Sever N. Zagrai
New member
Mine was crappy from day one. I drive a 2012. It always loses it under overpasses. So I start excelling at taking fast u-turns ...
OEM XM satellite radio poor reception
- Thread starter 4Funnr
- Start date
BigredTEX
New member
It's another shark fin, but I can't say it is an OEM replacement. The new one is black with a rough finish. I had to refer to some photos to verify the original was also black, but have no way to verify if it had a rough or smooth finish.
I have posted in at least one other Serius/XM reception thread about this experience. They had the truck for 3 days, ran every test known to Toyota and Serius/XM before settling on the antenna as the culprit. It may have been a lucky stab in the dark. My wife drives a VW and it has excellent reception and my T4R now has as good or better reception. As already stated, I now get reception in the bowels of the parking garage at my office. Before the fix I would lose reception on the highway out in the middle of nowhere and around town it was useless.
gsu_dave
New member
Did they give you an itemized receipt with a part number? Mine isn't under warranty anymore, but I wonder if it's something I could order the part online and swap out myself.
BigredTEX
New member
I looked through my records and the service order does not list the part number. My copy is not the complete service ticket since this was paid for by Toyota as an out of warranty repair. The dealership had to forward the repair order to HQ. Sorry I can't help.
If you have record of taking the vehicle in for this repair during the warranty period and they could not fix it, or "no trouble found", escalate to HQ. That's what I did after three NTF's during warranty. HQ authorized the repair and suggested I take it to a different dealer. I took it back to the same dealer to give them one more chance and, when they saw the authorization from HQ, jumped all over it.
gsu_dave
New member
I just bought it used, but I'll take it to my local dealer and talk with them. See if there is anything they can do. Thanks for the help! Glad to hear someone got the issues resolved!
XO TOYO
New member
Yep, sam here. Had an Xterra with an XM radio and antenna that magnets to the top of the roof - zero problems (except concrete underpasses but that's just seems to be the way it is). Just bought my 2010 LTD 4runner with factory radio and I had to cancel the service (after paying a fee to transfer service from radio to radio) due to unusable reception. Was told by a local co who deals with those sort of things it's a $350 fix.... Out of warranty. Is it possible to fix on your own or does it really require some good knowledge? wasn't able to find any fixes for it on the forum.
Thanks
Thanks
spencenasty
New member
You should just get Spotify.
Cyberwhale
New member
Problem Fixed!
No activity here in a while, but....
2012 limited, and have had this problem for almost two years with it slowly getting worse and worse over that time. Really bothered me since I’m a fan of the XM, use it for traffic, and just wanted it to work.
Been in and out of the dealership service department and checking multiple online forums (not just this one but all makes and models).
So it seems to be a relatively “known” issue with Toyota XM antenna across the board - they break down over time.
After a quick search, found an adapter for about $50 and then an external antenna replacement for about $20.
Perfect signal since...
Dealerships latest guess was to replace the whole receiver for about $2k. Glad I pressed the issue and kept checking!
Happy to supply instructions, parts, etc if needed...
No activity here in a while, but....
2012 limited, and have had this problem for almost two years with it slowly getting worse and worse over that time. Really bothered me since I’m a fan of the XM, use it for traffic, and just wanted it to work.
Been in and out of the dealership service department and checking multiple online forums (not just this one but all makes and models).
So it seems to be a relatively “known” issue with Toyota XM antenna across the board - they break down over time.
After a quick search, found an adapter for about $50 and then an external antenna replacement for about $20.
Perfect signal since...
Dealerships latest guess was to replace the whole receiver for about $2k. Glad I pressed the issue and kept checking!
Happy to supply instructions, parts, etc if needed...
DarthYota
Member
yes! please supply!
bought a 2014 LE used last summer. everything seemed fine except the normal shopping center fade, parking garages, tunnels etc.
I put a 3/4 rhino rack on my car in january and was worried it would impact it. it didnt, or at least i didnt notice, but since maybe march (ish) it drives me insane with it's fuzz fade on the regular.
I thought I was going to have to remove my rack to narrow that down as the possible culprit, which would be a PITA. But now I may not have to do that.
so OP, thanks for the post to kick this discussion off.
It seems like a good number of folks mentioned this starting up over the last couple of months. One person pointed out that there seemed to be an entune update around the same time. possible culprit?
but a lot of other folks also mentioned the sharkfins have normal breakdown.
Has anyone replaced the antenna but no improvement or doe the antenna replacement always seem to fix it. This would rule out the software update.
