I am wondering if anyone has installed their XM without the factory antennae being drilled through the trunk, but rather in some other portable yet secure fashion? undefined

Numerous other threads have addressed this issue in the past.

Performance is severly compromised if the antenna is inside. Other smaller antennas have been mentioend, but no one has said they installed it and it works.

Even with the current location, some owners in the Northeast have reception issues around buildings and trees.

Its not really that bad, and you look at it as part of the car after a while.

I had my xm antenna installed about two weeks after I first picked up my new 2005. After installation I kept thinking "what did I do to my beautiful car?" Now, a month later I don't even notice it is there. Have it installed and forget about it. By the way, I live in the Northeast and have no problem with reception.

Yes. The dealer near me advised that they will re-route the wires & install a small internal antennae on the dash, in the corner, as an option. They SAY that it works fine.

Yes. The dealer near me advised that they will re-route the wires & install a small internal antennae on the dash, in the corner, as an option. They SAY that it works fine.

I would want proof of that before spending the money to have the wires re-routed. I have to believe that if there was, in late 2003, a way to mount the antenna inside *and* not compromise XM signal strength then the XLR engineers would have jumped at the option. In the one year since I haven't seen anything new for OEM XM antennas. The receivers have improved, but not the antennas.

From my perspective, the antenna becomes invisible after about 2 weeks. I really would think it looked strange not to have one on the XLR.

I'd sure like to hear about this too, been looking for alternatives.
I was sooo close to having my ant. installed after a year until somebody here called it a "wart". Perfect description!
I can't help but think about the guy at the school of middle digit with pencil in hand
and how he would feel about this thing on his car. And why they didn't let him draw the ant too. If that is where it must sit, why can't it be multi-facited like the car instead of a wart? That's fine for VW or SL, but they need to design something cool that fits the style of the XLR.
IMO :thumbs

For whatever it's worth: I saw a black XLR with the trunk-mounted XM antennae. I noted that it was the same color as the vehicle, ie., black, not a matte finish. Actually, it didn't look THAT bad. In fact, I could lose sight of it after a few days. I was wondering if installation on the other colors is color-coordinated. If so, not so bad.

The XM antenna is color coordinated on the XLRs and not the flat black finish as on other Cadillac models.

I've mentioned this before, but what the heck...........

I have an XM Delphi Radio with cradles attached to my home entertainment system, a boombox cradle in my office, one in the shop and a car kit installed in my 03 Cobra (before I sold it). The boomboxes have an antenna that folds flat against the back of the radio when not in use and folds out for reception. It works fine in the house, in my shop and anywhere else I carry it. It will sometimes lose signal for a moment if you walk near it or move it quickly, however once it aquires a signal it hangs on pretty well. The car kit's antenna was installed by a professional installer who attached it to the dash at the point it meets the windshield. I never had a reception problem with it mounted in the car. Heck, the antenna for my home system is sitting on top of shelf in my living room and it works just fine.

I installed the antenna on my XLR because I like XM radio and there were no other options. After a week the antenna became part of the car and blends in a whole lot better than the ones on other cars out there.

I've mentioned this before, but what the heck...........

I have an XM Delphi Radio with cradles attached to my home entertainment system, a boombox cradle in my office, one in the shop and a car kit installed in my 03 Cobra (before I sold it). The boomboxes have an antenna that folds flat against the back of the radio when not in use and folds out for reception. It works fine in the house, in my shop and anywhere else I carry it. It will sometimes lose signal for a moment if you walk near it or move it quickly, however once it aquires a signal it hangs on pretty well. The car kit's antenna was installed by a professional installer who attached it to the dash at the point it meets the windshield. I never had a reception problem with it mounted in the car. Heck, the antenna for my home system is sitting on top of shelf in my living room and it works just fine.

I installed the antenna on my XLR because I like XM radio and there were no other options. After a week the antenna became part of the car and blends in a whole lot better than the ones on other cars out there.

Pictures please. Lets see how it looks on your dash!

I enjoy my XM so much I ordered a Roady II for the Escalade and the house. Instead of a wart, I view the antenna as a beauty mark.

I've got factory XM in my XLR and love it enough to buy a Roady for the other cars. I place the antenna on the dash, and it works well 95% of the time. The other 5% is drop-out. It's better than sticking it on the roof as they recommend.

