Long story short, about 6 weeks ago I started experiencing my Prius IV satellite radio on different stations cutting in and out. It was very annoying and getting worse. It began to fail so bad that I could hear about every other word. I made an appointment with the dealer, dropped it off and they told me I needed to change the antenna which they ordered and changed out after a couple of weeks. That didn’t work so they, at the direction of Toyota, had to order a radio. I dropped off the vehicle again for the 3rd time and called and they told me that it was ready. I go to pick it up and before I even got to drive the vehicle the satellite was still doing the same thing. As you can well imagine I’m getting a tad annoyed that this has not been resolved and the dealer is trying to tell me that "it's normal". I told them that I have 3 vehicles with satellite radio and the other two do not do what my Prius is experiencing. I left my vehicle and told them that it was unacceptable… Their reply was well “we did put in a $2500.00 replacement radio”. I told them that it doesn’t matter if it was $25,000.00 it still doesn’t work.. I thought their response was inconsiderate considering that it has been there 3 times thus far. I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this issue and was there a resolve on it? If I did not have an extended Toyota warranty I think that this bill would be up to $3K so far... Needless to say I'm not encouraged by the dealers service and response thus far…
Sounds like the antenna base and or antenna cable is about all that's left assuming it's not something esoteric like low 12v voltage. Your dealer is doing the shotgun approach, replacing the cheapest part first then the remaining easiest part. Remember your dealer is getting paid top rates to do this work from Toyota.
And trouble shooting a rare problem is bound to be more difficult than a common one simply because the mechanics at the dealership have never seen the problem before. It sounds like a loose connection somewhere or corrosion.
I inherited my wife's 2010 Prius (turns out it had a 2011 radio) and satellite radio began to cut in and out, AM/FM just fine. Dealer's radio guy wanted $175 just to look at it. Since sat radio still worked in wide open places, I thought antenna. Antenna base has the sat antenna in it, so I priced it $325 at the dealer, $195 internet. Have dealer run your VIN number to make sure it is the correct one, which is how I found out I had a 2011 radio. Pull down gently on the rear headliner to remove three pins, also pull gently on L and R plastic covers under which the headliner is tucked. Push up on the connectors to unlock them, remove the big hex nut securing the base. When you have the new one you will see what I mean when I say you have to squeeze together two sides of a black locking mechanism to finally pop it out. Reverse to replace. Please note the orientation of the connectors when you unplug them so you don't waste 30 minutes in 100° heat trying to plug them in upside down. Go to p 17 of the attached guide. I hope this saves someone else some $$$. Who ever heard of an antenna going out???
Changed mine out a couple of years ago. See link and post 10 for blow by blow. Prius v Antenna XM Satellite Fading | PriusChat