I remember seeing a stubby (in another thread) that a lot of people switched to but cant recall the brand.
Love XM, cant stand this current issue. Hopefully the antenna options arent too costly.
skateimitation
New member
I bought my 2012 used last year, and the sharkfin was replaced before I took delivery. It didn't make a difference as far as I can tell. The xm was always cutting out under bridges, driving down tree lined streets, etc. I just gave up and cancelled my service. If there is a fix that works, I'd love to give it a try!
Cyberwhale
New member
Solution Details
Two people in the past month or so have asked, so let me post the full rundown here:
My Equipment:
Isolating the issue:
Parts:
Details:
Two people in the past month or so have asked, so let me post the full rundown here:
My Equipment:
2012 Limited Edition with JBL sound. No customization done to audio system
Isolating the issue:
As I mentioned before, I had been in and out of the dealership trying to figure out the issue. I was getting a "No Signal" error on the radio.
At my latest dealership service appointment, they told me they think the XM control unit is faulty and I need a new one. Not wanting to drop $2k on the issue I dug in myself and noticed that when I unplugged the antenna from the control unit, my error switched from "No Signal" to "Check Antenna". I ordered a replacement (refurbed) control unit and was getting the same errors. Ordered replacement antenna and problem solved
At my latest dealership service appointment, they told me they think the XM control unit is faulty and I need a new one. Not wanting to drop $2k on the issue I dug in myself and noticed that when I unplugged the antenna from the control unit, my error switched from "No Signal" to "Check Antenna". I ordered a replacement (refurbed) control unit and was getting the same errors. Ordered replacement antenna and problem solved
Parts:
- Control Unit - BuyAutoParts 18-43036R - Buy Auto Parts
- Antenna - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HRCTD0G?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
- Antenna Adapter - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R59P0S6?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Details:
For me, that control unit sits under the front passenger seat.
All the connections are facing forward, so you can carefully peel back the carpet (with the seat moved all the way back) and expose them. The antenna dongle is the gray one (smallest). I swapped the shark fin for the new one and ran the cable under the carpet, up the a-frame pillar and behind the dash. My new antenna sits next to the front passenger speaker and is held there with a little double sided tape. Yes, I could have put the antenna on the exterior, but I didn't want to make any holes or deal with waterproofing, and the new setup is strong enough that the windshield doesn't cause any signal loss.
I also didnt replace the shark fin, because: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice... OEM fin replacement is ~$250+ for a part we know will deteriorate again. No thanks...
All the connections are facing forward, so you can carefully peel back the carpet (with the seat moved all the way back) and expose them. The antenna dongle is the gray one (smallest). I swapped the shark fin for the new one and ran the cable under the carpet, up the a-frame pillar and behind the dash. My new antenna sits next to the front passenger speaker and is held there with a little double sided tape. Yes, I could have put the antenna on the exterior, but I didn't want to make any holes or deal with waterproofing, and the new setup is strong enough that the windshield doesn't cause any signal loss.
I also didnt replace the shark fin, because: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice... OEM fin replacement is ~$250+ for a part we know will deteriorate again. No thanks...
Cyberwhale - I created an account just to thank you for your info. I bought the antenna and adapter you posted and it immediately fixed my issues. I did mount mine on the roof near the shark fin and run the wire through the gap in the hatch door, through the weather stripping on the hatch and under the carpet around the third row if anyone is interested. No new holes required. Took 45 minutes.
Cyberwhale
New member
Awesome! Just happy to help out. These forums have given me a lot of advice over the years, so I'm thrilled that a "novice" gear-head (but decent techie) was able to give something back.
drewsro
New member
Do you have the navigation head unit? If so, did you lose the GPS for that? I don't use the head unit nav so I guess it doesn't matter for me, but am just curious.
cb1111
Member
In 2001/2002 (before I realized what an awful company XM Sirius is), I added a receiver to my S6 and used this type of antenna for the car. Dead simple install and no possibility of leaks.
In my car, I just routed the wire under the carpet after removing the sill plates and attached the antenna to the side window behind the second row of seats.
Worked well and was very low profile.
In my car, I just routed the wire under the carpet after removing the sill plates and attached the antenna to the side window behind the second row of seats.
Worked well and was very low profile.
cb1111
Member
Unless you've made some major electrical mods, then I'd go to the dealer and let them sort it out.
I have been there 3 time I pretty much go to the dealer every Friday and they just say it's my phone not their radio. and they say the vibration at 60 is fixed until I get it back up to 60 and the steering wheel shakes violently.
