error 3 cd changer

[parrottjoyce]

Hi, My name is Joyce. I have had my 2007 Toyota Corolla for several years now and am loving it. I haven't had any problems with it except the cd changer. About 4 months ago I put a cd in the changer and error 3 popped up. I could not eject the cd nor play the cd. Now I have 5 cd's in my cd player and can't play them or get them out. Any suggestions?

[eyeball96]

to TN

I moved your thread to the proper forum!

I hope this helps you find a solution to your problem

[gideon1331]

You need a new headunit (unless you never want to use CD's again).

You can try pulling the radio fuse for several minutes (or just disconnect the positive battery cable) and trying to see if it resets, but error 3 means the changer mechanism is jammed. VERY common issue on 2 of the 3 brands Toyota used for the headunits in these cars.

Sometimes you can take the unit apart and get your CD's out, but many times they get too damaged in the process.

You can get a replacement OEM headunit, but that will be overly expensive and it will likely just jam on you too in due time. Your best bet is to get an aftermarket headunit, mounting kit, and wiring harness. You will get a much better radio, the ability to play MP3 CD's, and usually an auxiliary input. Some also have a USB port to just plug in a flash drive with your music on it.

[deja_vu1344]

I have had that same exact problem on my 2005 before. My recommendation is to just drive it on a bumpy road, pressing the eject button every so often. The vibrations from the road may dislodge the CD. If this does not work then just get a used radio from ebay, i prefer the A56821 model since it has a tape deck.

[bennor]

I had the dreaded "Error 3" with my 6 disc OEM radio unit (back in 2008) in my 05 Corolla LE. For me, I was able to get the disc to eject by sliding in an old credit card into the slot and working the tray up or down until it kicked in while pressing the Eject button. May take a few minutes of fiddling with the card to get the interior tray to move into its normal position to either play or eject the disc. If the CD is not fully in the CD tray you have be able to use the old credit card to push the disc in so it fully seats in the CD tray, then try and eject the CD. I think I may have had to turn the radio/cd changer on and off once or twice to clear the error before I could get the player to eject the CD after using the credit card method. My CD player's worked just fine since then, and plays other CD's (even when loaded with six disc's) without issue.

I only had the dreaded Error 3 on one CD, turned out the disc was slightly thicker than the rest of my CD's (I use CD-R's, not original CD) that were in my 6 disc changer.

Others have suggested removing the entire radio/CD unit and remove the top cover of the radio to see if you can dislodge the stuck disc that way. Once the stuck CD is dislodged you should be able to reassemble the radio/cd deck back into the dash and eject the rest of the CD's in the disc changer.