I'm a little confused about something.

I bought my 08 tc on the 7th. I wanted to add the sirius receiver & antenna kit made for the car on my own, but from what I have gathered, they don't have it.

I called a few dealers here in the ATL area and can't get an exact answer. Finally I talked to a dealer who said they had no database info on it. Frustrated, I called Scion Corp to get an answer.

The answer from Scion Corp didn't make me happy. She said that they had the XM kit but nothing on the Sirius. WTF?!?!?!

Does anyone out there know any info regarding this? Can anyone help me out? I would hate to have to install something seperate and such like I did with my xB.

HEEEEEELP!

 

I just installed the factory Sirius into my '08 tc on Tuesday (and I'm in ATL, too!). I ordered the Sirius unit and the fit kit from http://www.trdsparks.com/ . The website doesn't have anything listed under 08 tc, but I emailed them and they sent me the correct part numbers and links.

My part numbers (from my receipt):
PTS31-00051-AA Sirius Fit Kit
PTS31-53060 Sirius Reciever

It was a total plug and play operation. The install directions said to mount the antenna on the front windshield (it mounts inside), but it's a large triangle and I didn't like it there. I installed mine on the inside of the rear hatch and ran the wire through the headliner and down the passenger side trim to the receiver.

This is the installation instructions.
http://www.trdsparks.com/install/PTS31-00051tCinst.pdf

Good luck!

 

I am assuming that it was for the 07 model right? Why would Scion Corp say they didn't have the accessory for it yet then? I was under the impression they might be redoing it.....

So it was a perfectly easy install? How did you run it down from the hatch? Now I am a feeling a little better...

Are you impressed with the reception and quality? I want to know more:-)

So where in the ATL are you? I live in Buckhead. You'll see me cruisin around in my Waveline Pearl 08:-)

Thanks for the info btw! I appreciate it!

 

The actual Sirius receiver is listed under the 2008 xb on Spark's website, but it will/should work with any Toyota. The fit kit came from the page for the 2006 tc. I know they are different vehicles, et al, but it works. I couldn't even begin to ponder why Scion corp. is saying they don't have it. These are the parts I received and it works perfectly with my stereo (I have the upgraded btw, but it shouldn't make a difference).

The install was really easy in my opinion, but I've done stereos before. The interior trim around the radio pulls straight off, and the the radio is only held in with 4 screws. As for the antenna relocation, that was a bit more of a challenge. I placed the antenna dead center on the hatch glass up against the light grey trim at the top. I pulled the top trim on the hatch off and ran the wire through the rubber sheath that runs between the hatch and the actual car (it carries the wires for the license plate lights and the hatch release). Once through the rubber sheath I removed the two plastic clips on the rear of the headliner (inside on opposite sides of the rear dome light) which gave me enough room to run the antenna wire through the ceiling to the passenger side trim. From there it was just a matter of running to the front passenger seat.

The hardest part was squeezing the antenna plug through the rubber sheath (it's a good size plug).

Reception in that location has been fantastic (once again, in my opinion). I rarely get any drop outs and when I do it's short lived. I had Sirius in my previous car for 3 years and wasn't about to go without it very long. As for sound quality, it's definitely not CD as there tends to be some compression artifacts (think mp3), but it doesn't bother me and the eq helps tailor the sound. It's worth having the selection and commercial free aspect of it all.

I'll post a pic of the antenna install tomorrow if you're interested.

I'm in northwest ATL, often referred to as Sminings (south of Smyrna, west of Vinings). I'm running Flint Mica.

 

I greatly appreciate the info. I have been going through withdrawls not having my Sirius. I have the Premium Audio for the 08 and I love it. I had a 10 inch EFX sub in a custom enclosure with a 400watt amp running in my 06 xB, now it just sits in my closet not being used.

If you can/would post pictures for me, I would be SO thankful. I think I can do the antenna wiring thing no problem and the rest should be fairly easy too.

Do you have to disconnect the battery at all?

 

Took some pics this morning, I hope you can make everything out.

Here is what the antenna looks like on the actual hatch glass. When the hatch is closed you can't see it at all from outside, and I can't see it in the rear view mirror.


A little bit closer; the wire runs under the gray trim (which pulls straight off) and into the rubber sleeve into the car/headliner


The antenna wire running beneath the trim.


Once in the car I ran the antenna down the passenger side trim, in between the black and gray trim in the backseat. I thought it turned out quite nice and I like it much better on the hatch instead of the front windshield. As you can see it's a rather large antenna, but supposedly it's one of the better Sirius antenna's on the market.

 

Thanks! You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

Question though, won't that location of the antenna be bad in the winter when you have to use the defroster?

