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XM Radio cost/features?

20K views 47 replies 23 participants last post by  noogen 
#1 ·
(My apologies if this isn't the right forum for this.)

It's my understanding that the 2013 Altimas come with 3-months' of XM Radio. Is that so? After that, what is the cost per month? Is XM Radio required for any vehicle features (e.g., Tech Package, traffic, weather, etc.)?
 
#2 ·
If you are in US, $14.5 or $18.0 per month.
If you are in Canada, Cad$16.0 or Cad$20.0 per month.
However, you will receive multiple promotion offers in the next few months. They will offer you specials for under $10 a month for a period. There is also option for lifetime subscription for your car for something like $550.

My personal opinion is that XM will go out of business soon within the next few years. First, their channel line up was not that good. Secondly, their subscription is expensive while smartphone data plan is getting cheaper and cheaper. It would make better sense to listen to internet channels through the phone. People get much better selection through their phone with little difference in sound quality. Satellite radio's era is over. A 32G usb stick nowadays sold for less than 20 bucks and could hold ~8000 songs in very high quality no difference from CD. You could put every song you love on it and ask the car to play randomly. Why would anyone still need a satellite music channel? Same reason CD changers are disappearing in cars.
 
#4 ·
My personal opinion is that XM will go out of business soon within the next few years. First, their channel line up was not that good. Secondly, their subscription is expensive while smartphone data plan is getting cheaper and cheaper. It would make better sense to listen to internet channels through the phone. People get much better selection through their phone with little difference in sound quality. Satellite radio's era is over. A 32G usb stick nowadays sold for less than 20 bucks and could hold ~8000 songs in very high quality no difference from CD. You could put every song you love on it and ask the car to play randomly. Why would anyone still need a satellite music channel? Same reason CD changers are disappearing in cars.
I don't think satellite radio should be dead; it should become more like regular radio, free for the commercial sponsored channels with an option for pay channels. Both Radio and internet fade and fail in many areas, but satellite can reach just about anywhere there is not overhead obstruction. I would expect the natural order would be for radio to expand onto satellite and the big towers with limited reach to go away eventually. Remember too, radio is not just music, it's talk, news, a way to hear new stuff, etc, so people want more than just pre-recorded tracks.
 
#3 ·
I think my last offer (since I never subscribed to the service) was $25USD for 6 months. So if you hold out you might get that offer in the mail.
About once a year they turn the thing on for two weeks hoping to get you hooked into buying a subscription. I am a good old fashion radio man so I have no plans to purchase XM/Sirius radio. -- on the flip side I do own shares of the company -- which begs the question why I have shares but not the service.
 
#7 ·
My wifes 2011 Outlander came with 3 months. After that time she wanted to renew if they'd give us the $25 for 6 month subscription that they offer to everyone who lets it expire. They wouldn't give it to us, offering a new offer every 30 days over email, $14 a month, 11 a month, $8 a month...by the time they sent us the $25 for 6 month email we were no longer interested! As for service, it dropped out all the time like skipping. We're in the Philly suburbs, by no means a mountainous area with excellent 4G cell coverage everywhere we go. With XM you lose it under an overpass, heavy tree lined streets, no reason at all. Go with your free internet radio apps on your phone like pandora or spotify, they're as good or better IMO unless there's still any Howard Stern fans out there!
 
#20 ·
As for service, it dropped out all the time like skipping. We're in the Philly suburbs, by no means a mountainous area with excellent 4G cell coverage everywhere we go. With XM you lose it under an overpass, heavy tree lined streets, no reason at all.
This is my biggest complain these days. I've been an XM subscriber for close to 8 year and I don't remember reception being as bad as it is today.

You can call and say "cancel" to get the 1/2 price offer.

2- The sound quality of XM is lower than any other input available in the car except AM. FM is much better. CD is great of course (especially in the Bose-equipped cars) and streaming Bluetooth over 4G (not 3G) is superb (especially the Songza service).
Yes, threatening to cancel is what I have to do every time my subscription is up. They magically give me great deals only when I call to cancel.

As far as sound quality, you're right when you say XM is lower than other inputs. When I switch between sources (ie-iPod, FM radio, CD), XM has the lowest sound quality. I had to adjust my settings to where sound output is the highest with XM and reduced everything else just so they all sounded somewhat equal.
 
#8 ·
Paying for XM doesn't sound too interesting to me, although I suppose $25 for 6 months might be OK. I'll probably just stick with playing music and news podcasts from my phone though. It's too bad that HD radio isn't an option... while I've never actually listened to one, I like the idea. (I have listened to internet streams of some local HD radio stations, and there is content that I'm interested in)
 
#10 ·
I just paid $36 for a year of pandora. Much better quality than the XM in my Altima and i am not tied to a single device or vehicle.

As a past subscriber of XM, i dont even think it is worth the $25 for 6 months.
 
