08 Tahoe - CD Player Busted

[tiktok4321]

Hi all,

My 2008 HyHoe's CD/DVD player busted. CD couldn't be read or ejected. I assume that the mechanism failed somewhere halfway between in and out. Anyway, the stuck CD was making an annoying clicking sound for weeks before I finally forcefully pulled the CD out (yeah, not exactly a surgical maneuver). Since then, it's made a horrible motor sound. I have since disconnected it because it was draining my 12v battery. Of course, I lose ALL functionality of the head unit. I expect this as the unit is 16 years old and these things happen to this CD/DVD/Nav system. I've bought a cheap Android solution that I'm going to install tonight so that I can get some sort of entertainment out of the vehicle.

Now, I'm sure I've damaged the CD player pretty bad with my ... erm ... removal technique.

I've heard that these head units are VIN dependent, so even if I get a replacement, a dealer will happily charge my hundreds for the privilege of spending 10 minutes with a computer to pair a replacement unit with my 300,000 mile + Tahoe.

I have heard of companies that can either repair my head unit, keeping the vehicle-radio pairing intact. They still charge around $300-ish.

So I guess my main question is, has anyone taken one of these units apart to fix the CD player? Doable? Not? Abandon ship now or pony up the $$$?

 

[Big Mama]

Do you use the CD player much? I’m no electronics expert but I’d give it a go if it’s already….ehr….inoperable. I also wonder if there are any used ones out there from a newer gmt 900? Maybe a 2013 or 2014? Maybe those aren’t VIN specific?

 

[ScottyBoy]

I still have a CD player in my rig. But I couldn't honestly tell you the last time I actually played a CD. Probably the last time I drove a long road trip, which would have been around 2019 or so. With everything streaming these days, I have endless music at my fingertips just connecting thru my phone. But if I'm in the middle of nowhere with a really poor data signal, then I'll pop in a CD, but that's about the only time I ever play them anymore.

 

[ScottyBoy]

Hi all,

My 2008 HyHoe's CD/DVD player busted. CD couldn't be read or ejected. I assume that the mechanism failed somewhere halfway between in and out. Anyway, the stuck CD was making an annoying clicking sound for weeks before I finally forcefully pulled the CD out (yeah, not exactly a surgical maneuver). Since then, it's made a horrible motor sound. I have since disconnected it because it was draining my 12v battery. Of course, I lose ALL functionality of the head unit. I expect this as the unit is 16 years old and these things happen to this CD/DVD/Nav system. I've bought a cheap Android solution that I'm going to install tonight so that I can get some sort of entertainment out of the vehicle.

Now, I'm sure I've damaged the CD player pretty bad with my ... erm ... removal technique.

I've heard that these head units are VIN dependent, so even if I get a replacement, a dealer will happily charge my hundreds for the privilege of spending 10 minutes with a computer to pair a replacement unit with my 300,000 mile + Tahoe.

I have heard of companies that can either repair my head unit, keeping the vehicle-radio pairing intact. They still charge around $300-ish.

So I guess my main question is, has anyone taken one of these units apart to fix the CD player? Doable? Not? Abandon ship now or pony up the $$$

Personally, I'd just chalk it up as a loss and trash the thing. Just install a cheap aftermarket unit and be done with. You already mentioned installing an Android head unit, so that would probably be the route I would choose. Just get the proper mounting kit, integration harness, and antenna adapter and you should be good to go. They aren't difficult to install if you can manage PROPERLY splicing the wires together. I've always just used butt crimp connectors and never had a problem. The current Alpine CD player in my truck has been in there since around 2008 or 2009, and I have not had ANY issues with it.

 

[tiktok4321]

Personally, I'd just chalk it up as a loss and trash the thing. Just install a cheap aftermarket unit and be done with. You already mentioned installing an Android head unit, so that would probably be the route I would choose.

Yeah - I did that, and it was pretty plug and play, but it bricked my Tahoe. Now I have an anti-theft error that I can't clear and I can't crank the engine. The new head unit was barely OK. Over time (like 20 minutes) it would stop sounding good and sound super staticky. Came with what it said was a plug and play harness, but NO instructions. It only required connecting one box plug to work, plus a connection to back up camera. None of the other features (ie: video on rear monitor, steering controls, etc) work at all. Now the bricked BCU and I can't start the truck.

 

[Trey Hardy]

Hi all,

My 2008 HyHoe's CD/DVD player busted. CD couldn't be read or ejected. I assume that the mechanism failed somewhere halfway between in and out. Anyway, the stuck CD was making an annoying clicking sound for weeks before I finally forcefully pulled the CD out (yeah, not exactly a surgical maneuver). Since then, it's made a horrible motor sound. I have since disconnected it because it was draining my 12v battery. Of course, I lose ALL functionality of the head unit. I expect this as the unit is 16 years old and these things happen to this CD/DVD/Nav system. I've bought a cheap Android solution that I'm going to install tonight so that I can get some sort of entertainment out of the vehicle.

Now, I'm sure I've damaged the CD player pretty bad with my ... erm ... removal technique.

I've heard that these head units are VIN dependent, so even if I get a replacement, a dealer will happily charge my hundreds for the privilege of spending 10 minutes with a computer to pair a replacement unit with my 300,000 mile + Tahoe.

I have heard of companies that can either repair my head unit, keeping the vehicle-radio pairing intact. They still charge around $300-ish.

So I guess my main question is, has anyone taken one of these units apart to fix the CD player? Doable? Not? Abandon ship now or pony up the $$$?

I’d not spend hundreds on a stock radio when you can get a nice kenwood double din with a cd player and Bluetooth for around 200-300$ they make harness where it’s basically plug and play and you could add a backup camera with that radio..
Just my 2c
I got a stock radio if you need it though I took it out my Tahoe it’s not a nav unit though just the normal radio