:blink: I drove my friend down to pick up his new 06 prius and as we were driving home he asked me about the xm that coastal tech has. the only question i could not answer with total honesty is if the install will use the factory ariel or have an extra one with it that will make it look funny(two on top looks bad). so does anyone who has installed it know the correct answer????? thanks for any help
The XM uses a separate antenna. You don't have to use the one supplied. You can get smaller ones. Some have hidden it or had it in the windshield. Take a look at http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/aaf...us/IMG_2210.jpg to see where I put mine. This is a Pioneer Airware xm2go, not a Coastal.
Since Toyota isn't currently sending Prii out of the factory with Sirius or XM units installed a specific XM antenna will have to be installed in addition to the regular antenna. Satelite antennas are different from RF antennas. I'm sure you have noticed recent BMWs and some GM products with the very different antennas with large bases. Well, those are antennas for both RF and satelite reception. The BMWs with the "sharktails" on their roof are generally equipped with satelite radio or have the option of having it installed directly. Check out http://www.factoryinteractive.com/ for more details about XM in the Prius.
I also have the Pioneer Airwave xm2go and I just have the antenna sitting on the dashboard. I like your installation. How did you run the antenna wire?
I took a look a the installation guide that Metro Toyota has for the intallation of a built-in XM radio. You can see it at http://www.laaudiofile.com/bta6100.html. Just scroll down to the paragraph beginning with Just What We Needed. There's a link there. Basically the antenna wire goes around the rubber to the bottom of the hatchback and then goes in under the carpet and the rear seats, then under the carpet in the back and under the passenger seat. I put the unit itself on the hump and use the remote to operate it.
