siriously wondering...

[oaklandopen]

sorry for the pun...

thinking about doing the factory install (myself after reading the how-to) of the sirius when i receive the car next month, but i'll be losing certain desireable features that you get with the seperate sirius faceplate (record, reminders, remote). dont know which one to do.

who has done the factory-type and who has done the aftermarket? i'd like to get some input on both so my decision can be easier.

 

[Rotus8]

The advantage of the factory one is the full integration. Steering wheel controls, integrated display, mute on nav instructions, ALC (assuming you want this), and no extra thingy to stick somewhere. The main disadvantage (besides the ones you listed) are you lose your AUX input unless you also put in a switch box.

 

[oaklandopen]

damn...didn't know about the loss of the auxiliary input. i think that fact alone will totally dissuade me from choosing the factory unit. thanx

 

[icspots]

I think that the '08.5 models actually have a different sirius receiver as the pin-outs changed. I know there is a new ipod module for the '08.5 model, which comes with an option for a sirius pass-through.

In any case getting the switchbox would allow you to keep the ACI working, but it does cost $113.

 

[marine66]

Sirius Factory Rip

I was thinking of getting the integrated Sirius adapter from Mazda except it was over $700 (parts and labor)! Instead go get a Sirius unit from Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. You'll save over $500 that you can put towards a CAI!

 

[Rotus8]

I was thinking of getting the integrated Sirius adapter from Mazda except it was over $700 (parts and labor)! Instead go get a Sirius unit from Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. You'll save over $500 that you can put towards a CAI!

I did mine for about $200 including the switch box and the first 6 mo of service. Some searching around for parts and DIY install is not hard to do.

 

[oaklandopen]

im sure i can do the install (thanks to all the how-to stuff), im just not sure about having a stock look or not. my tacoma has amber everything inside and the blue on the sirius sticks out bigtime, luckily the little cubby in front of the shifter is really far back and out of the way. and i have the old sirius unit that has that crazy-ass bright blue (it's more of a toned down almost pastel blue now)