H3 Seeking to upgrade radio. What to do?

[H3ALPHA]

Have the navigation radio, CD, with SiriusXM.

Additionally, have OnStar and a proprietary phone number for the H3 (guessing this is via Onstar).

Monsoon Sound System.

Seeking to simply upgrade this to a CarPlay radio with all of the above.

Was in a chat with Crutchfield, but it seems this is harder than it should be.

Anyone have any insight to this?

Thanks.

 

[FactoryOrdered2010AlphaT]

Built in technology still isn't keeping up - wouldn't it suck to have your heart set on a vehicle only to find out the interior tech is years older other vehicles from the same manufacturer (ah hem...Jeep...) One of the things driving the old auto manufacturers crazy is Tesla's over the air software upgrades.

The 09/10 H3T's were GMT 745...and an 07 Avalanche was GMT 900. A 2010 H3T interior was a giant step back in time compared to a 2007 Avalanche LTZ. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_GMT_platform#GMT_745

Yank the entire stack and put it in a box while/if you can find something that goes into a....double din setup? Is that what it's called. I would just delete the dOgStar...there's no long range analog cellular left in NA anyways to save you in the outback anymore...your handset probably has better reception.

Or check in on Schwarttzy's tap into the XM. https://schwarttzy.com/product/h3-quick-n-simple-auxiliary-audio-input/

JBL just threw older vehicles a bone with it's JBL Link Drive. It's a 12V socket device with a pass-through that enables Google Assistant by tethering to your phone. https://www.androidcentral.com/jbl-link-drive-brings-google-assistant-your-car-just-60 Schwarttzy may need to figure out the link for it cause the BlueTooth in the H3/H3T was never very advanced... (e.g., no A2DP to stream audio at)

With increasing restrictive distraction laws...anyone driving an H3/H3T is a potential easy target for someone looking to make their ticket quota...

 

[ludevick]

I did this not too long ago. I got a new Sony head unit with apple car play and had Crutchfield connect all of the harnesses to make it plug and play. Pretty straight forward! Retains all of the onstar functions and door chime etc. I’ve done head units a few other times before this was my first time having Crutchfield deal with the harnesses and it was definitely worth it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Anchorism]

I know it sounds rediculous, but I got a double din Pumpkin brand app radio on amazon. It has offline map/navigation, app streaming from android/iphone, wifi, dvd player, camera hookups and all kinds of other cool little features. I attempted to use the wiring harness that is direct plug and play but IMHO those are absolute junk. I ended up re-wiring the harness myself, as I typically do. I love the offline nav features on the radio. Once you download the maps on it there are tons of cool tidbits. My favorite part is the ability to have longitude/latitude at a simple glance. One other cool part about app radios is the ability to link to a bluetooth OBD2 reader and display the torque app.

 

[Anchorism]

Just for reference, my radio is the older version of this one. http://https://www.amazon.com/PUMPK...=1550573593&sr=1-1&keywords=pumpkin+radio+dvd

 

[stix]

I just went through this, have the Monsoon, and ordered a Pioneer AVIC-W8400NEX from Crutchfield which they have on sale currently. It seems like a great unit. I did not retain the ONStar, but did order the wiring harness from crutchfield. They do offer the harness that will allow you to keep ONStar but it is $50+ more than the standard harness. The install wasn't too bad, although a tight fit. I decided to ignore the parking brake safety wire and just spliced it to ground. All other wires were a simple game of match the color.

 

[H3V8]

I just went through this, have the Monsoon, and ordered a Pioneer AVIC-W8400NEX from Crutchfield which they have on sale currently. It seems like a great unit. I did not retain the ONStar, but did order the wiring harness from crutchfield. They do offer the harness that will allow you to keep ONStar but it is $50+ more than the standard harness. The install wasn't too bad, although a tight fit. I decided to ignore the parking brake safety wire and just spliced it to ground. All other wires were a simple game of match the color.

That's the exact one I was wanting to buy. I was planning on keeping the same monsoon speakers/sub, but upgrading the head unit to that Pioneer AVIC-W8400NEX. Did it improve the monsoon sound system any? Or really just a head unit upgrade?

 

[Traxx]

If you want to improve the sound then replace the paper speakers. If you want more features then replace the head unit with something more modern. The Gmos adapters will let you keep most of the factory functions and chimes.

 

[stix]

Sound is much better imo through more eq control. Interface is easy, and agree with Traxx that a relatively small incremental investment in some decent door speakers would be worthwhile.