Hello everyone.

I'd like to know how many folks have replaced their EOM radio antenna with one of the "sharkfin" antennas.

Have you noticed any difference (good or bad) in radio reception?

The sharkfin antenna gives less signal to the radio. If you are using it in the city you probably wouldn't notice any difference on FM, AM could get noisy. With untuned antennas, size is everything.

Pearl is a
2007 Driftwood Pearl Prius
Package "B" (everything but leather, nav, and rear camera)

I live in a rural area with marginal reception in many areas. The sharkfin is definitely worse than the stock antenna, which is the worst reception I have ever had in a car to begin with.

Whatever happened to the old power antennas that would put out a 3-foot high telescopic antennas when the radio was turned on? New cars now have the in-glass, sharkfin or short-stubs antennas and the reception is crappier than it was with the old antennas.

On the Prius, at least, that won't work because the antenna is on the roof. Why it has to be there I have no idea.

I think it is one of the areas where they cut corners to keep the cost down, in keeping with the generally mediocre audio in this car.

I'm using an XM radio but that predates the Prius. The problem is radio in North Alabama is a wasteland. At least with XM, I can get something worth hearing. I have an FM converter so it plays through the car radio. The antenna is in the dash where the GPS antenna would go. The only reception problem is overpasses and some tall trees.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

"I think it is one of the areas where they cut corners to keep the cost down, in keeping with the generally mediocre audio in this car."

I got the Prius with Package 2, that is, with the regular radio and single-CD player. I immediately noticed that the quality of the audio in this radio is very substandard: lots of static and scratching noises even with local stations and very low audio output when from the CD player forcing me to jack up the volume a lot when listening to a CD.