As others have said, the 'wart' disappears if you go with a mounted antenna after a short while. As a matter of fact, when I see an XM antenna on another make of car, I don't see a 'wart'; I see class.

I just bought my XLR about a month ago. I hesitated to have the XM antenna installed, but now I am glad I did. I blends in well with its matching paint and I barely notice it. I would do it again.

... but it's probably impossible. As noted on a separate thread about the 2006 models, the XM is now standard and uses 2 (?) hidden antennas in each side mirror housing.

Oh well, already drilled mine. It does blend in after a while...

RK

I am wondering if anyone has installed their XM without the factory antennae being drilled through the trunk, but rather in some other portable yet secure fashion? undefined

When I bought mine the dealer offered to install the trunk mounted external antenna, but strongly advised that I not "drill into such a beautiful car". So I took his suggestion and they mounted a small antenna on the passenger-side dashboard right next to the window. It is unnoticeable but the reception at times is less than satisfactory. Unfortunately, I have not been able to conduct a head-to-head comparison on reception so I don't really know if the trunk mounted antenna is really that much better.

Like someone said.......My antenna is a "Beauty Mark", not a mole :flag

trunk mounted wart works great all the time except when indoors, tunnels, or around high buildings, etcWhen I bought mine the dealer offered to install the trunk mounted external antenna, but strongly advised that I not "drill into such a beautiful car". So I took his suggestion and they mounted a small antenna on the passenger-side dashboard right next to the window. It is unnoticeable but the reception at times is less than satisfactory. Unfortunately, I have not been able to conduct a head-to-head comparison on reception so I don't really know if the trunk mounted antenna is really that much better.

Mine never worked in Westchester Co., NY state--any time I made turns, the B pillars seemed to cut out reception completely.
:confused

I'd listen to the whole joke on the comedy station, and then miss the punch line, because I made a turn (or an 18 wheeler drove by).
:banghead

Not only did I get ripped off for $325.00, but I got a wart that I don't use!
:nopity

Needless to say, I cancelled my XM subscription!
:bs

Would've been nice to get a warning "XM doesn't work on the XLR: when turning, near trees, near hills, near 18 wheelers, during cosmic eclipses...."
:skep

--Bob

Mine never worked in Westchester Co., NY state--any time I made turns, the B pillars seemed to cut out reception completely.
:confused

I'd listen to the whole joke on the comedy station, and then miss the punch line, because I made a turn (or an 18 wheeler drove by).
:banghead

Not only did I get ripped off for $325.00, but I got a wart that I don't use!
:nopity

Needless to say, I cancelled my XM subscription!
:bs

Would've been nice to get a warning "XM doesn't work on the XLR: when turning, near trees, near hills, near 18 wheelers, during cosmic eclipses...."
:skep

--Bob

I do not have to be worry about XM. It is not available in Germany, the same with OnStar. I play mostly CDs.

Harry Hans

Admittedly we have very little in the way of experience thus far (still under 500 miles on the XLR), but we have done interstate highway travel, been around tall buildings, made plenty of turns and cruised along valleys on rural roads here in North Carolina and the XM reception has been absolutely superb. We especially enjoy channel 60 Classic Soul (really, for the most part, old rhythm and blues) and channel 101 Reggae.

We decided to install the XM antenna ourselves since we were concerned the dealership would not be as careful about the matter as we would like. Here are a couple of “tips” for those similarly inclined. We bought new drill bits so the holes would be cut as cleanly as possible and we also bought the special masking tape used just for painting cars (don’t even consider the normal variety of masking tape). The tape is used to prevent tearing of the paint and fiberglass when the final holes are drilled from the topside, after the pilot holes have been drilled from the underside of the trunk lid. We also suggest wrapping a good bit of narrow tape around the base of the drill bit so the drill chuck can’t accidentally come in contact with the trunk lid when the bit bores through it.

The instructions, as usual, leave a little bit to be desired. For example, there’s no warning that when removing the push-in retainers from the “rear compartment trim panel on the rear compartment lid” there’s a need to support the panel more or less in place and when the last retainer has been removed to lower it only enough to reach inside. Why is that important? Because on the top side of the panel are wires on either side which have been hot glued in spots and it’s necessary to reach and disconnect two wiring connectors before the panel can be fully removed without tearing the glue and the wires loose. That was lots of fun (we suggest two sets of hands).

