Short DAB aerial

[Janiebee]

Hi there 

I've just bought a 2014 Verso 1.6 diesel with DAB radio which I love. However the aerial is a bit too long to drive under the garage door!  Does anyone know if Toyota stock a stubby DAB aerial I can replace it with or any other suggestions? I do have a stubby one on my rav 4 which I swapped onto the Verso but then it didn't pick up the DAB stations so I'm assuming it doesn't have an internal aerial inside the car/windows? Thanks Jane 

[Agent Orange]

Hi Jane and welcome to the forum. 

The problem with DAB is that it's only as good as the signal it gets, if that makes sense.  There are many threads in the various sections of this website that say that DAB radios are great and there are just as many that say that they are awful and that FM is better.  However if you love your DAB radio then you want it to work and the easiest way to get your Verso into the garage is to unscrew the rod/antenna from the base every time you back it in.....That is a real  pain and is easy to forget, so let's move on.

You could replace you roof aerial with one of the stubby "Bee Sting" aerials (I have one on my Aygo and you can get one from Amazon for £3.00 with free P&P) but as you say, you won't get DAB reception, so that would be a cosmetic thing and you would then have to connect the radio to a DAB aerial mounted on the glass or inside the car, like one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eightwood-Digital-Radio-Antenna-Glass/dp/B01DZW2ZVQ/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1497174860&sr=8-8&keywords=car+dab+aerial

I have seen people mount a DAB aerial like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eightwood-Digital-Antenna-Aerial-Connector/dp/B01HZAN5YA/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1497174860&sr=8-12&keywords=car+dab+aerial

On the rear parcel shelf, behind the driver so that it doesn't distract you when you look through the rear view mirror, then running the aerial cable back to the radio under the carpet.

I figure from your post that you already know all of this but I hope it helps in some way.

All the best.