My mother just bought a 2010 Subaru Legacy and is looking forward to picking it up. The dealer said the XM radio option is an extra $400, but that he knew there were aftermarket solutions out there for around $120-$150 that allowed you to use the existing head unit (i.e., no need for additional controls to clutter the control panel). Has anyone heard of such a thing and can you point me in the right direction? I'd like to get it for my mother for Mother's Day. Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the USMB.

 

I'm not aware of the specifics regarding the XM radio. However if you don't get a reply here, you may also want to search/post on http://www.legacygt.com/forums

Thanks Legacy. I'll try over there too. Hopefully I'll find a solution soon.

Would something like this work? Does anyone know if I would need anything else?

 

http://www.cartoys.com/products/product.cfm/XM%20Radio/XM_Satellite_Radio_Direct_2__CNP2000UC__Universal_XM_Interface_Adapter/se/1/?mr:trackingCode=CE7E3EC4-C281-DE11-9973-0019B9C2BEFD&mr:referralID=NA

That requires an auxiliary input of some type on the radio and will still require some kind of control head.

 

Now, I haven't seen a 2010 yet. However, Subaru has historically used Clarion OEM stereo equipment. In the past, it has been possible to simply add a Clarion XM tuner or CD Changer or iPod interface and be done with it. This may be what your salesperson is on about.

 

Being an XM/Sirius dealer, I offer the following words of warning. XM/Sirius is still in a bit of financial trouble. I'm not sure where that's going to end up, so I'm recommending that people hold off a bit before dropping a bunch of coin on satellite radio equipment and subscriptions.

Thanks. It looks like this unit is also a mini-tuner.

 

I agree with you that Sirius/XM isn't in the clear, but they are doing much better than when their stock was trading at 15 cents/share a year ago (versus around 8 times that today). Your the dealer, but I think even if they declare bankruptcy, someone takes them over. Buying those satellites in bankruptcy and being rid of all that startup debt would be a great deal. But I digress...

I not sure I understand your question, so please forgive me me if this sounds stupid. I have had x.m. radio for a few years and if the radio itself is satellite ready you can have most any audio place put your a satellite recevier in that will be under the dash or seat with no extra controls, and totaly out of sight.

 

Iam not up on what comes in the new cars so you may be asking something different then what I understand about x.m.

Edited April 29, 201015 yr by tcspeer

What I';m looking for is something that works seamlessly through the existing factory Harmon Kardon head unit. If I were to purchase any XM radio than my mother would need to use the controls of that unit. Instead, I'm looking for a tuner that connects to the existing radio and allows you to select channels. I seem to get a lot of conflicting info on whether the XM Direct 2 will work for this application.