Sirius Issues - Chicago - Hybrid with Nav

[chicagopjp]

Friends,

I just took delivery on a 2007 Camry Hybrid with navigation and Sirius. The dealer installed Sirius with the fit kit. The antenna is installed at the top of the windshield, to the right of the mirror, in the pattern of dots. I believe that is where the instructions call for.

I'm having all kinds of problems with drop outs / poor reception. My basis for comparison is two years with an Alpine system and an external antenna on a different car. The trouble starts out on the open expressway, anywhere near downtown Chicago. I don't mean on the surface streets surrounded by skyscrapers -- I get that there may be problems there. Instead, I'm talking about just as soon as the skyscrapers, etc. are in sight, but at least 2-3 miles away. In fact, it seems so far from downtown that even mentioning downtown might be a red herring. Some of this, but certainly not all, is explained by passing under overpasses and bridges. Much of it happens out in the open. This happens far more severely, and frequently, in the Camry than it ever did in the other car with the Alpine system.

I've read all the posts I can find about satellite installations in this car here and elsewhere. I've seen some talk of better results of by placing the antenna on the inside near the back window. I've also seen talk of better results by placing the antenna outside, on the rear deck lid. Neither solution seems ideal to me, and I don't know that the dealer will relocate it for me anyway.

I'd appreciate any help in troubleshooting or resolving this issue. Some questions:

Are you using the same installation setup I have in the Chicago area? If so, how is your service?

Regardless of where you live, if you've experienced severe drop outs, what have you done to fix the issue?

Is the Toyota Sirius receiver/brain known to be especially bad? What about the antenna? If it is a problem with the brain itself, I'd probably replace that instead of trying to relocate the antenna. If it is the brain, will other receivers connect to the existing antenna, or will that be a problem, too?

Finally, I'm posting this here because I assume the nav+Sirius combo is the same in the Hybrid Camry as the non-Hybrids, but please let me know if that factor is relevant.

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Cheers

[IVIatticus]

I don't have your setup, however I do have sirius and I had my antenna on the roof and it was unusable in the city. Not in the loop, but around town just like you. I was at Comiskey Friday (With the old car/setup) and I had to switch to FM on the way down because I couldn't get signal on 290.

It seems weird that the antenna would be placed on the windshield. I just bought a camry and haven't had time to do a good install so, mine has just been sitting on my dash and it doesn't work for anything.

Do you know if you can hook up a different antenna to it? That would probably be the best way to troubleshoot. Hook up a different antenna and put it on the roof and see if it makes any difference.

Good luck!

[chicagopjp]

Originally Posted by IVIatticus

I don't have your setup, however I do have sirius and I had my antenna on the roof and it was unusable in the city. Not in the loop, but around town just like you. I was at Comiskey Friday (With the old car/setup) and I had to switch to FM on the way down because I couldn't get signal on 290.

It seems weird that the antenna would be placed on the windshield. I just bought a camry and haven't had time to do a good install so, mine has just been sitting on my dash and it doesn't work for anything.

Do you know if you can hook up a different antenna to it? That would probably be the best way to troubleshoot. Hook up a different antenna and put it on the roof and see if it makes any difference.

Good luck!

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm puzzled because I had next to no problems in my old car with an aftermarket Sirius installation.

The dealer has been slow in finding a solution, but last I heard he was researching other antennas that could connect to my brain to try on the trunk. We'll see. If there isn't a solution soon, I'll have the dealer remove it and refund the charge. I think I've read that there are some aftermarket kits that will interface with the NAV screen to one degree or another. I'm not wild about having to do the reasearch to figure out which is the best way to go, etc., but that might have to be the answer.

[IVIatticus]

Originally Posted by chicagopjp

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm puzzled because I had next to no problems in my old car with an aftermarket Sirius installation.

The dealer has been slow in finding a solution, but last I heard he was researching other antennas that could connect to my brain to try on the trunk. We'll see. If there isn't a solution soon, I'll have the dealer remove it and refund the charge. I think I've read that there are some aftermarket kits that will interface with the NAV screen to one degree or another. I'm not wild about having to do the reasearch to figure out which is the best way to go, etc., but that might have to be the answer.

