"Your thoughts "on Aftermarket radio or just buy Sirius XM unit

[FHP89LX]

I have a 2010 Mountaineer Premier. My satellite is not working and gives my error 'Sat Fault". I took it to the dealer and the satellite model is bad. I know I can get one from eBay or the junkyard but then I would have to take it back to Ford to get the satellite module to reprogram for my VIN# and that will cost $$$$.

So, my options are to buy an aftermarket radio that will also let me use my steering wheel controls and has Sirius built-in OR buy a Sirius unit and use that.

I have been searching on eBay, Amazon, and Crutchfield but I can't find anything. Crutchfield is always sold out.
I prefer double din with
Thanks

 

[Explorer_PL]

when you search, use F150 04-08 criteria. The radios and plugs were the same.
I did this:

Aftermarket GPS Radio installation

It took me few months to do it, but it's done now. I always wanted to upgrade the stock GPS head unit with a modern one. Lucky for us, the center stock on our Explorers is compatible with the F150 from those years, so with that, the market selection is much wider than if you were to google just...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[07EddyB]

I don't have satellite but I put a aftermarket double din JVC in my 2007. It gave me things I didn't have like hands free cell phone and USB drive play back. It also gave me a backup camera. I did the same in the 2008 Taurus that we bought for our oldest son when he started driving. I don't have the steering wheel controls but the Taurus did and a Maestro unit kept that functionality in the Taurus.
Most aftermarket units have satellite built in so that shouldn't be a problem.
While I'm happy with the way things turned out and I would do it all over again - I'll give you a few complaints.

1. In the Explorer the screen gets washed out pretty quickly during a sunny day. That's mostly because of the high position it's mounted in and my light interior (it's an Eddie Bauer). The Taurus is not quite as bad but still not great.
2. AM sucks on most after market units. Not a problem if you don't do talk radio.
3. Probably my biggest peeve is that there is no function to increase/decrease volume according to speed. I understand why that is but it's something I really miss as I spend a lot of time with my windows down.