Need help with Sat Radio
12-30-16, 11:22 AM
#1
Need help with Sat Radio
I originally posted this in the RCF forum, not realizing that they might not have the expertise in this forum:
Or should I say lack thereof. Long story short. I purchased an RCF from a local dealership that will remain unnamed for now in April 2016. The car is a 2015 and had 89xx miles. I was led to believe the car was fully loaded, even had the intelligent cruise control. The dealership did reveal that the car came from Hawaii, which at the time didn't mean anything to me. You Hawaii and Guam guys know where I'm going with this. Anyway, I decided to buy the car and it became my weekend cruiser for the next few months. I have a 2009 FX35 as my daily and also have XM radio, since I spend most of my time in this car. A few months go by and I decide to add the RCF to my subscription. Did everything XM told me and still couldn't get it to work. Well, it will never work because cars from Hawaii and Guam do not get Sat Radio! The SAT option does not even appear on the menu. Contacted the Sales manager and revealed to him that I was led to believe the car was fully loaded, which meant Sat Radio and that the head unit actually says XM (see pic). I have no reason to believe the salesman was aware of this when he sold the car, because that would be a different post.
Anyway, the dealership has agreed to pay to have Sat radio installed. Does anyone here know if this is a simple fix? I would like to believe that Lexus has one head unit and just omits the hardware for Hawaii and Guam, hence why the head unit says XM, even though it doesn't. Should be as easy as installing the missing OEM Sat parts, right? Is the head unit "Sat Ready"? For those of you with Sat Radio, where is the unit and antenna and how does it interface with the head unit. If you unplug the sat box, does the choice for Sat not come up in the head unit or does it still have the option, but doesn't work? i know there some things in the trunk, but not sure. I really do not want FM modulators and prefer that it interfaces with the head unit. Even though the dealership will pay, is an entirely new head unit necessary?
Lesson learned, ask where your car came from if buying used or CPO. Cars without Sat also don't get Enform suite. I really don't miss that, but I do want Sat Radio. If I had known or this was disclosed at the time of sell, I wouldn't not bought the car or simply bought the black one instead, Any insight, either about Sat or even legal recourse would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I have since opened a case with Lexus North America. My first step, after receiving advice from a member who did the opposite and moved to Hawaii, is to register my VIN with Lexus NA. They did not have my VIN on file. The member also said a head unit software update is needed. Regardless, I still want to know where and what equipment is in the car. Thanks.
Or should I say lack thereof. Long story short. I purchased an RCF from a local dealership that will remain unnamed for now in April 2016. The car is a 2015 and had 89xx miles. I was led to believe the car was fully loaded, even had the intelligent cruise control. The dealership did reveal that the car came from Hawaii, which at the time didn't mean anything to me. You Hawaii and Guam guys know where I'm going with this. Anyway, I decided to buy the car and it became my weekend cruiser for the next few months. I have a 2009 FX35 as my daily and also have XM radio, since I spend most of my time in this car. A few months go by and I decide to add the RCF to my subscription. Did everything XM told me and still couldn't get it to work. Well, it will never work because cars from Hawaii and Guam do not get Sat Radio! The SAT option does not even appear on the menu. Contacted the Sales manager and revealed to him that I was led to believe the car was fully loaded, which meant Sat Radio and that the head unit actually says XM (see pic). I have no reason to believe the salesman was aware of this when he sold the car, because that would be a different post.
Anyway, the dealership has agreed to pay to have Sat radio installed. Does anyone here know if this is a simple fix? I would like to believe that Lexus has one head unit and just omits the hardware for Hawaii and Guam, hence why the head unit says XM, even though it doesn't. Should be as easy as installing the missing OEM Sat parts, right? Is the head unit "Sat Ready"? For those of you with Sat Radio, where is the unit and antenna and how does it interface with the head unit. If you unplug the sat box, does the choice for Sat not come up in the head unit or does it still have the option, but doesn't work? i know there some things in the trunk, but not sure. I really do not want FM modulators and prefer that it interfaces with the head unit. Even though the dealership will pay, is an entirely new head unit necessary?
Lesson learned, ask where your car came from if buying used or CPO. Cars without Sat also don't get Enform suite. I really don't miss that, but I do want Sat Radio. If I had known or this was disclosed at the time of sell, I wouldn't not bought the car or simply bought the black one instead, Any insight, either about Sat or even legal recourse would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I have since opened a case with Lexus North America. My first step, after receiving advice from a member who did the opposite and moved to Hawaii, is to register my VIN with Lexus NA. They did not have my VIN on file. The member also said a head unit software update is needed. Regardless, I still want to know where and what equipment is in the car. Thanks.
Last edited by Deanrcf; 12-30-16 at 11:30 AM. Reason: update pic
12-30-16, 12:56 PM
#2
Intermediate
The sat box may be located under the seat or somewhere else. Not sure on that part. (my 4 runner was under the seat) The antenna is located in the shark fin. They will need to add those two parts as well as the cable to the head unit. I believe all current Lexus/Toyota head units are XM "capable" not "ready". If the antenna and box are not hooked up, the option will not be available on the head unit.
01-18-17, 01:32 PM
#3
Can someone confirm where the SAT box is? Considering my situation, will the car even have one installed? What exactly is in the trunk?
Spoke with the dealership again and they told me that each Lexus has a unique configuration for each car. He told me that his service manager said that they aren't sure if the car has the wiring harness. I asked if they wiring harness controls anything else besides SAT and they couldn't answer. Has anyone removed their head unit? Do you know what harness he is referring to? If they harness isn't there, does that mean the car is not wired. They will pay for whatever I want, but I don't want a hack job. Any ideas of a quality setup that will interface with the RCF Mark Levinson head unit?
Spoke with the dealership again and they told me that each Lexus has a unique configuration for each car. He told me that his service manager said that they aren't sure if the car has the wiring harness. I asked if they wiring harness controls anything else besides SAT and they couldn't answer. Has anyone removed their head unit? Do you know what harness he is referring to? If they harness isn't there, does that mean the car is not wired. They will pay for whatever I want, but I don't want a hack job. Any ideas of a quality setup that will interface with the RCF Mark Levinson head unit?
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