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new xB owner questions...

Hello folks, my wife just bought an xB and absolutely adores it. I must admit, it's an impressive car for the money. It's more nimble and fun to drive than I was told and its unusual design is definately a head turner.

But on Monday, it has to return to the dealership to get the right mirror fixed as it seems to pop when you try and adjust it--no big deal, it's new, they'll fix it.

So... it has a "satellite-radio" ready Pioneer stereo and my wife currently has an XM radio account. What do we need to do to get use the xB's XM radio?

MY ASSUMPTIONS (usually wrong...):

  1. Pop the radio out.
  2. Look for some kind of antenna connection in the back--somewhere...
  3. Find its radio ID and send it to XM customer support.
  4. Connect the antenna and route it--somewhere outside...
  5. Pop the radio back in the dash and enjoy.

Is this correct? or is there something more exciting that I have to do. The Toyota (Scion) dealer had no idea how it worked and simply directed us to one of the local sound shops in town.

Now, it there anything else that you fine xB owners have discovered through the years that I should look out for, tips? advice?

Thanks!

-------- Alex & Amy

-06 Scion xB

-04 Matrix XRS

Reply to
alex.cordero
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Wow...good question! Sinice you're going back to the dealer, have them activate it and set it up. If you get the account trhough the Toyota dealer, you get a year free (MAKE SURE!!! you tell them you would like the XM promotion, but you already have an XM account.)

There are two ways to do this: have them install the XM kit; it may have an XM 'ready' radio but the receiver may not be installed. It probably isn't inwhich case you're looking at a few bucks (I can't remember the price for the kit). It is a hidden receiver that installs somewhere in the vehicle out of the way, such as behind the glove box or under a seat, with hard-wired power and a professionally installed antenna. When youy activate the account through the Toyota dealer, tell them you have a second receover that you want on the account. That's $6.95 more a month. Then YOU can have XM in your car, too.

Or, just transfer the kit from your old car to the new one and use it like you did before. If you have a Roady 2 or a Roady XT, the transmitter is already built in, just place it on the dash somewhere close to the radio. But ask the dealer to activate it anyway, and try to get them to give you the free year! Hell, you DID buy a new car from them!

If the kit IS installed already (it would be on the sticker or the dealer add-in sticker) then all you need is the ESN (electronic serial number) and tell XM to switch activation from your old unit to your new one. Your dealer can give you a promotion code for your free year.

BTW, the receiver has a proprietary conncetor; you won't be able to just connect your old one right to the radio using anything from Radio Shack. Sorry.

If you decide to buy the kit, sell me your old one for $30...provided it's not a Roady! ;)

I Love Lucy!

Reply to
Hachiroku

Yea, I have a Roady already... in fact, I have two--one in my Matrix and another in *now* in the new Scion xB. I feel a little bit gipped--I know.. but I can't help that even if it says "satellite ready" that they wouldn't make easy and inexpensive to install.

I talked to Toyota about installing XM in the new xB. And even with an existing XM account, they wanted almost $350 more dollars to do it. Damn! we already bought the car... screw it, I'll just keep enjoying the Roady II.

Is there something special about the other XM radio units that I'm missing out by using the Roady?

Reply to
alex.cordero

Just the features. They have more lines of text, and they can change channels when a song you have stored comes on a different channel.

But, they don't (or didn't) have a Direct Connection, and need an external FM modulator. It's built in to the Roady.

Best bet would be an aftermarket radio with a front panel AUX input. The sound is a lot better.

Reply to
Hachiroku

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