2.5 hour install of Integrated XM + Auto door lock

I went with CoastalETech's XM radio for a number of reasons, not the least of which was my desire to avoid taking apart the entire dash to do the install...and his instructions allow that. But not without pain and suffering!!

I had to stop part way through fumbling with getting that dang plug in the socket to clean up blood that had dripped on the floor mat and cable of my car and also to clean and bandage my lacerations!

Second attempt with determination not to be defeated and I managed to get the plug to snap in place without further bloodshed!

Running the cable and the rest was really a piece of cake esp. when you payed attention to the 3-4 places where it wasn't completely intuitive of exactly where/how to proceed.

While I had the kick panel off I went ahead and hooked up my auto-door lock. I don't know if I'll like it or want to keep it, but it was a gift and it's easy enough to unplug if I decide I don't want it.

My full time was 2.5 hours and that included gathering tools, removing car seats, doing the installs, replacing car seats and putting everything back together and cleaning up. I'm pretty pleased with that.

The only thing I did NOT do was uninstall my old XM Commander (FM modulated)...I didn't install it myself and am a bit anxious about removing it as I'm not sure what exactly was involved in putting it in. I know the main unit is behind the dash and they had the whole dash apart to install. I also can't quite figure out how they ran the antenna wire. I guess I'll have to go back to the install place and pay a few bucks to have them pull it out...maybe I'll have them install it in my wife's mini-van while we're at it.

Anywho....that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Also, one question for those with this system, I couldn't figure out how to tune up and down channels without using the mechanical tuning knob on the radio...isn't there some way to do so from the steering wheel or touch screen?

 

What I mean, Brad, is that I don't know if the 'inconvenience' of the locked doors will be more of an issue than not having the doors locked at all.

We don't live in an area that I'm worried about people pulling doors open and car Jacking us or anything. My kids are all Hermetically sealed into their car seats and can't reach the door handles from those seats so I'm not worried about them somehow opening the door and falling out. So, I don't really have a good reason to have the doors locked when I'm driving.

So now that they lock anyway how many times will I get out, close the door and try to open my kid's door only to find that I have to re-open the driver's door to hit the unlock button just to get the kids out. Likewise the hatch if I'm in a hurry to get to work or get the kids to school or whatever those daily minor inconveniences may be something I dislike much more than I like some minor theoretical safety advantage of having them automatically lock.

That's what I mean.

 

My wife's Ford Windstar has auto door locks, my Ford Expedition does not. Her if I manually lock all the doors on the Expedition when I shut off the engine and open the door ALL the doors unlock simultaneously. On her Windstar only the doors opened from the inside unlock. So about 1 time in 4 I forget to hit the manual door unlock button and try to open the sliding door to access the kids only to find it locked. This is apparently not a dealer modifiable feature and has caused mild though not infrequent consternation. I don't want any such consternation with my Prius. But I'll give it a try...like I said, it's easy enough to uninstall if I don't like it and I had all the pieces/parts off already.

 

I may need to add some time to my duration for the install. Got to drive a bit more today than I did near midnight last night. Auto-door locks are not working, probably just need to check the connectors.

My auto-Bluetooth disable also quit working which means I my consumption bars don't show and wheels don't turn on the Energy screen as well.... must've knocked something loose in those connections while messing with the computer behind the vent cover to the right of the radio last night. Argh!

 

Ok, got the BT thing fixed, simple ground wire came loose. Checked and tightened all connections on the auto-door lock and it still doesn't work... I think I'll just leave it for now as I just don't care enought to keep unplugging that HV ECU plug and risk screwing up my EV button or doing worse than that!

 

Hmmm, ok, that doesn't make sense as I sit here away from the car, but I like the sound of it. I'll have to give it a try. I'll report back...the thing that confuses me is that my mode button, IIRC, cycles through the SATs and CD/Radio, but maybe it's the arrow one...dang, gotta go play. Thanks for the suggestions though!