Our 06 has the hideously large black triangle device near the top of the windshield. From my research on the forums, that is supposed to be the XM or Sirius satellite receiver. Since XM and Sirius merged a few years ago, can I still subscribe to service to get real-time traffic results on the Nav? Most of the time I rely on Waze or Google Maps on my phone for navigation with live traffic. Just curious if I can get the same feature for the built-in Nav in case our daughter is using my phone for movies.

 

Post a pic of the "large black triangle device near the top of the windshield." XM satellite radio was a dealer-installed accessory in '04 - '06 LS. Neither the satellite receiver nor the antenna was located near the windshield.

Edit: XM satellite radio does not reflect real-time traffic on the LS Nav screen.

 

Or, get a small tablet for the daughter, and use INRIX on your phone...

 

this is not possible on the oem nav unit. They added it for '07. I'd stick to your google maps or waze.

 

The '06 that I just picked up has a puck on the left trunk lid, and I found that there is a demo Xm station. I would take a free trial, but likely would not pay. My wife has had 6 mos for $25 for over 4 yrs...

 

Thanks, Tom. Here are some photos:

 

I don't know what that is. It is not an OE satellite radio antenna, and it doesn't appear to be any of the after-market satellite radio antennas currently available (most are so-called "micro-size" now). 10 years ago, satellite radio antennas were larger, about that size. It could be an after-market SAT antenna. Do you have SAT radio, either OE (through the OE radio, by pushing the "AM" radio button), or an after-market product?

Where does the wire run and connect? Is it a current wire or antenna wire? Do you have a cable tracker / wire toner to "listen" if current is passing through the wire with ignition "on"?

 

Tom, it appears to fit the description of the Sirius receiver that was used for some LS and GS models:

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion...-xm-and-sirius

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-question.html (post #4)

I just tested the AM-SAT radio band and the screen indicates "Deactivated". CH255 just says "SiriusID" but doesn't show an actual ID number that I can use to subscribe to Sirius. Probably doesn't help that I tried to get a signal with the garage closed. Too late to bother backing the car out for a clear path to the sky. Will retry tomorrow morning.

Does HD radio quality really sound better through the Mark Levinson system? Honestly, I think FM radio in my wife's 06 ES330 sounds better than the hyped-up ML reference system.

 

First I've heard of the Sirius brand satellite tuner in the LS430. In your first link to a forum, the poster states that Sirius satellite is a retrofit, as Lexus radios are designed to work with XM tuners, not Sirius.

I researched the topic before I recently bought: a used XM satellite tuner made by Pioneer designed specifically for the LS and a few other Toyota vehicles, the Lexus wire harness and a micro satellite antenna. I DIY installed it. (I'm about to install another XM tuner in my '05 CL.) Lexus dealers originally installed the larger XM antenna on the left rear trunk deck lid - as indicated in the satellite radio instructions. I have a newer "micro" antenna concealed in the high mount 3rd brake light assembly. The XM tuner is installed in the upper right trunk behind the panel. I can appreciate your angst with that large ugly rectangle Sirius antenna attached to your windshield.

Regarding HD (digital) radio ... while the quality of the source of music / sound is important in determining what you actually hear, there are limits to the ML sound system (as well as the human ear). I don't think HD radio would offer noticeable improvement in the sound quality - particularly through the ML amplification and speaker system.

 

I had a 2016 rental car with HD radio for 4 mos....and a real oddity with it, was that there would quite often be jitter. Like when you use your home phone, and suddenly the person on the other end's voice speeds up. I suppose it makes sense since we're now talking digital. I would prefer it to drop out, like satellite radio, not play catchup. But what is nice, is for a station to have 2-3 additional channels, plus it's free....

 

I have the same box on my windshield. I always noticed it and thought that it was all a part of the rain sensor. Mine is placed exactly the same way as yours on the windshield.

 

Thanks, John/Tom, for sharing your experiences with satellite and HD Radio. I didn't realize HD Radio is free programming.

I tried to activate a Sirius trial this morning but was unsuccessful. The SiriusXM site doesn't recognize any of the radio IDs I enter. It let me sign up for a trial based on my VIN but then it couldn't send out the activation sognal...probably because the VIN option assumes the unit is OEM and factory installed.

 

I am now curious to what that box is. If its not for Satellite radio then I wonder what it is for since it is taking up some prime real estate for a dash cam.

 

Legend, I'm still convinced the device is for satellite but I can't seem to retrieve the correct radio ID from the system to activate a trial. The SAT1 audio mode appears to let me cycle through channels 0, 184, and 255 only...so I assume that indicates the unit is capable of pulling in a satellite signal.

 

Fatherto1, I am going to go and play with it a bit more. Its odd that we have these boxes while everyone else has the other type of antenna and box it seems.