Question regarding installation of 6-disk system

[Minuteman1636]

My 2008 H3 only had a single CD player in it. I found this:

Ebay auction for 6 disk system

and got it for $122.00. Can I assume that I will have the same functions as my last stereo (XM and On Star) as long as it is properly installed?

I had read on another forumn (after I won the auction) that I guy installed one of these from a different vendor and couldn't get his XM to work.

The one I received is marked as a GM product with a GM part number.

[jersey]

I've heard that units added have to be reprogrammed at the dealer in order to work and that a fee may or may not be required. Sorry I'm unclear about the specifics; someone else here may have more details.

[GM_Tech]

Originally Posted by Minuteman1636

My 2008 H3 only had a single CD player in it. I found this:

Ebay auction for 6 disk system

and got it for $122.00. Can I assume that I will have the same functions as my last stereo (XM and On Star) as long as it is properly installed?

I had read on another forumn (after I won the auction) that I guy installed one of these from a different vendor and couldn't get his XM to work.

The one I received is marked as a GM product with a GM part number.

If You install it your self, you'll save your self some money (it's very easy). then You go to any GM dealer to have your radio recalibrated. takes technitian around 20 minuts to do. Dealer also may give you a hard time by telling you that they need vin# of the vehicle this radio came from. vin # has nothing to do with that, because during calibration, old vin# in the radio will be errased and new vin# will be stored.
if radio reprogrammed properly your XM and on star should work fine

[Minuteman1636]

Thanks for the information.

The dealer is going to install it and program it as part of my 6000 mile service.

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

[Minuteman1636]

Originally Posted by GM_Tech

If You install it your self, you'll save your self some money (it's very easy). then You go to any GM dealer to have your radio recalibrated. takes technitian around 20 minuts to do. Dealer also may give you a hard time by telling you that they need vin# of the vehicle this radio came from. vin # has nothing to do with that, because during calibration, old vin# in the radio will be errased and new vin# will be stored.
if radio reprogrammed properly your XM and on star should work fine

hey GM Tech, thanks for your response. I'm looking for your opinion on this as well. I got this response on another board:

You will likely have some compatability issues if you're going from a non-Monsoon unit to a Monsoon unit. And you'll also need to get the new unit programmed to the truck as they have anti-theft and are tied to the VIN.

My current system is a single disk/non-monsoon system. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize the functionality of the anti-theft systems or anything else for that matter. Am I making a big mistake by swapping the units? If I knew it was going to be this big of a deal, I wouldn't have bought the damn thing. But, I have it now.

[GM_Tech]

Originally Posted by Minuteman1636

My current system is a single disk/non-monsoon system. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize the functionality of the anti-theft systems or anything else for that matter. Am I making a big mistake by swapping the units? If I knew it was going to be this big of a deal, I wouldn't have bought the damn thing. But, I have it now.

the good news is, you are not jeopardizing anything. the only bad can happen, is dealer will tell you they can't do it. I was working at Hummer stealership when first H3's arrived. I had to do many radio reprogrammings, never really had any problems to reprogramm the radio.
all GM radios (exept navigation radios) are compatible with premium or non premium audio systems. during the calibration, technitian will have to make selections on (TIS) what your vehicle has (bose or monsoon or nothing), and that's how the radio and BCM knows what's happening and what to do.
there are 2 ways of doing reprogramming
1. Remote. collecting info from you vehicle to the Tech2 and then do adjustments on the computer. then connecting Tech2 back to you vehicle and upload new data. this method does not always work.
2. Pass Through connecting your vehicle directly to the computer. most effective way to do it
3. sometimes no metter what you do or how you do it (technitians I mean) sofware keep giving you errors. and that's when dealer tell you that they can do it and still charge you money. However, if they were not lazy, they could call their their tech support department. and ask for VCI number. that number will be inserted into reprogramming software and then no more errors.
I sold many H3 radios on eBay my self, never had any problems with buyers not be able to have that radio reprogrammed.
So I think you'll be fine

[Minuteman1636]

Well, I finally got the new 2008 H3 6-disk system installed last weekend. Everything went fine with one exception.

The volume does not automatically increase/decrease as the vehicle speed changes.

I'm going to take it back to the dealership and see if they can fix that. I really like that functionality when I had it. Hopefully they can fix it.