ManWIthAPlan

Maybe I'm a sucker, but my 3 month freebie of Sirius from when I bought the Q finally expired, so last weekend I decided to just suck it up and do the lifetime subscription on it. I know, I know, what if something happens to the car in the next few years, yeah, I get it...just playing the odds and knowing me, I will have the car longer than 4 years (I better!).

So, the math works like this...normal price is 12.95 if paid for monthly. I paid 450 total and never have to pay for this VIN number (read: vehicle) again. So, in other words, if you're going to keep the car longer than 3 years, it pays to just do lifetime. And if you keep the car for 8 years, you've received 5 years of free Sirius service! And no, it is not transferable to another vehicle, it is literally tied to the VIN number of the car.

I thought it was worth it to stop getting nickled and dimed every month for the 12.95. To each his own! Enjoy!

Kulanu

We also risk the demise of Serius/XM before your break even period arrives. It has almost happened 2x already. :-) Best of luck. I love mine too.

The G Man

Sounds like traffic is free for the 1st 12 months. I just let my Sirius expire and I dont miss it at all, way too many other music option in the Audi to choose from.

GolfGL

Sirius Canada sucks. My data trial expired a couple of weeks ago but the radio part is still up. When I called Sirius to inquire about subscribing, apparently traffic is not offered by Sirius Canada even though Toronto is a fully covered area. I called Audi Canada and they confirmed that traffic is not offered by Sirius. Incredible that I had the trial for 3 months with traffic data and radio. I don't know who else to escalate to... very misleading that MMI 3G was advertised with traffic capabilities, trial included traffic, and now there is nothing :-(

SJCQ5

I've been lurking here for a couple of months but since I've had my Q5 for a couple of weeks, I'm ready to join the conversations.

I didn't want to worry about monthly fees either so I purchased a lifetime Sirius subscription for a 2006 MB SLK 350. Well, I just traded the SLK for my new Q5. I called Sirius to confirm that my private info would be safe even though I'd sold the car with the active Sirius radio. Sirius said they wanted to keep me as a happy customer and transferred my lifetime subscription from my SLK to the Q5! I couldn't believe it! It's the only Sirius radio I've ever owned and I was not expecting that kind of service from a company that is struggling like Sirius is.

Like everyone else, I'm only supposed to get 90 days of traffic/data but after using it just a bit here in the San Francisco Bay Area, I'm better off calling 511 with my iPhone. Sirius traffic is just too slow to update.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the U.S.!
SJCQ5

2010 Q5 Prestige / Luxury
Quartz Gray / Light Gray Milano / Fine Grain Ash
Audi Drive Select (I'm blown away by the difference ADS makes)
Rear Side Airbags

refthimos

That's awesome that they took care of you like that... for others that might not be so lucky, there may be another option as well. I first subscribed to Sirius a few years ago (activating a Kenwood home receiver) and purchased the lifetime subscription as well. While the lifetime subscription is tied to the receiver itself, Sirius does allow you to transfer the lifetime subscription from one receiver to another for a $75 transfer fee. There is a limit of 3 or such transfers, but it can be done even if you can't get a customer service rep to hook you up (see paragraphs C-9 and F-8):

http://www.sirius.com/pdf/sirius_tc_100109.pdf

GolfGL

TMC (Traffic Message Channel) is not exclusive to FM. It can also be transmitted via DAB or satellite.