How to get Sirius/XM in a Tesla

[Knightshade]

I'm a cheap SOB, but I'm not wasting time doing that. I do that with my cable company though and it pays off lol.

Honestly if you're JUST doing the online-only $8/mo plan, you're probably right.

Most folks who do that are doing it because they have the XM select plan (which includes more, using an actual radio, etc) and that's normally $17/mo...so dropping that to $5/mo is worth a phone call twice a year.

 

[Burrito]

i call twice a year to "cancel" and continue paying much less than advertised to get whatever plan give me stern. once he retires i will cancel my subscription as i suspect millions of other people will too

 

[Dan203]

FYI they just recently started selling a BlueTooth kit for the Onyx. So you should be able to connect to the radio as if it's a phone, rather than having to resort to FM transmission or one of the extreme hardwire mods. Running the wire for the antenna is still a bit of a PITA though. And you can still only control it from the Onyx screen so you have to stick that somewhere that may not be aesthetically pleasing.

 

[crackers8199]

FYI they just recently started selling a BlueTooth kit for the Onyx. So you should be able to connect to the radio as if it's a phone, rather than having to resort to FM transmission or one of the extreme hardwire mods. Running the wire for the antenna is still a bit of a PITA though. And you can still only control it from the Onyx screen so you have to stick that somewhere that may not be aesthetically pleasing.

yeah, we've been discussing that. scroll back a few pages for a pretty nice review of it.

Doing what wrong?
When I arrive at the gym I can pause the Sirius program that I was listening to via the Tesla touchscreen, take my device inside, and pop on headphones and resume it. That device is a crazy little thing that acts both as a key to my car AND......my phone
For $7.99/month and zero money invested I am pretty darn happy.

you may be happy and it may work for you, but that doesn't mean that $8/mo for streaming only is a good deal when you can get a radio sub w/ streaming for $5/mo. you being happy and "a damn good deal" are not necessarily the same thing...you're effectively paying more for less right now.

 

[crackers8199]

Honestly if you're JUST doing the online-only $8/mo plan, you're probably right.

Most folks who do that are doing it because they have the XM select plan (which includes more, using an actual radio, etc) and that's normally $17/mo...so dropping that to $5/mo is worth a phone call twice a year.

i wish they would just combine the damn lineups already...i know that keeping them separate was part of the deal when they merged, but i have to pay $99/yr for all access in order to get both stern and MLB. there's no other plan that has them both, for either lineup.

 

[Dan203]

yeah, we've been discussing that. scroll back a few pages for a pretty nice review of it.

I missed that. But now that I've read it I'm out. The fact that you have to choose between your phone or the BT adapter for the Onyx is a deal breaker for me. I wish they'd offer a tuner that worked more like Echo Auto where it was a real tuner, but all controlled via an app on your phone. My biggest reason for wanting a real Sirius/XM adapter is not because I don't like their app, it's fine, it's that I want to still be able to listen in areas where I get poor/no cell receptions. Which, being in the mountains, is a lot of places. FM reception isn't all that great in these places either, so the regular radio isn't always even an option. Which means I have to resort to my personal music collection which is pretty small. (I'm not a big music guy, just like having something to listen to in the car)

 

[crackers8199]

I missed that. But now that I've read it I'm out. The fact that you have to choose between your phone or the BT adapter for the Onyx is a deal breaker for me. I wish they'd offer a tuner that worked more like Echo Auto where it was a real tuner, but all controlled via an app on your phone.

this is exactly why i didn't go with the BT dock (that plus the fact that it took them forever to actually release it, they pushed the release date back several times). i also mentioned the idea of hoping they release something in the future that works like the echo auto. if you're bored scroll back and read the back and forth, there was more than one page of discussion on it i believe.

My biggest reason for wanting a real Sirius/XM adapter is not because I don't like their app, it's fine, it's that I want to still be able to listen in areas where I get poor/no cell receptions. Which, being in the mountains, is a lot of places. FM reception isn't all that great in these places either, so the regular radio isn't always even an option. Which means I have to resort to my personal music collection which is pretty small. (I'm not a big music guy, just like having something to listen to in the car)

exactly the same here. lots of canyons in so cal with limited cell reception. i have mine hard-wired with the FM direct adapter and it works fine, except when the FM radio decides it wants to be garbage and not work (which is too often)...that's a different discussion for a different day though, for which i have a service appt scheduled.

