Upgrade to Nav unit 2012 Tahoe

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Prospect62

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Can I swap this OEM stereo out for one of the ones with the screen display? How much of a pain is that while retaining SiriusXM, etc.

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adventurenali92

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You could….. but it’s still a headunit from 2012. They stopped making map updates for those touchscreen nav units, I think either in 2016, or maybe it was 2018. The headunit has to be flashed to your VIN to get it to work properly. For all the headache you’ll go through to get the unit to work you can put in an aftermarket touchscreen/nav/bluetooth or even an Apple CarPlay/android auto equipped headunit for way less money, way more functionality, and way less hassle. Yes there will be a module required to keep the steering wheel control functionally and the door chimes. Any competent audio shop can handle it, or if you’re savvy with crimps and connectors you can do it in the drieway or garage in a day. Going to factory nav headunit isn’t so cut and dry.
 
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Prospect62

Prospect62

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Man I never liked aftermarket units. Can't stand them, in fact.

What's so hard about taking this one out and putting a Nav unit in? Is it a plug and play affair then get the VIN reprogrammed?

BTW I'm not really doing it for the NAV, I'm doing it to have a more interactive and slightly modern display for SiriusXM, etc.

There's OEM NAV units going for like $45 on eBay. The cheapest aftermarket units I've seen are like 5 times that or more.
 

Joseph Garcia

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Man I never liked aftermarket units. Can't stand them, in fact.

What's so hard about taking this one out and putting a Nav unit in? Is it a plug and play affair then get the VIN reprogrammed?

BTW I'm not really doing it for the NAV, I'm doing it to have a more interactive and slightly modern display for SiriusXM, etc.

There's OEM NAV units going for like $45 on eBay. The cheapest aftermarket units I've seen are like 5 times that or more.
Give one of the eBay units a try.
 

Joseph Garcia

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Yup that was the plan. I just wanted to see if the factory plugs/wiring harnesses would transfer right over from my stereo to the Nav. I guess nobody here has tried that yet.
I suspect that the wiring harness is standard/compatible, as that would be cheaper for GM to build. The question is whether any programming would be required to connect/communicate with the NAV feature.
 

mikez71

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Actually, I believe the plugs maybe different.. At least by 2012 which I am looking at the electrical manual of..

In my 2012, there are 2X 2 row plugs for regular bose radio.
I see 2X 4 row plugs for UYS nav system in the manual..
 
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Prospect62

Prospect62

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Yup it seems the NAV units have 4 plugs and the regular units like I have use 2 plugs.

Still can't believe I'm the first guy who wanted to do this...
 

Doubeleive

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Can I swap this OEM stereo out for one of the ones with the screen display? How much of a pain is that while retaining SiriusXM, etc.

View attachment 476510
the oem nav units are Bose and are for 9 or 10 speaker systems, IF it will even plug in then it has to be learned to the vin and you would need a compatible gps antenna.
I "don't know" but I would suspect if you really want a oem nav then you will need a bose amp and the wiring harness, the speaker output you could probably manage without too much trouble. The XM part is built into the radio
 

Doubeleive

Wes
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and I would question if a oem nav unit is operational at $45, mine has been sitting a shelf since 2017 and I would question if it even still works just from sitting unused.
a bose amp is probably $100 those have remained steady for a good while.
the info that @swathdiver mentioned above is one of the options for a "factory" looking aftermarket, which should plug right in if you find the right one. I think those run around $500-600 but I haven't looked in a while.
 

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