Hey Folks!

I bought my TCH last week and love it. Mag Gray fully loaded .. I was really lucking to find it. I think it was the only fully loaded Mag Gray in my 5 state area.

My query is, should I wait for (or try to find) the Toyota Satellite Kits or go with Factory Interactive's System which should be out in a few weeks (I called them a few weeks ago and Jon said the kits should be ready in 3-4 weeks). Which system is better? Pros & Cons? Any comments from those who have Toyota's satellite kit? Any comments from those who used the Factory Interactive kit for their Prius?

Thanks gang, it's good to be one of you!
JJ

 

I had the Interactive system (Pioneer) installed, because in early May there was nothing available from Toyota. The system performs flawlessly with the nav system & the controls on the steering wheel. There is probably very little differences between the two systems. Check with Toyota if their units also cut off the characters at ten. If it doesn't, go with Toyota. If the character cutoff is the same, it is probably a tossup. Both units may even be made by the same company. The good thing about the Interactive units, is that they are installed by people who have installed many. My dealer told me that they do two a year & that I was better off to go to someone who specializes in the installations. That is what I did.

 

Hmm I haven't heard about these two, can anyone give me any more info on them. Is this the standard Navigation system that you two are talking about?

 

No, We are talking about satellite radio (XM).

 

I had the dealer install the Toyota Sirius unit for me and it does have the 10 digit cut-off. I don't know why, when playing MP3 disc's it displays the whole ID3 tag without truncating it at 10 characters so I don't think its the head unit.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I was wondering about the Toyota system and if it did the cut off like Factory Interactive. It does sound like the quality of the installation leans toward Factory Interactive, whether I go with doing it myself or driving to Jersey. The DVD self install guide sounds pretty intuitive based on other comments. I have heard of others complaint about how the dealers install their kits .. bad reception etc... sue to the placement of the antenna.

Regarding "TCHandler"'s question on if we were talking about the Nav system. Just to be clear we are talking about installing a Satellite Receiver and antenna (kit) into a Toyota factory Nav system which is Satellite ready. The receiver would be fully integrated into the Nav system. There are few posts on this forum regarding the subject and I found some on other forums like edmunds.

Jon from Factory Interactive may be able to explain why the system cuts off text. I agree, it doesn't make sense since the mp3 listings don't do that. I am also hoping that the system that becomes available for the Camry is an upgrade from the one for the Prius. I'll let ya'll know what I find out once Jon responds.

 

I have dealer Sirius, and eithe rI have a bad unit or it sucks. First the Antennea is a big triangle block they mount in your windshield, and it seems to overdrive the input circuits of the JBL so the highs are all staticy and broken up. It also drops signal with minor tree cover, something my XM in my Acura never did, it took a Mountain to black my XM. I have yet to bring it back to the dealer, but if they can't fix it (it was a freebie from dealer) then I'll have them yank it can go with either the Factory Interactive or just mout a small unti int he center cubbie.

 

Does your dealer Sirius have a big triangle block mounted in your Windshield? Also does yours drop signal at all? And finally how is the sound quality? Mine has all the highs staticy and broken up. I'm ready to ditch it for an aftermarket unti or go back to XM.

 

The stock Toyota kit comes with the triangular antenna (which I have) but you can replace it with a better external mount if you like. I haven't had any of the problems you describe with the sound quality or the loss of signal though. I like the internal antenna since its mounted up in the tinted area of the windshield you don't see it at all on the outside. The reason its as big as it is, is because it needs to have a ground plane added in that package. The tiny antennas that mount ouside don't need a ground plane because they use the roof or trunk of the car as the ground plane.

 

Thanks! I will let the dealer look it over, mayber replace the tuner, they rushed it in as I went to pick up the car and they forgot to install it, maybe they screwed something up. They threw in 9 months of free service so I'll see how it works out.