carguy_62

Sorry for the dumb question ( I think), but on some LS430's I see a black box shape on the top of the trunk lid on the left side (on the exterior). It;s about the size of a cigarette pack. What is this?

airtime

My guess would be satellite radio.

motohide

Probabaly an aftermarket (by dealer) installed Satellite radio SIRIUS or XM?
Toyota OEM XM antenna would be on the inside of the rear window...I think. OEM GPS antenna is under the dash in front.

carguy_62

Thanks for that. Should have thought of sat radio, but kind of surprised that it would require an externally mounted square box - figured technology would have been a little beyond that...

scottmcc

it is absoutelly the xm raidio antenna.. If you have XM.. put your hads over it and it will go dead..

motohide

Yep! But one must figure too, that XM radio is a feature specific to the USA so emergence of adding XM was probably a dealer requested feature for LEXUS USA...and was caught to engineer it in a hurry for the LS430.

I'm sure the LS460 and 600 would have a much better solution pre-installed/designed on the cars.

Still XM and Sirius, though very heavily marketed has small audience of users. For those in greater metropolitan cities in the USA, digital OTA radio is making debut this year and is crystal clear and FREE. (provided your radio can receive it...) I think with our current decline in economic climate, many will forgo paying for subscription to satellite radio, and live with advertisements and fidelity of the FM radio.

I have iPOD, DVD, and other goodies loaded in my LS430, but XM is something that never impressed me enough to warrant a $120 annual premium, after trying it out for a few months in my Dodge Ram + Trailer. Yes it was wonderful when I used to go cross-country race car hauling to verious events, but never used it locally.

(yes, the largest market for satellite radio currently is by trucking industry...by preference of those who regularly travel interstate and roll around in areas without strong FM signals half the time.)

Hey, at least XM doesn't require a 18" dish like DirecTV mounted on the roof of the car! We'd look like Storm Chasers! Hahhaha!

carguy_62

I don;t have interest in using sat radio either - I wonder if the finish under the exterior box would still be ok?

BTW you mention that you have dvd and IPOD in your LS - what are the best options for both of those? Would the DVD integrate with the electronics control system - i.e. could you use rear seat controls in UL Model, or at least could you pipe the DVD audio through the car if you wanted to?

Thanks