient, so I went slowly and deliberately...also had a rain delay and a lost tool hunt in the garage. I somehow misplaced my newly purchased deburring tool on the way home; I think it fell out at the parking lot where I purchased the 5mm drill bit. (BTW, good luck finding the drill bit; I got mine at WW Grainger.) Rather than retrace my steps, or stop and go buy a new one, I finally decided to proceed with the install w/o it. The result was the screw holes I drilled were very jagged on the other side and the screws did not hold that well...time will tell. If I need to replace them it will be a very easy task.

I had to have my daughter reach back with her skinny arms/hands and insert the plug into the rear of the stereo head unit in the dash. Even though I knew it was there and could feel it, I simply could not find that spot with my fingers. That "click" was one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard. Also, all of the Prius trim pieces removed and reinstalled easily.

I purchased a trim piece tool..and am glad I did...it made the job so much easier...especially tucking the antennae wire into the rear quarter panel. I'm afraid w/o it I might have damaged something along the way. Don't waste money on the body sealant...that stuff is expensive...and probably not really necessary. It supposedly fills the holes you drill to hold the Sirius bracket.

Our biggest problem was figuring out how to reassemble the clips at the right rear door bottom sill. Pay special attention when you remove that piece, because those clips are brilliantly designed and will only go back together with the car body and the weatherstrip molding a certain way. You can always take a peek at the rear door on the other side of the car if you need to; that's what we had to do.

I spent approx $35 on the extras required for installation: 5mm drill bit, trim tool, sealant, etc. So it would be worth the $55 somebody in this forum said they paid Best Buy to install it...or $50 to the Toyota dealer. My local Best Buy quoted $120 and the guy kept complaining he was going to have to remove the front seat...not sure what that was all about...but having now done the job, it's obvious he only knew how to install the "standard" Sirius components that plug into the console jack. The front seat does not need to come out; the rear seat does, but that only takes like one minute.

The 10-character display limitation is not an issue at all with me; you don't know what you don't have. So far everything is working great...and I love it.

Thanks to Metro for being supportive and offering a great product at a great price.

Trust me folks, if I can install this thing, YOU CAN, TOO!!!

B Hicks
Grand Rapids, MI

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Metro @ Jul 3 2007, 10:10 AM) [snapback]472265[/snapback]</div>

 

I haven't been around and missed this whole thread, but...
Last year when I was at the Detroit Auto Show I spoke to a technician from Sirius. He said there was no way to display over 10 characters, regardless of what Sirius unit was made. It was a limitation with the Toyota radio itself. Sirius has the ability to display more, but the radio hardware prevents them. From what he said it will take Toyota to make a new radio for that to happen.