Removing the Radio from a Saturn Vue

I am planning to replace the standard radio/single CD Player in my '03
Saturn Vue with a Panasonic head unit and a Sirius satellite radio receiver. Does anyone have any advice on the radio removal / installation procedure, the best place for the Sirius receiver, and the best place for the Sirius antenna?

Thanks for any advice.

...no experience here with the VUE, however I've had good luck with
Crutchfield (www.crutchfield.com) - they include with purchase easy to follow instructions and have good tech support too.

The chimes aren't generated by the radio on an '03 Vue - the radio doesn't even connect into the data bus - so they won't be affected. Most other current GM vehicles do have the radio connected to the data bus (mostly for the radio's anti-theft function), but only some have the chimes generated by the radio and therefore need a chime module if it's replaced.

Crutchfield has the Class 2 chime modules, but like I say, you don't need it on this vehicle, and there's no place to plug it in..

I agree that its probably BS. I had my stereo swapped out about a month ago and replaced it with a Pioneer CD/MP3 Sirius player, and I think there may have been a $5 or $15 adapter part, but nothing about having to go through an airbag and needing a $150 adapter.

I even think my doors still chime, although I suppose I'll have to check on that now.

Probably from Crutchfield as well.

I think the chime module is a lot more expensive than loosing the chimes or buying the split harness that uses your relocated old radio for the chimes.

They are the best bet on everything except for the prices, they tend to be about 10-15% higher...but their support is superb!!

You can also buy the "master sheet" instructions for your make/model/year vehicle from them for 10$ I think. It will tell you everything about your vehicle stereo and wiring and what needs to be done to remove the factory set and rewire in a new one, well worth the $$.

I went to the local Circuit City Store to buy a radio/CD Player that could handle MP3 files. They had some but the salesguy said that installation is free except for Saturns, they need a $150 module because the airbags are conected to the radio !! Could that be true ? Why ? What if I didn't have a radio ?
Anyway, I told him forget it...........

That's total BS. No GM model has the airbags connected to the radio. Some models have the chimes produced by the radio, so if you replace it you need a special chime module so that the chimes will still work. However, this is not the case on at least the 2003 model of the Saturn Ion and Vue..

This is common on many GM vehicles...but not the airbag part. I know that in Pontiacs with the "Monsoon" stereo system, the door chime, the gas chimes and the alert chimes are passed through the stereo to the car speakers. If you change the steroe you have to do one of 2 things.

1 is to by a wire harness that has an additional lead to leave your factory stereo plugged in in the trunk, so that you can still have the chimes.

2 is to use the other harness and lose the chimes.

This may be the case with the Saturn as well, but I doubt it would be tied in with the airbags. The stereo is a servicable part in the car and it would be too risky to have steroe installers touching the airbag controls.

Call Crutchfield and they can tell you over the phone what you would need. It really is as simple as that with them.

I just did a quick check on their website where they have the "What fits my vehicle" section and this is what they say about the 2003 Vue:

The Crutchfield rep said the chimes won't work with the replacement radio. This is not a problem for me. However, I am curious about the special chime module. Where does one get it?

Whoah, pretty sure thats a load of BS. I got my CD player installed (Pioneer
55 x 4 system) at Future Shop, which I believe is the Canadian version of
Circuit City and yes there was one extra adapter needed for the radio plug which was about 5$. Also, since the old radio was at the rounded top part of my center console, and the new one was in the square middle part of my console, there was another 10$ part to buy which had the cubby hole on top and the opening in the middle. This was on a '98 SL2