03 XC90 cd changer ate itself

jaces_dad · Post by **jaces_dad** » 03 Oct 2013, 08:08

I'm kind of speechless over this, I disconnected my negative battery cable for about an hour and upon starting the car after reconnecting it my cd changer apparently tried to eject all 6 discs at the same time. When this happened it destroyed itself and there were parts flopping around inside. I've attached a picture of what was loose, 2 of these were jingling around. So now I have no cd player. The dealer gave me a price of approx $700 for the remanufactured changer and having it coded to the car. That's a cheaper price too btw because i have a shop in town. The way I understand this is if you drive an XC90 and your battery dies you have to replace it and the cd changer? That sounds way wrong but i've been told the same thing by 2 reputable dealers. My question is regarding cd player options. Is there anything after market I can go with that doesn't cost a fortune that will actually work properly and not cause all kinds of warning lights to come on? I saw the post with the app radio but i dont need anything that complex. i just want a cd player back.

boksalg · Post by **boksalg** » 20 Oct 2013, 15:43

Ouch! Sounds terrible

I've read and heard (and seen) issues where the owner of a XC90 has replaced the cd-changer only to either harm wiring (fiber optic) or something else messes up that throws error codes (airbag one being the worst). I haven't had the chance to try and fix any, but I'd expect to need VIDA and the DICE box (available online for ~120 USD). You might ask for a breakdown of the three items from your Volvo dealer:

Remanufactured unit
Work to install
Code the unit

If nothing else it allows you (us) to see where the cost lies. If it is the remanufactured part being expensive you might look elsewhere (junkyard, eBay or similar). If it is the work to install then maybe getting another shop to install it is viable, then bring it back to Volvo for programming.

Good luck and let us know

(others may of course jump in and provide any feedback, just wanted to share mine)

jaces_dad · Post by **jaces_dad** » 21 Oct 2013, 10:14

I got prices from my local dealer a couple days after it happened. The remanufactured 6 disc changer is just under $500 us, the cost to program it to the car is roughly $200 us, I'd install it myself so I didn't ask how much they charge, this dealer charges $118 us per hour for labor. Oh any i have a commercial account with them so these prices are a little lower than you could expect to pay off the street.