2003 Matrix CD Player Woes

[bakija]

So I have a 2003 Matrix XRS. I got it used in 2007, and after purchasing it, I discovered the standard CD player (6 CD changer) didn't work (I probably should have checked before buying the car, but, ya know, these things happen). In any case, the CD player didn't operate at all--the console didn't show any indication that the CD player was there, pressing the CD control buttons did nothing. The radio works fine, but the CD player was essentially non-existent. It wasn't a big deal, so I never bothered getting it fixed (especially given that the local Toyota dealership wanted $60.00 just to diagnose the problem).

Right. At some point in the last couple years, the CD player randomly started working again for no noticeable reason. One day I was driving along, the CD player suddenly made some whiring noises, and when I messed around with the CD player, it worked. I loaded some CDs, they played, everything was randomly and miraculously better with the CD player.

Last week, I took my car to the shop, got a new battery installed, and now the CD player doesn't work again. The radio is fine, but again, the console doesn't even recognize that the CD player is there. Where previously, the radio LED window indicated that there were 4 (or whatever) CDs in the CD player with little numbers even when the CD player wasn't playing, those 4 numbers have vanished (even though all the CDs are still trapped inside). None of the CD player buttons have any effect.

A buddy of mine suggested, long ago, that the CD player probably has an anti-theft device that freezes out the CD player when it is disconnected from the power system (which would make some sense, given that the thing that seemed to make the CD player stop working was getting a new battery), but that seems like a really stupid function, given that I have no information at all about how to fix it, and cars get their batteries changed (or they die) once and a while.

Any ideas or suggestions on how to fix/remedy this situation? And what might be causing it?

[fishexpo101]

When we still had our old 2003 Matrix XRS with the 6-disc in-dash changer - did the exact same thing. No anti-theft device locking it out - as it would lock all functionality on the headunit, including the radio.

Try this - with someone inside the car and one outside, disconnect the battery for a minute, then reconnect it. The headunit should "cycle" a CD, regardless if there is a disc in there or not.

If it doesn't "cycle" the headunit is on its way out - just have to replace the headunit.

If it does cycle, there is a chance that the microswitch lever inside that indicates that a CD is loaded, is probably going bad or out of alignment/bent. Unfortunately, trying to get to it is near impossible, unless you've played around with electronics like these headunits. Very little serviceable parts in there nowadays - might be able to jiggle something loose with some compressed air, sometimes tapping the faceplate can also jiggle something internally (to a point).