2007 Mazda5 Sirius

I have an 07 Mazda5 with the factory radio/6 CD changer. The radio is Sirius capable, but I'm told I'll need a receiver and some type of translator. I called my Mazda dealer and was told the hardware (receiver/trans) would be around $400.00 and the install about $500.00. To me this seems outragous. What's the point of listing a "sirius ready" radio as a selling point if it's going to cost you $900 - $1000 to get the darn thing up and running?

Anyone who has the Mazda5 and the Sirius, I would appreciate any input regarding this issue.

Outrageous indeed! I can’t recall exactly as I don’t have the window sticker on me at the moment, but I think I paid $400’ish total for the system. Now I should state that I purchased it from the factory that way, so the dealer could have some credibility in that there is a charge for installation after the fact. If there are any other Mazda dealerships around, call them, because while I suspect that you could be paying for installation regardless, $500 installation for it is robbery… I may be off with my rate here but at $75/hr labor that’s over 6 hours to throw in a relatively plug-and-play install. Give me a break.

On another note, if you don’t have any other Mazda dealerships in the area, you can at least find the actual OEM Hardware for cheaper from a few Mazda dealerships that sell accessories online. Search for “Mazda Accessories” or “Mazda5 Accessories” and you should get some results. Won’t be $200 for the setup, but maybe $350?

EDIT: Here ya go... $325 for the hardware. http://www.mazdastuff.com/product.cfm?ProductID=2723

i bought and installed the sirius kit for my 5. took me and a buddy less than 3 hours total to get it all in. worst part was dismantling the interior and running cables. other than that it was a breeze. the install directions were pretty good as supplied. its a definete lazy sunday DIY project and the dealers will only put thier least trained monkeys to the task.

we sell the hardware for this setup, let me know if we can be of help.

Guys, thanks so much for the help. Think I might just get the starmate and the pro install and do it that way. Won't be as nice and neat, but it will save me about $200.00

Yeah if you don't care that much about OEM look, then it's wise to get an aftermarket plug-and-play. Keep the antenna mounted in your windshield and it's portable car to car. You won't get the best reception this way, but it works. But I digress a little bit, anyway good luck!

I had the dealer "throw in" the Sirius when I bought the car (I figured it had a value of about $500, wild guess).

It took about 6 months before the dealer had the radio / parts in stock, and when he installed it, he threw some sort of receiver in the far rear left cubby compartment, it's just dangling in there by it's cables!! The antenna is sort of glued to the rear window at the top. The other wiring is well concealed throughout the car.

The first one "didn't work", it wouldn't "acquire" the signal, and after spending days on the phone with the satellite people (who said things like, "drive forward 10 feet and try it again"), they said to return to whomever installed it and have them fix it. After a long while, I was able to get it "fixed" and it's been okay since, although it's very annoying the way it cuts out when you go under a bridge, there should be a little buffer in there to keep the signal when you go under minor overheads!! It even goes out under the awning at the gas station, very annoying!!!

But, I do enjoy the programming, and I think you get the option of acquiring a very low cost 2nd receiver, for use at home or office, but I don't know what kind of signal you'd get from satellite radio at the office. Would you need a dish outside your window??

Matt Cotton
2006 Mazda5 Limited
Lake Parsippany, NJ

Yeah, Sirius Customer Support is inconsistent at best. Sorry to hear about your aggrivation.

Just so you know, SIRIUS has made long strides in service since I signed up back in like 2002. When I first got it, driving under a highway overpass at highway speed yielded a 3 second loss of signal penalty. In recent years, this has been much improved to where I rarely loose signal unless I'm sitting still (or driving very slow) under a bridge and in the summer driving through woods with a canopy of leaves.

Another thing that has improved, and IMO, continues to improve is the sound quality. When I first got it there was so much swirly artifact compression noise in the music, it was pretty bad actually. But I hardly ever can notice that on any stations anymore, even talk channels which were the worst offender of this.

Finally, in regards to listening to SIRIUS in an office, SIRIUS and XM both have ground based antennas in addition to their satellites. The satellites, of course, are their primary tool to getting music to you. However, in metro areas, they erect a repeater for the purpose of getting the signal in between and around buildings, tunnels, inside offices etc. If you are located near a repeater, you should be able to pick up a signal inside no problem... otherwise if you really want to go this far (and are allowed by management), you can buy 50' extension cables for SIRIUS antennas and you could wire one to outside a window. Being in NJ, like PA, the satellite brodcasts from the NW, so that's the direction you'll want to point. One note about repeaters... a year or two ago, SIRIUS got in some scuffle with the FCC and took maybe 30 or so repeaters down out of service nationwide. Most are still up, but unfortunately Harrisburg was one affected, so we no longer have a repeater. On the linked map below, you can search to see if you have a repeater in your area, but please note that Harrisburg is listed there as active when I'm almost certain it currently is not.

Hope this helps!

