RickC5

Has anyone out there installed (or had installed) one of the VAIS XM/Sirius radio receivers in their ES? If so, how difficult was the installation, and if you had it done, how much did that cost? VAIS systems are available on eBay for about $250, + or -. Anyone found them cheaper?

It seems Lexus discontinued the OEM/factory XM radios & installation kits more than a year ago and all the old stock is gone, so that's not an option for those of us who want to have XM in an '07-'09 ES.

Has anyone tried any other type of XM receiver? I know Best Buy has one of those little add-on receivers, but I would like one that is fully integrated with my existing head unit, using the OEM radio displays.

Any/all opinions/observations/experiences welcome!

Robert_J

I run a Pioneer XM receiver but I am the only person on this site to completely replace the factory head unit. It was expensive but it was well worth it to me and my wife.

MadMax96

Might want to post in or search the audio/video section:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...lectronics-12/

Generally the VAIS equipment comes highly recommended.

Personally I wouldn't bother with XM since I don't want to pay a monthly fee for radio that is repetitive anyway. The free trial in my wife's car was enough for me to know I don't want to pay for it.

Just get a VAIS unit to connect/control your iPod instead (everyone has one right?? )

RickC5

Uh...no. No iPod. Never bothered buying one & doubt that I ever will.

We have had XM in most of our cars over the last 5-6 years & really enjoy the variety of available programming on long trips. We also have a pile of CDs, which are OK but not as easy to deal with.

FM radio isn't even an option out here in Colorado. Once you are away from the bigger cities, about all you can get is country music or right-wing talk shows, hence our like of XM. Plus, things like tall mountains really interfere with reception.

Robert_J

My wife and I are the same way. I still have the first CD I purchased in 1986 and the collection is at 2,000+. One of the reasons we wanted to upgrade the stereo was to get a way to play some type of solid state memory. The Pioneer unit I installed has both an SD card reader and a USB port. I currently have a 32GB card that is almost full of music in WMA 320kbps. When my wife is in the car, she will plug in her iPhone and play music that way as well. She can also get Pandora on the on the screen with full control without touching the phone. Finally, the DVD player in the unit will also play MP3/WMA as well. Basically, we have 72GB of storage for music. I still need to look into the new xSD cards with 64GB of storage.

XM also has a great selection of right-wing talk shows. One of the big reasons I keep my yearly subscription. That and the heavy metal/hard rock channels.

RickC5

Well, I just ordered the VAIS XM receiver & kit from the Replacement Radios website after first talking to them. According to them, the VAIS system works great and folks have no problems with them. So OK, here we go. Once it arrives, I am having it installed at a local car stereo shop. I just don't have the best luck ripping my cars apart. I usually break a bunch of the stupid plastic mounting clips. Grrr....

The main reason I didn't want to replace the entire head unit is that I have the factory NAV unit, and I didn't want to remove that or have to replace it. It seems to work pretty good. Different from our Garmin Nuvi 780, but still good.

RickC5

12/28/11 Update: We had the VAIS unit installed by a local stereo store, cost was $100. They located the satellite antenna in the middle of the leading edge of the trunk and put everything back together nicely. I then called XM and activated the radio.

It works as advertised and is fully integrated into the head unit & display. If the display is left in "Text" mode, song names and artists are displayed when the song is playing.

No problems and well worth the investment as far as we are concerned.

tomhuntdmd

RickC5, how is the signal on the VAIS unit. We just bought an 07 ES 350. Does it seem to have a long buffer like when you go under an overpass or behind some trees? This doesn't apply if you are in bigger cities where they have repeater stations.

I ask because we had an 09 Prius that we paid and extra $400 to have the factory unit installed, and it didn't work near as well as the $150 Inno I use on my RX350. The Prius unit would cut out a lot when there were a few trees in the way, or we went under an overpass. The Prius was totalled when we were rear-ended on Dec. 5th.

Another aggravation was the Prius Audio screen would always revert back to the milage screen after about 10 seconds, even when we were in the middle of searching for a new station. Very poor programming. No way to keep song titles/artists or sports scores up on the screen like the Inno will do.

I need to decide whether to go with another Inno, or get the more expensive, but more fully intergated VAIS model.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can give. Tom

RickC5

Hi Tom,

The signal & reception quality on the VAIS/XM is quite good, IMHO. So far, the only times the signal has dropped is when we are right next to a big building that blocks reception from the South (that's the direction where the satellites are located), or are under some sort of awning/cover.

Buffer size is dependent on the specific XM receiver. I would say ours isn't too long, maybe 5-10 seconds. No more than that, but it seems adequate out here in the west where there's not much stuff to block the signal. Not sure yet how well it works in deep canyons or big cities. Trees & overpasses have no effect.

The VAIS box acts as the interface between the receiver and your factory head unit, and it does a great job. We have the NAV head unit, which pretty much mandated a fully-integrated add-on unit & this one works fine. Displays are just like factory displays, and there's a display option on the NAV head unit that keeps open the "text" screen that shows song title & artist while the song is playing. I have no complaints about the integration of the VAIS unit.

There are some other programming options on the VAIS, but I found it difficult to access the programming functions--lots of button pressing to get there. Once in, I was able to raise the volume level to match that of the FM radio, so it does work.

I know that I had less expensive options, like a separate little XM receiver that has to be mounted either on the dash or hidden somewhere. We have had those before (Roady XT radios) and they really look out-of-place, especially in a Lexus, plus they aren't integrated with the head unit.

Bottom line is that we are quite pleased with the VAIS/XM unit and feel it was worth the extra money. Hope this helps.

tomhuntdmd

Mike, thanks for the nice reply. I think I'll go ahead and order this unit. We bought the car on Friday, but my wife didn't feel like driving it home from Eugene to our home on the coast, so my daughter and son-in-law are going to deliver it on Wednesday.

We do have an area on the way to Eugene with a tall cliff to the south that always cuts out, so I know that will always be an area of no signal. In large city's, like Denver, XM has repeater stations that get you a signal even around big buildings. Our recievers have always worked well in downtown Seattle when we have been there.

I will post in a couple of weeks on how the installation goes. I think I will try it myself as I am a kind of do-it-yourselfer, plus one of my best friends has an auto body repair shop, so he can help me with getting behind the in dash radio. Also, it looks like there is a lot of on line help.

Thanks again,

Tom

Robert_J

If you have the option of going with Sirius, they have roving satellites so you may have better reception. I may upgrade the receiver on my Pioneer install because they offer a 1 hour buffer. I can rewind and hear the same song again and again for at least an hour.