Mach58

New here but picked up my SE last night! None of the problems were found that I had read about here. (good info by the way!) The build quality looks to be excellent. A pleasure dealing with Ed Martin Nissan after the attempted screwing by the Acura dealer.

I would like to install the satellite radio system which people have posted links to. I really like the ability to use the info center screen instead of the add on unit. Has anyone done this for themselves and discovered any problem areas?
The instructions don't look that bad and I didn't see where holes had to be drilled.

Thanks for any info.

ethorn

glad you could join us... I am thinking about adding XM in a few weeks. I think overall the quality (despite my few complaints about rattles) is great... its just the fact that those that are not pleased will scream loudest.

mattlerose

I am getting Sirius installed tomorrow on my SE. My car was already prewired for it, as yours should be as well. I will let you know how it goes.

Mach58

Mattlerose,

Wondering how the install came out for the satellite radio. Took our first trip in the SE today. 27mpg in heavy downpours and windstorms. I'm sure that will change when I get it broke in and push it a little harder.

mattlerose

Mach58 - the install went very smooth and it was very simple. It only took the guy about 20 minutes. I haven't been in my car alot to listen to it, but what I have heard I like. Great sound and great selection.

Smalldog

I picked up my '04 SL 2 weeks ago, and just got XM installed today, and I am pretty dissapointed that the channel name/song title does not display in the command center. I do not have the navigation system, so maybe that makes a difference...

The unit was $469 w/ antenna. When I purchased my car, I asked how much the total installed price was for XM. $469, no problem.

I took the car in for service this morning (whole other story) and they were going to isntall XM Radio. The service guy calls me back this afternoon, and says we got most of the warranty work done, and the Sirrus radio is installed. WHAT!!??!!?! I want XM. The service manager says that he may be confused and that he'll check it out. I head back to the dealer.

Get to the dealer and sure enough, they installed a Sirrus satellite module. Shey said I didn't have to pay for it until they straightened it out. I asked the installer if he could just simply swap modules, he said he would take a look at the XM module and see what he could do. This is a fairly new Nissan dealership and I am the 2nd XM radio they have installed.

The installer gets the XM radio installed. I get the bill.. $700+ (469 for receiver + antenna, $10 environment fee (?), $180 labor; 2 hours, and $43 tax.) I said I was not going to pay it and stated that I asked quite a few people the night I bought the car and everyone said $469 installed. After waiting about 20 mintues, they finally determined that in fact they screwed up and were only going to charge me $469. Pretty good deal for me because they didn't even charge me tax which I would have expected to pay.

Also, I read that I should have gotten free activation and 2 months of service free. Anyone have thoughts on that?

I'll post the rest of my '04 SL "issues" in another new thread.

But anyway, does anyone know if the station names and track names should be displayed in the information center? All I get is the channel number.

Smalldog
2004 Maxima SL - White

mattlerose

Smalldog, I am having the same issue. It does not display the song or the station, just the station number. I was thinking that it may have been because I have not "officially activated" the system yet. When you get it installed, you get like 15 or so channels that you can hear. It's like preview channels. You have to activate your system yourself. Either by calling XM's toll free number or going to their website to activate. That is where you pick what plan you want. I am hoping after mine is activated I will not only get all the other channels but can also see which ones they are.

mattlerose

Well after getting my Sirius activated, still the same thing. No artist, song or channel displayed, except for the number. Does anyone know if there is a way to get them displayed? My car had the factory installed wiring and I had an installer install the receiver and antenna. Sounds great but I thought I would have a display. I can't find anything in the owners manual about it either. If anyone has had Sirius installed and if you are using it through the stock stereo, please write your experience.
Thanks

mattlerose

I emailed Nissan about the display not coming up and here was their answer. They are so helpful!

Thank you for taking the time to personally contact us about your Maxima.

We recommend taking your vehicle to the dealership to have your radio checked for a possible problem. You can locate your nearest dealership using our Dealer Locator: http://www.NissanUSA.com/global/deal...or/1,,,00.html.

If you need any additional information or have further questions after visiting your local Nissan dealership, please let us know by reply e-mail or by calling 1-800-647-7263 and pressing "0" for a live operator.

At Nissan, we are committed to a high level of customer service.

Sincerely,

Nissan North America

All I wanted to know is if it was suppose to show the display or not.

Mach58

It looks like the last paragraph in the owners manual on page 4-24 and the first paragraph on page 4-25 says it should show up if you go through the steps! I'm curious to find out before I buy. OK, I didn't have my reading glasses on when I read it, but .....

