Friends,

I just took delivery on a 2007 Camry Hybrid with navigation and Sirius. The dealer installed Sirius with the fit kit. The antenna is installed at the top of the windshield, to the right of the mirror, in the pattern of dots. I believe that is where the instructions call for.

I'm having all kinds of problems with drop outs / poor reception. My basis for comparison is two years with an Alpine system and an external antenna on a different car. The trouble starts out on the open expressway, anywhere near downtown Chicago. I don't mean on the surface streets surrounded by skyscrapers -- I get that there may be problems there. Instead, I'm talking about just as soon as the skyscrapers, etc. are in sight, but at least 2-3 miles away. In fact, it seems so far from downtown that even mentioning downtown might be a red herring. Some of this, but certainly not all, is explained by passing under overpasses and bridges. Much of it happens out in the open. This happens far more severely, and frequently, in the Camry than it ever did in the other car with the Alpine system.

I've read all the posts I can find about satellite installations in this car here and elsewhere. I've seen some talk of better results of by placing the antenna on the inside near the back window. I've also seen talk of better results by placing the antenna outside, on the rear deck lid. Neither solution seems ideal to me, and I don't know that the dealer will relocate it for me anyway.

I'd appreciate any help in troubleshooting or resolving this issue. Some questions:

Are you using the same installation setup I have in the Chicago area? If so, how is your service?

Regardless of where you live, if you've experienced severe drop outs, what have you done to fix the issue?

Is the Toyota Sirius receiver/brain known to be especially bad? What about the antenna? If it is a problem with the brain itself, I'd probably replace that instead of trying to relocate the antenna. If it is the brain, will other receivers connect to the existing antenna, or will that be a problem, too?

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Cheers