Sirus Satellite Radio In 2006 Prius

check out www.priusxm.com He installs both and sells kits for both. Just had my xm radio installed and I'm very happy to have it part of my system.

 

no.

With the integrated Toyota branded Sirius tuner, yes.

Yes, you will need a seperate satellite radio antenna. The installation is pretty easy and there are a few places that you can by the kit from

 

One of the criticisms I've heard about the Prius Sirius interface that works with the multi-function display is that it only shows the first ten characters of the song and artist text. If you look at the Sirius Prius screen graphic on FactoryInteractive (located here), you'll notice that the song name and artist are both under 10 characters. It is my understanding that if an artist or title is over ten characters long, it will be truncated.

This has pretty much been the only thing stopping me from buying one. If someone has come up with a fix for this limitation, please announce it.

Dan

 

Oh, one more note. Adding another source to the factory audio system is pretty simple... you just plug it into the chain and register it. I've added the VAIS IPOD adapter, which emulates a minidisk player. After installation, the MD player came up in the sequence when I hit the MODE button. Apparently the SAT1, SAT2, and SAT3 devices work the same way... when you install the device (and it is compatible with the MFD), it registers and adds itself to the MODE sequence.

This likely won't work if you add a separate non-compatible Sirius device, like the Streamer. The only way to get that audio in is to use a separate device that allows line input (my VAIS IPOD adapter does this), or to plug the output from your device into the '06 delivered MP3 player input socket. Neither of these options will allow you to control the Streamer from the MFD screen... you'll still need to access it to change channels, etc.

Oh, you could use a small FM transmitter to rebroadcast the Streamer output to an unused FM frequency, but the sound quality isn't really that good. As well, if your commute takes you through different areas where the limited number of stations are already used, you might find yourself changing frequencies multiple times on a single trip. This can be frustrating (I know, used to have to do it while driving from my home in Lake Tahoe to Reno... the nearest large city!).

Dan

 

Just a quick note, the current Toyota branded Sirius tuner will work in the 2006 Prius. Now nobody seems to know if a newer version, that allows for more song info, (as is the case for XM) will be arriving shortly or not...

 

This pretty much confirms what you've been told here, but just in case.....

I got the Sirius tuner installed for free with my 2006 Prius. The invoice cost was ~$280 for hardware and installation. The only visible equipment is the antenna, which was placed above my rear view mirror on the passenger side. You will need one too, as I'm guessing the NAV antenna is GPS only. The Toyota Sirius tuner basically adds three (or four, I forget) modes to your AM/SAT button. It cycles like this AM/SAT1/SAT2/SAT3. My button actually says only "AM", but I just have a lowly Package 3. The 10 character limitation sucks, but at least is better than no artist info at all.

In choosing between Sirius and XM, I found two decision-making differences:

1) Sports: For exclusives, XM has MLB, Sirius has NFL. I don't like either, but Sirius also has English Premiership, which probably only I care about. Both have NHL.
2) Talk: Sirius has more, albeit without the bigger names (IMHO)

I think XM might have a bit more for Rock music, but it could be that they just describe their channels better. Of course Sirius was free and available now, so the choice was obvious irregardless of offerings. On the other hand, a year ago I got to see "Rhythym" and "Blues", the next two XM satellites on the production floor. That was amazing. Almost enough to build brand loyalty.

I'm done rambling. Good luck.

 

Where did you get this installed and how was it free? I asked my dealer about it and they said it couldnt be done till later this year.

 

One additional difference: Both XM and Sirius have approx 21 areas for traffic and weather, but on XM each market has its own channel. A while back I looked at a Sirius brochure and 2 markets share each channel. To me this a big advantage for XM. The LA traffic info is long enough; I would not like to have to listen to the San Diego traffic to hear the entire loop.

 

True, but New York and L.A. each get a dedicated channel. Both Sirius and XM now also offer traffic data services. Nothing to tie into the Prius NAV system yet though.

 

According to my salesperson, the owner of Longo Toyota (in El Monte, Southern California) is on the board of Sirius radio, and (rightly) thinks that people will like the service and spread the word. It's free hardware/install/9 month service on most cars where it will integrate with the stereo. Smart idea really. I will probably continue my subscription after my nine months are up. Especially if the online listening works well (I have to wait another week to fully setup my account).

