I have a 2006 coupe and I've found the pre-wired Xm radio harness in the trunk location.
My question is do I need a satellite radio antenna ?
Do I order the OEM or do I have to install an aftermarket antenna ?

 

Do you have the receiver unit plugged into the harness?

 

Yes, you need a satellite antenna to receive satellite signals, but more importantly, you need the receiver unit that goes between the antenna and the radio.

Nobody's ever reported trying to use an aftermarket XM antenna with the factory satellite radio receiver unit, or the other way around, but according to my fair amount of satellite communications knowledge, the antenna itself doesn't really matter, if it's designed to receive certain frequencies, it will receive them. As neither the factory nor aftermarket satellite antennae have a built-in amplifier, they will both be sending the un-amplified, unconverted signal to the receiver, which means it should work. The problem will come with the style of plug that the antenna uses to plug into the adapter not being the right design. If you can get your hands on a factory satellite antenna plug and receiver unit, there's no reason that you can't also get the factory XM antenna to go with them.

Now, that all being said, remember that the factory radios for these cars fail very often, so spending money on a factory XM receiver will be wasted when the factory radio goes out. I'd recommend saving up for an aftermarket radio + XM receiver conversion instead.

 

Thanks for the info.
My car has very low miles and therefore low hours on the sound system so I'm hoping the OEM system will last a few more years.
I'm trying to find a used OEM XM tuner and this has been difficult at best.
Any ideas ?

 

Low hours and miles don't mean much, the one in my 2006 failed before 20,000 miles.

Your best bet is either junkyards or getting a premium account so you can post a want-to-buy ad in the marketplace.

 

Thats a good deal but looking for XM tuner... thanks anyways !