AJT123

I can't take fm radio anymore and commercials lol, but I'm not having some crappy aftermarket unit bc they suck and the car is pre-wired. Last time I checked the dealer wanted $1000 which is absolutely ridiculous. I'm wondering if it's possible for a (good, reputable) radio store to do it and it still be oem through the stock deck?

If so, anyone had it done and how much?

warminwisc

Totally if ya have the SAT button. Look for the XM part like 200 bucks

AlexusAnja

Definitely. Get the receiver through ebay or junk yard and have it installed.

gailr42

I have satellite radio and I have to tell you that it is just loaded with low budget commercials. Really, really bad low budget commercials. The music is commercial-free, but not very high fidelity except for the classical station. If you want to listen to talk radio be prepared...

I didn't exactly understand your original question, but I got a tape adapter for my 2006 ls430. I plug the unit into the cigarette lighter. I tucked all the cords into the seams in the dash and it looks fine. Someone on here said the tape adapter wire hanging out of the tapedeck looks like a tampon string, but that's a bit of an exageration. The wire is black and the background color of the dash is dark so the exposed inch or so of wire hardly shows at all.

I totally understand wanting factory original, or at least a very nice DIY installation. I did a nice "aux in" installation on another car I had, but since I have this love/hate relationship with satellite radio from the point of view of commercials and audio quality, I decided to use the tape adapter and leave it at that.

As far as audio quality goes, the satellite radio is fine for me and my husband to listen to, but we aren't exactly "audiophiles" and we are old so our hearing isn't that good.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

I used to have satellite radio in the past. I never liked the sound quality. I also have the option in my 04 but no receiver. I decided to go with the Grom Android adapter. Bluetooth is also nice for wireless but I am not a fan of the sound quality over bluetooth as well. 1/8 mini or USB seem to be the best route for quality. the Grom adapter is less then $100 and a better option in my opinion.

AJT123

Really? I used to have it in my old Acura TL, it was an OEM setup and I loved it. Near/like CD quality and NEVER any commercials. I talked them down to like $80/year which is a bargain. All I listened to was the 80s station and the classic rock one lol, and I loved it. I miss it.

This is probably why you aren't super satisfied with your setup; when satellite is OEM it's basically CD quality audio. Two cars ago on my old Infiniti I had the adapter like yours (but it was FM) and it was decent, but hardly anything special sound quality wise. I don't mind paying a little more (but not the dealer price which is just a joke) to integrate it with the stock head-unit and have it look and sound the best. I have a tape adapter to for my phone for Spotify and it sounds good minus a little tape hiss, but I never use it bc it's annoying to have to pull my phone out, etc. etc. It would be much better to just have my old XM back, integrated into the car.

Hmm, idk if something's changed but I don't remember ever dealing with commercials when I had it. Lol, I'm SO OVER FM, I think one of my biggest pet peeves in life is when I flip through all of my presets and THEY ALL ARE ON COMMERCIALS!!!! Drives me nuts!!!!!!! Also, I remember hearing old songs on my XM that you would NEVER hear on the regular radio.

Thank you, and everyone for your input! I'm going to do some calling around!

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

I don't know if you have smart phones but you can virtually get the same exact thing as satellite and not pay any subscriptions over your phone. Spotify and Pandora are rather good actually.

AJT123

I do have spotify and I like it alot, but like I said it's annoying to pull my phone out all the time, plug in the tape adapter, and fiddle with it while I'm driving. I hardly ever use it.

gailr42

AJT, I think the never ending commercials on radio and tv are very stressful. I would be willing to pay quite a bit for commercial-free entertainment. I totally feel your pain.

I have Sirrius [not sure of the spelling]. The music is commercial free, but the news or talk has commercials. They tell you that up front so I wasn't surprised at the commercials - just at the low quality of the commercials. The ones where they repeat 800 numbers over and over. Herbal cures and miracle cures for everthing, Viagra, imitation viagra, how to be ripped and cut in 10 minutes, systems to cure your kid of bad behavior, and on and on and over and over...CNN and MSNBC have equally bad commercials - I think the same bad commercials with the same screechy voices and the same repetitive phone numbers...

