just order an 2009 with factory xm. dealer said antenna would be mounted outside on the roof, like the corrola- true or false?

 

The factory manual for the XM shows the antenna being mounted right next to the center tail light, inside the car. Also, the wire for it isn't long enough to go anywhere else. Also, as far as I know, the XM is installed at the dealer, not the factory.

 

My 07 came with XM antenna installed and it's inside on the rear deck next to the 3rd brake light.

 

I ordered the factory kit and installed it myself. By my 'handle', you might guess (correctly) that I Know What I am Doing.

The antenna cable is long enough to mount to the top of the rear window and still have some left over. There has been a post about mounting it to the top of a metal piece under the rear deck cover. It wasn't posted until after I had done mine. Maybe when it gets cooler, I'll look into that. (It's Phoenix: Hot doesn't even _begin_ to cover it)

The Tuner unit actually mounts in the trunk and a large (supplied) cable goes to the dash unit. The installer needs to disassemble the passenger side of the dash, take out parts of the back seat, and a lot of trim pieces in both the trunk and the inside to get everything in correctly.

In order to hide the antenna wire, I had to 'sneak' it behind the window trim gasket and tape it over the trunk seal.

Everything worked perfectly, but it took me almost 2 hrs to get everything installed. Not _too_ bad for the first time doing anything on this vehicle. Although I did go to the dealer and get the instructions. They were quite accommodating when asked politely and a reasonable explanation given.

Dismembering the dash and console was a process, but the directions posted elsewhere in this forum were an invaluable addition to the instructions.

Maybe I'm wandering around the topic a bit, but I tend to do that; going into extreme detail in hopes that i can keep others from repeating my mistakes.

 

+1
Factory location is inside the car, on the rear deck right next to the 3rd brake light.

 

Has anyone tried to place the XM antennae next to the GPS antennae on top of the center vents, (but under the dash) ? I have a XM kit on route from VAIS Tech.

I'm assuming that if a GPS signal can reach the antennae through the windshield, under the dash, so can XM. Having the antennae next to the Nav Screen would be an easy install !

 

Here is a low cost alternative for you.
I just installed an aftermarket XM receiver. I mounted the receiver in the space below the radio and just ran the Cig adapter to the outlet in there and a cable to the Aux in. I mounted the receiver using an L bracket some strong double stick tape and Velcro. It is actually quite secure.
Now for the easy part. The antenna I have is about 2" square and magnetic. I placed it on the passenger side speaker grill and ran the cable down the side and next to the molding, under the glove box (with excess cable placed behind the passenger carpet) and ran the cable into the storage compartment through the knockout panel on the right side of the compartment. I ran the cable between the the passenger side plastic and into the compartment then replaced the plug.
The entire installation took about 10-15 min. While it is not as slick as an integrated factory unit you can buy these receivers for about $50.00 and do the install yourself in a flash. When you close the compartment door it is an invisible install and no one notices the antenna. The placement works as well as my external antenna on my SUV.

 

From my experience with an XM Roady 2 and a Sirius Starmate 4 both antennas are mounted inside in front of the 3rd Brake light work just fine. I get consistent, great reception.

I started with XM then switched to Sirius (for NASCAR channel). At the Aux port inside the cubby I put a PAC SNI-1/3.5 Noise Filter and a splitter to allow for connection of the Starmate 4 and my iPhone for when I want to play mp3s (Belkin sells a retractable cord compatible with the original iPhone's recessed port). I get great sound from the Starmate and the iPhone from this set-up.