I saw the parts on the site, it totalled like 268 and some change. Does that sound about right?

 

It shouldn't affect the defroster. I double checked and the defroster elements start about 4-5 inches below the antenna (ie, the antenna doesn't sit on the defroster wires).

The subtotal for my order was $260.75 ($87.75 for the fit kit, $173 for the receiver) plus shipping. When I ordered the parts I made sure to note that the parts were going into an '08 tc. I know that plug and plays can be had for much cheaper, but I like the factory integration. Besides, it's a clean install.

 

Can you show me a picture of where you installed the Sirius receiver box? Did you do it under the seat? Is it safe there from dust, debris, heat?

 

Sorry for the delay in responding - I just got back from the beach

I installed the Sirius box under the front passenger seat, which is the factory Toyota location. I'm not too concerned about dust, etc. as the box is sealed (it has no vents of any kind). I figure Toyota knew what they were doing.

The pic below is with the front passenger seat moved all the way forward. With the seat in it's normal position you can't see it at all. The fit kit includes a template of where to mount the receiver.



Hope this helps!

 

Thank you! I really appreciate it!

 

If the '06s fit your car, why not save $100 and buy the one that came with my car? :D

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...554&highlight=

 

Scribble thanks for all the great pictures and posting. I have some additional questions for you.

1) Once you got the antenna wire through the black sleeve and into the headliner how did you fish the antenna wire through the headliner ?

2) Did you have to cut the carpet under the passengers seat to run any wires to the receiver or mount it to the carpet ?

3) How did you route the wires from the receiver under the passenger seat to the head unit in the dashboard ?

4) Is your reception still good ?

5) Does this Sirius kit include satellite presets ? if so how many ?


Thanks
Tom

 

On the rear headliner, next to the back seat dome light, there are two plastic tabs stuck through the headliner. These tabs can be gently pried off allowing you to pull the headliner away from the roof (I only pulled it down about an inch or two, as I ran the wire straight to the passenger side trim in back).

I didn't have to cut any holes for the wires under the seat. There's already a hole there for the pass seat wiring harness (airbags, etc) so the connections went through the same hole. Your supposed to cut 2 slits into the capet to mount the fit kit, though. The fit kit includes a template for that. The harness from the Sirius to the headunit is run under the carpet to the plastic trim along the side of the car ( the piece under the door attached to the car - make sense?). From there it goes under the pass. kick panel, behind the glove compartment, and into the back of the receiver. For this part of the install I followed the install directions from TRD Sparks.

I haven't had any real issue with the reception of the antenna on the hatch. I get a lot less drop outs than I did with my old car, but I had the antenna on that car inside on the back dash. It takes a great deal of tree cover to get the Sirius to drop out with this set up.

As for the presets, I unfortunately don't remember. It did have a set of free channels, and I want to say it was something like 12, but don't quote me on that. I activated mine right after I installed the Sirius kit so I really didn't play with that. I did get three months free and free activation with this unit.

 

Scribble thanks for the answers and it sounds like you did a really nice job installing your satellite radio in your tc.

 

Thanks - I hope it works out for those who choose to mount their antennas this way.

 

I haven't purchased this yet but I am really really anxious to get it in. There is only so much freakin cd and radio one can take before they go outta their mind!

Scribble, EXCELLENT info for the DIYers out there. I will let ya know how mine goes, once I have it.

 

Bringing this old thread back to life, but I was wondering if anyone noticed that they had to turn their radio up quite a bit (35-40ish) to have the sound match that of what a CD would be at say 20?? I just installed the factory sirius and I found I had to turn the radio up quite a bit to have the satellite at a comfortable listening level. Thanks and let me know!

 

I haven't noticed that problem with my Sirius kit. The sound level on mine is comparable to a CD or FM. I don't think I've ever had my stereo up to 40.

 

It was weird that it had to be turned up that far to get the volume to come up high enough...I have a DF-TOY hooked up inline with the sat radio, so there is a Y-harness on the Changer/Sat input plug. I don't thing that would cause an issue, but I'll have to plug directly into the stereo, see if maybe it is?? I installed the factory sirius unit for a 2008 xB..I got the sirius Connect unit. So far, it works great, but it only displays like 10 chars of text as opposed to 16 written in the manual for XM. This is hooked up to the premium (t1809) unit if that matters. Is there maybe some sort of audio output setting on the Sirius Connect unit I can change? I did not see one on there...

Also, I got the unit from sparks toyota...should I contact them, maybe there is an issue with my tuner? (low volume)..I have sent an email to Jamie at sparks toyota (very helpful)..so we will see what he says...