XM radio subscription plans

[mitch672]

I have a Sirius lifetime subscription, on an old Audiovox PNP-2, I've had it for a year longer than Howard Stern has been on Sirius (which was 1/9/2006), I bought their stock and the subscription when I heard about his move over to Sirius, needless to say I made a nice profit on the 1,000 shares of Sirius stock, which paid for the Sirius equipment and $500 lifetime subscription, and nice profit to boot... now that Howard has resigned for 5 more years, that turned out to be a great deal... anyway, my 2010 Prius came with the free XM sub for 3 months, and even had the traffic NAV with it. It was fine, but I didn't even listen to it, I just installed my PNP2 into the 1/8" audio in jack, plugged into the 12V outlet, and ran the Sirius antenna wire, and that's how I've been listening on my 2004 Prius (which used an FM transmitter at that time, since the 2004 didn't have the AUX audio in), and in my 2010 Prius.

If I get a Leaf or a Volt, it will also be the same. I see no point in buying a 2nd lifetime subcriptiion... and yes, Sirius will NOT let you move your lifetime subcription over to XM. Even though they are owned by the same corporation, their systems have NOT been fully integrated. You can move your Sirius sub 3 times to other Sirius equipment for a fee of $75 for each move. I did it once, when my 1st PNP2 died, and I found a few (3) more on craigslist for $50 (thats a whole story itself, turned out that 2 of the radios had been turned off for so long/removed from use on the Sirius system, the "unsubscribe" message wasn't even being sent any more, and they still work fine to this day)

 

[HIOJim]

I had XM radio in two cars from the day the satellites went live, September 2001 (Sony PnP!) to last year. Now I'm out.

... If you DO intend to subscribe, hold out for the best offers.

And if you DO subscribe, be prepared for a lot of harassment after you unsubscribe.

I had a subscription with XM for aviaiton weather on a GPS. I sold the unit and cancelled XM. I got calls. Boy, did I get calls! Despite telling each salesman that I sold the unit and would they *please* take my name off their list I got several phone calls per week for almost a year.

For that reason alone I would steer clear of XM, even their free trial.

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

I found a few (3) more on craigslist for $50 (thats a whole story itself, turned out that 2 of the radios had been turned off for so long/removed from use on the Sirius system, the "unsubscribe" message wasn't even being sent any more, and they still work fine to this day)

Hah! I fired up my old 2001 PNP and it too received radio just fine. Alas, after a couple weeks, it got the hint and expired.
I think the messages are still in the carousel, but just don't go out very often. Odd way to do keying, but whatever.

 

[LEAFguy]

Anyway - for my long distance car, XM has turned into a real pleasure to have in the car. Not sure yet if it's worth it on the Leaf. How about you?

One thing not discussed in this thread yet is XM NavTraffic. This can be purchased on its own if you have no desire to subscribe to XM radio. The question is: is it worth it? It really depends on if you live in a highly congested area, and plan to spend much time on the freeways in said traffic.

What I find to be a suitable alternative is the iPhone maps app. It displays not only freeway traffic, but also local major city street traffic. In the Southern California market there is also an iPhone app called from sigalert that provides freeway traffic data. Possibly something similar in other markets as well. With those free alternatives, I don't know that paying ~$10/month makes sense for XM NavTraffic.

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

$10/mo for just traffic info? Yikes.

Seems like you'd really have to make a lot of route decisions based on traffic to get value out of it. I like the Google Maps traffic on Blackberry.. seems up to date.

I would hope the XM Data is better than the lame XM robo-voice traffic channel. It never lists relevant incidents until long after they've been cleared.

 

[LEAFguy]

If you have traffic on top of radio, it only adds $4 or $5. But if you want traffic with no radio its about $10.

 

[wsbca]

Unless the nav unit is somehow explicitly pulling in this XM NavTraffic product without regard to whether you are using XM audio (which it could be), it appears Carwings itself has traffic info - that is to say my wife was driving home last night and saw traffic data on the map, and she didn't do anything special to bring it up.

 

[mitch672]

wsbca, did they give you the free 3 months of XM? I had it in my 2010 Prius, and the NAV data came from that... Once the 3 months ran out, so did the traffic data. My guess, you are seeing XM's traffic NAV data on the map.

 

[garygid]

I suspect that the Nav's "traffic" info is coming from XM, as it does on the 2010 Prius-Nav.

When your free XM expires, with no renewal, no more traffic warnings.

It would be very nice if CARWINGS would provide traffic info, but it probably does not now.

