Ryno12

In theory, yes. I do recall though that you still need supply them with some info about your vehicle. It may help if you know the information on the vehicle that’s been originally paired with your new radio ID. So when they ask about your vehicle and you say “2015 Silverado”, then they ask for the radio ID, you tell them, and they say, “Sorry, that ID is registered to a 2018 Yukon XL”. That’s when everything goes downhill. Thinking back, I even tried giving them the ID only on one of my many calls to XM. The person stated the vehicle, “2017 Silverado”, I confirmed & it still didn’t work after they tried sending the signal. Another funny thing is, I recall on more than one occasion, different reps saying mine was linked to a 2016 Cadillac and not a 2017 Silverado. I just said “ok, whatever”. It was a messed up deal, I tell ya...

It’s an add on package that I mostly got for the weather & traffic apps. Probably not important to many people but I wanted it. They might be better to deal with if all XM features are the same between radios. Mine was not, so it proved to be more difficult to get the services that weren’t available on my original radio. (Although it was still a hassle for me to just get the standard music package.)

I had to use this number to call them, (888) 465-8528. I believe this is for dealerships only & I even still always had to request to speak to a manager. Being that I’m not a dealership, I sometimes had to be stern with them so they’d give me the time of day. The XM reps that answered generic CS number listed on their website we’re never able to do anything for me. They always blamed it on their computer system saying that it will not let them override the system when the radio ID & VIN information differs from what is listed in their database. Hopefully you guys will have better luck than I did.

I know, right?! I was shocked at how uncooperative they were. I basically gave them my credit card info & told them to send the signal to my radio ID. It should’ve been as simple as that, and yet they still refused.

December 2017

I believe the radio IDs are assigned to a particular VIN right from the get go. (I had to give MVI my VIN so it could be programmed to the 2.5 module.) I had a previous trial subscription to XM before my upgrade. At that time, I had requested the Travel Link package & they told me that my radio was not compatible. After I installed the MVI module, I had another free trial with everything for about 3 months. After it had expired, I called XM to renew the subscription and again to add the Travel Link package. Again, they told me it wasn’t available for my vehicle. I gave them the new radio ID & told them that I’ve been receiving Travel Link for the past three months. They told me that’s impossible, that my new radio ID was for a 2017 Silverado & that my current vehicle was a 2014 Sierra and therefore was not eligible for the package that I wanted. I told them that I swapped modules & that’s where they just couldn’t comprehend any further. They said the modules can’t be swapped as they are assigned to a particular VIN & won’t work in any other vehicles. I told them that the module was reprogrammed to my VIN. They disputed that as their records show (again) that’s its assigned to a 2017 Silverado and again, I explained that it was reprogrammed to my 2014 Sierra VIN. The back and forth continued through several phone calls & was the ultimate perpetuating mess that resembled the movie Groundhog Day. I also had a few different dealerships try renewing my subscription to no avail. They gave me the name of the regional XM rep and said that he could get this going. He was of zero help and only had questioning that was short of a criminal interrogation. Ultimately, it took Anthony from MVI to call the XM automotive division & tell them to basically just activate the signal & don’t ask any questions. I’ve since had my service disconnected a couple times & it’s about a hour long phone call with about 2-3 different reps to get it working again. It’s a big time ass ache anytime I have to deal with XM & I absolutely dread it. ETA: apologies for the word wall.

I did the MVI route so the cost was higher, $900+. My truck originally came from Canada and it didn’t have the Pandora & weather apps. So aside from CarPlay, I was able to add Pandora, weather, and texting apps by going to the 2.5. The biggest PITA of it all was dealing with Sirius/XM and adding services that my radio didn’t originally come with. For some reason, they can’t seem to understand that these modules get swapped out, so if the VIN no longer matches the original radio ID, they become extremely difficult to work with. It took several escalated phone calls to get the XM services that I wanted added. Even the regional XM manager was being difficult & insinuating that I may have stolen the module from another vehicle or that I was up to something illegal. It certainly was not as simple as providing the radio ID & telling them what subscriptions you want... at least not in my case.

My 14 Sierra has the HD radio stations. Even after I updated to the 2.5 module (17 Silverado), I still have the HD radio. The one thing I did lose with the 2.0 to 2.5 upgrade was the ability to pause & rewind music.

I wish someone would make a controller that plugs into the factory GM dash switch. That way, if your truck never came with factory TBC, you could add an aftermarket controller but utilize a factory switch for a cleaner look. You’d still need some sort of display as the DIC wouldn’t be of any use though...

There’s been numerous threads about this subject already. It can’t be done. Your only option is to install an aftermarket controller.

Top connection for child car seats. You must not have kids yet. [emoji6]

I left everything else the same except I changed the shift to “firm”. I did this last fall/early winter so the temps were lower & there has been more idle time, so mpg will be naturally worse. My truck is a 6.2 Denali & I think the mileage computer is averaging 15.7ish over the last several hundred miles. If I baby it or drive conservatively, I can get in the high teens or low 20’s.

I’ve got the same tuner & I haven’t noticed an increase in mileage, but I didn’t install the gas mileage tune. Mine has the stock 87 octane tune. Admittedly, I can be a bit heavy on the foot so I’m not expecting any increase anyway.

Are you being heavier on the pedal after the tune?

I tried a small 1.5 gal shop vac & it did not work.