I just bought my second Matrix - only because I read that AWD is discontinued in 2007. I hated giving up my 2004 XR but the wife convinced me that I should go with a new one because I may never get that good a price on any AWD car ever again.
Anyway, the new car has the stock radio which pretty much sucks. I've ordered a Sony CDX-GT300 from Crutchfield. Crutchfield has been very helpful and has reassured me that I can do this myself. But in talking to other people who know a heck of a lot more about cars than me, they keep telling me to have a pro install it. They say the airbag goes off real easily even when you disconnect the battery. Is that true? Is this a fix a neophyte can accomplish? I know I can do the wiring and put in the unit, I'm just scared to death of setting of the airbag or side airbags.
I've replaced the radio in several vehicles that were equipped with airbags and not a one has tripped. Take your time, follow the instructions (including disconnecting the battery) and you should have no problems.
Let us know how it worked out! I messed with the radio before ever hearing anything about the airbags being sensitive, so I was blissfully ignorant. But yeah, no problems here!
Well, it's done!!!! I got the unit installed and it actually works. No problems except that I can't pull in AM stations more than 30 miles away. I've checked and re-checked the antennae connections but can't figure it out. Anyway, FM works fine, the CD player is great and now having the ability to plug in my Creative Zen Vision M player is fantastic. The little remote control is kind of cool too.
Being able to play my MP3 player through the unit was the feature I most wanted in an after market radio unit. Crutchfield advised me that the Sony was in my price range and that it was an easy install for the Matrix. Since I'm bordering on Geezerdom I'm not one of these kids that needs 1000 watts of sound shaking my car down the road. Just being able to listen to my kind of music (the kind they don't play on commercial radio anymore) was what I was most interested in. For $140.00 I got the Sony, all mounting hardware, the harness adapters, instructions, patch cord for my MP3 player and a crimping tool with connectors.
Thanks for the advice and the encouragement. Believe me, I was on pins and needles the whole time I was working with those wires. Any sound I heard had me ready to dive out of the way of an exploding airbag.
Grat to hear your installation went well. I'm also considering buying from Crutchfield. I'll take it from your experience that you recommend them. How good are the instructions and how long did it take you to install the new radio? I'm a noob also.
I installed a completely new stereo in my '06 XR 4WD and found one thing that was a real PITA was snaking new speaker wires from my power amp (I installed it under the passenger seat) through the rubber cable grommets that connect the door columns to the doors. I spent hours running these speaker wires. I installed a new head unit, power amp, and four new speakers (great quality) and, in the end, it was worth all the hard work. It was a weekend project and very gratifying. I am planning to go back and install sound control mats around the door speakers. With the four speakers and a 40W X 4 amp, I will not be looking to install a sub-woofer. I spent a lot of time looking into subs, but the present sound is great and I can crank up the bass a lot more if I want. I tried very hard when I bought the car to get the the factory JBL system, but the dealer could not locate a car with it installed.
But, again, the new speaker wires were very difficult.
Grat to hear your installation went well. I'm also considering buying from Crutchfield. I'll take it from your experience that you recommend them. How good are the instructions and how long did it take you to install the new radio? I'm a noob also.
I realize that my post is well after (as far as the date) your question/s.
I bought everything from Crutchfield. They are the way to go. Their prices are very competitive and the extras they supply are important. The cable harnesses alone (free!!!) make it worth buying from them. I have been in electronics for many years and fabricating your own cables can take hours and be VERY frustrating.
The Crutchfield instructions were fine for the head unit. The instructions for the door speakers and the power amp were "ok". Installing the speakers and wiring them was a lot of work. Don't think you're going to do it in a few hours. Plan on a weekend. The power amp requires a power cable run from the battery (in the engine compartment). This had to run through the firewall, along the rocker, and then under the carpet. Also, you need to run a new "remote power on" cable, and four RCA audio pre-amp out cables from the head unit to the power amp (mine got installed under the passenger seat). And then, you will need to run new speaker wires from the power amp to the four speakers in the doors.
If you are just replacing a factory head unit, it's an easy job and should only take a few hours. If you are replacing factory speakers and installing a power amp, then it's a whole different story. The big mistake I made was assuming a six hour job. In the end, it was more like 20 hours. But, I am very fussy. I've had a couple of installation pros tell me that they would not have fussed over details like I did. But, that's why you do-it-yourself - you can do a better job yourself ;-)))
In the end ..... The Matrix deserves a great sound system to overcome that highway road noise. It was worth every penny I spent and all the trials and tribulations of doing the installation myself. The factory JBL would have cost me $600 (as an option). I spent $800 and got an awesome result.
Grat to hear your installation went well. I'm also considering buying from Crutchfield. I'll take it from your experience that you recommend them. How good are the instructions and how long did it take you to install the new radio? I'm a noob also.
can you give me info/ref on how to pull the dash parts gracefully? i have done my 07 corolla radio swap but the matrix looks like it might be a bit diff. any info appreciated. i'll just be switching the head unit to get mp3 play, no speakers going in.
thanks SO much.
jp10jp
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Noobie question regarding after market radio
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