I want to get my sirius satellite radio hooked up. My car is a 2005 that is "Sirius Ready"; I need to know if the roof antenna that the dealer is installing can be painted. I think it would look better than black being that my car is ceramic white tri-coat.

Thanks for any info..........

just have the dealer put in on your dashboard or rear deck.

just have the dealer put in on your dashboard or rear deck.

I tried it on the rear deck inside the car, but had reception problems when heading due south. I ended up putting it on the roof. Defiantly not my first choice. Also the factory kit's antenna is a little larger than the latest Sirius antennas sold with retail radios. I have been told that you can paint the antenna, but have not tried it myself.

can you post pics?

IIRC, either Kelleyo or Toddg has painted his Sirius antenna to match. Whoever did it reported no deterioration in signal after the painting.

IIRC, either Kelleyo or Toddg has painted his Sirius antenna to match. Whoever did it reported no deterioration in signal after the painting.

Jim, that must have been Kelley because I have not painted my antenna yet.

Mint, I have a Ceramic White LS, and the black satellite antenna sticks out. See photo. I contacted the guys at thesiriusstore.com, who used to paint antennas under the name colormatchantenna.com, but no longer do this. They recommended going to a body shop to have it painted, and that's probably what I'll do.

As a cheaper alternative, you may want to get some paint from Paintscratch.com. They sell it in spray cans, but be sure to get the flex additive that is suitable for plastics. One point to consider is whether the paint will affect radio reception -- I've heard that some metallized paints do, but I'm unsure about the stuff from Paintscratch. You should ask them about this.

i put mine on the inside of the car(top corner of dash) works great!!

hey toddG i wanted to ask is your sat radio integrated into the THX NAV and if it is what is your opinion of it, is it really functional and easy to use or do you think that the 3rd party small reciever is better... let me know im thinking about doing this....

Jim, that must have been Kelley because I have not painted my antenna yet.

Mint, I have a Ceramic White LS, and the black satellite antenna sticks out. See photo. I contacted the guys at thesiriusstore.com, who used to paint antennas under the name colormatchantenna.com, but no longer do this. They recommended going to a body shop to have it painted, and that's probably what I'll do.

As a cheaper alternative, you may want to get some paint from Paintscratch.com. They sell it in spray cans, but be sure to get the flex additive that is suitable for plastics. One point to consider is whether the paint will affect radio reception -- I've heard that some metallized paints do, but I'm unsure about the stuff from Paintscratch. You should ask them about this.



Todd, Thank you for the picture of your antenna. Did the L-M dealer install this when you bought yours? Also,if they did,what did it cost including the kit?

I was going to get mine done sooner,but I put her away for the winter (PA. winters are brutal on cars with all the crap they put down on roads).
I will order the kit and paint the antenna at work since I do it for a living.

By the way,you have good taste-your LS is identical to mine! Where did you get the Motor Trend 2000 car-of-the-year poster hanging on your wall? I WANT it!!!

Thanks again- Jim

Todd, Thank you for the picture of your antenna. Did the L-M dealer install this when you bought yours? Also,if they did,what did it cost including the kit?



I can't recall exactly, but I think it was about $450 installed. The price is a bit steep because you have to buy the Sirius tuner. Keep in mind you'll also have to pay for the Sirius service itself. Lincoln gives you one month free, and if you pay for a year of Sirius service up front, you get another month free. I think I paid $149 for a year of Sirius, and got 13 months for the price of 11.


By the way,you have good taste-your LS is identical to mine! Where did you get the Motor Trend 2000 car-of-the-year poster hanging on your wall? I WANT it!!!


Yeah, everybody who sees it wants that thing. It's actually a dealer banner I got back in 2002. I have a couple boxes of weird LS stuff, much of it from when the car was introduced in late 1999. I have lots of materials that were available only to dealers and members of the media. And, NO, it's not for sale. :)

hey toddG i wanted to ask is your sat radio integrated into the THX NAV and if it is what is your opinion of it, is it really functional and easy to use or do you think that the 3rd party small reciever is better... let me know im thinking about doing this....

Yes, the satellite radio is fully integrated into the THX/Nav system. During installation, there is a software upgrade that replaces the FM2 button with three "SAT" buttons (SAT1, SAT2, and SAT3) to the LCD display, and you can toggle between all three. This gives you 18 satellite presets (6x3). The FM1 button then becomes FM1 and FM2 if you toggle between them, so you still get 12 FM presets.

All the functions for the satellite radio are fully integrated into the audio system and its controls. You can switch media directly from the steering wheel, for example. Its also integrated into the voice commands, so you can say "Sat 1" and the radio will switch to the Sat 1 presets. Very cool. If the radio in your LS is satellite-ready, you'll be far better off using the integrated system than an external tuner, especially if you have the THX/Nav system.

thanks todd will go to the dealer and ask for price quotes, but im still debating on getting SAT RADIO or the PIE connector to use my IPOD.

you can do both. the nav radio will support both the frd-03aux AND the satellite tuner.....

i went to the dealer (2 of them) and they told me that there was no software upgrade!! the radios were shipped out if the was a problem to a third party! i called the third party ppl and they said that there was nothing of that sort!

software upgrade was only needed for 03 and some 04 units. your 05 already has the software. once they plug in the satellite module the button will show up...

okay ummm so my 03 dont need it then?
were do you get the mod?the dealers in canada dont knoe f.... all

your 03 does need it. Find a new dealer. I've personally seen the paperwork that outlines the upgrade, and it was a Ford document and CD...however there was NOT a TSB.....

were could i find the ford doc?
then i would bring it to the dealer

I don't personally have the doc. I've seen it at the pioneer repair facility. Sorry I can't be more help. If you have a Pioneer audio repair facility in your area they be able to help too.

thank you!
but what does pioneer have to do with it?
why would they have the info?

thank you!
but what does pioneer have to do with it?
why would they have the info?

Pioneer makes some of the components.

pioneer made the head unit. the "brains" (video, nav, etc.) are the trunk unit made by denso. I'm not sure which individual unit was affected by the software upgrade but I CAN tell you the trunk unit is MUCH more than a dvd-rom

ok im ordering the PIE part now -- thanks beaups will put both the sat and ipod in i will have best of both world now if i can get this THX to sound a little louder it will be great --