Rob

Good evening all...

Does anybody know if satellite radio (XM?) can be retrofitted to the original factory radio set up? I'm talking about "factory" stuff, not the Circuit City "add on" gear.

If so, what's the approximate cost?

Thanks,

MAXSE-RIOUS

I too am interested to see if anyone has investigated this. I remember reading somewhere (not sure where) in the Nissan documentation, the statement "No retrofit available". However I would think it should be possible to install the OEM factory parts, with the exception of the antenna which most likely is wired directly through the roof of the factory equipped cars.

Any info would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Glude

iTrader: (5)

I also would like to know the answer to this, I have the lil satelite button so does that mean I have to just get it activated or what?

Max Cat

Quoting from the 04 Max brochure "late availability/retrofit unavailable".

I have a sneaky suspicion that the XM is built into the "head unit" since we have such a spread out setup. The "radio" is probably a box somewhere that contains all the audio electronics(as well as the nav electronics probably), with just the changer, tape deck, and controls on the console. That box most likely also houses the XM/Sirius tuner since all of it uses the nav screen, so you'd essentially have to replace the entire electronics for the audio/nav to retro the sat radio in.

I'll know more next month when mine arrives and I disect it to do a few mods. I did order XM , so I'll know for sure whether it's a seperate "module" or a complete replace job.

Max Cat

Nope, you have to have the "tuner" and antenna installed or the Sat button reads "no sat" on the display. If you had the tuner, I believe you'd get an XM or Sirius demo channel if either were installed and you had no subscription.

ksin291

I was curious about his myself and called my local dealership and spoke to the parts department manager, he had me read him off my vin number and said that he would call me back. After a while he gave me a call and said that unfortunately I did not have the proper harness in my vehicle to install XM, he said that it wasn't until after a particle manufacturers date that nissan started installing these harnesses into all factory systems and that all that is required is the actual xm tuner unit and antenna. I belive that he told me the manufacturers date had to be 07/04 and later. He told me that nissan would be releasing a harness to upgrade cars that didn't come with it and that the harness would cost around $200 and that for cars that already have the harness and wanted to upgrade to XM the tuner module would run for about $400 not including labor.

CanadianMoFo

I recall this being discussed previously. There should be an Infinity kit that will work. I seem to think it was in the $200-$300 range. There was an Infinity parts site that was advertising them a while back. Do a search in this forum and see what turns up.

CM.

bradshaw46

Yes, it's very possible and very doable. Several of us here (myself included) have done it. You can buy the parts from Grubbs Infiniti here:

http://www.infinitiwholesaleparts.com/en_US/

The install only takes a few hours. Works great.

MAXSE-RIOUS

Wow! This is excellent news! Thanks so much for the info, I'll be contacting Grubbs Infiniti today.

Quick question.... Using the kit from Grubbs, does the XM info display on our current screen. I don't have nav.

Thanks again for the info.

bradshaw46

Yes, it will display the XM info on the non-NAV screen. It's exactly what I have. It integrates into the factory head unit just as if it were installed at the factory.

ocuihs

From one of the discussions.....

Picture of pre-wired satellite harness
http://www.nationhost.com/maxima/sat...s_location.jpg

Picture of mounted xm receiver
http://www.nationhost.com/maxima/mounted_xm_rec.jpg

Picture of xm antenna placement
http://www.nationhost.com/maxima/xm_..._placement.jpg

pocketrocket

iTrader: (1)

I can confirm it next week for you. I believe that all 6th gen with "SAT" button on their headunit may come prewired.

ocuihs

There is a black sticker saying something like "...satellite pre-wired for later installation..." located by the driver's door jamb area.

peetah

BTW, I wanted to thank you for the info last time. I got the kit, installed everything. Took several hours to do it.

Thanks!

bradshaw46

Not a problem - glad to be able to help out. That's the beauty of this forum.

Now if I could only find a source for those blackout taillamps....

bigcozz

Does mounting the kit in th back window like that affect the reception. Also do wire have to be run all the way to the front or do they hook in the back. You can easily find if you car is prewired by calling up nissan and giving them your vin number. Mine was made in september and came prewired. I am thinking of getting the kit.

MAXSE-RIOUS

From the info I've gotten so far, if your car is pre-wired, you will not have to run anything to the radio itself, just mount the receiver in trunk, plug in the wiring harness which will already be there, and run antenna lead to receiver. I'm sure bradshaw46 can verify this. A much easier job that running the wiring harness in early cars without pre-wiring. Unfortunately I'm not pre-wired!