Hopefully someone who knows what they're talking about will chime in, but I was doing research Saturday night, and there is one that will integrate with the factory NAV, I need something that will integrate with my factory JBL because I really don't want to change the headunit.

And since you shelled out for the factory Sirius I bet whatever you get will be signifcantly cheaper than with the facotry sirius if you can do the install yourself, otherwise you'll have to pay for the install too. Or I can help you out with it since you're in the area.

Well I seen you found the other post, that's exactly what I seen before. I bet if you can just get a different antenna you'll be fine.

[lev96]

I believe that i am having the same problem as you. First some background: I drive a 2008 Camry Hybrid with Nav. The dealer installed Sirius into the integrated system, and uses an antenna near the rear view mirror in the windshield. I live in the Philadelphia area and when i drive down some of the major highways, i get no reception with long blackout periods. There are no trees/skyscrapers/obstructions at these points. Note that i have driven a few other cars with Sirius down these same roads and have no reception problems.

I am 99% sure the interference is coming from power lines and electronic interference. In most cases of these dropouts/blackouts, i see some major power lines in the area. I suspect that in areas that i don't see them, they are nearby or underground.

Solution... here's the rub... don't have one yet. My dealer feels bad that i spent $700 on a system that doesn't work for 50% of my commute and they will take the system out with a refund. (I was surprised at this, i must have a good dealer...) I will then get an aftermarket system that will work better.

Another problem: Do you only get 10 characters of info in the name/artist lines? Can that be fixed?

[chicagopjp]

Originally Posted by lev96

I believe that i am having the same problem as you. First some background: I drive a 2008 Camry Hybrid with Nav. The dealer installed Sirius into the integrated system, and uses an antenna near the rear view mirror in the windshield. I live in the Philadelphia area and when i drive down some of the major highways, i get no reception with long blackout periods. There are no trees/skyscrapers/obstructions at these points. Note that i have driven a few other cars with Sirius down these same roads and have no reception problems.

I am 99% sure the interference is coming from power lines and electronic interference. In most cases of these dropouts/blackouts, i see some major power lines in the area. I suspect that in areas that i don't see them, they are nearby or underground.

Solution... here's the rub... don't have one yet. My dealer feels bad that i spent $700 on a system that doesn't work for 50% of my commute and they will take the system out with a refund. (I was surprised at this, i must have a good dealer...) I will then get an aftermarket system that will work better.

I posted the following on another forum:

"Just to close the loop on this, and to help out any future owners with similar Sirius reception issues, my problem is now resolved.

"The dealer installed an external antenna on my 2007 Camry Hybrid. The antenna was originally designed for a 2005 Land Cruiser. It fit the receiver that came with the OEM Sirius Fit Kit that the dealer installed prior to my taking delivery. Toyota's instructions call for the dealer to place the antenna on the inside of the windshield, behind the rear view mirror, in the shade/pattern of dots. That placement was undoubtedly the cause of my frequent, unexplained drop outs in reception.

"Now that the external antenna is connected, the reception problems are 99% gone. Last night and this morning I drove the same areas in which I'd been having problems, and there were almost no drop outs. The drop outs I did experience were shorter and less noticeable, and within my personal level of acceptability.

"Bottom line: the internal antenna, at least when placed in the sunshade area of the windshield, presents unacceptable difficulty with reception. The fix for me was an external antenna."

Originally Posted by lev96

Another problem: Do you only get 10 characters of info in the name/artist lines? Can that be fixed?

I do get that limitation. I've given up on chasing a solution. I think I saw somewhere a suggestion that the Sirius brain -- the box that sits between the Camry head unit and the antenna -- mandated this limitation. I don't know if that is true, but I guess the way to figure it out is to swap in a new brain and see. The limitation can't be just the screen, because I think MP3 playback shows the full tags (again though, not sure).

[lev96]

thanks! i will take this info to my dealer and see if they will do it!