Aftermarket Radio Installation - 2015 Tahoe LS with IO3

[Khurshid]

Thanks for all your help John. Will let you know if I have any other questions.

Looking forward to the install guide.

 

[tweak48]

After much thought, debate and research, I decided to upgrade my 4.2" IO3 radio with an aftermarket Pioneer AVH-4100NEX DVD receiver.

John, congratulations on the successful completion of a major, major aftermarket car electronics project. I've done a few projects (which required dash tearouts and having to go to down to the dealer to read shop service schematics), but nothing on the scale of what you did.

That 4.2" IO3 radio is beyond lame. I can't believe GM installed that on a "totally new" 2015 Tahoe. It reminds me of a 1947 DuMont television. A 7" screen in a 52" cabinet! I didn't know it even existed, because it's not shown in the 2015 Tahoe brochure. By the time I got my 2016, it was history.

I'm sure that mod kits will be coming soon from a number of suppliers, complete with adapter harnesses, so people won't have to go though what you did. Great work!!

Bryan

 

[hahler2]

Hey guys. Been following this thread a bit. I have a 2015 Suburban. It has the 8 inch Mylink but I'm not a fan of the radio. Plus it has no video capability or rear seat DVD. So I've been thinking of adding an aftermarket deck and a rear seat DVD monitor. This was a very helpful thread and I'm looking forward to seeing the completed installation guide. I do have a question though. I've been looking through several websites and I see that Scosche offer's a DDR-GM01 interface module which doesn't require the extra LCD screen like the Metra kit does. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with it? My past experience with Scosche is that their products tend to be a little bit buggy, so I'm thinking I should stick with the Metra stuff. But it sure would be nice to eliminate that extra screen for the vehicle options. Otherwise I'm hoping that idatalink will release a Maestro kit for the new Suburbans and Tahoe's but I haven't seen anything yet.

 

[JohnC12]

John, congratulations on the successful completion of a major, major aftermarket car electronics project. I've done a few projects (which required dash tearouts and having to go to down to the dealer to read shop service schematics), but nothing on the scale of what you did.

That 4.2" IO3 radio is beyond lame. I can't believe GM installed that on a "totally new" 2015 Tahoe. It reminds me of a 1947 DuMont television. A 7" screen in a 52" cabinet! I didn't know it even existed, because it's not shown in the 2015 Tahoe brochure. By the time I got my 2016, it was history.

I'm sure that mod kits will be coming soon from a number of suppliers, complete with adapter harnesses, so people won't have to go though what you did. Great work!!

Bryan

Thank you, tweak48! I have to admit that I ended up getting much deeper into the project than I had every anticipated. All in all, it was fun... but I'm glad it's over!!

I just finished installing an aftermarket back-up camera this past weekend. My project is now 100% complete!

 

[JohnC12]

Hey guys. Been following this thread a bit. I have a 2015 Suburban. It has the 8 inch Mylink but I'm not a fan of the radio. Plus it has no video capability or rear seat DVD. So I've been thinking of adding an aftermarket deck and a rear seat DVD monitor. This was a very helpful thread and I'm looking forward to seeing the completed installation guide. I do have a question though. I've been looking through several websites and I see that Scosche offer's a DDR-GM01 interface module which doesn't require the extra LCD screen like the Metra kit does. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with it? My past experience with Scosche is that their products tend to be a little bit buggy, so I'm thinking I should stick with the Metra stuff. But it sure would be nice to eliminate that extra screen for the vehicle options. Otherwise I'm hoping that idatalink will release a Maestro kit for the new Suburbans and Tahoe's but I haven't seen anything yet.

If you're looking to upgrade your radio, considering you have the 8" MyLink, you're at least one step ahead of where I am... maybe more. For example, my back-up camera became inoperable when switching over since no one makes an adapter (yet). Metra makes an adapter for your rig - BACKUPCAM-3 - which will allow you to retain your camera.

As for the Scosche DDR-GM01, I had no idea this existed... nice find! Had I known about this, I certainly would have looked further into this considering your point about requiring the Axxess LCD. Further, my Metra setup does not support the on-screen HVAC controls. My only recommendation would be to call Scoshce tech support to guarntee that this interface will in-fact work with in a 2015 Suburban. One thing that I learned through this process is that something made for the 2014 Sierra will most likely not work in a 2015 Tahoe. While their components may be similar, they do not play well together.

And I couldn't agree more - I would love to see idatalink come out wiht a Maestro kit for rigs... I might just rip my dash out again for that!!

 

[undertaker]

Hey guys. Been following this thread a bit. I have a 2015 Suburban. It has the 8 inch Mylink but I'm not a fan of the radio. Plus it has no video capability or rear seat DVD. So I've been thinking of adding an aftermarket deck and a rear seat DVD monitor. This was a very helpful thread and I'm looking forward to seeing the completed installation guide. I do have a question though. I've been looking through several websites and I see that Scosche offer's a DDR-GM01 interface module which doesn't require the extra LCD screen like the Metra kit does. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with it? My past experience with Scosche is that their products tend to be a little bit buggy, so I'm thinking I should stick with the Metra stuff. But it sure would be nice to eliminate that extra screen for the vehicle options. Otherwise I'm hoping that idatalink will release a Maestro kit for the new Suburbans and Tahoe's but I haven't seen anything yet.