There’s an “arrow” template included in the kit that has to be positioned in a matching recessed area beneath the trunk lid. This template, among other things, is used to mark where the pilot holes are to be drilled. The matching recessed area is noticeably larger than the template. Apart from the obvious need to carefully center the template across the width of the recess there’s the not so obvious need to move it as far forward as possible (arrow tip end) in the recess. Failure to do so can cause the antenna ultimately to be mounted too far to the rear which puts it on the raised center line of the trunk and the base of the antenna will not sit flush against the top of the trunk lid. That half-inch of play in the recess can make a lot of difference. You would think the instructions would address this matter, but they don’t.

So, there are a few tips for the do it yourselfers out there.

Happy listening.

Best regards,
Ed and Sandra

Ed and Sandra=
Where are you in North Carolina? We have a place in Brevard (close to Asheville).
I've always wanted to drive the XLR on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but I just can't make mayself drive it all the way from Texas.
aviator

Aviator

Well I did it for you on the way to NYC..............Blue Ridge Parkway to Luray Caversn then on into DC to show my daughter all our government buildings on the way to Atlantic City...........We had no time to stop in DC
Bob
Ed and Sandra=
Where are you in North Carolina? We have a place in Brevard (close to Asheville).
I've always wanted to drive the XLR on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but I just can't make mayself drive it all the way from Texas.
aviator

Salisbury, NC

Standby

Too bad you couldn't stop in DC. I would have hosted.

At least the Washington Monument is open again, Capitol is all torn up with visitors center construction, and you can't drive by the White House anymore, due to scurity.

hope you saw what you needed to see.

As I posted elsewhere, I finally brought my car in for service, after almost two years.

I asked the service guy about an alternative method of installing the XM antenna. He knew nothing about 2006 mirrors and said the 2006 would have the antenna in the dash. I can only assume he was talking about the same mount some of you have mentioned, not the 2006. He wanted $600 for it.

No thanks, I'll continue to listen to CDs at that price.

It was interesting to her and me and your right, we did not see the white house, so we jumped on I-95 and started digging in our pockets for tolls. I've never been ripped off like this in my life..............Shame on those states asking for money to ride on bad roads
PS We appreciated your gesture to host. Anytime in southern California we are at your beckon call.
Bob

Standby

Too bad you couldn't stop in DC. I would have hosted.

At least the Washington Monument is open again, Capitol is all torn up with visitors center construction, and you can't drive by the White House anymore, due to scurity.

hope you saw what you needed to see.

Aviator

Well I did it for you on the way to NYC..............Blue Ridge Parkway to Luray Caversn then on into DC to show my daughter all our government buildings on the way to Atlantic City...........We had no time to stop in DC
Bob

I've done the drive - just not in the XLR. I thought yours was bent.
Did you drive it all the way to NYC?

Salisbury, NC


Love NC. One of the most beautiful spots on the planet...and that's a mouthful for a Texas boy to say.

We'll be in Brevard NC over Labor Day weekend.
Salisbury...isn't that close to Charlotte?

Ever drive the XLR to the mountains?

I had to change my vacations plans up about 3 weeks so they could frepair my baby, but they still have to repaint because the color doesn't match. I was slightly pissed.........OK, I was damned mad.

We drove from Orange County, CA to NYC. Every small town (hell every town) we stopped in we were slammed with questions. They mostly wanted to know when this car was going to be available to buy. These people in small towns don't even have a chance of ever getting a new XLR. Their dealers, if they have one don't even get one to sell.
I must give Virginia the award for most beautiful state we where in.
I've done the drive - just not in the XLR. I thought yours was bent.
Did you drive it all the way to NYC?

The XM antenna is indeed in the outside rearview mirror. Talk to the XLR electronic's guy my dealer about installing 2006 mirror. That is no problem. The problem is the XM module is located on the under side of the trunk. To the right of the XM antenna. So you would have to either relocate the XM module or have a antenna cable made. Then figure out how to get it routed to the mirrors. The long antenna cable may also present a problem. Cable loss could be enough to have the XM radio not work at all. Moving the XM module would be a night mare.

