Highlander Hybrid & Satellite Radio?

Does anyone happen to know if it's possible to install XM or Sirrius satellite radios in the new HiHys? Are the stock radios 'satellite ready'? I know I can always install a separate tuner such as a Delphi Skyfi unit with an FM modulator, but I would prefer a cleaner installation if possible.

I heard the new hybrid is going to have an additional dealer mark up of 10000, is there any truth to that?

I upgraded my Dad's Prius using PriusXM (www.priusxm.com (http://www.priusxm.com/)) and it's worked perfectly. I just purchased a Highlander Hybrid with Navigation and spoke to the dealer about the XM upgrade. He indicated that the unit should be the same as the Prius. I'm looking into that sort of option. It integrates with the screen and with the Prius works and look great.

I test drive one this past Saturday. What a creampuff! After much research, the salesperson found out that it will NOT have a satellite radio button. ie. It will not be a straight integration to put in Sirius. Amazing. How can such a usually astute company be so clueless?

No Smartkey :thumbdown
No satellite radio:thumbdown
No Bluetooth :thumbdown

Who wants a cobbled up sat radio setup when everything else is so new?

Other than that, am looking forward to my new silver/gray.

http://www.vaistech.com/aic100x.html

This company already has a unit that interfaces the terk XMD-1000 universal tuner for the Lexus. The anticipate releasing the Toyota version the end of this month. It should completely integrate with the touchsceen, but it is somewhat pricey.

2006 Highlander Hybrid--Super White
2006 Highlander Hybrid--Bluestone Metallic

It should be able to use the same system as the Prius.

As for mark ups, we don't know but if a dealer is forcing a $10k markup, I'd take my business elsewhere. Ditto for Prius. You can easily get one for MSRP or lower now so walk out if a dealer insist on a "market adjustment value"

I just picked up my Hybrid Highlander on Thursday. I LOVE IT! The guy at the dealership told me it would be "satellite ready, you just need the antennae" (I am already an XM subscriber) and that I'd find more info on the Toyota website .... but naturally I haven't seen any such thing. I'm trying to find out what this really means, if I can use my existing set up or what. I'm a newbie so if anyone can explain it to me in layman's terms that would be great.

BTW, the HH is fabulous. Best car I've ever had, even better than my old MR2.

The Camry/Solara Toyota kit does work with a few minor modifications. I installed this in my Highlander Hybrid with Nav option. It integrates with the MFD as expected. The AM button now toggles between AM, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3. The mode button on the steering wheel also works.

First, dump the antenna that comes with the kit and get a decent external antenna. I used the Terk SIRMINI Sirius Satellite Roof Mount Antenna

The only mod I needed to make was to move the existing AVC-LAN wires from pins 9 and 10 of R22 on the back of the radio to pins 9 and 10 on R23 on the back of the radio. This frees up R22 to plug in the harness from the satellite receiver to the radio.

In my case, I installed the Sirius kit but I expect the XM kit would work just fine as well.

One of my customers informed me of this web site today reguarding the Satellite Radios that people were installing. To everyone that has used another Toyota part or have hooked up Satellite Radio with out using Toyota Brand Highlander Hybrid parts; You have just Xed out your warrenty !!!!! I advise you to not add something that is not approved by Toyota Corp!!! I have advised my customer along with several other customers to wait a couple months while Toyota comes out with the appropriate hardware and wire harness for Satellite Radio.
For those of you who are wondering if Satellite Radio comes with the Highlander Hybrids??... IT DOES NOT. Your Salesperson does not know his product!!! The Highlander nor the Prius comes capable with Satellite Radio! You will have to get an add on. And nothing is availible to be intergrated with the Navigation. If you have any questions, Please feel free to contact me at
megankautz@motorcarstoyota.com (megankautz@motorcarstoyota.com)

PS. Unless you can prove me wrong (I am 99.99% positive) please let me know!

ehh... we've been adding XM Satellite radios to our Priuses with no problems. Warranty isn't an issue.

its all plug in you can just remove it before you take it in for any services and then plug it right back up later, no one will ever know

One of my customers informed me of this web site today reguarding the Satellite Radios that people were installing. To everyone that has used another Toyota part or have hooked up Satellite Radio with out using Toyota Brand Highlander Hybrid parts; You have just Xed out your warrenty !!!!! I advise you to not add something that is not approved by Toyota Corp!!! I have advised my customer along with several other customers to wait a couple months while Toyota comes out with the appropriate hardware and wire harness for Satellite Radio.
For those of you who are wondering if Satellite Radio comes with the Highlander Hybrids??... IT DOES NOT. Your Salesperson does not know his product!!! The Highlander nor the Prius comes capable with Satellite Radio! You will have to get an add on. And nothing is availible to be intergrated with the Navigation. If you have any questions, Please feel free to contact me at
megankautz@motorcarstoyota.com (megankautz@motorcarstoyota.com)

PS. Unless you can prove me wrong (I am 99.99% positive) please let me know!
you work for a dealership, and you don't know how a warranty is voided? it'll only void your warranty if you guys (the dealership) can prove that the installed piece was directly responsible for the failure. It may void the warranty on electronics, but highly unlikely, because XM shouldn't mess anything up if installed properly.

