Toyota Sirius okay for your Prius

I got tired of waiting for OEM unit, and I bought a Plug-in tuner, Starmate. It's very small & $49 now in best buy. If you remove the mounting bracket in the back, it fits inside the center console compartment (underneath the CD slot) nicely. I use a Tape adapter to put the audio in.

I love NPR, so Sirius was no brainer. I believe XM has more channels and more signal repeater in the cities. I think the decision comes down to, which sport you'd like to listen to & if you like NPR or not.

Just my 2 cents,

Kazu.

 

So, is anybody taking the plunge and ordering the parts directly from a Toyota dealer? I'm not sure I'm ready to be the *first* guy to try it, but I'll be right up there with the early adopters. My Prius, at 560 miles, is just a little too young to be a guinea pig!

I wonder if/when we'll see offerings from Coastal Dave and others? Even more importantly, I wonder if Coastal Dave's iPod interface will be compatible with the Sirius receiver!

Chris

 

count me in for the groups buy

 

count me in for the group buy

 

I am interested in the Sirius program myself, but my Prius did not come with the navigation package. Does anyone out there have the Sirius satellite system installed or similar who didn't purchase a Prius with navigation? Also, I would assume it best to let the "make-ready" department install the satellite radio, not just any radio or satellite store. Please advise..thanks!

 

Just installed the Sirius radio today. Dave is right about the 10 characters. Don't understand how or why a new receiver would only have 10 characters. Sirius tuners have two halfs. I tried switching between the toyota model and the starbase model hoping to get the extra characters but apparently the two halfs require the same serial number. SO in recap the sirius satellite sends more than 10 characters, the toyota display can display more than 10 characters in CD text, but the old technology receiver they just released cant support 10 characters. On the bright side I have Dave's XM setup in the other Prius. Have fun, RIck

 

Rick,

Can you let us know which part numbers you used, and especially which vehicle-specific fit kit? Did you use the on-glass or the roof-mount antenna? Did the harnesses work without modification?

Thanks!
Chris

 

Rick could you also post some pictures of your install? If possible you could also post them, or if you don't mind I will, over at siriusbackstage.com? Thanks!

 

Sorry I didn't take any pictures when I was installing and there isn't anything to see other than the antenna now. I used the following part numbers.
PTS31-00051 (cable) $88.88 and PTS31-00050 (Receiver) $177.75 and ordered online from McGeorge Toyota in Richmond. They shipped Fedex for 17.94. Website http://www.mcgeorgeparts.com/. click on 2005 Solara and you will see the kits. I know its expensive compared to the newer sirius tuners that also provide for more characters but it does plug right in and works with the touch screen.

I mounted the tuner under the rear seat (passenger side as the cable is shorter than the ones that Dave includes with his XM kits. The antenna is also ugly so I substituted with a nice compact sirius antenna from ebay. Honestdee is the seller but does not have one up at the moment. The key is its small and has good protection for the microcable.

I have Dave's XM kit in the other Prius and he has probably not put any out for sale yet due to the shorter cable and ugly antenna. I mounted the small tuner under the black metal corner area of the rear seat and ran the antenna under the door weather stripping to the rear hatch.

Have fun, RIck

 

Hi Rick,

Thanks so much for the details. They were very helpful! A few follow up questions, if you don't mind the hassle:

Was the Solara wiring harness kit plug-and-play with no modification required? Where did you mount the antenna? Is it a magnetic mount antenna?

I don't know about the others here, but I'd even appreciate pictures taken after the install of the mounted tuner (visible when looking under the seat, right?) and antenna just to orient myself when planning my installation.

Thanks,
Chris

 

Rick,

Would you mind taking a picture of the MFD with the Sirius presets and the artist & title screen? The folks over at siriusbackstage.com might be interested. Thanks!

 

Chris,
Yes the cable just plugs into the back of the radio so no modifications are required. The tunner is under the rear seat and is not visible. If you pull up the rear seat you will see a black support on the side. It is hollow and underneath this part is where I put the tuner. I considered under the passenger seat but I wanted it away from anything that Toyota might need to access. The cable to the tuner from the radio just follows the door sill until it meets this cavity and is not visible. The antenna cable runs up the plastic trim piece beside the rear seat. No need to remove just tuck it under the edge where the trim meets the weater stripping for the door. I actually put the antenna on the opposite side of the car (same place that Dave does with XM) which isn't bad as it uses some of the cable otherwise I would only need perhaps 4 ft of antenna cable. I'll take some pics today.

Peter,
I'll try and take some pics today of the touch screen. Works the same as XM with SAT1,2,3 screens. Have fun, RIck

 

Hopefully these links will work for the pictures. Sorry about the blurry one but it should provide the info requested.
http://webpages.charter.net/r1957/SiriusPrius/

 

Awesome, thanks Rick!

 

Great thanks! If you don't mind I'll post these over at siriusbackstage.com

 

Peter,

Feel free to post them. Actually I like XM radio in regards to music but have Sirius for the NFL and NPR Talk which XM doesn't offer. In my Insight I have both as it is my principle commuter car. There was speculation that the two might merge but I think both are growing fast enough that it should not be necessary. So the tally is now 4 XM systems and 2 Sirius. Anyway either one is way better than regular radio and have far more variety than a CD changer option. I also forgot to mention that when they put in the toyota tunner ID it comes up with free service for the first 3 months.

 

I agree they both (I only have Sirius, but the in-laws have XM in their Acura) are vastly superior to AM/FM. Sirius is losing Air America soon which I'm not to pleased about, but I'm hoping they will expand the vacant channel with more "non-traditional" left leaning programming. I choose Sirius mostly for the NHL and Sirius Disorder (Sunday Nights Idiots Delight).

P.S. I just noticed you have a VX! I used to have that car! I really loved it! Never did see too many on the road though. Nobody understood the milage I could get out of that Civic!

 

Rick,

Thanks again for the help and guidance. One last question, at least until the hardware arrives: Does the Toyota tuner use single or dual-connector antennas? It seems that all the newer antennas use a single connector. I'm an engineer with an[other] automotive OEM and our Sirius tuners use dual connectors!

Thanks,
Chris

 

Peter,

The VX is going strong with 250K miles. In that time I have replaced the water pump as the only repair. It didn't fial they just said it was leaking when they changed the timing belt 50K miles ago. My wife wants me to sell it but I keep thinking it has cheap taxes, low expenses so why not keep it around for bad weather days.

Chris,
Its a single connection antenna. I know I have a couple of old XM receivers that are dual connection but I believe both use the single connection now predominately.

Have fun, Rick