Sorry about the above miss info. Robin

The XM module is not the one referred to above. That is the TOP CONTROL MODULE. The XM module's location is right behind the LED's for the parking assist. IF in the 2006 XLR the module has not been moved. It should be possable to buy the Antenna cable's and mirror's and install them on your 04/05 XLR. The service manual for the 2004 XLR explains how to replace the XM antenna cable's. So it stands to reason that the service manual for the 2006 XLR would detail the same thing. But I will bet that the Radio Head has been re-engineered to incorperate the XM module. Robin

They never seem to make these things simple.

The XM antenna is indeed in the outside rearview mirror. Talk to the XLR electronic's guy my dealer about installing 2006 mirror. That is no problem. The problem is the XM module is located on the under side of the trunk. To the right of the XM antenna. So you would have to either relocate the XM module or have a antenna cable made. Then figure out how to get it routed to the mirrors. The long antenna cable may also present a problem. Cable loss could be enough to have the XM radio not work at all. Moving the XM module would be a night mare.

Sorry about the above miss info. Robin

The XM module is not the one referred to above. That is the TOP CONTROL MODULE. The XM module's location is right behind the LED's for the parking assist. IF in the 2006 XLR the module has not been moved. It should be possable to buy the Antenna cable's and mirror's and install them on your 04/05 XLR. The service manual for the 2004 XLR explains how to replace the XM antenna cable's. So it stands to reason that the service manual for the 2006 XLR would detail the same thing. But I will bet that the Radio Head has been re-engineered to incorperate the XM module. Robin

On teh 06 XLR the NAV/XM antennas are in BOTH ouside mirrors. They will pick up the strongest signal of the two.

I am wondering if anyone has installed their XM without the factory antennae being drilled through the trunk, but rather in some other portable yet secure fashion? undefined

I contacted the dealer and they ordered the wart for me, but I had second thoughts so I went to best buy today and purchased the mini xm antenna $40, I found out that I needed the splitter to convert the newer style "one lead" antenna to the older two lead type. Neither Best Buy or Circuit City carried the splitter, I found a place on the web that carries the splitter but didn't want to wait, I found a local auto audio shop that had one in stock, $30. Went into my trunk and found the leads plugged in where the wart would be connected right above the back of the rear storage unit, unplugged the 2 white prewired coax leads and connected the splitter leads then the antenna which came connected to 23' of coax. Ran the very thin coax wire through the bottom back of the passenger seat, tucked it under the passenger kick plate and up to the windshield. Very simple install, and the mini XM antenna was magnetic so it sticks to the center vent grill, works great everywhere except inside my garage!
XM antenna part: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-AUz1IYMc804/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=xm+antenna&i=209XMICRO2
XM splitter part: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-AUz1IYMc804/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=xm+splitter&i=003XM1DAS

And if you would like to receive XM in your garage and for that matter have it easily distributed anywhere else in your house, we would suggest this product:

http://www.myradiostore.com/antennas-cables/xm-signal-distribution/sa10116-xm-signal-repeater.html

You can actually see it mounted at the top left of the window in this photo:

http://home.carolina.rr.com/esgeneral/DSC05441a.jpg

The XM satellite antenna which feeds it is mounted outside the window. This was an ideal solution for us because we have a PolkAudio XRt12 Reference Tuner tied into the home entertainment system situated in the Great Room and we didn’t have to run any wires to get a very high quality signal to it.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/xrt12/

Guess our listening perception isn’t as acute as that of some others because we think the XM quality is pretty good, both in the XLR and with the home receiver. We also have Sirius and frankly can’t tell a difference in the quality.

Best regards,
Ed and Sandra

Just had local dealer do trunk install today on my 2005. When I drove demo it had the "wart" but when I found the blue steel I wanted, it was tucked in the trunk compartment. Couldn't believe it didn't come installed. Took only 12 days to make up my mind to do it....glad it's over, looks fine, sounds great. If I'd read these options yesterday, I'd probable still be debating what to do

