I just had Sirius installed in my new 2008 IS 350 and it does not seem to be working properly. It cuts out with no signal all the time for a few seconds and in some cases for several minutes. They put the Sirius antenna inside my car just to the right of the rear view mirror on my windshield. Perhaps its the location of the antenna or just a bad antenna. Can someone please help if they are experiencing the same issues or have had no problems?? Plus why cant they wire it to the sharkfin rather than adding another antenna?

 

You can wire it to the sharkfin, according to Vaistech...they have a Sharkfin Sirius adapter...now as to why Lexus wont use that...its not a Lexus part. Do you have window tint? My Lexus dealer told me that tint affected teh Sirius reception...I was surprised...but I plan on going with the Vais Tech solution, it seems to be a better kit than the Lexus one....

 

No I just got the car. Getting Sirius was my first priority but it doesn't work, so I'm extremly frustrated. The guy at Lexus told me that XM works better and he would switch it to that but I want Sirius.

 

although i love sirius and still want it. ive had my fair share of issues with it in my previous car. and i am familiar with the radio cutting out issue.

my solutions i tried...

1.moving the antenna into new locations. outside, inside, leftside, right side
2.replacing the antenna with a new one
3.finally replacing the tuner itself under warranty of course.(even after i replaced the tuner sirius would cut out every so often for a few seconds) i talked to few different installers and they all told me the same thing. that sirius tuners are junk and get replaced very often.

i found also that if you fiddle with the connection from the antenna cable to the tuner it helps. i wrapped a few rubberbands around that area to hold the antenna in a certain position.

when i first purchased my car i wanted sirius in my car. but my dealer wont support them anymore until they improve their tuners. and suggested that i go with xm. im still contemplating that decision cause i have 6 months of sirius left but its not installed in my new car so im basically sol

 

Funny, I never had a hiccup in my system in my Carrera and my wifes Rover...both systems I installed...maybe its the LEXUS Sirius radio....

 

I got Sirius on my new '08 last month. I love Howard Stern and the NFL, so I didn't want to switch to XM. The service manager wasn't excited about my choice because he said that they've been having numerous problems with Sirius tuners behaving like yours. Fortunately, the install went fine and mine has been trouble free so far . Guess I'm lucky.

Surprising if a dealer won't work with you to resolve this. If you bought it as a dealer-installed option, they should oblige by troubleshooting the issue. My local service dept had to switch the tuner FOUR times in one car til they found one that worked properly. But they made it right in the end...

 

yeah it just takes persistance. so best bet is to get new tuners. and even then they are likely to go bad. i had 3 total. my friend in his 4 runner has had 4 maybe even 5 in the past year. lol even with all the trouble sirius is still better than XM

 

I have the same problem. The signal goes in and out under tunnels, near 7-11, under electric wires, etc. I went to Longo Lexus dealership twice about this problem during maintenance and they say its the weak antenna's problem. They replaced the antenna (the ugly piece of s**t next to the rear view mirror) and it still has the same problem. I am going back for another maintenance next week, will talk to them again and see what kind of solution they can offer. Will post it up for you if it gets fixed.

 

As long as the antenna is mounted inside the car, problems with interrupted service are far more likely to persist...

 

I assume you have Sirius and your antenna is mounted outside. Do you have any of these same problems? Where is it mounted outside your car?

 

Sirius is great, but XM has more ground based repeaters that enhance the signal in weak coverage areas primarily in urban areas. XM has alos two geotsationary sats (Rock and Roll) which cover 2/3rds of the Earth with the focal point on contiguous US. Sirius has three sats in a geostaionary orbit that make account for the loss of signal as they travel around the earth every 96 minutes or so. Their may be a very small coverage gap. XM tends to screw people with contnuing to bill you unless you cancel. They will not shut off the service if your prepayment (no contract) runs out. Instead, they make a dummy collections company and instil some sort of fear.

 

That may be accurate, but...My Carrera with the antenna UNDER the hood because I didnt want the ugly thing on the outside NEVER lost a signal...and my wifes Range Rover never loses a signal, albeit that antenna is on the roof....Like I said, I talked to Vaistech and they say you CAN use the sharkfin for Sirius...I bet if you got their $50 adapter and used it, the factory Lexus radio would probably work better.

 

The Sirius satellites are not geostationary; they take a geosynchronous elliptical path with a period of 24 hours known as a "tundra orbit" that from earth appears to trace a figure eight. The great thing about this orbit are that the birds are high over the US for about 16 hours a day.

 

I installed the Vaistech unit and ran a separate antenna to the passenger’s side back window. I simply place one side of Velcro on the antenna and stuck it to the carpeting on the rear deck. I tucked the wire down behind the back seat, under the scuff plates and into the glove compartment where the tuner and Vaistech unit is located. Works great, but it will cut out under long underpasses. I would think that is to be expected.

 

Yes, I do have SIRIUS. My antenna is actually mounted inside the front windshield next to the rearview mirror (standard location). For the most part, my service has been interruption-free. As I mentioned, I may have gotten lucky with the particular tuner unit that was installed, and living in the flatlands of the Midwest doesn't hurt reception . Occasionally, under bridges or overpasses I will lose service briefly but it hasn't been a significant nuisance.

My wife drives an SUV that has an aftermarket SIRIUS Sportster. The antenna is mounted outside on the rear portion of the roof. The reception in her car is better than mine, hardly ever interrupting unless we're going through a tunnel or something.

So, I guess the take-home is that there are several potential points-of-failure to your satellite listening pleasure with SIRIUS: the tuner, the antenna (and its location) and quality/precision of the install/wiring.