2004 Chevy Monte Carlo SS
2004 Chevy Monte Carlo SS
July of 2010 - GM MP3 Radio 10348717 (not offered on the Monte)
I've grown used to the aftermarket radio in my '94 Grand Am. It has a very simple function that allows me to play
MP3s directly off a CD. I thought when I bought my Monte in 2008 "OH, I can just buy another similiar stereo and
add that same cool feature". Mind you, I am perfectly content with the sound quality of the factory radio and
factory speakers. To be honest, I think it sounds better then any factory setup I've ever had in a car.
I found this to be easier said then done at first. GM decided first to route the door chime over the stereo speakers.
I also found for reseting the tire monitor and oil life monitor, using the radio interface is the simplest method.
The radio interface also provides settings for some of the key fob operations with remote entry.
I knew I might have to give up the wheel controls in a radio swap (sacrifice I was willing to make). Luckily,
I don't have OnStar, otherwise, there is MORE complications!
In my research, the most common options were to buy a special wiring harness that allowed you to install an aftermarket radio
in the dash and then re-locate the factory radio elsewhere to still retain these additional features. This was
unacceptable to me.
I did some research (and the first time around, not enough research). Last year I had an MP3 radio (looked just like my factory
radio, with "MP3" on the front). Hooked it up, got power, but immediately went into theft lock with the first
cycle of the key. I luckily have a friend with access to the GM Tech II scan tool used to unlock and re-program
the radios. He attempted to unlock it with no success. He did some additional research and found the
radio I got was out of a truck and had the wrong type of interface wiring to the Body Control Module (or simply put, it won't
talk to the car and therefore the Tech II can't see it to program it). Using his resources, he found GM never
offered a radio with the feature I was looking for (and unfortunately, his resources are unable to tell what other radios may
work even though they were not offered). Back to more research in hopes of an answer.
This year I found a very possible answer (but could never get confirmation). GM made a radio that looked like mine,
with MP3 functionality for the '04-'05 Cavaliar and Venture Van. From what I could tell, the radio my Monte came
with was also an option in those vehicles (which leads me to assume, the wiring and communication methods with the cars match
my Monte). I finally decided to just "try it", so I bought another radio from eBay, part number 10348717.
My salvage radio from eBay arrived. I popped it in the car, got a hold of my friend with the Tech II.
Finally SUCCESS! The Tech II successfully saw the radio, was able to program it for my Monte. Now,
I still have the same sound quality as before, same factory look, wheel controls work and so does everything else!
This radio is EXACTLY what I needed/wanted! I sacrificed nothing and the end result was CHEAPER then any
aftermarket solution I could find!
Below are shots of my new radio sitting in the Monte (before and after I put the dash back together).
