Also, just to clarify. I have a 2011 Sienna Limited.
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Here are pics of the internals of the OEM shark fin antenna. Hope this helps.
www.siennachat.com
OEM shark fin antenna mod
This will only work with the one's equipped with GPS black antenna and navigation system. May work with other models and system as well depending on the package that came with the vehicle. Will do a write up later. Van came with only 1 black wire that connects to the black GPS antenna. The shark...
www.siennachat.com
The "official" descriptions for parts sometimes aren't very meaningful. The term "Mayday" is used for some Toyota models to describe the telematics roof top antenna which seems like an odd term to use unless you're a pilot. I think the fact that the pre-2018 non-Limited Sienna with navigation had only a small satellite radio antenna on the roof, if they had a roof top antenna at all, is confirmation that the navigation system antenna is not in the shark fin antenna. The shark fin antenna was added to all 2018-up Sienna only when Safety Connect became standard on all trims. Prior to 2018, only the Limited had the shark fin antenna except in the early gen 3 model years in which Safety Connect was optional on the XLE.
As I said, I am certain that the navigation antenna for older Lexus models was in the dashboard - just under the top surface at the center. And I am certain that the roof top antenna on our Prius does not contain the navigation system antenna - I've seen discussions on what each "chip" in the rooftop antenna is for.
I've forgotten more than I remember about the chipset improvements that made it possible for GPS receivers to function inside vehicles without needing external antennas. Older GPS devices sometimes took "forever" to acquire enough satellites to function. I've got an old large clunky hiking oriented GPS device that I sometimes had to wave high in the air like a maniac for 10 to 15 minutes to acquire enough satellite signals (minimum of three required for triangulation) on cloudy days or in hilly terrain. The GPS chipset integrated into a modern cell phone can perform the signal acquisition in a split second. If only our military had had this technology when the Germans attacked Pearl Harbor!
As I said, I am certain that the navigation antenna for older Lexus models was in the dashboard - just under the top surface at the center. And I am certain that the roof top antenna on our Prius does not contain the navigation system antenna - I've seen discussions on what each "chip" in the rooftop antenna is for.
I've forgotten more than I remember about the chipset improvements that made it possible for GPS receivers to function inside vehicles without needing external antennas. Older GPS devices sometimes took "forever" to acquire enough satellites to function. I've got an old large clunky hiking oriented GPS device that I sometimes had to wave high in the air like a maniac for 10 to 15 minutes to acquire enough satellite signals (minimum of three required for triangulation) on cloudy days or in hilly terrain. The GPS chipset integrated into a modern cell phone can perform the signal acquisition in a split second. If only our military had had this technology when the Germans attacked Pearl Harbor!
Thanks for the input! But, I was wondering where could I find the OEM GPS antenna? The diagram on the site I had linked before looked to big to fit in the dash?The "official" descriptions for parts sometimes aren't very meaningful. The term "Mayday" is used for some Toyota models to describe the telematics roof top antenna which seems like an odd term to use unless you're a pilot. I think the fact that the pre-2018 non-Limited Sienna with navigation had only a small satellite radio antenna on the roof, if they had a roof top antenna at all, is confirmation that the navigation system antenna is not in the shark fin antenna. The shark fin antenna was added to all 2018-up Sienna only when Safety Connect became standard on all trims. Prior to 2018, only the Limited had the shark fin antenna except in the early gen 3 model years in which Safety Connect was optional on the XLE.
As I said, I am certain that the navigation antenna for older Lexus models was in the dashboard - just under the top surface at the center. And I am certain that the roof top antenna on our Prius does not contain the navigation system antenna - I've seen discussions on what each "chip" in the rooftop antenna is for.
I've forgotten more than I remember about the chipset improvements that made it possible for GPS receivers to function inside vehicles without needing external antennas. Older GPS devices sometimes took "forever" to acquire enough satellites to function. I've got an old large clunky hiking oriented GPS device that I sometimes had to wave high in the air like a maniac for 10 to 15 minutes to acquire enough satellite signals (minimum of three required for triangulation) on cloudy days or in hilly terrain. The GPS chipset integrated into a modern cell phone can perform the signal acquisition in a split second. If only our military had had this technology when the Germans attacked Pearl Harbor!
That's because the antenna on the site you linked to is the "shark fin" antenna that goes on the roof. The one on my Limited contains two antennas - one for Safety Connect and the other for XM radio. I assume that the navigation system antenna in my Sienna is inside the dashboard - probably inside the navigation head unit since a separate navigation antenna is not shown in the parts lists or diagrams.
Even before the significant chip set improvements that improved satellite reception in the early 2000's, Toyota was putting navigation system antennas inside the dashboard - even 22 years ago on the first navigation system on a U.S. market vehicle made by Toyota. I know it's not for a Sienna but the attached image shows the location of the navigation system antenna on the 2000 Lexus LS400 I used to have.
Yes, those pesky Germans in their Zeroes!The "official" descriptions for parts sometimes aren't very meaningful. The term "Mayday" is used for some Toyota models to describe the telematics roof top antenna which seems like an odd term to use unless you're a pilot. I think the fact that the pre-2018 non-Limited Sienna with navigation had only a small satellite radio antenna on the roof, if they had a roof top antenna at all, is confirmation that the navigation system antenna is not in the shark fin antenna. The shark fin antenna was added to all 2018-up Sienna only when Safety Connect became standard on all trims. Prior to 2018, only the Limited had the shark fin antenna except in the early gen 3 model years in which Safety Connect was optional on the XLE.
As I said, I am certain that the navigation antenna for older Lexus models was in the dashboard - just under the top surface at the center. And I am certain that the roof top antenna on our Prius does not contain the navigation system antenna - I've seen discussions on what each "chip" in the rooftop antenna is for.
I've forgotten more than I remember about the chipset improvements that made it possible for GPS receivers to function inside vehicles without needing external antennas. Older GPS devices sometimes took "forever" to acquire enough satellites to function. I've got an old large clunky hiking oriented GPS device that I sometimes had to wave high in the air like a maniac for 10 to 15 minutes to acquire enough satellite signals (minimum of three required for triangulation) on cloudy days or in hilly terrain. The GPS chipset integrated into a modern cell phone can perform the signal acquisition in a split second. If only our military had had this technology when the Germans attacked Pearl Harbor!
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