Need help with Sat Radio
12-27-16, 08:18 PM
#1
Need help with Sat Radio
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.
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.
Last edited by Deanrcf; 12-30-16 at 11:27 AM. Reason: update pic
12-28-16, 08:51 PM
#2
Driver School Candidate
I had the exact opposite problem. I brought a car from the states to Hawaii, so I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. The dealer here told me about this situation and I can tell you how to get this fixed. Cars in Hawaii are not part of Lexus North America. They are part of Lexus Japan.
You need to go to the dealer and have them add your VIN to the Lexus North America system. Once you do that, you can have the center stack software updated and you should get everything to work.
You need to go to the dealer and have them add your VIN to the Lexus North America system. Once you do that, you can have the center stack software updated and you should get everything to work.
12-30-16, 01:15 AM
#4
Driver School Candidate
I can't answer that question. If the satellite receiver is integral to the head unit, I would cross my fingers and hope it's there and just inactive.
What I was told was that I would lose the Lexus App Suite if I updated the center stack software in my North American car after bringing it to Lexus Japan. I am guessing you don't have the Lexus App Suite available currently. The cars I have seen here have a hole in the display where the icon would go. I would guess that updating your software after adding your VIN to the North American database would add this functionality, hopefully including the satellite function.
What I was told was that I would lose the Lexus App Suite if I updated the center stack software in my North American car after bringing it to Lexus Japan. I am guessing you don't have the Lexus App Suite available currently. The cars I have seen here have a hole in the display where the icon would go. I would guess that updating your software after adding your VIN to the North American database would add this functionality, hopefully including the satellite function.
12-30-16, 11:45 AM
#6
I hope you get your SAT radio worked out.
I purchased my American spec F in Germany, so I don't have SAT, Nav, or the Enform/App Suite. However, I knew this going in. The dealership hired a company to convert the Nav system to work within Europe, but it's a one way conversion, so when I move back to the states, I'd have to buy a new Nav system. I'm just going to live without for the next 3 years.
I purchased my American spec F in Germany, so I don't have SAT, Nav, or the Enform/App Suite. However, I knew this going in. The dealership hired a company to convert the Nav system to work within Europe, but it's a one way conversion, so when I move back to the states, I'd have to buy a new Nav system. I'm just going to live without for the next 3 years.
12-30-16, 12:29 PM
#7
I hope you get your SAT radio worked out.
I purchased my American spec F in Germany, so I don't have SAT, Nav, or the Enform/App Suite. However, I knew this going in. The dealership hired a company to convert the Nav system to work within Europe, but it's a one way conversion, so when I move back to the states, I'd have to buy a new Nav system. I'm just going to live without for the next 3 years.
I purchased my American spec F in Germany, so I don't have SAT, Nav, or the Enform/App Suite. However, I knew this going in. The dealership hired a company to convert the Nav system to work within Europe, but it's a one way conversion, so when I move back to the states, I'd have to buy a new Nav system. I'm just going to live without for the next 3 years.
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01-01-17, 01:04 AM
#9
Pole Position
01-18-17, 01:36 PM
#10
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?
Does anyone know exactly where the SAT box would be installed, so I can confirm if the hardware is there?
Does anyone know exactly where the SAT box would be installed, so I can confirm if the hardware is there?
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