I obtained an OEM XM unit from a friend who got it a couple years ago, but never installed or used it. It's one of the units that has the loading issue because it's one of the first batch. He got the part because a family member of his works for some Nissan distributor and he bought it from them. So, I have no dealership to go through in order to get a replacement unit with the new firmware to fix the "loading" problem.

I'm going to contact my dealer and see if they're willing to help me out, but I have a feeling they won't since I didn't buy it from them.

If my dealer is unwilling or unable to help me exhange the unit, is there any way to deal directly with Clarion to get a refurbished unit without the loading issue?

 

I would try contacting Grubbs. Technically, your unit has a 12-month warranty, but Grubbs has been treating their customers as if the Sat unit is covered under the vehicle's 4/60 warranty. This is also consistent with good customer service from Infiniti on a part that has well-known problems. You want to make sure that any replacement has the updated firmware, and Grubbs understands this nuance.

See this post for some more info about the updated Sat unit.