 

I had the Sirius system installed yesterday at the Toyota dealer. It was a free deal with 9-months of free reception. I am able to receive only 8 channels of the 100+.

I found the antenna placement unacceptable. The antenna is about 3"x4"x1" and is placed right of the rear view mirror. Half of it is on the clear window and half on the shaded part behind the mirror. It protrudes so that the sun visor does not go forward all of the way to the window. I complained to the garage and pointed out that most satellite antenna are only a couple of inches in diameter is certainly not an inch thick. The sales person told me that the installation for the Avalon is a large square black box mounted on the trunk. Evidently, Sirius has a smaller antenna but seems to be using this large one with the Toyota Prius. Maybe it's a way to deplete their stock of the larger antennas; I don't know.

The Sirus radio integrates very well with the Prius radio for the few stations I can receive. However, I'm now considering having the Toyota garage take out the system because of the clunky look of the antenna on the passenger’s side. Evidently to unglue the antenna unit from the windshield is a major task.

Does anyone else have the Sirius system with the Toyota installation? If so, where did they put the antenna?

 

If you get only 9 channels, you have not activated your account yet. You have to call Sirius and give them your serial number (check channel 0).

Terk makes a smaller antenna, and with it's long cable, it can be strung back to the car and mounted either outside near the regular antenna, or with some work, hidden inside the spoiler.

 

I called the Toyota garage and they admitted they forgot to active the radio with Sirius. I get the 184 channels now. That problem is solved.

Attached to the inside windshield is the is the large antenna unit. The radio itself is located under the back seat. I don't know if the Terk and the antenna I got are compatibable. Toyota has only one antenna to install and that's the one they put in. They're not about to rewire the system, since the unit was free to start with. I either keep this "black box" on the windshield or have it taken out. I don't know what the darken area behind the mirror will look like if they have to unglue part of the antenna which is afixed to it. That will be their problem, I guess.

 

I have the Longo Toyota install. They fixed the scratchy sound on the spoken stations, like the traffic channel, and they installed the antenna behind the mirror. I have another car that I have Sirius in, and the small antenna's that come with the portable units aren't nearly as good as the Toyota one. Yes, it is big. However, it is behind the mirror, and, in a way, helps block the sun like a visor. In testing comparable dead spots with my two cars, the Prius clearly avoids or minimizes dead spots that the standard small antenna doesn't. So, I not only don't find the large antenna objectionable, but believe it gives much better reception. My friend who has an Avalon has the same large antenna. I predict if you try a smaller antenna, you'll see what I mean.
Mike Tichon

 

How did they fix the scratcy sound? I live in San Diego and the dealer here said that many of the Prius installations at the Kearny Mesa Toyota dealership have that problem and they don't know how to fix it. They said they are working with Sirius to find a fix. I would keep the service but not with the scratcy, tinny sound. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks, Ron

 

For those using the Toyota branded Sirius tuner, do you happen to have the Toyota part numbers for the install? My dealer is certain that the Toyota Sirius tuner will not work in the car and can't figure out how others on this board have had it done. The Service Manager called Toyota who told him that they have no mounting bracket for the Prius yet. Very confusing!

Thanks for the assist -

Ron

 

He's right insofar as the bracket goes: there is no "Prius bracket." I wedged it under the back seat with foam and bubble-wrap (I put my mini-antenna in the back).

I never heard of any problems with the Solara kit until the '06s came out; they seem to have problems.

 

I also just picked up my 06 and I hear a tinny or scratchy kind of buzzing sound coming from the front passenger side speaker. It only happens when I turn on the satellite radio. Anyone know what this could be? Is there a fix? Thanks

 

I have no problems with the reception and sound with the Sirius system. It works perfectly. I do have a problem with the very large, black, antenna box glued to the front windshield. Kearny Mesa (KM) Toyota did the installation a week ago, allegedly to specs. Toyota evidently cut a deal with Sirius 3 or 4 months ago, which resulted in a FREE installation of the system as well as 9-months of free satellite radio. KM Toyota was willing to see if they could move the antenna more to the center of the windshield; however, that might weaken the receiption to have it fully behind the window shading behind the rearview mirror.