I used the idatalink maestro on the alpine headunit in my suburban, and I have to say, it was pretty simple and painless and easy to use. Also their tech help was awesome. I thought I had a problem with the interface and was on the phone with them trying a ton of stuff for probably hours over my backup camera, turns out my 8 year old camera was just on its way out and has since been replaced, so no fault of the module but they walked me through a bunch of stuff step by step, pulling schematics, going over fuses for the truck etc. Top notch company/product.

 

[hahler2]

Ok so I got some more info on the Scosche DDR-GM01 interface. It works by interrupting the reverse camera input and putting the info up on the screen that way. The main thing that I wanted to find out was after looking at their website, it shows that it needs an additional module, GMOSM1 to retain the Onstar. However, when you search the website for that product you get no info. They haven't actually released the module to retain the Onstar yet. That is supposedly a month or two out yet.

So here's my question. If I use the Scosche module and just add the Onstar retention in when it's released, will my Onstar still work? I know I won't be able to push the little blue button in the dash and talk to an agent. But will it still detect if I get into a crash and will the remote link app on my phone still start the car and unlock the doors? I think it will but I'm not sure.

The other thing he said was that it doesn't work with the factory backup camera, but it will work with an aftermarket one. He said it has a video in port for the backup camera. So I'm betting if I get the metra backup cam adapter that it will plug right in and things will work fine. I believe I'm gonna go for it. I'll just order it through Amazon or something that has a really good return policy so if I'm not happy with how it behaves I can send it back and go with the Metra system.

I have a question for you to JohnC. I'm assuming you used the metra usb adapter to retain all the factory USB inputs. How does that work? Is there just a usb connection behind the radio that adapts up to the aftermarket one? And are all the usb inputs on the center console active then?

 

[JohnC12]

Great investigative work, hahler! It's great to hear that other manufactures are starting get into the game. I'm going to keep an eye out to see what Scosche comes up with - it may be worth a retro down the road.

I'll take a stab at your OnStar question, but others may know more. If you upgrade to an aftermarket radio, and in the event you have an accident, your truck will most likely activate OnStar for you. However, you will have no way of communicating with emergency services since the OnStar communications is piped through your car speakers. (This is where the OnStar retention module comes into play.) Further, I don't believe your OEM microphone will be operative once you start switching out the modules. But again, I could be wrong and would look forward to hearing what others know about OnStar and its integration with factory radio itself.

As for my USB integration... great question!!! While I purchased the Metra USB to MINI-B USB cable with the intention of using the factory USB port, I am not able to do so. Here's why... I opted to get a radio with Apple CarPlay - this was very high on my wish list. In order to use Apple CarPlay, I must connect my phone directly to the back of the head unit using a lighting cable - with no interruptions. The back of the factory USB port uses a Mini-B USB, and because of this, I can't connect my iPhone through this type of connection. The Mini-B is an interruption.

Instead, I opted to run a USB extension cable from the back of the Pioneer, along the center console, and then up through the storage compartment where I mounted my AX-LCD screen. I then plug my lightning cable into the female end of the USB and run it through the cable slot of the armrest. So far it's working great and I'm very happy with how it's working. I'll upload some pictures and post them here shortly.

 

[JohnC12]

Here are some pictures of how I ran the USB cable...



I popped out the trim piece on the far right of the storage compartment and affixed the LCD screen to it. I also ran the USB cable right next to the Axxess screen.

USB cable connection.

USB cable runs through the slot in the armrest.

When I don't need the cable, I just tuck it way in the storage compartment.

 

[hahler2]

John I think you and I are thinking along the same lines with the Onstar. Everything will still work, just won't be able to communicate with operators.

I like what you did with the USB. That's a little disappointing that you can't connect to the factory USB connection. I was hoping to be able to retain all of that. Did you have to drill a hole in the bottom of your center console to get those cables through? CarPlay is also a big requirement for me and part of the reason I'm doing this. I'm also doing it because I want rear video capability. So I'll be adding an overhead DVD player as well and be able to control everything from the head unit (so kids aren't handling DVD's).

Here's my plan. I'm going to purchase these two items:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&tag=learntobehuma-20&linkId=JAVXTUBX6ILLAG5T

http://www.amazon.com/Tendak-Compos...=1450806057&sr=8-3&keywords=hdmi+to+composite

I'm going to install the HDMI and USB mount in the center console. The USB will go to the USB port 1 on my Pioneer deck and will be used for CarPlay. The HDMI will go to the tendak adapter. Then I'll connect the adapter to the video input and the second USB for power. Then I can plug an HDMI cable into my iPhone and be able to stream netflix from my phone to the head unit and the rear seat monitor also. And should make for a nice and clean install too.