Thanks for the info. I ordered the Sirius kits today from the dealer.
I was able to get a discount because of a deal with my sales person.
I ordered: PTS31-00052 Receiver @ $169.15 and PTS31-00051 Fit Kit @ $85.00.
I am hooked on Sirius from a JVC I had in my 2004 Matrix.
I installed a Basslink subwoofer but I don't have anything but commercials to listen to.
I have had my Bluestone Limited w/Nav for a month now.
Love it.

The Camry/Solara Toyota kit does work with a few minor modifications. I installed this in my Highlander Hybrid with Nav option. It integrates with the MFD as expected. The AM button now toggles between AM, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3. The mode button on the steering wheel also works.

First, dump the antenna that comes with the kit and get a decent external antenna. I used the Terk SIRMINI Sirius Satellite Roof Mount Antenna

The only mod I needed to make was to move the existing AVC-LAN wires from pins 9 and 10 of R22 on the back of the radio to pins 9 and 10 on R23 on the back of the radio. This frees up R22 to plug in the harness from the satellite receiver to the radio.

In my case, I installed the Sirius kit but I expect the XM kit would work just fine as well.The Sirius kit came in today. I dissected R22, snapped up the top of R23 and inserted the pins into 9 & 10.(Get out your magnifier to see those #'s). It works perfect!
All the features intergrated into the nav properly. Sat1, Sat2, Sat3 steering wheel controls, everything. Thanks for a mod the dealer said could not be done. You were right on.
The sound quality is excellent. Crystal clear highs and the Basslink is tight.
(I added a 1.2 Farad cap last week.)
That antenna they give you is enormous. So like you said I got a mini.
Thanks so... much.
__________________________________________________ ___
2006 Limited Edition Highlander Hybrid W/Nav & Gray Leather.
Bluestone Metallic
Infinity Basslink, Tsunami 1.2 Farad Cap & Amp Kit, and now, Intergrated Sirius Satellite!



:clap:

Two weeks ago, I installed FactoryInteractive's XM kit for the Highlander Hybrid with Nav Display.

The installation DVD provided with the kit makes the whole job very easy. I took my laptop out to the car, and played and paused the DVD as I went along. It took me about three hours in total, but I was taking my time to make sure I didn't scratch or break any of the Toyota molded plastic pieces in the car's interior.

The Satellite screens are activated in the navigational display as soon as the factory radio detects the presence of the satellite tuner. Works great!

Their website is www.factoryinteractive.com (http://www.factoryinteractive.com)

Hi all,

I just placed my order for my HH (with nav) and should be getting it in a week or two. I was bummed that they didn't have a Sirius option but I'm psyched about what I've read here. I've got a couple questions:

1. Where can I get the Camry/Solara Toyota kit talked about above? Is it something I'd order through my dealer or can I get a better deal somewhere else? If through the dealer then what part number(s) and how much can I expect it to cost?

2. Same thing goes for the optional antenna - any good suggestions for where to get it from?

3. Where can I find instructions on performing the install? I've got no problem doing the work myself, I just like to know where the appropriate screws, etc. are all hidden rather than trying to figure out how to dismantle the dash & radio on my own.

4. Any other details I might need to know about?

Thanks!

-Bruce

I have also just installed the Factory Interactive XM kit in my Highlander. The DVD alone makes the price worthwhile. What would have taken me probably two days of nerve-wracking vehicle disassembly was turned into 4 hours of easy work. And the results are marvelous. XM works great, and I love having the functionality built into the Nav touch-screen.

Highly recommended!!

I finished installing the Factory Interactive kit a few days ago. This is my very first satellite radio, and I love the sound quality and music choices.

One problem though:
The song Title & Artist text fields are truncated to only 10 characters, or so. Is this normal?? (The Factory Interactive site displays a song title/artist that, coincidentally, has less than 10 characters....:disappoin )

The song Title & Artist text fields are truncated to only 10 characters, or so. Is this normal?? (The Factory Interactive site displays a song title/artist that, coincidentally, has less than 10 characters....:disappoin )
Yeah, I'm seeing the same thing and I'm disappointed about that as well. I hope that this was done in the software in the NAV unit and not the radio. That way there's a (slim) chance that maybe Toyota would "fix" this and make the text display actually be useful. When I listen to my other Sat. radio the display shows all the text (scrolling it by if necessary), and I really miss that when I'm in the car.
:sosad:

Not that I'm complaining or anything... I love having the Sat. radio integrated with my Highlander!

-Bruce

I guess I'm lucky. The dealer where I bought my Highlander Hybrid (Longo Toyota) installs Sirus on all the new cars and offers 9 months of free Sirus.

Two weeks ago, I installed FactoryInteractive's XM kit for the Highlander Hybrid with Nav Display.

The installation DVD provided with the kit makes the whole job very easy. I took my laptop out to the car, and played and paused the DVD as I went along. It took me about three hours in total, but I was taking my time to make sure I didn't scratch or break any of the Toyota molded plastic pieces in the car's interior.

The Satellite screens are activated in the navigational display as soon as the factory radio detects the presence of the satellite tuner. Works great!

Their website is www.factoryinteractive.com (http://www.factoryinteractive.com)

Are you able to use all the functionality of the kit while the car is in motion?

Toyota wants $500.00 to install tuner and antenna for my 08 TCH w/Nav. Has anyone tried circuit city or best buy for intalls? Thanks in advance, Tim