A Magellan Roadmate 3045 (LM?) GPS-Nav on sale now at Big Lots is $99 including free lifetime traffic and ... probably quarterly map upgrades. Not the best Nav available. Rumored to now use Tele Atlas maps rather than NavTeq, so described as worse routing these days.

 

[LEAFfan]

I guess I'm in the minority because I plan on enjoying the zen ambiance without ANY radio. I rarely listen to my stereo now, so I definitely won't be renewing it. I may have missed it, but can we opt out of the trial subscription?

 

[LEAFguy]

I may have missed it, but can we opt out of the trial subscription?

Interesting question. I don't know that it has been asked before. Certainly, you could just notify XM to cancel it now. Otherwise, they will be in touch prior to the 90 day expiration to ask you to renew.

wsbca - you are viewing NavTraffic. If you do not renew, it will go away, along with your satellite radio.

 

[eddiey]

I've tried the sampler in my current car, and I wouldn't listen to XM if it was free.

The sound quality is terrible. If they upped the bitrate to the equivallent of 128+kpbs then maybe I might use it, but no way otherwise.

The XM traffic was bad too- Many times when I was on the trial, I compared Google Maps Traffic, Bing Traffic, and XM traffic. Surprisingly Bing was most accurate! Save your money, and put it towards a great smartphone My favorite music applicaiton on my Android phone (and I think it's avail on iPhone) is TuneIn.

Anybody know if you can hook a video line into the Leaf's display? Would like to output my phone screen to the center console

 

[LakeLeaf]

but can we opt out of the trial subscription?

For OnStar, I know that the dealer sets up the activation when you pick up the car. XM may be the same - certainly worth asking your PD if there is a way to not have it activated at all.

 

[Skywagon]

Yeah, I cannot tolerate the sound quality of XM. I tend to have better quality with using my Android phone to stream Slacker radio over bluetooth to the LEAF audio system. And I can set the artists that I want it to play along with the ability to skip a song that is suggests/starts playing (using the steering wheel or stereo control). I was hoping that we would get the cars without XM activated. I have heard from friends with other cars that included 3 months that they start pestering you just before it expires. I am not looking forward to that.

Anyone call and cancel it before the 3 months are up? Does that work to eliminate the pestering calls?

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

I don't know how Nissan does it, but my last Toyota included a free 3mo trial.

When I got the car, it was NOT activated. I received a piece of paper with an activation code, and had to go on-line to enter it. This is where XM Radio collects your name and information (but not credit card).

If the dealer activates your XM Radio, either they/Nissan are providing your name/address to XM, or they are somehow doing it as an anonymous registration without sharing info with XM. I wouldn't know.

After the trial ends, the radio will revert to unsubscribed and you get only the Barker channels.

TIP: Don't ever give XM Radio your credit card number! At the end of any subscription period, they auto-renew at the maximum rate, and then send you a notice two months later that they did this. Their whole model seems based on auto-renew, as they won't even let you log into the web site without keeping your CC# current.

If you intend to subscribe, I would at least recommend using a throw-away one-shot/ShopSafe credit card number that can not be abused later. Or a VISA gift card. Something that won't surprise you later. You will then at least have a chance to protest the auto-renew before paying.

But yeah, the audio quality is worse than cassette tape. It can't hold a candle to Pandora, iPod, CD, Slacker, Rhapsody, or any of the many other music options out there.

When they launched, it was superior to FM radio. Now, not so much. A cymbal crash or high-hat ride comes through as total mush. Cellphone hold music is higher fidelity.

No harm in hearing it for yourself for three months, though. Just make sure you're not subscribing to any auto-renew plans.

 

[leafme]

I may have missed it, but can we opt out of the trial subscription?

Interesting question. I don't know that it has been asked before. Certainly, you could just notify XM to cancel it now. Otherwise, they will be in touch prior to the 90 day expiration to ask you to renew.

wsbca - you are viewing NavTraffic. If you do not renew, it will go away, along with your satellite radio.

If I read this right are you saying if I don't renew XM I lose the Nav Traffic system in the LEAF?

Malcolm

 

[garygid]

If you press the issue with XM, they have a less expensive Traffic-Only (still a ripoff?) Subscription.

But, no XM, then no Traffic info for Nav, since it appears that CARWINGS does not supply Traffic info.

 

[Gonewild]

They should have installed HD radio it is free and quality is better.

 

[garygid]

Yes, but with HD, Nissan would not get the Traffic info for Nav, ...
or the XM-Kickback, right? :lol:

 

[DarkStar]

They should have installed HD radio it is free and quality is better.

+1 - I loved having HD Radio in my former Subaru (aftermarket install). I'll be buying an HD Radio to plug into the auxiliary input on the LEAF eventually.