XM radio as an add on in 2016 CX-5 Touring with Bose

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festus

Member
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2016 CX-5 Touring
Hi, New member here and just picked up my new 2016 CX-5 Touring yesterday.
I have the Bose stereo and it does not come with XM satellite radio!
What's up with that? Even my young nephew's low end Kia Soul has XM! (But that's another rant).

Paid to have the dealer put in XM. The tech found things didn't fit. They called Mazda California and found out that the XM kit does not work on the 2016's. Only works on the older information panel (2015 and earlier). No info on when they will have a new kit and what's involved.

However, now that I have a car with bluetooth audio, I am going to play with Spotify and Pandora and see what my data usage is and the cell phone coverage issues, etc. The nice thing about Pandora is the Mazda connect screen has it. With Spotify I would have to change the music playlists with the phone, but I can use the Mazda interface for Pandora. A lot safer while driving.

Thought I'd share this interesting info on XM radio in the 2016's.
 
Interesting. Wonder if the kit for the Mazda 3 with the same radio would work.

Also, if you already have a Sirius/XM account you could upgrade it to use the app on your phone. Cheaper than adding another full subscription to another tuner. (assuming you don't over-use your cell phone data plan)
 
I wonder if the internet fed subscription sounds any less ass than the satellite one? My Nissan NV2500HD cargo van's SiriusXM sounds way better than my 2014 CX-5s....go figure...
 
what a bummer. I just got my 2016 CX-5 and can't use my SiriusXM lifetime subscription. I guess I need to look into the app until something becomes available.
 
SiriusXM came with my GT with the Bose System. Free 3 month trial taboot.

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk
 
Has anyone found a way to add the XM radio to the 2016 touring yet? Still really wanting to do this. People have suggested to use the phone app, but that doesn't work if you are driving where you don't have cell service.
 
I have 4 months trial XM on my GT. I called XM who advised me to talk to dealer. Told dealer would leave a good feedback and they bumped my trial to 18 months, no issues.
 
bmninada said:
I have 4 months trial XM on my GT. I called XM who advised me to talk to dealer. Told dealer would leave a good feedback and they bumped my trial to 18 months, no issues.
Click to expand...

Its not just the subscription, it is missing the actual hardware for XM radio
 
OP here.
After 10 months with my new CX-5 (boy, time flies) I have been using Pandora. I have created a number of stations way better than XM's.
I have Verizon and live in New England and have had no problems with cell reception except in the Adirondacks for a bit. This includes a rode trip to Chicago and the Michigan thumb. Cellular data is about 30MB/hr so not bad at all. Even my 2 week midwest road trip used less than 1 gig for the month.
The app connects automatically when I start the car (Apple OS 9.2) Occasionally Pandora will hang up on the Mazda screen and I switch to bluetooth connect and Pandora plays. Switch back to Pandora and it loads on the Mazda screen - now I can give tunes thumbs up or down and switch my stations.
A minor bug, wrote to Mazda and Pandora about it. I don't miss XM at all.
 
Anyone with a 2016 GT want to take a picture of the pinout of their radio and post it to compare to the touring? And for that matter, what the 2015s and older have too for the XM addon. Would like if the same addon worked and it just wasn't listed.
 
If you go to the Med Center (sponsor link) site and find the XM add on product, there used to be a link to the install instructions that should answer some of your questions - it requires putting an antenna on top of the car I think...
 
I too purchased this year a 2016 CX-5 Touring... WITHOUT XM RADIO! I was told it was part of the vehicle and found out later that it isn't. Called around to several dealerships and was told the same thing you were...this is no install kit...YET, for this year's model UGH! I want the in-dash option as well, I don't want to have to use a clip-on version of satellite radio. I too am using Pandora through my Bluetooth and it's great, but I'd really like to listen to religion radio and NFL Network, only found on SATELLITE RADIO. Come on Mazda, get with it and get us the XM radio module, install kit, etc!
 
I also was surprised and disappointed to find that the xm is "greyed out" and cannot be activated - I asked at the time of the sale and was told the car had xm capabilities but no free trial - I have been using AHA thru my phone , it doesn't seem to use up much of my data at all, but I have to manually re-connect every time i get back into the car ? Anyone know if there is a way to avoid doing this ? Thanks !
 
Same here... 2016.5 CX-5 Sport. Couldn't believe the XM wasnt even available. I can appreciate that maybe there wasn't a "free" listening period, but with all the info-tainment center does, to not have it be XM tuner capable is very disappointing.

I hope when a work around or the Mazda OEM kit comes out, its posted here.
 
VAIS Technologies now offers a kit for the newer Mazda infotainment system.

http://www.vaistech.com/

It's their GSR series so it works by simulating an iPod connection through the factory USB connector. The drawback is that you have to run a usb cable from the module to the USB connector in the car, so it isn't the cleanest of installs.
I've installed a couple of the new Mazda kits and they work pretty well. Hopefully they will offer a solution like the Toyota kit which has a USB in an out on the module so it can all connect behind the radio without any visible wiring.
 
thedaddyb said:
VAIS Technologies now offers a kit for the newer Mazda infotainment system.

http://www.vaistech.com/

...drawback is that you have to run a usb cable from the module to the USB connector in the car, so it isn't the cleanest of installs...
Click to expand...

GSR-0XX-kit-500x341.jpg


Ive seen this on ebay for $250. I wasnt a fan of the USB connection either. MY hope, and confusion is, why isnt there just a back of unit plug in that uses the onscreen GREY'd out XM input and screen display?

I already use my bluetooth connection for my Sirius phone app, so I'm in no rush to plug in any "dongle". If it was a clean OEM looking add on, I would be all over it.
 
I think it really comes down to that aftermarket companies don't want to spend the time researching on how to make it work like that anymore. The older VAIS products worked seamlessly with the factory radios and utilized the factory software package so a "grey'd" out tab or missing tab would be added. This is a much simpler solution for them and can be applied to a ton of other manufacturers vehicles.

It also seems like the OEM suppliers don't really care anymore either. They are much more inclined to sell the car as is and not offer as many accessories any longer. If you want a specific feature, spend the money and get the higher package which may include things you may not even want. If you don't go that route then you are out of luck.

On a side note, people or beginning to learn how to "hack" some of these factory systems. For instance for some of the newer GM vehicles, we can get parts of the radios programmed specifically for the VIN# of the car and have features unlocked or added. You can add a backup camera, satellite radio, navigation, or even car play. Just order what you want swap out the component and send back the core. This might be the future for other car brands as well.
 
thedaddyb said:
VAIS Technologies now offers a kit for the newer Mazda infotainment system.

http://www.vaistech.com/

It's their GSR series so it works by simulating an iPod connection through the factory USB connector. The drawback is that you have to run a usb cable from the module to the USB connector in the car, so it isn't the cleanest of installs.
I've installed a couple of the new Mazda kits and they work pretty well. Hopefully they will offer a solution like the Toyota kit which has a USB in an out on the module so it can all connect behind the radio without any visible wiring.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting, I may go for this option. I frequently drive where there is no cell service so I cannot just use my phone as many do. I wonder if you can access the usb from behind?
 
Also, question, has anyone looked into exactly what is limiting or enabling the XM feature? Is it just something in the software or is it missing an antenna or is it other hardware within the head unit?
 
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