decks

i have a 2002 cavalier, i wanted to get a deck but stores tell me that i have to keep the head unit hooked up in the vehicle otherwise my airbags will not work, my remote keyless wont either. So they say it will be an extra charge to have it installed in the trunk, is this true and if so, is there a way to bypass this and not have to have the head unit in the trunk

i think u have to hooked it up in the trunk there is no way aound it its like that with alot of new cars especailly cavaliers n sunfires. i think u should just take it to some one else that wont charge u extra to hook it up in the trunk. i think that is rediculus they charge u for installation then they charge u more installation because they have to put the old deck in the trunk. o n by the way make sure once they change it that u can turn ur key backwards to accessories n the deck will come on. for some reason my aunt got screwed n her's doesnt work when u turn the key backwards.:bloated: if it doesnt then u know what to do:thefinger :biggrin2:

I just went thru the whole process but did it myself.. I had to go to Circuit city and purchase a relocation kit, smart harness, and a antenna adapter... You have to hook up it all together and run the wife to the relocation harness to the trunk and hook the factory stereo to it. Then you have to hook the red wire to the fuse box. It is a rather easy process.. if you have any more questions feel free to ask me.

I had read numerous times about the airbags not working and asked someone I knew at a dealership and said that wasn't true. My aftermarket deck was put in my car in July 2003 and the airbags are still operational(at least as far I can tell since I haven't wrecked) and they haven't deployed accidentally either. I found the below links very helpful in removing the dash and installing aftermarket deck in my 2001 cavalier. Hope this has been some help. I am getting ready to take it apart again to install xm.

http://www.carstereohelp.org/stereoremoval/ChevyCavalier2StrR.htm
http://www.ny-jbodies.org/forum/library/how2/2kaudio.html#Removing%20the%20dashboard

you do not have to keep the factory deck running in order to keep all your safety features. I believe the only thing that stops working is the door buzzer and most people don't like them anyway. If you really want to keep it there is a way to reroute that wire, but I am not sure. I am just going off what others have done. I had a friend that didn't reinstall his factory deck in the trunk and according to his rearending a suburban....airbags work fine.

My car wouldn't shift outta first gear when I didn't relocate my headunit in my '04 cavy....

Matt~

ok people heres the deal, i professionally install car audio at a well known company, i've been doing it for about 3 yrs now both professionally and on the side. I used to own a 2002 Cavalier i installed the radio my self (did not relocate factory radio), my wife owns a 2003 cavalier i installed a radio in her car also BUT (i also did not relocate the factory) and not problems with the car so far, I now own a 2004 Cavalier and installed a radio (did not relocate factory) no problems with the car. Now all the roumors about it controlling the airbags is bull crap, and any other roumors are false. The only problem that you will run into is that when you hook up the aftermarket it will not work, the reason for that is that you will have to run a new accessory wire, so it will come on. hope this helps out...

I agree with obie i seen alot of people with new units that work fine without relocating the factory unit. The problem i have seen is alot of the time when its done on the side by the owners of the car the wires arent matched up correctly. recently i had someone who didnt know what to do with the extra black wire tie it in with the ground and fried the computer. Their are a few small things tied into the radio but nothing that will stop the car from running.