Hi everyone, Sorry that this is a such a long post but maybe I can answer a lot of questions for anyone else wanting to do this upgrade. I had all of these questions before doing the install and no one knew for sure if it was plug and play.
And I couldn't seem to find any answers on line or from GM Techs and Dealers that really addressed all of the unknowns about the upgrade.
We purchased a new Chevy Equinox LTZ that had every option but sunroof and the Nav radio with premium sound.
I found a premium sound factory Nav at a salvage yard for $315 including the shipping.
It came with the face plate/heater AC controls and the touch screen. The unit came out of a 2016 LTZ that had been totaled with only 115 miles on it.
I have done previous upgrades on earlier Chevy models like my 2011 Silverado which I replaced factory radio with a used factory Nav unit.
But I wasn't sure about the mylink system on this new SUV and about getting it flashed for my veh Vin#. I have a Tech 2 and can do earlier GM systems, but the newer vehicles have gone to a global OBD system and a Tech 2 won't work with them.
So first off even our dealer wasn't sure if they could flash it due to the way the modules actually communicate with each other and not just the BCM. And since our factory unit that came with our vehicle wasn't a premium sound system there was a question if the new Nav unit with premium sound would even work because on earlier GM Bose and non Bose systems they wouldn't interchange unless you added the Bose amp and so on.
I had a Radio Nav company flash my new Vin into the Nav radio unit before I installed it. They weren't sure if they could program it, but they were able to make it relearn my Vin. And their shop is about an hour from where we live and I purchased a gps antennae while there.
You will need to add the gps ant " really easy to do just plugs in back of the unit and goes under the dash". Actually I put the antennae under the center collision avoidance info panel and dash speaker grill that is empty on the non premium sound system.
I brought the unit home and did the install, It worked great and apparently the difference in the premium Pioneer sound system and the regular non premium system is the upgraded amp and an added sub woofer that is on the premium system. The Head unit/ radios apparently have the same speaker line volume output or watts to the amp.
I got lucky on that.
I didn't replace my Nav screen because there wasn't any need to and it is separate form the radio unit, which is just a box. Also the heater AC control panel that has all of the mylink buttons and so on it are different on a Nav versus non nav system. They have the same number of buttons but they are labeled differently. You can look at photos of some GM vehicles and see the difference.
I put the nav control panel on but found out the Nav button didn't do anything. The non nav panel has a Phone icon on the panel where the nav button is.
There may be some wiring left out on the harness "jumper cable" from the panel to the head unit on the two different panels ? Or maybe there is another module on the nav system ?
So I just put the non nav panel back on and I had all of my original functions.
I just go to the my link screen and hit the Nav icon and everything works great. We have all of the factory functions and options minus the Nav button on the panel. It is a great gps unit and the map system is good and has more map options than earlier GM nav units.
The radio head units now contain the Sirius XM radio receiver unlike earlier systems where they were a separate XM receiver, so you will have to get the new XM receiver ISDN # and change your Radio ID on your subscription. " It is located on a white label on the radio receiver box and it will also come up on your display on XM channel 1.
Sorry that this was such a long long post but hope it helps anyone else that is considering the upgrade and answers your questions.
Wild Bill :sleepy:
And I couldn't seem to find any answers on line or from GM Techs and Dealers that really addressed all of the unknowns about the upgrade.
We purchased a new Chevy Equinox LTZ that had every option but sunroof and the Nav radio with premium sound.
I found a premium sound factory Nav at a salvage yard for $315 including the shipping.
It came with the face plate/heater AC controls and the touch screen. The unit came out of a 2016 LTZ that had been totaled with only 115 miles on it.
I have done previous upgrades on earlier Chevy models like my 2011 Silverado which I replaced factory radio with a used factory Nav unit.
But I wasn't sure about the mylink system on this new SUV and about getting it flashed for my veh Vin#. I have a Tech 2 and can do earlier GM systems, but the newer vehicles have gone to a global OBD system and a Tech 2 won't work with them.
So first off even our dealer wasn't sure if they could flash it due to the way the modules actually communicate with each other and not just the BCM. And since our factory unit that came with our vehicle wasn't a premium sound system there was a question if the new Nav unit with premium sound would even work because on earlier GM Bose and non Bose systems they wouldn't interchange unless you added the Bose amp and so on.
I had a Radio Nav company flash my new Vin into the Nav radio unit before I installed it. They weren't sure if they could program it, but they were able to make it relearn my Vin. And their shop is about an hour from where we live and I purchased a gps antennae while there.
You will need to add the gps ant " really easy to do just plugs in back of the unit and goes under the dash". Actually I put the antennae under the center collision avoidance info panel and dash speaker grill that is empty on the non premium sound system.
I brought the unit home and did the install, It worked great and apparently the difference in the premium Pioneer sound system and the regular non premium system is the upgraded amp and an added sub woofer that is on the premium system. The Head unit/ radios apparently have the same speaker line volume output or watts to the amp.
I got lucky on that.
I didn't replace my Nav screen because there wasn't any need to and it is separate form the radio unit, which is just a box. Also the heater AC control panel that has all of the mylink buttons and so on it are different on a Nav versus non nav system. They have the same number of buttons but they are labeled differently. You can look at photos of some GM vehicles and see the difference.
I put the nav control panel on but found out the Nav button didn't do anything. The non nav panel has a Phone icon on the panel where the nav button is.
There may be some wiring left out on the harness "jumper cable" from the panel to the head unit on the two different panels ? Or maybe there is another module on the nav system ?
So I just put the non nav panel back on and I had all of my original functions.
I just go to the my link screen and hit the Nav icon and everything works great. We have all of the factory functions and options minus the Nav button on the panel. It is a great gps unit and the map system is good and has more map options than earlier GM nav units.
The radio head units now contain the Sirius XM radio receiver unlike earlier systems where they were a separate XM receiver, so you will have to get the new XM receiver ISDN # and change your Radio ID on your subscription. " It is located on a white label on the radio receiver box and it will also come up on your display on XM channel 1.
Sorry that this was such a long long post but hope it helps anyone else that is considering the upgrade and answers your questions.
Wild Bill :sleepy:
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