I'd also be curious about the possible adverse affect on reception if the antenna is put on interior rear deck, vs exterior roof. I don't want to put the antenna on roof.

mikey0120

Most, if not all Maximas are already pre-wired for Satellite Radio. You can order a kit from Nissan to add to the vehicle. The install should take less than a half an hour. I installed a Sirius tuner in my 04.

Antenna should go on the roof. If it is anywhere else, you have a higher probablility of losing signal and having "mutes" which could be annoying.

RDM

[QUOTE=mikey0120]Most, if not all Maximas are already pre-wired for Satellite Radio. You can order a kit from Nissan to add to the vehicle. The install should take less than a half an hour. I installed a Sirius tuner in my 04.

What do I need to look at to find out if mine is pre-wired. I bought it in July and have the GPS. If it is not pre-wired what is it going to take to wire it up using the existing controls on the audio system. I have the SAT button.

Also if it is pre-wired does it matter if I choose XM or Sirrus, or will the plug accept both.

MAXSE-RIOUS

Not true...
'04 Max's with build dates prior to approx June -July '03 are most likely not pre-wired. Many cars were built prior to June. If your car is pre-wired, you will have a sticker inside your driver door stating so. Or, you can call Nissan with your VIN, they will tell you if you are pre-wired.

mikey0120

You are probably better off calling to see if you are Pre-wired for satellite. I bought my car on March 27th and it was already pre-wired.

You can get either the Sirius or XM tuner. The plug will accept either system.

MAXSE-RIOUS

Hmmmm... very interesting!! I'll be calling Monday. I bought my car March 29th and just assumed, since it was such an early build, that it is not pre-wired. It will be a very pleasant surprise if I'm told I'm pre-wired!

bigcozz

does anyone know if there is another kit that is cheaper my car is prewired and i think 295 for xm is a lot of dough. I sthere another kit that we can use with our wire harness?

bradshaw46

True. If you're pre-wired, all you need to do is add the SAT receiver and you're in business. I wasn't prewired, so I had to run the cable from the head unit to the trunk (not as hard as you might think).

Reception has been ok, but the standard XM antenna leaves alot to be desired in my opinion. I plan on upgrading my antenna soon - mine is mounted on the rear deck by the high stoplight. I do get dropouts and mutes on occasion, but not much more than my brother gets on his Delphi unit with his antenna mounted on the roof of his pickup. Some areas simply have more interference with the XM signal than others. The technology is by no means perfect yet.

MAXSE-RIOUS

For bradshaw46 or any others who have installed the OEM Nissan/Infinity XM kit.
I too would rather NOT use the huge ugly standard antenna that comes with the OEM XM kit. I'd much rather use the much smaller Terk XM3 low profile antenna or the Delphi micro antenna, however, they both have single input lead. I believe (but not sure) the standard kit antenna is double input. Does the OEM receiver accept only double input antenna, or can single input be used?
Thanks for your help.

MAXSE-RIOUS

What antenna are you considering for your upgrade?
I'd like to get the Terk XM3 low profile antenna or Delphi Micro antenna, but need to know if OEM XM kit receiver will accept single input antenna?

Kzmaxima

Hello bradshaw46
My car is not pre-wired.....it is EZ Installation pre-wired...and you're have the pic help how to pre-wired kit...and factory receiver how much is cost.....some dealer is cost $315
Thank for your help

ENDelt263

From what I have gathered, there are a few ways to find if your car has been prewired:

1. Call Nissan corp, or talk to your service department to see if your VIN is among those built after the prewire start date.

2. Look for a sticker that says your car has been prewired for satellite. It is located in one of two places: Inside the center console with other car information or inside the drivers door.

I chose option 1, and was told that I was not prewired based on my VIN. Since I work out of town, and did not have access to my vehicle to check, i took them at their word, and ordered the prewire and xm kit from Grubbs Infiniti. When i got home, i did double check the inside of my center console, but did not see anything mentioning prewire, so I waited for my kit to arrive.

Once I received everything, i dropped my glove box, pulled away the panels, and lo-and-behold: The satellite was already plugged in. Turns out i was already prewired (Sticker was in the door, which i found out about after I looked some more on more forums). From what I understand, if your vehicle was made before the date they started prewiring all Maxima's, the dealer could request that it be prewired. If that was the case, they put the sticker in the door (at least that is my assumption).

Needless to say, I've got the extra prewire harness with no use for it now, so if anyone is interested in buying it, just let me know.

Other than that, I have installed the XM receiver, Went through the headache of trying to get the Nissan Promotion code that gives 2 free months of XM (had to call Nissan corp), but now it works wonderfully. I've had a couple of times with dropped signals that didn't return until I restarted my car, but i figure that may be more because the antenna is in the back panel instead of on the roof.