2010 Prius - Satellite Radio Signal Weak

I'm in the South Florida region and I've had my 2010 for about 2 weeks now and haven't had any problem with the XM Radio thus far. I'm guessing some of the issues may be due to location? Or it may just be XM's weak signal in that particular area.

 

I'm in Bel Air, about 50 miles north of Annapolis. As a fanatic XM listener this is continuing to be a concern as some others say they have problems and others do not. I have no signal problems in the central MD area so I don't think it is the signal. It sounds like a bad antenna because I had a bad antenna and only got 1 or 2 bars at best.

I guess I'll have to see (my IV with Solar is coming Aug 3) before ordering a lifetime subscription. It will be devastating to me if XM is not solid.

Rich N.

 

I have complained to my local dealership about poor xm signal. i have had sirius (3 units) for ~7 years without any problems. i have a friend with a hyundai with the same problem-he also has a stock radio with xm. could be the area i live in (rural montana) or sat issue. i am waiting to see what they say.

-i also have an issue with slight vibration below my feet when driving on a not-so-smooth road (never felt this in my camry).
-the hybrid tech told me toyota is listening to complaints/problems with the 2010. they want to get it right before they make a million more.

 

So you have a high degree of confidence that XM/Sirius is going to be around for a "lifetime?"

Are they making money yet?

 

Sirius and XM use very different satellite technology. Both also support ground based repeaters, though XM deployed them more aggressively. Here in Orlando, XM is in better line-of-sight and rarelly breaks up, while Sirius is more sensitive to trees, etc. Also, downtown Orlando has a strong XM repeater, without any Sirius equivalent. Yet, I bet in other markets the effect is probably backwards.

 

This complaint has been made on the Gen II's as well. On the Gen II the antenna is on the dash. Reception is noticably poorer in areas with lots of trees. The GenIII moves that to the roof on the base of the antenna. My old Acura had it under the rear window shelf.

I am very sure your GenIII (and mine in a week) will do better than my Gen II. The issues around XM reception make it very difficult to judge reception unless you have two vehicles in the same place at the same time to make comparison. The XM system is like DirecTV (same birds) and uses geosynchronous orbiting satellites. These birds remain stationary over a point on the equator at the same logitude (roughly) as Texas. Trees and other stuff can get in the way of the signal. In big cities, XM has repeaters (terrestrial transmitters on buildings) to improve reception. My guess is that your reception isn't noticably better or worse than with other cars that have roof-mounted antennas. Weather, trees, and lots of other stuff do get in the way. In practice, I have found that within a mile or so of my house, reception is poor. Most other places it is fine.

 

+1

I had an XM car kit with a little magnetic antenna mounted on the roof in my '05.

The reception was significantly better. I'm losing signal in numerous places as I drive along where I never had a problem before.

 

I have a high degree of confidence that they are in a better position to hang around for 3.5 years, which makes the lifetime subscription a good deal.

No Sirius/XM, either separately or combined, has never turned a profit. However, I believe the concept is good and the infrastructure and commitments make some sort of satellite radio a viable technology. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Rich N.

 

Because the infrastructure doesn't go anywhere (satellites in space), this is one of those industries that can almost never shuts down. So if XM/Sirius go bankrupt (due to debt from launching all those satellites), someone else comes in buys the assets in a fire sale and starts operating at a profit (no satellite launch debt to pay off). Worse case you might loose lifetime fee, but not the service itself.

 

I figured that must be the case. My car came in missing the whip antenna and I can still get XM. I do find that the XM cuts out a lot more along the rural roads I travel (trees) than the Sirus does in my other car along the same route.

 

I have the Gen II and had my Toyota dealer install the XM. The antenna goes on the dash on the far right (passenger side). It is a small square with a round bump in the middle. I also have nav. I have no idea where they buried that antenna. Since I had to wait a week for my dealer to get an XM kit, I am 100% positive where the antenna was glued.

 

Still waiting on dealership's answer to my signal issues. they are talking with a toyota rep. seems there are not many compaints about this (come on people, tell toyota about it, then we can get it fixed)
i can't believe i am actually thinking about buying an aftermarket sirius to replace it!! rediculous.

 

Has the dealership gotten back to you yet?

 

Picked up 2010 Prius V with ATP a week ago. Satellite radio is useless most of the time. I suspect it is an antenna issue as my other vehicles always have excellent XM reception with no interruptions in my area of south/central New Jersey. Hope Toyota comes up with a solution quickly.

 

Its almost unusable in NJ and CT in both my Prius V and my dad's Avalon.