Smalldog

mattlerose- I am goingto have to disagree about 15 "free" channels. I only got channel 1. It plays samples of other channels, and always says to call and activate. I called and activated while I was at the dealership and after about holding for 15 minutes, I finally got through to a "listener care" representative. It took about 10 minutes after getting off the phone until the unit was getting all the channels. There is one channel that I do not get for some reason. I forget what it is, maybe 63. I'm going to go back out to the car and go through each channel and compare it with the brochure.

Did anyone who got XM installed at the dealership get 2 free months and free activation? I've read that it should come that way, but the dealership said that they only make sure it turns on and gets channel 1.

Smalldog

Smalldog

Mach58- I'll check it out and post back in about 15 minutes.

Smalldog

Smalldog

Mach58- I feel like a tool.. Getting channel, atrist and track name is as simple as pressing the audio **** (right side) while in "SAT" listening mode.

If you press it again, it goese through bass, treble, fader, balance, then display mode. Display mode lets you select channel number, channel name, artist, or title. That would be what you see on the line which shows the channel number. You have to press the audio **** to see all the info at once, and then you only get to see 10 characters on each line. This is stupid on either Nissan's part or Clarion's part. It's funny because if there is no track name available it will say that, and that's 13 characters. Maybe there will be an upgrade or a firmware hack in the future?

Anyway, there you have it. Had I known it was this lame, I would have opted for some after market add-on.

Does anyone with navigation get more information?? I would imagine that the high resoultion LCD would display more information, but I have yet to see one in person, so I can't say for sure. I took a few picture of the screen if you're interested. I can post them to my web site if anyone wants.

Smalldog

mattlerose

Smalldog thanks for the info and please post pics.

Mach58

I'd like to see the pics, too. I cheated on finding the info in the manual. I downloaded the manual and used the search feature to find it. If you're interested here's the link:

http://www.courtesyparts.com/maxima/a34.html

Smalldog

All of the pictures I took really sucked. They looked good on the screen on the camera, but sucked when I looked at them on the PC.

I'll use my better camera tomorrow and take pictures in the daylight rather than in my garage. I'll use my Canon Digital Rebel as well.

Here's a link to the best picture that I took. Like I said, I'll have better ones tomorrow.

http://www.newbill.com/2004Maxima/XMRadio/XMRadio1.jpg

As you can see, it only displays 10 characters on each line.. I find it interesting that if there is no artist information available, it will display 13 characters and if there is no song title, it will display 12 characters. I forget exactly what is displayed on each line when the information is not available.

Smalldog

jrussell915

I was told that I would receive 3 months of free service and free activation. When I activated, I didn't get it.

I brought it to the dealers attention. Rather than trying to find out the reason, they just gave me 3 free oil changes.

That satisfied me at the moment...so I didn't take it any further.

I have found that neither the dealers nor Nissan corp. know much about satellite radio offerings at this point. Many of my questions (including 10 char display) have gone unanswered.

Mach58

Smalldog,

So in your picture it shows the channel number, artist and song title. But does this display stay on continually after you have selected it or do you have to press the button each time you want to see this?

Smalldog

Mach58-

Here's a screenshot which should indicate that anyone who bought Nissan branded XM for their 2004 Maxima is getting the shaft when it comes to artist and track information:
http://www.newbill.com/2004Maxima/XM...istOrTrack.JPG

I haven't quite mastered all of the controls yet, but this is what I have found while playing around:
1)Pressing "Seek Track" will jump to the next/previous category of music. For example if you press + and you are listening to anything in the "Rock" category, it will go to "Urban", if you are listening to "Dance" it and press -, it will go to "Jazz & Blues"
2)Pressing "Tune REW FF" will move between channels, like channel + and channel -.
3)If you store a station to memory, when you hit the 1-6 button, it will automatically display the channel name, artist and track info. At least it seems to work that way on mine.
4)When turning on the XM tuner (from AM, FM or CD), it will not automatically display the info. You have to manually press the "Audio" ****.
5)While channel name, artist and track info is displayed, rotating the "Audio" **** will do absolutely nothing. When only displaying the channel, it will scroll through the channels.
5)If you press the "PROG RPT" button, it will display the channel categories, and then you can use the "Audio" **** to choose which category you want to listen to (similar to #2 above)
6)XM is pretty cool, but after reading about Sirius, I think we're getting the short end of the stick. XM only transmits 15 characters from the artist and track, where supposedly Sirius gives all of the informaiton. I do not know how the information center handles it though, it will either scroll it or truncate it... I got XM because I suspect Howard Stern will end up there over Sirius.

I haven't really played with much else. My girlfriend wants to go on a road trip to see how good the XM reception is, etc etc.

I would still like to hear from someone that has the DVD navigation and XM.

Smalldog

Mach58

Smalldog,

Thanks for the pics and the info. Appreciate it! There is some more info but more skewed towards Sirius!

http://forums.freshalloy.com/ubbthre...e#Post67760894