So my stock stereo seems to not be holding up well- the buttons work if you press them very hard and you have to grasp the volume knob very hard to adjust the volume. I'd like to replace it. Very unusual for a car with 45000 miles.
I'm no audiophile and want the stock stereo- if I can find one from a year other than 97, will it just hook up? Like a 96 going into a 97? I know the Theftlock might be an issue.
Alternatively, does anyone think an adapter exists to plug a late model Subaru radio with 6 disc integrated changer into my 97 Formula? Might be a long shot, but those are some damn good radios and really easy to change the color of the lighting to red- some are even red from the factory.
Full Version: Stereo question
It's not actually that unusual for the stock headunit to have those problems even with that little amount of miles on the car cause I've seen it happen before.
Yes, one from a 96 will work in your car, so will ones from 93-95 and from 98-02. But I'll tell you this, if you can find one from a 98-02 it would be better then one from a 97 or older one. With the 98-02 headunits you can play not only regular CDs but you can also play the dual disc CDs (CD on one side/DVD video on the other) and you can 99% of the time play burned CDs too.
Theftlock isn't really that big of a deal. If you end up getting one where the Theftlock has been engaged and hasn't been turned off before you got it you can go to the dealer and for usually a small fee (sometimes even for free depending on the dealer) they'll unlock it for you.
I'm not sure about the Subaru radio working in your car or not. It'll all depend on certain things such as what DIN it is and so forth. But here's a link to a bunch of stuff dealing with F-body audio questions as well as F-body electrical accessory questions (not sure how many of the links are still good though so sorry if some of them don't work):
http://mods.firebirdv6.com/stereo.html
Hope that helps you out.
Yes, one from a 96 will work in your car, so will ones from 93-95 and from 98-02. But I'll tell you this, if you can find one from a 98-02 it would be better then one from a 97 or older one. With the 98-02 headunits you can play not only regular CDs but you can also play the dual disc CDs (CD on one side/DVD video on the other) and you can 99% of the time play burned CDs too.
Theftlock isn't really that big of a deal. If you end up getting one where the Theftlock has been engaged and hasn't been turned off before you got it you can go to the dealer and for usually a small fee (sometimes even for free depending on the dealer) they'll unlock it for you.
I'm not sure about the Subaru radio working in your car or not. It'll all depend on certain things such as what DIN it is and so forth. But here's a link to a bunch of stuff dealing with F-body audio questions as well as F-body electrical accessory questions (not sure how many of the links are still good though so sorry if some of them don't work):
http://mods.firebirdv6.com/stereo.html
Hope that helps you out.
QUOTE(SassySue09 @ Nov 17 2007, 09:05 PM) 
It's not actually that unusual for the stock headunit to have those problems even with that little amount of miles on the car cause I've seen it happen before.
Yes, one from a 96 will work in your car, so will ones from 93-95 and from 98-02. But I'll tell you this, if you can find one from a 98-02 it would be better then one from a 97 or older one. With the 98-02 headunits you can play not only regular CDs but you can also play the dual disc CDs (CD on one side/DVD video on the other) and you can 99% of the time play burned CDs too.
Theftlock isn't really that big of a deal. If you end up getting one where the Theftlock has been engaged and hasn't been turned off before you got it you can go to the dealer and for usually a small fee (sometimes even for free depending on the dealer) they'll unlock it for you.
I'm not sure about the Subaru radio working in your car or not. It'll all depend on certain things such as what DIN it is and so forth. But here's a link to a bunch of stuff dealing with F-body audio questions as well as F-body electrical accessory questions (not sure how many of the links are still good though so sorry if some of them don't work):
http://mods.firebirdv6.com/stereo.html
Hope that helps you out.
Yes, one from a 96 will work in your car, so will ones from 93-95 and from 98-02. But I'll tell you this, if you can find one from a 98-02 it would be better then one from a 97 or older one. With the 98-02 headunits you can play not only regular CDs but you can also play the dual disc CDs (CD on one side/DVD video on the other) and you can 99% of the time play burned CDs too.
Theftlock isn't really that big of a deal. If you end up getting one where the Theftlock has been engaged and hasn't been turned off before you got it you can go to the dealer and for usually a small fee (sometimes even for free depending on the dealer) they'll unlock it for you.
I'm not sure about the Subaru radio working in your car or not. It'll all depend on certain things such as what DIN it is and so forth. But here's a link to a bunch of stuff dealing with F-body audio questions as well as F-body electrical accessory questions (not sure how many of the links are still good though so sorry if some of them don't work):
http://mods.firebirdv6.com/stereo.html
Hope that helps you out.
Very helpful Sue- thanks! I'll keep my eyes peeled for a decent replacement. Oddly, my 97 stereo plays CD's that my girlfriend burned for my from iTunes.
You're welcome. I think with the burned ones it all depends on how they were burned. I've got a few burned ones that will play in my 97 but I've also got alot of them that won't either that friends have burned for me and my daughter.
Check out Circuit City. They have a pretty cool tool on their website where you enter your car model and they will display all compatable replacement head units and speakers. They also carry a bunch of different car stero adapters for going from the stock head unit to a replacement unit including adapters for the steering wheel controls. Ok now let me add the disclaimer, I haven't actually bought any of this stuff but I'm also researching doing a replacement. Some of the buttons on my head unit won't work unless you press very hard and the volume control, well it has a mind of it's own, turn it down, sometimes it goes down, somtimes it does nothing, sometimes it goes up. That can be very disturbing when you are tooling down the road with the stereo blasting and you try to turn it down and it goes up. I think I have permanent hearing loss now.
Thanks dude.
I wonder if other model Pontiac radios will work- like out of a Grand Am or Bonneville. I know ours are single din, so that might be an issue- might have to modify the radio bezel.
I wonder if other model Pontiac radios will work- like out of a Grand Am or Bonneville. I know ours are single din, so that might be an issue- might have to modify the radio bezel.
QUOTE(jedimaster @ Nov 21 2007, 08:27 AM)
Thanks dude.
I wonder if other model Pontiac radios will work- like out of a Grand Am or Bonneville. I know ours are single din, so that might be an issue- might have to modify the radio bezel.
I wonder if other model Pontiac radios will work- like out of a Grand Am or Bonneville. I know ours are single din, so that might be an issue- might have to modify the radio bezel.
Actually, the stock size is DIN 1.5 (most aftermarket radios are single din, with a few that are double-din). Have you tried eBay? Or have you tried posting in the wanted-ads section?
Good luck
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