yojimbosc

so i got some burned cds stuck in the unit just like everyone said would happen. the unit was full with 6 disks at the time. i removed the unit, removed the cds from the unit, and reinstalled it. once reinstalled i disconnected the battery for 20 minutes to clear any memory and when i tried to use the changer once more the error code 3 returned and the unit still reads full. im guessing i was supposed to manually move the trays back to the empty position prior to reassembly bc i dont hear them attempting to move at all. even after i cleared the memory the car never read the disc trays as empty so thats my best guess. any advice or experience with this issue would be helpful. i have seen many posts about similar issues but after reading and reading i found nothing specific enough for me to determine that i skipped some step. thanks in advance

bb430

iTrader: (1)

If you had removed all the cds from the unit then you had opened the unit up right? I believe there is a small plastic gear that drives the cd in/out could be cracked or broken. I had the same issue with error 3 and I has it repaired, the guy told me that might be the case and sure enough he had to replaced the gear to make it work again. Just my guess and see if you would find the same issue with yours. By the way, if you were thinking about sending out for repair, DON'T. I was charged $399 to have that little gear replaced. You can get an used OEM one from ebay for $200. I got ripped off and hopefully you won't.

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

...don't know if it would work or not,but I would try putting a factory cd in the unit, to see if it would read and/or play it. If it's not a broken gear, as bb430 suggested, the unit may resequence itself with a disk in it. If you try this, make sure you try a cd that you don't like, wouldn't want you put your favorite in the unit & it not play

bb430

iTrader: (1)

If I remembered correctly, when error 3 comes up it means that you can't load any cd into it because it thinks all the cd slots were occupied and you can't reject either because the gear is broken. But try and see, maybe you'll get lucky and all are well again.

By the way, I was told by the repair guy not to push the cd in when you are loading the cd, that's how the gear breaks. Let the unit sucks the cd in on its own when you place the cd in the slot.

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

...I can't remember 100%, but I think I had an issue before with 1 or 2 jammed cd's. I did the "hit on the side of console" remedy & they came out. The unit still read that it was full,although there wasn't a disk in the unit. Just for the heck of it, I loaded the unit with cd's & it operated with no problems

Harold57

I need to get you to bop my unit. I've had a CD stuck in there for a while now and all the slamming I did was unsuccessful. So far, I haven't had/taken the time to remove the unit to remove the CD yet. (Of course, I play CDs so little these days, it really hasn't made that much difference to me. I'd almost rather replace the head unit if I'm going to pull the current one out.)

bb430

iTrader: (1)

Do you have an error 3 massage?

Harold57

Not on my radio display. It just comes up either loading or ejecting and then the display goes away, typically to the radio. (The CD load door is partially open and I can see the CD just inside but can't seem to pull it out.)

bb430

iTrader: (1)

That's what I had before, I used a tweezer to picked out the cd then I got the error 3 massage.
Hate to say it but I think the little plastic gear is broken or cracked. Locally in Richardson there's a place that repair OEM radios for dealerships in town, that's where I took mine to have it repaired. I won't do it again now that I know I can get one from ebay for $200.

Harold57

Are you referring to "Factory Repair Services" on Columbia? I haven't gone there yet but heard that they could probably handle it.

I tried the tweezer route and then tried needle nosed pliers but didn't want to pull hard enough to break something else.

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

...yea I'm with you on replacing the unit,if I have to pull it out. I've considered it,but keep hanging on to that factory look inside.

Harold57

For me it is not so much the factory look but rather the cost of replacing the head unit along with a steering wheel control interface breaking the $1k mark for a 13 year old car with over 100k miles on it. It is kind of hard to justify in my frugal mind.

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

....true,but the prices have started to come down on some of the units members have bought, because of newer units being introduced. A few months ago, a member had one of the Pioneer units & the steering wheel interface listed for $550 in the classified section,but I missed out on the deal by a couple of days

bb430

iTrader: (1)

Yes, FRS did the work on my unit and quick too. Didn't make me feel good on how quickly they fixed it since it was pretty expensive.
The guy is very knowledgable and told me that it's a known problem to all Toyota/Lexus units. He was the person who told me to be very gentle with loading of CDs and not to force it in.

Bgw70

I just purchased the beat sonic from Carid for $349 and a Pioneer AVHX5700BHS from Amazon for $348. The XM module was another $40.

The total was about $740 and the car sound system will have everything I want it to do.