SIRIUS Repeater Map
http://www.dogstarradio.com/sirius_map.php

SIRIUS Satellite Orbit Map
(Please Note: Satellite in loop that appears to be above Canada is the active satellite at the time. While it appears to be going over canada, this map can't represent 3D, and it's actually going straight up away from Earth in a figure 8 motion. Because it loops upward away from Earth as it broadcasts, this is why SIRIUS satellite signal is 'stronger' than XM... less obstructions blocking it).


Live Satellite Position - View the current real-time position of Sir1, Sir2 and Sir3 Satellites...

Sir1 - http://www.heavens-above.com/orbitdisplay.asp?satid=26390
Sir2 - http://www.heavens-above.com/orbitdisplay.asp?satid=26483
Sir3 - http://www.heavens-above.com/orbitdisplay.asp?satid=26626

This is what I have



Buy the Sirius Car Kit unit. Pull the head unit out, install the FM adapter in the back of the stock radio. Remove the plastic plate, intall the Sirius unit. And there you have it.

Total cost, under $200.

Questions? Ask away!

-Craig

Nice Install

Hey Craig,
Nice job on that install. Do you have more pics of the project? Mainly, how to remove the head unit and where the connection point is on the factory stereo.

FYI - I had reception problems with my Sirius Sportster 4 and Sirius Canada upgraded me to the new colour Sportster 5. It's pretty much the same thing but features a colour screen. You can also switch the overall colour mode to green to match our 5's interior lights. Looks great!

Thanks!
Jo.

Joeboy, I don't have any "how-to" pics. I just started pulling things apart, and got the unit out. It only requires a screwdriver, however. The silver covering is separate from the radio. Once that was out, I used tape (sounds tacky) to secure that Sirius car kit dock to it.

Funny you got bad reception. I had the same problem, and bought the FM adapter cable which essentially overrides any FM frequency interference. (The first Sirius units that were made had a higher powered FM transmitter.)

I like the unit you have. That will be the next one I get when my current one goes kaput!

Im putting a dual din dvd bluetooth, nav unit off ebay in mine...and mount the sat receiver better as well....HEY NOW! listening to ferral! 100 and 101 rocks! bubba army here!

Craig and others, I've got my Sirius Sportster installed, but static seems to be a bit of a problem..... I picked up the FM adapter today from Best Buy, didn’t want to wait for Sirius to ship one….. I'm going to try and install it tomorrow; Is the antenna plug on the back of the factory radio the same as the one on the adapter? And how hard was it to get to the back of the stock radio? Any suggestions on getting to the back radio; such as which side to come in from….. etc…?

All I will say is in a previous installation I used the fm adapter and it made a night and day difference for me. Also, I had to use the mini-fm adapter to the back of my OEM radio, but it was a Pontiac and IIRC, I BELIEVE the mini-fm adapter thing was a GM (or domestic) thing so you may not need it.

I found this on another web site and thought I'd post it here, I'm going to give this a try today and I'll let you know if the directions are correct. I'm also going to take pic's of my install.....


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Getting to the radio is a bit of a nightmare but easy once you've done it once!

1. remove the kick panels in the driver and passenger footwells giving access to 1 philips screw each side. remove the screws.
2. remove the gear stick (unscrew the top)
3. remove the gearstick gaitor and plastic surround by sliding something underneath it and pulling it it comes away easily revealing a single philips screw which you have to remove to allow the plastic shifter tunnel to be manouvred into a position to remove the two philips screws holding the silver (on mine anyway) radio facia.
4. You should now be able to pull the radio unit out slowly although there will be some resistance from the clips holding it in place with slight presure.

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I'm still concerned about the mini FM plug on the back of the stock radio with CD player. I meant to pick one up just in case at the local electronics store and forgot...... maybe Radio Shack has them.

Thanks for your info,
DFS.....

dfskinner said:

I meant to pick one up just in case at the local electronics store and forgot...... maybe Radio Shack has them.

Click to expand...

I got mine at Best Buy... stores that have a car stereo installation shop such as Best Buy or Circuit City should have them in stock (if not Radio Shack).

Didn't need an adapter, had 'Best Buy" do the install, took the guy about an hour, I watched him, he removed the console below the radio and pulled the radio section straight out from the dash, like it was on skids...... unplugged the antenna, plugged in the FM Switch pulled the wire to the front, hooked everything up, Sirius came though no problem.... then it took him approx 20 mins to put everything back together.......

Sirius sounds awesome now..... no more static..... just CD quality sound music......

dfskinner said:

Sirius sounds awesome now..... no more static.....

Click to expand...

.......or commercials (alright)

Welcome to the club!

jandree22, thanks, but I've had it in my other vehicles since 2004. Had to get Sirius to give me a "Wavier" so to speak for having more than 4 units on one account. At first they did't want to let me do it, but after much discussion and the threat of just turning them all off they not only let me have the 5th on the account, but they gave me a new radio for one of my earlier units that's not working properly.....

but thanks just the same......

yeah sucks you have to always threat leaving to get what you want from these companies (Sirius, Comcast, Verizon, etc). You already have 4 flippin accounts through them, you shouldn't have to beg for a little customer appreciation. Whatev, glad you got your 5th account worked out, and actually surprised they through in the radio... probably to get the bad taste outa your mouth