 

[Dan203]

Maybe once StarLink is up and running having reception anywhere in the world will no longer be an issue.

 

[pipvan]

I find the App works fine. While the push button controls are limited, you do have some control.


That isn't my experience at all either.
Plus the App stays with you on your phone. On Wifi it's flawless. I have the entry level subscription for $7.99. That's a pretty darn good deal. I used to pay to have it both in my car and on the App but I was able to downgrade when I got the Tesla.

 

[neurocutie]

Plus the App stays with you on your phone. On Wifi it's flawless. I have the entry level subscription for $7.99. That's a pretty darn good deal. I used to pay to have it both in my car and on the App but I was able to downgrade when I got the Tesla.

The other advantage of the streaming XM is that you can use almost any Internet device to listen. So its nice to listen in the kitchen, using Echo/Alexa, and over the home hifi system, as well as car, hotel room, etc.

But I get the issue for some of wanting to have XM reception where there is no Internet/cell...

listening to Sirius #121 last night in the kitchen... the Sirius COVID-19 channel (ugh)

 

[Germ]

@dmurphy Does your bluetooth dock allows the data to be shown on the Tesla screen? Can you see album info? I am also wondering if the upcoming SiriusXM Tour unit will has Bluetooth built-in and if it will pass data through that connection:

SiriusXM Tour with 360L and Pandora

Another question, how easy can you switch in-between your phone and your SiriusXM on bluetooth? If you have a call coming in, can you click to switch in-between the two connections without missing the call?

 

[dmurphy]

@dmurphy Does your bluetooth dock allows the data to be shown on the Tesla screen? Can you see album info? I am also wondering if the upcoming SiriusXM Tour unit will has Bluetooth built-in and if it will pass data through that connection:

SiriusXM Tour with 360L and Pandora

Another question, how easy can you switch in-between your phone and your SiriusXM on bluetooth? If you have a call coming in, can you click to switch in-between the two connections without missing the call?

unfortunately, all of those things are missing in the current BT dock. There are no controls, and it doesn’t pass anything back to the car beyond the station name. Not the current song.

I spoke with some of the engineers there and the next gen BT device (which I assume is the Tour) will remedy most of it. The problem is the radio-to-dock interface doesn’t have any of that data or control, so with the current products, they’re very limited. The new ones will use a different dock connector, so it’ll be fully enabled.

the only issue I can see continuing is switching from XM to your phone and back again. That’s a Tesla limitation and not an XM one - Tesla’s software only connects to one phone at a time. Seems like a glaring omission to me - even our Buick’s been able to connect to multiple devices simultaneously for many years now.

 

[Germ]

@dmurphy Thanks for the info. Hopefully the Tour will solve this. As for the phone connection, when your SiriusXM unit is plugged in, can you easily switch in-between the 2 Bluetooth connections? I understand that only one is active at each time, but can we switch easily?

 

[dmurphy]

@dmurphy Thanks for the info. Hopefully the Tour will solve this. As for the phone connection, when your SiriusXM unit is plugged in, can you easily switch in-between the 2 Bluetooth connections? I understand that only one is active at each time, but can we switch easily?

Yes - just need to press on “Phone” in the radio menu, choose the other device and press Connect ... it’s easy enough, I guess.

 

[Germ]

Interesting. New pictures were released of the SiriusXM Tour and it confirms that it has built-in Bluetooth. Hopefully, it is well implemented so that we will get the data passed to the Tesla screen:

SiriusXM Tour with 360L Receiver with Pandora and Vehicle Kit

 

[DBV1]

It is just crazy that the Model 3 does not have SiriusXM, AM Radio, Waze or CarPlay. Glaring omission. Considering going from BMW to Model 3, but would really miss how easy it is to use any of those and I use all of them a lot. The things you take for granted and should be on such a technological car.

