Sat/Radio question / New yaris owner

[TinyGiant]

i think the sat radio recievers arent too expensive though . like others said just get one of those and plug the output into the aux input in the console

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by behour

Why does it cost $400 if I already have at least some items "capable"? That is a ridiculous price. Especially when my paper work says its satellite radio capable just like how it says my mp3 and am/fm are capable. Why does the satellite need $400 plus to work while radio and CD player work fine without anything? They both say "capability"

Is there any place I can buy something to plug into my yaris that is not over priced, effective, and not some big contraption? Will anything plug into my radio and work with it?

All satellite radios need a tuner. What is lacking from the car at the moment is that tuner to be able to receive the satellite signal. That is the "capable part", meaning that something can be plugged in. Just like you can plug an mp3 player in and it will work, or use a CD that has mp3-encoded songs on it. Older model stereos (this is going back a few years), were unable to read any mp3 files on CD's, nor did they have the option of having an mp3 player plugged into them. There are several options for putting a satellite tuner/receiver into the car, meaning that it is capable of comprehending the information being sent from the tuner/receiver into the stereo.

The reason the cost of the dealer installed tuner is so high is due to labor. The part is only approximately $200 or so (I priced it out to install it myself). The labor involves a lot of extra steps there really don't need to be taken, but they do it anyway. But a large part of it is that the dash needs to be taken apart to gain access to the rear of the car stereo. The dealer install instructions also include removing the passenger seat to install the tuner under that seat (the seat is then re-installed).

The other options for having a "cheaper" tuner/receiver is to get a plug-n-play version. (See Best Buy or similar store.) These, however, do have their disadvantages (some of which are quite high, depending upon your likes/dislikes and what other gadgets you are running in the car, see below).

Originally Posted by TinyGiant

i think the sat radio recievers arent too expensive though . like others said just get one of those and plug the output into the aux input in the console

Works well if you don't mind losing the only power outlet that the car has (the "plug-n-play" satellite radio receivers require constant power supply that can only be obtained from the power outlet in the car, I previously had one). Not to mention that they can be quite unsightly if you are looking for the overall "clean" look to the car (no excess wires running everywhere, no odd gadgets sitting out to further attrack break-ins into the car to steal items).