#14 ·
I might let it expire when my 3 months are up but may renew it. I drive long distances at times and hate having to search for radio stations when I am feeling specific genres. I know I could just use my phone but for me XM has features I like.

Sports channels, MLB, NBA, NHL
News channels like MSNBC

I may wait it out to see a better deal. I know through AAA I can get a discount also.
 
#19 · (Edited)
When you buy a car that has the SiriusXM radio can you tell the dealer not to activate the account at the time of purchase? I don't want it and I certainly do not want to be bothered by yet another vendor.
 
#21 ·
I suppose you can tell the dealer...



If you tell the dealer not to start the trial (which has already been paid for by Nissan), I imagine they can do that, but perhaps they have to give your info to the vendor (XM) as part of their contract with the company.

But why not just let them turn it on for the 3 months? As the end of the trial gets close, you will get mailings from XM but just ignore all the mailings and the service will simply be turned off. You don't have to do anything.

Good luck. I hope this info helps.
 
#33 ·
I let mine expire, they call your bluff if you cancell and let you do it. Give it 30 days and they send you a 1/2 off offer, give it 90 days and it's down to $25 for 6 months with no activation. I've yet to accept it as I found it to be worthless, but eventually they get you to the point that you're going to request a restraining order on them! I get 3 or 4 letters A WEEK in the mail begging me to come back. The last phone call (i've been expired for a year) offered me the first 6 months FREE, 2nd 6 months for $25 and then wanted a 1 yr contract for the following year! NO WAY, NOT INTERESTED even at $2 a month which is what they originally charged.
 
#34 ·
Wow!

Thanks "back2back" for those very interesting details.

It has been my experience too that the mailings are frequent and get to being ever-better offers. When my trial on my '12 Murano was ending, I was down to a "$30 for 6 months" offer. The first mailing offer was for $258.

I stand by my conviction that they know their business is shrinking (if not doomed) and are trying a variety of ways to keep subscriptions at a high price while at the same time trying to hook anyone who has the hardware in their cars. I recall back in 2002 when I was test driving an Infiniti (I got a BWM instead), I remember reading that both the Sirius and XM (they were separate then) companies were subsidizing the cost of the then-expensive radio hardware installed in new cars. The tradeoff was the expected revenue forever of the subscriptions. What actually has happened is the market did not grow like it was expected to do (which forced the competitors to merge or go bankrupt) and the cost of the hardware means that most cars built now either include the radio hardware or it costs little extra.

The real trouble now is that the smartphone revolution (i.e., streaming) has put what I consider to be a "row of nails in the coffin lid" of the business. While I think the variety of the satellite programming and even its sound quality isn't too bad (i.e., those are not the reasons they are in trouble), it's the competition now offered by alternatives which are free or almost free (i.e., streaming cell phone technology) that makes SiriusXM's ever-increasing pricing structure look less and less attractive. Now if they asked me (they won't), I think if they offered something for $4 a month, they might just get a whole lot of repeat subscribers. But wait, that's only $48 a year or about half their 1/2-price deal! In other words, they need to cut their prices by 1/2 again (in my humble opinion), but they can't/won't do so. I hear the bell tolling in the distance....

Just my 2-bit ramblings. :)

I was amused to read your comments. Thanks for posting them.

Peace.
 
#35 ·
So on this topic, if anyone can figure out a way to completely skip XM altogether when you hit the source button I'd love you. My wifes Outlander actually has 4 xm bands so you have to skip all 4 hitting source to get back around. It's quite annoying!
 
#36 ·
is the weather service included in the 3 month trial? I probably would never use it but thought it odd when I clicked on it that it said I was not subscribed.

I would consider paying for traffic but it doesn't seem like the navigation takes it into consideration. I had a portable gps that would automatically add time for heavy traffic and even reroute you if it was faster to go another way and avoid the traffic. in the altima it still calculates your arrival time as if you're going the speed limit, even if there's heavy traffic. not a big deal but that would be the what I'd pay for considering I can go on google maps on my phone if I just wanted to see where traffic was.
 
#40 ·
I had the same issue, with traffic and weather.....traffic was/is intermitent, weather has not ever worked (took delivery Tuesday)..XM is fine...called 3 times...they refreshed signal...no dice. Finally they sent me to a higher level tech, who said give it 48 hours...we are doing maintainence, so the refresh signal will not work. Gee ya think you could share that with the people that get the initial call, so they don't waste they're time and mine. I'm waiting until Saturday evening, but betting it won't work. :banghead:
 
#38 · (Edited)
I had the same issue, this is the service the dealer did and it now works on mine. Here is another thread I shared it in:
http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/20...332433-tech-package-question-poi-weather.html



You need to call XM or go online and activate your free three month subscription. They will ask you questions about the car type and will need the radio serial number.

goto Welcome to the world of satellite radio - SiriusXM Radio and in the middle top it says "Have a trial subscription, start here" or call 800-635-2349. Once activated it should work after they send the signal and your radio receives it.

