Shervin350

how can i find out if my car has satellite radio?

evogt500

Does your car have a shark fin antenna? If it does, you have sat radio.

Bichon

Not true. All the '07 and later cars have the shark fin. No '06 cars do, but they can have satellite radio with a trunk mount antenna (sometime hidden around the high brake light).

The way to tell is to press the "AM SAT" button multiple times. If it stays on AM radio, you don't have the satellite module. If it switches between AM and the "call to subscribe" satellite channel, you do.

evogt500

Nice to know. But my statement is true. Just didnt know the other part.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Huh?

Your statement wasn't true at all.

Shark fin doesn't tell you anything about if the car has SAT or not.

07+ cars all come with the fin. Including the ones that did not come with SAT radio.

evogt500

That is the stupidest thing I ever heard. Not your statement, but the fact that non-sat radio cars have a shark fin antenna.

I will shut up now. Good day.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Not really though.... because installing and wiring the shark fin after the car has been assembled is quite difficult, but it's quite easy in the factory. (plus many folks liked how it looked)

Further, XM was available as a port-installed (ie after the factory) and dealer-installed (again, post factory) option.

By putting the fin on every car it was a 30-60 minute job, all plug and play, all in the trunk, to add XM to any car that didn't already have it.

If only SAT cars got the fin you'd need to drop the headliner, run wires, etc in order to add it later.



The bad news is that starting in 2010 Lexus changed the stereo system in the 2IS such that XM was built into it (no additional kit needed) and they soon thereafter discontinued the XM kit- leaving older 2IS owners who had not already purchased it out in the cold.

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

Just reiterating what was already stated, for North America:

06 - No antenna, no XM from the factory. (PIO/DIO-install kit adds trunk mounted antenna, tuner and mounting bracket)
07-09 - Has antenna, no XM from the factory. (PIO/DIO-install kit adds tuner and mounting bracket)
10-12 - Has antenna, has XM from the factory. (Tuner built into head-unit)

Jeff