ben_r_

I have an 07 with the external shark fin antenna and occasionally my signal will fade around trees too. And not just thick tall trees either, sometimes its trees you wouldnt expect to hinder the signal.

sdub74

I repositioned the antenna to the outside corner of the glass and reception is alot better. Driving down my street yesterday caused the signal to cut out 5-6 times. I drove down the street this morning at like 5mph (the neighbors must have thought I'm nuts) and it didn't cut out at all.

sdub74

Been driving around for a couple days and I've only had the signal cut out briefly twice. I was even able to drive around downtown Los Angeles and through a couple tunnels on the freeway without losing signal! Thanks to Mike for the suggestion of placing the antenna on the outside glass and to Ben for the detailed installation instructions.

Gernby

iTrader: (1)

Would someone please take a picture of the antenna on an '06?

mikes rx

iTrader: (14)

Your wish is my command j/k...I forgot to take pics this past weekend.

mikes rx

iTrader: (14)

And another, up close. Just an FYI, the flash was used, which is why the antenna looks gray.

Gernby

iTrader: (1)

That is pretty stealthy. Is there any particular reason why you didn't put it in the bottom center where the brake light is? That seems like the least noticeable place for it.

mikes rx

iTrader: (14)

On my other cars, I've had sirius in front of the 3rd brake light (but on the trunk, not the window), and the signal cuts out from time to time, especially on roads with trees on both sides. Also, I didn't really like the way that it looked in the center, as it seemed MORE noticeable and actually seemed to take away from the car (styling wise).

Offset to the right, it seems more stealth-like. Not many people expect a satellite antenna in the corner, so the obvious factor isn't there. I think it looks more like a GPS antenna or something else, rather than satellite radio. Also, with the antenna in the corner, it is surrounded on 3 sides by metal, which helps with signal reception, as it's technically supposed to be completely surrounded with metal.

Honestly, I was not expecting the antenna to work so well in the corner there, since it wasn't directly attached to metal. But, it works flawlessly (knock-wood), and is much more easily removable if needed. Also, it won't scratch up the paint this way. Just thank Lexus for having a recessed rear window.

sdub74

Yeah, I agree, Lexus dropped the ball on this. XM should be standard, my brother's VW has it. They should also make HID's standard equipment.

Gernby

iTrader: (1)

Huh? Why would XM be standard on anything? What if someone wanted Seriius instead?

CASANOVA

Great intructions and pictures Big KUDOS Ben R!

Just got a question. I have the 08 IS350 and wondering if I installed the XM and activate the Real time Traffic will that show on my NAV screen? Has anyone subscibed to XM for the real time traffic? Any feedback will be appreciated.

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

I just installed my XM on my 2007 IS250. It was a pretty easy install. The only problem I had was getting that right carpeted panel nice a flush. At first I used those plastic tie wraps but then I didnt use them because I had to tuck in those wires inorder to get that right panel flush.

I got my 8 digit code but when I try to register it on the XM site it doesnt recognize it?? Anyone else have trouble with it??

ben_r_

No, I dont think any car comes from the factory with the sat tuner installed. It was more than likely installed by the dealer and yes you did pay for it somewhere... I had an 03 accord and it to was "XM Ready" but I still would have had to buy the tuner.

Our cars unfortunately do not support the XM Real Time Traffic feature. Currently the only Lexus that does is the LS.

Make sure you didnt mistake any of the zeros for the letter O. From the xmradio.com website:

Please note, the ID does Not contain the following letters:
"I" (eye), "O" (oh), "S," or "F"

devanaire0

Hey guys,

I am hoping someone can help me. I posted a while back in this thread about my xm not working about 2-3 weeks after installing it, and after finally getting back into the trunk to get the the tuner and tinkering with it (a month and a half later), it still doesn't work!

(As fas as what I did with the tuner, I tried disconnecting and reconnecting the wires.)

When I turn on the st radio it gives me a LOADING text, and soon doesnt do anything at all...and locks up (as in, I cant even switch to a diff channel). If I put it on channel zero I still get the radio id, so I presume it is slightly working, but I get no audio.

I tried refreshing the radio via internet and customer care, and still got nothing.

Any ideas?
Should I have lexus look at it?
Is it a tuner gone bad?

ben_r_

Just out of curiousity have you called XM to see if your account is okay?