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franzcatch
Mad A
Premium Member
join:2003-06-24
Saint Louis, MO

3 edits

franzcatch

Premium Member

[Tech] GM Techs! Need help reprogramming factory stereo.

I own an '02 Chevy Impala.

I just bought a factory CD Player/Head Unit for it from someone on ebay.
When I have the key turned to AUX it works perfectly fine.
But as soon as I turn the key the rest of the way the stereo turns off and displays a "LOCKED" message on the display.

I have since found out that the head unit is programmed to the car's VIN that it was originally in... and in order to fix this I will need to get it reprogrammed.

I called a Chevy dealer to have this done and they said it would be between $60 and $150!!!!!

Are there any cheaper alternatives out there? (besides putting an after market unit in there)
I really want the factory unit.

Thanks.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

Re: [Tech] '02 Impala, Install a factory head unit, needs reprog

have you tried maybe searching the shadier parts of the net for an ISO of a reprogram CD? if such a thing exists. id imagine its all the dealer does is has a special CD that resets the head unit and next time the engine is run it pulls the codes from the computer.

franzcatch
Mad A
Premium Member
join:2003-06-24
Saint Louis, MO

franzcatch

Premium Member

I called around to a few other dealers and the highest seems to be around $100 to get it reprogrammed and the lowest around $60.

I had one of them explain the process to me...
Basically, the stereo must already be installed in the vehicle, then they plug their computer into the vehicles computer to do the programming.
They apparently have to download a file from GM and use it to reprogram the stereo.

I had one dealer warn me that even though the radio looks identical to the one in my other Impala, there is a slight chance that (if it came from a different kind of car like a Sonoma) it may not be compatible with my car.

They didn't provide a lot of info on how to be sure if it was compatible or not before I spend my $60 to find out.

Anyone have any info on this???

cvrefugee
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Riverside, CA

cvrefugee to franzcatch

Premium Member

to franzcatch
Why do they even lock the factory head unit? Who would steal a factory unit, that's so lame

me87
join:2002-12-08
Iapetus

me87

Member

Ask him how much he paid for it...

franzcatch
Mad A
Premium Member
join:2003-06-24
Saint Louis, MO

franzcatch

Premium Member

Re: [Tech] GM Techs! Need help reprogramming factory stereo.

I was talking to a friend and he gave me these instructions that a GM tech could use to find the unlock code:
How do I unlock the radio if I do not know the code ?

1. Press and hold presets 2 & 3 on the radio for about 10 seconds until the first 3 digits of the display code are displayed

2. Write the numbers down.

3. Press the AM FM button, write down the next 3 numbers

4. Call 1-800-537-5140, when asked, enter account code, press the * button and enter the 6 digit code from the radio, you will get an unlock code, write it down.

5. Go back to the car, press the HR button and set the first 2 numbers, then press minute button and set the next two last numbers, press AM FM button, SEC should be displayed, turn on radio To remove customers code, repeat step 5. you should see --- on radio face, the code is now out of the radio.
Is there anyone out there who has access to this that could help me??? Please PM me if you can help and I will give you the 6 digit code from my radio.

Thanks!

r81984
Fair and Balanced
Premium Member
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX

r81984 to franzcatch

Premium Member

to franzcatch
Read this:
»forums.carreview.com/sho ··· p?t=1839

"I fished around online for awhile and here's what I came up with. All of it is legit except for where you have to fax this guy your number. I would instead take that number to a Chevy dealer. Hope it helps.

In order to properly restore your radio to operation you must first obtain the scrambled back-up code from the radio.
1. Turn ignition on and radio power on.

2. Press and hold presets 2 and 3 for about 6 seconds until the first 3 digits of the display code are displayed. Write the numbers down.

3. Press the AM/FM button, and the second 3 digits of the scrambled code are displayed. Write these numbers down. If the numbers do not change when pressing the AM/FM buttons, then your second three numbers are the same as the first three.

4. Fax me (FAX 1-888-995-9496) your name, your 6 digit code and your naisso member number. I will also need your daytime phone number to call you back to confirm. I will call GM and retreive an unlocking code, which only takes a few minutes. The reason I limit this to members is that I know most of you by name and this will limit the chances of anyone with a stolen radio from contacting me.

Once you receive your four digit unlock code from me do the following:
1. Ignition on, Radio OFF.

2. Press the HR button until the "LOC" disappears and "000" appears on the display.
Note: if the display does not change from "LOC" to "000" the unit is probably in the "InOP" stage and must be left alone for one hour with ignition power applied. Every three unsuccessful entries will put the unit into "InOP".

