My wife's 2002 SC430 is showing "ERROR3" on the CD Changer. No discs will load or eject or play. I have read that this is most likely the result of a physically jammed disc. All other functions of the radio (AM, FM, TAPE) function perfectly.

The dealer wants over $800 to replace the CD Changer. I refuse to do that without first trying to un-jam the current unit.

I read another post on how to remove the Radio, but it was incomplete, or inaccurate.

So far i have done the following:
1- Open arm rest
2- Push forward to remove the seat heating unit
3- That gave access to allow me to lift the wood grain unit that surrounds the shifter, and inculdes the cup holders and ash tray
4- unclipped the several wires that connect the wood grain piece to center console, allowing me to put it to the side
5- Removed the two bolts that seem to be attached to the radio

But the radio will not budge at all !!!!!!!!!! I must be missing something. What else do i need to do to remove the unit?

Thank you in advance.

TCN

Update-

I learned from another site what to do next.

6- This step was the most difficult so far, and i was very worried that i was breaking the car. You have to remove the AC control that is above the radio. This piece includes the leather strip inbetween the AC control and the Nav. That whole piece is held in by pressure clips. There are no screws, or bolts. Essentially i just wiggled and pulled it out. After a lot of fighting it popped out.

When i did this the wood panel that covers the radio was in its "up/retracted" postion. I did not realize that the AC unit is directly on top of that piece. Luckily in all my wiggling and pulling and fighting with the AC unit i never applied enough pressure for it to scratch the wood panel. You may want to try removing the AC unit while that panel is in its "Down/Deployed" position to avoid the possibility of scratching such a prominent piece of wood. I didn't do it that way, so i can't vouch for it.

7- Now i see 2 more bolts that clearly hold the radio in place. I haven't removed them yet, as i need a socket wrench with a longer extension to reach them. I will update when i get at them!

Wish me luck.

Good work there bud. Was wondering how to get that out myself. I'm fitting an ipod interface soon so that's useful info.

Gary.

Ok done! It worked perfectly.

8- I removed those bolts, but needed an extension for my socket wrench. I bought a 10" extension from AutoZone for about $8.

9- Gently pull out the surprisingly heavy radio/CD Changer unit. The wood panel will be attached on top.

10- Disconnect the many wires plugged into the back of the CD Changer

---ok this is where i got sort of lucky i think----

11- I took the whole radio unit up to my house to open it up. I removed the screws that atttach the wood cover to the unit. Then I took out the screws on the side and top that keep the metal top connected. This took much more time than expected as many of the screws were stuck. Luckily I didn't strip any.

12- Disconnect the face of the radio, which i think had a small screw or two, but mainly was plastic pressure clips. Be careful, as there is a small ribbon cable that connects to the radio unit. I disconnected this from the faceplate side by flipping down the small plastic bar that holds it with a very small screwdriver. Make sure to reconnect this before putting it all back together.

13- Once open i was immediately saddened by how complicated it was and i felt i was in way over my head. The cd's were all on their plastic beds, but were stuck up a bit it seemed. There were so many small springs and things that i knew that one wrong move would mean i would have to buy a new one.

13- For me, one of the plastic beds had fallen down, off of the grooves on the side that hold it. I gently lifted it up and - click - all the other five fell down into place. I had no idea what i had done, but it seemed like maybe that was the problem so i put it all back together.

14- after reassembling everything in reverse order, i turned on the car and the cd changer made alot of noise for about a minute. I thought for sure i had broken something. Then all of a sudden, it started playing. I slowly went disc by disc and everythign worked fine. When i tried ejecting a disc, i noticed that the flap was stuck, but one quick tap and it loosened.

15- Everything is working now, weeks later.

YMMV, your mileage may vary. But good luck.

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment[attachment
=4557:IMG_0200.jpg]Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment[a
ttachment=4560:IMG_0203.jpg]Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment[attachment=45
51:IMG_0194.jpg]PICTURES:

While you had the radio out, how easy would it be to take off the fascial?

I been thinking of respraying my radio fascial and matching ac unit cover.