Toyota Prius Audio & Entertainment System Questions
I am picking up a new Black Prius today. I was wondering if you can play mp3 cd's that I have made myself or can you only play mp3 using say an Ipod in the adapter?
Thanks David
Thanks David
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A couple of minor quirks - 1) the car sometimes switches to "cd" from "Aux" after it's been shut off. 2) if I charge the Ipod from the power adapter while connected to the Aux port, I hear a faint hiss under the music. Otherwise no complaints.
I'll be the first in line to have it installed. Currently I have a "Roady 2" installed in my vehicle but it's performance is marginal, the main problem is interference on most of the available FM channels.
I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has the factory/dealer installed version as to it's performance.
Both Roady 2 and XT are pocket size units which can be mounted on the dash or on the center console. On my Prius the antenna is mounted on the front passenger windshield, on a previous car it was on the rear window.
I can't speak for the XT but i'm not satisfied with my Roady due to having difficulty finding an open channel. The Roady/XTs have to be tuned to one of 7 or 8 FM frequencies such as 88.1, depending on your location there may be another non XM station with a strong signal that interferes with the XM. I find myself changing frequencies often which is difficult to do while driving. The interference tends to be heavier when near a larger city with a greater concentration of FM stations.
When I find the right frequency the Roady gives acceptable reception. It may well be the XT gives better reception. I'm waiting for the Toyota integrated unit to become available and take the chance that a Toyota dealer will install it correctly. Being the XM radio addict I am i'll just have to put up with the Roady until then.
I am NOT drilling on my brand new car! My salesman told me today (when I picked it up) that the integrated units are supposed to be available at the first part of June, so I think I can manage for that long with the cd player. I'd rather have the Toyota dealer put it in, then they're responsible if there's a problem
I have purchased one of those FM Transmitter from ebay. It works very good. Here is where I bought the item.
http://stores.ebay.com/Risefull-Direct
In urban driving so far reception has been excellent but recently took a 300 mile trip that was mostly rural and hilly. Approximately 25% of the trip resulted in "No signal". I covered the same route with the same car when my "Roady" was installed and less than 5% was "No signal".
With the "Roady" the rubber antenna was mounted on the roof,with the integrated unit it is mounted on the far lower right(passenger side) of the windshield.
While more testing will be required to form a conclusion i'm hoping that the current antenna position will not result in consistent signal loss.
I'm interested in hearing from anyone with the integrated XM radio on their Prius as to reception issues.
From the ergononmic standpoint the unit is excellent.
My GMC PU has XM factory installed. It has a small antenna on the roof. The only time I lose signal is in my metal shop building. It does not cut out when going through an underpass. I have not had it in a tunnel which I assume will lose the signal. Part of the system has a memory circuit that stores the signal coming in to avoid losses.
My friend has a HCH with integrated XM and the antenna is mounted on the upper right corner of the windshield(passenger side). He has no reception problems in hilly terrain.
Also I noticed on my Prius there is a 2.25inch square metallic plate on the interior windshield surface covering the rubber or plastic portion of the antenna. I never saw one before but I can't help but think that it doesn't impede reception.
After some further road testing i'll probably end up back at the dealer requesting some type of antenna modification.
I have the same setup as you do, i'm assuming that your antenna is on the lower portion-far right portion of the passenger side windshield, as opposed to the upper far right position.
After nearly a month with this setup i'm having serious problems and am getting "No Signal" repeatedly in flat,level terrain. Overall i'd estimate "No signal" 10% of the time. I'm ready to go back to the Toyota dealer who installed it.
Does anyone know if it is possible to mount the after-factory Prius XM antenna at some point other than the lower far right or is it something Toyota just refuses to do?
My lady has a MB, factory installed, and it too is roof mounted. I think this is a dealer/manufacturer deal. Perhaps they don't want to breach the seal of the windshield for some reason, although I have never experienced leaks or the like.
Most like cause is the antenna. I would go to a professional setroe or XM dealer to resolve the issue.
Good Luck,
MidCow
Liked Local Talk shows, NPR, and FM Jazz station better. An CDs and Autoselect AM/FM stations on road trips. Also, didn't want to pay $13 per month.
This is the third vehicle I've owned with XM and have never experienced the problems you are currently having. I would certainly take this up with your Toyota Dealer. When I spoke with my Toyota dealer, they would only install the antenna on the dash where ours is located for warranty purposes. I'll be interested in hearing how they remedy this for you.
Ironically I have an XM roof mount antenna already installed on my '06 Prius. This is because I had a "Roady" installed before the Toyota XM integrated unit became available. The Toyota installer obviously was aware of this, but it appears their policy requires windshield mount antennas.
I've made an appointment for later this week with the XM dealer(non Toyota) who installed the "Roady". Hopefully the roofmount antenna can be connected to the Integrated unit although it might jeopradize the warranty.
If that can't be done i'll have to take the matter up with Toyota.
The radio itself is excellent with the screen being easily visible while driving.
Dmitriy
Instead he suggested a simple modification which was done within fifteen minutes. On my windshield antenna the silver metallic strip was attached to the front lower right windshield and positioned between the windshield and the black plastic rectangular antenna unit(also attached to the windshield). The technician's opinion was that this was likely to impede reception of the satellite signal.
The set up was repositioned: the silver metallic strip is now flat on the dashboard instead of attached to the windshield and the black unit is directly on top of it with nothing between it and the windshield. No antenna part is attached directly to the windshield.
So far the preliminary reception results appear promising, but i'll have to do more driving to form a definite opinion.
They sell such things.
I think your reception should improve considerably with the new location of the antenna since it appears that it is in the same position as the one I have. Let me know how it works out for you.
I have a Motorola RAZR phone that integrated perfectly. The set-up was quick and simple. I also know that the Motorola Z600 should work as well but the RAZR is much more user friendly.
The guy who asked was in message #28.
J
One source I found is Factory Interactive, offering an XM kit that integrates directly with the existing radio and Multi-Function Display (MFD). That sounds like a tuner and software solution that might be a good compromise.
Does anyone have experience and advice to share please? Does Toyota sell any replacement hardware for upgrades like this?
Thanks!
Thanks.
Is anybody have a similar experience, or suggestion on what can be done to reduce the repair cost?
thnx, bobc
How do you set up the music player.
The 2004 Prius does not have an AUX music input jack.
Anyway, I just bought a used 2006 prius. Don't know what package. Is there any way to tell?
Also, I was under the impression that all 2006's had the AUX jack? I'm a huge audiophile, and being chained to regular radio is driving me nuts. I do not own an ipod (for god sakes, there's better things out there than those things). Can anyone tell me how I can find the AUX input if there is one. I looked all over and inside the center console and dash, but cannot find it.
If I don't have one, is there a way I can hook one up directly to the factory radio, besides the FM modulator route.