Find solution
Turntable/record player?

How to replace a car's stock CD player with an aftermarket?

  • CD player in my car stopped working (everything else works tape and radio) and when I asked from the dealer I was quoted around $400 to repair it. Since it's not worthwhile spending $400 for a repair I thought of getting an aftermarket player. 1) I'm looking for a low cost player (below $100) and I'm not too picky about sound quality (even the sound of my stock player is good enough for me). Support for a SD card or a USB thumb drive is preferred. Any suggestions? 2) http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7907/stereopx9.jpg of my current CD Player. As you can see it's height is about 3-4 inches. So If I remove that player and fix the aftermarket player (which are generally about 2 inches tall) there will be an empty space. How do you fill that space? Are there any face plates or something that's specific for my car model that would allow you to fix after market players? 3) If I can leave the current setup intact and find a CD, MP3, USB or a SD Card player that I can have in the glove box or the trunk that would be great. Any ideas? - The reason I'm not using an adapter with my MP3 player is, it's a pain to switch it off every time I park the car and go somewhere. So basically I need something that will be turned off when I just stop the car and took the key out of the ignition. - The car is a Avalon and CD player gives the "Error 1" and after going through some forums I tried a solution they have provided. Disconnect the battery for 15 min and reconnect. After that it worked for about 2-3 days. Tried the same trick again but no luck.If you have suggestions on how to fix it pls share them.

  • Answer:

    There are kits that adapt the car-specific wiring and dashboard hole to standard aftermarket sizes. Anywhere that does in-store installation keeps them in stock or can order them.

WizKid at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

You can also go to your local car stereo dealer, and get the head unit and fit kit from them. You will need to do some wire splicing to install the cable harness, but that's pretty easy to do. You might need to do some online searching to find any specific instructions on how to remove your factory unit (usually requires removing part of the dash, etc.). Not that hard.

noahv

I placed an order for the player from Crutchfield and got with from 3days. Installation took about 3 hours and 2 calls to their Tech support line. What a great service.

WizKid

Another solution is to go to a junkyard and pick up a salvaged radio. In some cases you may find a top of the line model that will fit in your car for $50 or less.

tesseract420

Online, Crutchfield is pretty much the best option, especially when it comes to service and installing it yourself. They'll send you vehicle-specific instructions, a list of the tools you need, and usually, all the mounting brackets and wiring harnesses and all you need. You could try one of the big-box electronics retailers and possibly get a marginally better price on a head unit (which is what you're buying), but you're going to end up getting stuck for the bracket, wiring, and they're usually going to try and upsell you, push for an install, extended warranty, etc. I buy pretty much all my car electronics from Crutchfield, and have for going on 20 years. As for Clarion, it's a well-respected name in the business, I wouldn't worry about the unit you've picked. The 'USB input on rear cable' is so you can run the cable to your glove compartment, center console, etc.

pupdog

Also please point me to a good Car Stereo forum. I found few like sounddomain.com, carstereo.com, carstereomall.com, caraudiotalk.com, just wanted ur advice on which is better? Thanks

WizKid

Any other reliable and cheap places to by players other than Cruthfield?

WizKid

One of the reviews for the Clarion on the site you linked to said:The USB cable that comes out the back of this is about 2.5 feet long. So I can place it just about anywhere in the front of my dashThat may be good for an ipod you want to put out the way somewhere, but for a usb memory stick you'd probably want a usb socket on the front of the player which you can plug it straight into.

JonB

In the above Clarion player it says 'inputs: USB input on rear cable' What does that mean? How can we use the USB if cable is in the back?

WizKid

What are other reliable places to by players other than Cruthfield?

WizKid

Load more

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.