Are you saying that there might be commercial free satellite broadcasts for people who have oem equipment? I would do it for sure and I would pay more. I think mine is maybe $20 for a two vehicle subscription. I am wondering if they have some kind of deal with the car companies to provide commercial free stuff.

My 2006 has the navigation system and sat/am words at the top left of the screen. When you touch the screen nothing happens. I read on here or somewhere anyway that that is how you tell if your car is set up for satellite. As I mentioned, I am using a little plug in unit with the tape adapter.

I didn't notice that having the "aux in" cable in the Highlander made much difference in audio quality from just using the FM transmitter. We live out in the boonies and FM interference is not an issue. I think the quality is influenced by the condition of the speakers in the car, too. It could be that half the speakers in my ls are blown and I just don't know it. I am way more interested in getting rid of the commercials than the audio quality. It is fine for listening to on the road.

gailr42

Just a note about Spotify and Pandora...you must have some kind of internet connection for this. Like I said above, I live in the boonies - no cell service no broadband.

In spite of possible drawbacks to satellite radio, I really like it for the reasons AJT mentions. I have used my iphone for music that I loaded into it, but it is easier to turn on the radio or, in my case, my little satellite receiver.

I think back in the old days, satellite radio was all commercial-free. Possibly the commercials came when the two companies sort of merged under one owner.

AJT123

Where in California are you located? Obviously it's a huge state but I don't picture many boondock areas when I think about it lol.... I may be moving to Los Angeles actually! Exciting!

Anyway, you are correct. Not only that, but my service isn't always great (even though I live in a city with coverage); lots of times the songs will take almost a minute to load, and it often cuts out. It's VERY annoying.

I would love to just have XM, on all the time when I start the car. No more messing with my phone.

gailr42

Geopolitically, we are poor little orphans living in the Mojave desert in southern Inyo county. Inyo county contains the highest [Mt Whitney] and lowest [Death Valley] points in the continental US. We are at the Death Valley end of the county where it is very sparsely populated.

We recently found out that our little area is so deprived that we may be elegible for a grant to get cell and broadband. We aren't just under-served, we are not served. Never thought that would be a good thing. We have satellite TV and internet. There is no "Lexus" of satellite services, just better than nothing.

Don't worry, there is plenty of connectivity in LA. LOL. I am sure you know that. California with all its diversity of people and places is a great place to live. I am a native of the bay area in northern CA.

BradTank

BTW, do all the satellite add ons only allow like 10 characters to display on the song title/artist with the Lexus interface?
I have a 2004 with the navigation screen, I find that really annoying that basically everything displayed is chopped off, I'd like to see all the info.

An example of the current display in my car:

Artist:The Bea
Song: I Am T

It's basically useless to even have a display if so much info is cut off. I've been in other cars where everything is displayed.

Regarding whether satellite radio is "worth it", I really like the programming. I used Pandora for a while, and it's crap in my opinion. It really was bad about recycling the same content over and over. Sirius/XM does a really good job with their content, but I definitely agree the sound quality is lacking, it's like a very compressed mp3. I also think it's overpriced, it should be something like $7 a month for everything. Still, it's hard to live without it as modern "free" radio is now beyond awful.

warminwisc

that is hysterical you choose to live in the Mojave and there is grants for you to get sound. My sirius was 50 bucks to install fits under the glove box fascia.

gailr42

BradTank, I am pretty sure there is some discussion about your question. Think up some different ways of describing your issue and enter them in the search field. My recollection is that you can get a product that works with your nav screen and allows the entire title to show. Hope I am not having hallucinations about this...

I am full of myself because I took the dash of my Highlander apart from directions on u-Tube and installed an aux-in cable in the back of the radio. I would really like to try doing this to the Lexus - there are also instructions for taking lexus dash apart, and install the expensive cables that give you the display you are asking about as well as your connectors for iphone and whatever else you could possibly want. For some reason, taking the Lexus apart seems scarier than the Highlander. Probably because I might have to pass through the doors of Harbor Freight to get trim removal tools.