 

[RonAz]

Maybe satellite radio is already built into the Model 3. Just buy or have Service install the antenna and activate and SpaceX will have another revenue stream from the Starlink's.

 

[crackers8199]

Interesting. New pictures were released of the SiriusXM Tour and it confirms that it has built-in Bluetooth. Hopefully, it is well implemented so that we will get the data passed to the Tesla screen:

SiriusXM Tour with 360L Receiver with Pandora and Vehicle Kit

ability to cycle through presets and/or channels would be nice too.

 

[TorontoDan]

Finally got the XM radio with Bluetooth dock installed tonight. Working great!

By far, the “hardest” part (which wasn’t hard) was running the antenna cable from the rear of the vehicle to the front. I mounted the antenna on top of the center LATCH cover on the rear shelf. Ran the wire along the trim on the passenger side of the vehicle, under the plastic sill cover, all the way from the rear of the vehicle to the front. Then, removed the 4 clips holding the panel under the glovebox, and tucked the wire up above that. Came out alongside the phone charger and - all set.

I already have a USB 12V Charger in the area under the phone charger, so plugged the XM radio power cable (link below) into that.

Mounted the radio on a Pro Clip USA mount bracket - sturdy, solid, holds great.

The Bluetooth dock connects to the car as if it were a phone. The one downside is this means that either the phone or XM is available over Bluetooth in Model 3; not both. Some cars can handle multiple BT connections - Tesla so far isn’t one. My other complaint is the little blue light on the BT dock - it flashes once in a while. A small piece of electrical tape solved that.

Steering wheel volume control works fine - the forward-back buttons however do nothing. I have to use buttons on the XM radio to change stations.

But so far, it works great. No cutouts, no issues - audio works fine, music’s playing; I’m one happy camper!

When calling Sirius, don’t pay any more than $99/yr (plus taxes) for the All-Access plan. That’s what I got, and you can too - just for asking. They also are sending me a free Amazon Echo Dot ...

Good stuff! Nice to have my XM back again, without using the lousy phone app.

Parts used:

Onyx Plus radio w/ vehicle kit. Includes $10 Amazon gift card: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I59XQKO/

USB 5V power cable: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010TYLKY6/

XM Bluetooth dock: Shop SiriusXM - Save more with exclusive offers on radios for your home and car.

ProClip USA - Tesla Model 3 Mount: Tesla Model 3 Console Mount

ProClip USA - Satellite Radio Holder: SiriusXM OnyX Plus Car Satellite Radio Holders | ProClip USA

Please pardon the salt mess on the mats; car will be getting cleaned tomorrow, but everything’s been an icy mess here in the Northeast.

View attachment 490888

 

[Germ]

Hello,

I am happy to confirm that I have finally received and installed my SiriusXM Tour. First the good news, it works well over bluetooth and you have access to artwork on your Tesla screen, some controls with the steering wheel (pause, skip, etc.) and it seems that you are even able to connect your phone to take calls as well.

Now the bad news, it took me almost 2 hours yesterday to get it setup with SiriusXM as this unit is a newer one and has a different Radio ID for which they didn't know what to do. I had to speak to 3 different agents in order to get it doing (and I was able to keep my lifetime account on it too). Another thing is that the bluetooth setup is keep flimsy. I had a lot of difficulty to get the car to keep the bluetooth connection and I had to repair multiple times in order to get a firm connection (it now works flawlessly).

I would appreciate if someone else that purchases this unit could help with getting the phone to work. As you can see, there are options to also connect your phone but I was not able to make it work yet. It shows that there are some guides online to help, but I couldn't find a section that mentions this. That would be the cherry on the sundae if I could get this going.

Installation was a breeze. Routing the antenna wire to the central console was extremely easy and there is no wire to be seen anywhere. I have installed the unit in my AbstractOcean console tray. Everything closes perfectly. Once I receive a USB power cable, I will use automotive tape to keep it firmly in place.

Hopefully it will convince other Tesla owners to give SiriusXM a chance in their vehicle!