3. Set the first two digits (01-19) of the code with the HR (hours) button. (you will not see the zero if the first digit is a zero as in "02" for example)

4. Set the next two digits (00-99) of the code with the MIN (minute) button.

5. Press the AM/FM button to enter the code. The radio will now be unlocked and the display will change to the clock. Continue with the following steps to deactivate the theft deterrent.

6. Press the HR button until the display changes to "000".
7. Repeat steps 3-5 above to remove the previous code and deactivate the theft deterrent system. You may set a new personal security code as per your owners manual instructions.

~FordX"
Posted by fordxplod93 on carreview.com forums


According to that they do not even have to hook anything up to the radio if they do not want to.
r81984

r81984 to franzcatch

Premium Member

to franzcatch
Found this on the same forum:
"then call 1-800-537-5140 and enter 202108 followed by the key"
Looks like someone posted 202108 which I assume is a valid tech number.

»forums.carreview.com/sho ··· 9&page=2

"Try this, it worked for my 1998 Sunfire and a 1975 Monte Carlo.
Press & hold the 2 & 3 buttons @ the same time for about 10 seconds; a 2 or 3 digit code will appear, write this # down,press & hold the am/fm button for about 10 seconds: another code will appear, write this # down, then call 1-800-537-5140 and enter 202108 followed by the # key, then enter the #'s that you wrote down from your radio followed by the * key. The call will give you a 3 or 4 digit override code. Write this code # down so you have it if you ever need it again. Enter this # into your radio following the instructions in your owners manual. If you get an override code that starts with 0, you drop the 0 when entering the code into your radio.
If you don't have an owners manual, try this, press & hold the hour button until the first 2 digits of your code come up, then press & hold the minute button until the last 2 digits show. Then press the am/fm button. This should reset your stereo. It did mine.
Hope you find this helpful.
"
Langning
Premium Member
join:2003-04-28
Marlborough, MA

Langning

Premium Member

The above instruction works with older type of redios. The newer RDS radio must be reset with a GM Tech II scanner...

r81984
Fair and Balanced
Premium Member
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX

1 edit

r81984

Premium Member

Here is another tech code 106010 for that 1800 number.

Looks like you will have to go to the dealer after all. Isn't it great that they can extort you like that for your radio?

franzcatch
Mad A
Premium Member
join:2003-06-24
Saint Louis, MO

franzcatch

Premium Member

said by r81984:

Isn't it great that they can extort you like that for your radio?
Yeah, no kidding...

The cheapest I found around town said it would be a "minimum" of $40 but could be more.
I had one dealer quote me a minimum of $150!

Unbelievable that they would charge this much for 5 minutes of work.

Thanks for all the help!
I will try using the codes and if they don't work I guess I am stuck with forking out the dough for it.

(funny, this could end up costing me more than a nice after-market head unit would... too bad I am not very partial towards after-market units)

burner50
Proud Union THUG
Premium Member
join:2002-06-05
Iowa

burner50 to cvrefugee

Premium Member

to cvrefugee

Re: [Tech] '02 Impala, Install a factory head unit, needs reprog

I am in the same boat since Chevy runs EVERYTHING from the factory radio.... Mine was missing when i bought the car and has a junk aftermarket in the dash
Cheezz
join:2003-10-17

1 edit

1 recommendation

Cheezz to franzcatch

Member

to franzcatch

Re: [Tech] GM Techs! Need help reprogramming factory stereo.

Radios have been a sore spot for us in the dealerships for quite sometime also,,too many functions are routed through the radio to enable things like cd changers or Onstar. I'm ashamed my peers would try to get $150.00 to unlock your radio,$40.00 is more reasonable. What you may not realize is a dealership is just like any other business,they're there to make money. That tool (Tech2 scanner) they use to unlock that radio cost the dealership close to $3000.00 for everything plus the PC needed to load it's OS and the regular updates plus the rights to GM's software and the T1 line to get the updates,, so you see why they can't just give it away.Then they need to pay the Tech who does the job. I'm in no way trying to justify having to pay so you can use your radio,,just trying to explain why..

franzcatch
Mad A
Premium Member
join:2003-06-24
Saint Louis, MO

franzcatch

Premium Member

Well... I tried the instructions to retrieve the code from the radio and it wouldn't ante up the goods

Looks like I will have to take it to a dealership first.

Hopefully I can stay around the $40 price mark
franzcatch

1 recommendation

franzcatch

Premium Member

Took it to Merollis Chevrolet (local dealer) and they reprogrammed it for $40.

Yay!