If not, try this from the Nissan Service Bulletin:NTB12060
1) Park the vehicle outside.
2) Turn On the engine.
3) Turn On the radio and tune to channel "0" on XM source.
4) Write down the 8-digit XM Radio ID displayed on screen.
5) Tune to channel "1" on XM source and leave On the radio.
6) If activating/refreshing NavTrafic and/or NavWeather:
Press the Info button and select Traffic Info or Weather Info to display the respective screen. Or
Press the Setup button and Select XM
7) Activate/refresh service at www.siriusXM.com/refresh or call dealer support at 800-852-9696
8) The service should be activated/refreshed within 30 minutes
9) Turn Off the engine.
10) Wait 5 minutes
11) Turn On the engine.
12) Re-check that the activated/refreshed service is operational.

I went through a lot of similar steps with XM and nothing worked, but it does now after the dealer did the above steps. They gave me a copy that I typed above.
 
#42 ·
HA, I already copied your instructions, in anticipation of what I was told probably wouldn't work....didn't make sense if this were truely the issue, the 1st line customer service people should be aware....I'm going to wait, just to see... but honestly, I doubt I would pay for XM...had it before, wasn't worth it IMO.

Thanks for posting it....oh, and when I 1st called, the girl set up a account, so on line will probably be my preference.
 
#44 ·
Weather App problem solved for this 2.5 SV owner today. What I need to add to my trial subscription was XM Travel Link. I already had the NavTraffic and NavWeather provisioned, but the weather didn't work until I added Travel Link. It's still a pretty underwhelming services, as is the NavTraffic on the map itself, but I guess I get 3 months to figure that out. I just couldn't stand having a button that didn't work.
 
#46 · (Edited)
I've had XM on my old car and I only find that it's usefull when you traveling a lot. Otherwise, there are so many other free options. I ended up canceling and then I would get these 5 months for $20 buck deals snail mail basically every other month. You can definately get it for cheap.

Personally, I find that the XM reception on the Altima is not very good. I also find that the navigation and traffic suck compare to other systems. I guess I'm only into the tech package for backup camera and blind spot warning. I also do not like the annoying XM traffic UI on the Altima. Therefore, I will conclude that XM radio, weather, or traffic is NOT worth purchasing on the Altima when you have so many other options.
 
#47 · (Edited)
...Personally, I find that the XM reception on the Altima is not very good. I also find that the navigation and traffic suck compare to other systems. I guess I'm only into the tech package for backup camera and blind spot warning. I also do not like the annoying XM traffic UI on the Altima. Therefore, I will conclude that XM radio, weather, or traffic is worth purchasing on the Altima when you have so many other options.
I find the audio quality and the reception to be so poor in the area that I live, that I could only image subscribing to the service briefly, if the cost was low, and I was going on a road trip someplace further south or with less trees. My friends tell me that other receivers have more acceptable sound quality, but I haven't listened to one yet.

Based on our most recent car purchase prior to the Altima, I have made a list of things that I personally will never pay for on another vehicle.
1) Sunroof - we almost never use it and nearly had to total out our car when the sunroof glass shattered and Chrysler had stopped making the glass when the car was only 6 years old :( The car sat in the garage for months, undriveable, until I found salvage glass on E-bay.
2) Factory navigation - Nav technology is changing faster than I go through cars. An 8 year old car is fine, an 8 year old nav system is ancient and obsolete.
3) Leather Seats - Leather is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. My 13 year old truck with cloth is in better shape than my 8 year old car with leather.
4) DVD Changer/Screen/Surround Sound - I have found that I never sit in the back of my car and watch DVDs

Some things from the Chrysler I've decided I like
1) Auto Climate Control
2) Auto headlights
3) Factory Fog lights
4) Heated mirrors and Heated seats (if you have leather)
5) Homelink (compass can be handy too)
6) Miles to Empty and average Fuel economy gauges
7) TPMS
8) EVIC / service reminder etc.
9) A real clock (not digital)
10) Alloy wheels
11) Seat position memory
12) Tinted windows

One of the reasons I bought the Altima was because the SV package had most of what I liked and none of what I didn't. Since buying the Altima, I have added some new things that I like

1) Bluetooth Integration
2) Keyless
3) MP3/Ipod connection
4) Instant Fuel Economy gauge
5) Factory Back up camera
6) CVT transmission for driving through the mountains
7) Rain repellent on the rear window of a sedan :)
8) 33ish mpg in my normal driving
9) TPMS with Individual Tire pressures
10) LED light upgrades

And one new thing that I'm not willing to pay for

1) XM Radio

So far I've added Factory Fogs and the BT footwell and trunk kits to my SV. I am shopping for Window tint and a Homelink morror
 
#48 ·
Sorry, what I really ment was that I do not recommend XM. My entire message communicate disapproval of the XM Radio, Traffic, Weather, etc... I've made a correction to my message to add the (NOT recommend). I was hurry while typing that message and left out one word.
 
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