I Hate My Car Right Now
This was supposed to have been installed in my car about now.
Unfortunately, because of General Motors Canada, it's not going to be.
You see, it turns out that back when they were designing the 2001 Cavalier, they thought it would be a brilliant idea to run the power for both the Antilock Braking System and the airbags system through the factory stereo. Why? I don't know. Maybe they would have saved themselves a few feet of wire per car. Maybe it was the easy way, I don't know. In any case, it was stupid.
Why do you ask? Because if you pull out the factory CD/Radio unit you also disable your ABS system and your air bags. That's right. Two safety features gone because you wanted a different radio. Had I installed this new radio myself, I would have never known. I would be driving a car with a nice stereo, but unknowingly driving a car with two major safety features no longer working. Sure you can rewire it. If you spend 80 USD on a new wiring harness, or pay Best Buy an extra $200 on top of the (once cheap) $40 install fee.
Needless to say I was, and still am pissed off. All I wanted was a cheap stereo with a line in. All I wanted was to plug in my iPod and listen to tunes without my iTrip and the static it brings. So I logged onto the GM web site and fired off a letter. This is what I wrote:
To whom it may concern,
I'm quite furious right now, and I'll try to keep this letter calm and to the point.
I own a 2001 Cavalier that I wanted to use my iPod in. I went to Best Buy to have a unit with a line in installed. I was then informed that because of the make and year of my vehicle I would be charged an extra $200 because major rewiring had to be done. The reason? Y'all decided it would be a great idea to wire the door chime, the ABS, and the air bags into the head unit!
For the life of me I can't understand why you would want to have any safety features, let alone two, disabled the moment someone disables a part of the car that has nothing to do with safety. Heck, I don't get why you'd tie these things into something that is so commonly replaced!
This might sound petty, but this has guaranteed I will not buy a GM vehicle ever again. This kind of oversight is completely inexcusable! Disabling safety features because someone wants a new radio?!
And what was their response, two days later?
Mr. Schreyer:
Thank you for your e-mail.
In response to your comments, we offer the following feedback:
The first-generation iPod was introduced to the world in October/01 and General Motors (GM) would have engineered the radio and the electrical wiring for for the 2001 Cavalier in 1999 or earlier. At that time, GM was not aware that Apple was developing the iPod; therefore, this would not have been a consideration at the time the the radio and the data link communications wiring for the 2001 Cavalier was designed. As such, there really was no oversight by GM while developing the data link communications between all the modules in the 2001 Cavalier. Our engineers, prior to October/01, were not aware or even considered that, at some time in the future, someone would want to adapt the, AS YET UKNOWN iPod, to the radio in a 2001 Cavalier.
For your information, the following vehicles are also not iPod adaptable:
2002-2004 Audi A6 and A8
2003-2004 Honda Accord
2003-2004 Honda Element
We thank you for contacting General Motors of Canada Limited, and for the time you have taken to offer your comments. Please visit our website again!
That's right. "Oh noes! We could never have predicted how popular the iPod was going to be! That's why your vehicle isn't compatible with the iPod!"
*blink*
I mentioned my iPod once. I mentioned safety features twice. Yet I get a mini lecture on the unpredictability of market trends.
It's quite possible my letter wasn't clear enough. I probably shouldn't have mentioned "iPod" at all, but I'd just gotten back from Best Buy and was still simmering.
I have to say that after this response, I'm back on boil.
Fuck you GM. How many kids have gotten in accidents because they wanted to have a better stereo and YOU thought it would be a smart idea to kill their air bags and antilock brakes because of it?
[EDIT]: Just got off the horn with one of the larger dealerships in town:
Parts Desk: Yes, that sounds about right. Let me pass you on to our service guy
Service Guy: Uh, I dunno? Maybe? Call Advance Electronics (local stereo shop). We send cars there all the time for this.
WTF? They don't know?!
[EDIT #2}: Called Advance, and got a very nice, to the point answer. It's not that the power for the systems runs through the radio, it's the data for the systems. Makes a little more sense, but still not that much. People replace car stereos all the damn time, and they didn't foresee this? More like they didn't want to.
Oh, and if I want to bypass all this the module's $160. Le sigh indeed!