I contacted the dealer and they ordered the wart for me, but I had second thoughts so I went to best buy today and purchased the mini xm antenna $40, I found out that I needed the splitter to convert the newer style "one lead" antenna to the older two lead type. Neither Best Buy or Circuit City carried the splitter, I found a place on the web that carries the splitter but didn't want to wait, I found a local auto audio shop that had one in stock, $30. Went into my trunk and found the leads plugged in where the wart would be connected right above the back of the rear storage unit, unplugged the 2 white prewired coax leads and connected the splitter leads then the antenna which came connected to 23' of coax. Ran the very thin coax wire through the bottom back of the passenger seat, tucked it under the passenger kick plate and up to the windshield. Very simple install, and the mini XM antenna was magnetic so it sticks to the center vent grill, works great everywhere except inside my garage!
XM antenna part: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-AUz1IYMc804/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=xm+antenna&i=209XMICRO2
XM splitter part: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-AUz1IYMc804/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=xm+splitter&i=003XM1DAS
I have been considering doing the same thing. In searching the Vette sites to see what they did, many mentioned putting the antenna in the rear tailight housing and inside the rear of the vehicle. They claim fiberglass is invisible to the satellite signal. I was considering mounting the aftermarket antenna between the trunk lid and the trunk trim panel and see how it works.

Uintah

The following is an excerpt from a post we did almost precisely two years ago that might be helpful in a small way for folk considering installing the regular XLR XM antenna on the trunk or otherwise working with the leads in the trunk lid:

We decided to install the XM antenna ourselves since we were concerned the dealership would not be as careful about the matter as we would like. Here are a couple of “tips” for those similarly inclined. We bought new drill bits so the holes would be cut as cleanly as possible and we also bought the special masking tape used just for painting cars (don’t even consider the normal variety of masking tape). The tape is used to prevent tearing of the paint and fiberglass when the final holes are drilled from the topside, after the pilot holes have been drilled from the underside of the trunk lid. We also suggest wrapping a good bit of narrow tape around the base of the drill bit so the drill chuck can’t accidentally come in contact with the trunk lid when the bit bores through it.

The instructions, as usual, leave a little bit to be desired. For example, there’s no warning that when removing the push-in retainers from the “rear compartment trim panel on the rear compartment lid” there’s a need to support the panel more or less in place and when the last retainer has been removed to lower it only enough to reach inside. Why is that important? Because on the top side of the panel are wires on either side which have been hot glued in spots and it’s necessary to reach and disconnect two wiring connectors before the panel can be fully removed without tearing the glue and the wires loose. That was lots of fun (we suggest two sets of hands).

There’s an “arrow” template included in the kit that has to be positioned in a matching recessed area beneath the trunk lid. This template, among other things, is used to mark where the pilot holes are to be drilled. The matching recessed area is noticeably larger than the template. Apart from the obvious need to carefully center the template across the width of the recess there’s the not so obvious need to move it as far forward as possible (arrow tip end) in the recess. Failure to do so can cause the antenna ultimately to be mounted too far to the rear which puts it on the raised center line of the trunk and the base of the antenna will not sit flush against the top of the trunk lid. That half-inch of play in the recess can make a lot of difference. You would think the instructions would address this matter, but they don’t.

So, there are a few tips for the do it yourselfers out there.

Happy listening.

Best regards,
Ed and Sandra

I have been considering doing the same thing. In searching the Vette sites to see what they did, many mentioned putting the antenna in the rear tailight housing and inside the rear of the vehicle. They claim fiberglass is invisible to the satellite signal. I was considering mounting the aftermarket antenna between the trunk lid and the trunk trim panel and see how it works.

Uintah

The dash mounted antenna is unnoticable and works well, I may try to install a second antenna in my trunk near the tail when I have a chance just to see if the signal will work in my garage, and to see if I can connect two in parallel.

If interested in photos of my install go to this thread:
http://www.xlrforum.com/showthread.php?t=2568&page=2

The dash mounted antenna is unnoticable and works well, I may try to install a second antenna in my trunk near the tail when I have a chance just to see if the signal will work in my garage, and to see if I can connect two in parallel.

If interested in photos of my install go to this thread:
http://www.xlrforum.com/showthread.php?t=2568&page=2
Let us know how it works. The XLR has been in the shop for 5 days now, so I haven't had a chance to do anything. I have a new stainless steel grill waiting to be installed before our trip to Idaho.
Funny thing is they gave me a DSL to drive. It is HUGE, almost doesn't fit in the garage, but with the exception of semi trucks I own the road.

Uintah