Radio Swap

[AleroBoB]

Anyone here know if it's possible, and how to put a stock HHR radio/cd unit in my 2004 alero? The dealer mechanics said no.. wiring issues.

[Menace]

Why not just go out to best buy and get a good headunit instead of wasting your time with stock pos.

[doubleN0alero]

Originally posted by Menace@Mar 23 2006, 10:15 AM
Why not just go out to best buy and get a good headunit instead of wasting your time with stock pos.
Quoted post


X2

[alerocar01]

i agree with them. just go buy a new one.

[cherrington17]

i'm sure a stock HHR radio is sweet... but aftermarket headunits will blow them out of the water; performance,style,functionality.....

[Menace]

My friends car actually just got parted out and im going to be selling his headunit (its laying in my back seat) lemme just get a price pic and the stats/brand for yah/anyone. Ill try to posrt tommorow.

[1WhiteOSV]

as an MECP certified installer for Best Buy........trust me and every1 else who replied above me.......get an aftermarket head unit.......even the cheapest most basic $99 am/fm/cd deck will blow just about every factory head unit outta the water

[AleroBoB]

I live in a downtown area.. and after market head units here are a big hassle.. they get stolen. I also like the stock look, with buttons large enough to use with gloves on, and no unsightly gaps in my dash. The only new feature I really want is the frontal aux port.. and one where the paint doesn't peel off the buttons (I have the 04 version).
My current 6 speaker unit is plenty loud.. I may want to buy new speakers for it though, that's the crappiest part of stock systems.

[Menace]

Well why dont you lock your car, leave your windows closed and get a security system so people dont steal stuff from your car. 75% of the time its your fault that your sh*t gets stolen.

[AleroBoB]

"Well why dont you lock your car, leave your windows closed and get a security system so people dont steal stuff from your car. 75% of the time its your fault that your sh*t gets stolen. "

You don't understand high theft areas.. anything aftermarket, from an ipod to a radio, to a small pile of change, left in a car will encourage a theif to strike. Alarms make no difference. The window is smashed, the goods taken, in and out in under a minute.

I agree it is your fault your sh*t gets stolen.. it is your fault for leaving valuable things exposed in your car... like aftermarket radios. I don't have the time/concentration/desire to deal with taking off my faceplate everytime i get out of my car. Besides the point that aftermarket radios have tiny buttons and destroy the clean stock look.

Anyone who knows how to replace an alero radio, with one of the newer radios from a hhr or similar radio with the ipod input, please message me. I would use a bypass, but my radio is damaged, so i might as well fix both problems at once.

Thank you for helping out a newb like me to the modding world.

[mikegett]

You may not be able to replace the alero with the HHR's stereo. I work for Fujits Ten and we produce some of the HU's for GM. The HHR looks like it uses the GM250 model. You will have two problems. First, all newer GM vehicles use a network (CAN) to communicate. Most of our Aleros use it as well. If you have CAN, then the HU links to the network to get power. Without the network sending the code, the HU will shutdown. This is there security procedure. If the HU has been placed in a vehicle, it will have the security code for that network. It must be cleared before it can be placed in another vehicle. Some dealers can do the older HU's but the newer ones use a serial port and dedicated software to clear. It is extremely expensive and only used by manufacturers like Fujitsu, Delphi, and Pioneer. Your best bet, is to call a dealer and see if they can clear it for you. If not, it will never be able to go in any vehicle.
The second issue is the outputs. If the HHR does use the GM250, it may contain digital outputs. There are two versions made, and if it has digital outputs then a digital to analog converter (or digital input amp ) will be needed.
1whiteOSV, it is poor to state that any aftermarket HU will perform better than any factory HU. Most companies are making a large push to incorporate features and performances that younger crowds want. You must also remember that nearly all factory HU's are produced by Pioneer, Alpine, Fujtsu, or Panasonic. The higher end aftermarket HU's use dedicated audiophile components but the lower end aftermarkets are rebadged OEM models. The lower end eclipse cd mechanism is sold to nearly every manufacturer. The main difference was preouts on aftermarket HU's. I have worked for Fujitsu for nearly nine years now. We have built OEM units for Toyota, Honda, Saturn, GM, and Subaru. Over that period of time, all companies had high end OEM units that incorporated low voltage preouts. The difference is that they use standard molex connectors and look like high level speaker wires. The toyota and GM head units (most are navigations) use digital outputs, have ipod control, aux inputs, mp3, wma, RDS, and satellite radio standard. How many aftermarket HU's have this? That would be none. Two years ago GM and Ford stated that they wanted every new option on there HU's. My eclipse 8455 is concidered one of the best HU's on the market. It still doesn't have all these options. The GM250 has a firmware update program. Any new codecs like MP3 can be updated on the HU without a hardware fix. How many aftermarkets do this? The big seperation currently is crossover and PEQ's available on aftermarkets. I doubt you will see these on OEM due to the dedicated nature of the HU. As for MECP, they are about two years behind the OEM manufacturer. Mainly due to the tight competition that OEM faces. They are extremely secretive about the product till it is in operation. Not too mention that MECP is deependant upon the public rejecting OEM stereos.

[Cliff8928]

Unfortunately even if that radio would plug in and work, i doubt it would fit into the dash without some major modification. You can use most any radio from older GMs though, even the navigation ones (my avatar is what the navigation displays when the key is turned on)

[1WhiteOSV]

replacing the stock deck will give you a LOT better sound difference than replacing the stock speakers......trust me.......as for the aftermarket deck concerns:
1. detachable faceplate for ant-theft
2. there are no unsightly gaps if installed correctly
3. many come with a remote control if you want easier channel changing
4. many (especially SONY) have front Aux Inputs, exactly what you want