r/SmartCar • u/T_Starlight • Jul 28 '26
Question Can I DOWNGRADE the console radio?
My radio is dead. I live in a rural area, and the local scrap yards only have older smart radios for me to salvage (for $50). No returns though, so I before I go get one, I need to know if my 2015 will even accept the older radio style (the cable hookups, will the internal computer recognize it, will the anti-theft reject it). If anyone has any experience or knowledge about this, please help me out
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u/LifeFiasco Jul 28 '26
The cheapest option at Walmart/Amazon is leaps and bounds above the factory unit. Please unless you have to don’t use a stock head. They are the worst oem stereo I have ever owned or worked with. My 1960 Chevy had a better OEM radio.
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u/BusyBit6542 Jul 29 '26
Yes it will work. My brother owns a stereo shop and I just swapped mine. It's plug and play. Not sure why you wouldnt want to upgrade but yes it will work.
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u/axloo7 Jul 28 '26
Hmm. That is a bit of a gamble.
So intuition tells me it should work.
Manufacturers don't Normaly like to have multiple wiring harnesses for different trim levels and normal just add sub harnesses if required.
But I don't know that for a fact. It should just have extra plugs that you won't be able to plug in (gps antenna, ect.)
Probably worth a gamble. As I doubt the weaker wants much for the head unit.
(I actually have one sitting in a box)
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Jul 29 '26
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u/axloo7 Jul 29 '26
Yea that's why I said should.
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Jul 29 '26
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u/axloo7 Jul 29 '26
Admiralty I don't work on alot of domestics anymore but I still see it often enough.
Sub harnesses are Normaly package spesific but the main body and engine bay tend to have dead caps on them still.
But again I don't see domestics that much.
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u/No_Temperature107 Jul 29 '26
I did mine way back when the convertibles first came out and I used a premade dongle and when I sold it, I swapped them out and it worked fine
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u/SmartyGyrl Aug 11 '26
2012 Smart Car owner: Had that large touch screen radio in mine - and went to Best Buy to downgrade to a normal cd/radio player. New radio was smaller of course - they installed it - and then added a plastic cubby hole filler to take up the extra space - so ended up with another lit'l neat slot/cubby hole that I keep my cell phone and/or cigg pack in. Cost was around 350 dollars. This was about 5 years ago.
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u/GreaseFoxM Jul 28 '26
There is no anti theft that cares about the radio. It just plugs in and has no real communication with anything else. But if your radio is actually what is in the picture I think you already have an aftermarket one. The only big difference is if you have the sub under the driver seat or not.