2003 Jetta Monsoon radio stopped working

**jmaglio1** · 01-19-2008, 01:14 PM

I bought a used 2003 Jetta for my daughter with only 12,000 miles on it. The Monsoon radio suddenly stopped working. The display shows FM 88.1 (the radio staion) but there is no sound and the radio is frozen, meaning none of the channel, AM, FM bass, treble etc buttons work. If you raise the sound, you see the bar increasing the sound, but again nothing comes out. If you put in a cd, the display shows the cd is playing, but the cd control buttons are completely ineffective. I disconnected the battery to try to put the radio in Safe mode and then reset it, but apparenly the disconnect power anti-theft only works if the radio is put into another car. Any suggestios would be greatly appreciated. The warrenty is expired and if there is no fix for this I'll just buy an after-market radio and have it installed. Thanks.

**DarquePervert** · 01-19-2008, 01:21 PM

Moved to car audio.

This forum is dedicated to CarPCs and installing them in your car.

The car audio forum is dedicated to integrating your car audio system with your CarPC.

For specific questions related to car audio equipment systems that do not include CarPCs, I would recomend checking out car audio specific forums:

http://www.elitecaraudio.com
http://www.carsound.com
http://www.caraudioforum.com
http://forum.sounddomain.com
http://www.realcaraudio.com
http://www.carstereo.com
http://www.caraudiomag.com
http://www.termpro.com
http://www.the12volt.com
http://www.talkaudio.co.uk
http://www.caraudiosecurity.com
et. al.

There is a chance that someone on here might have an answer for you, I would just hate for you to wait around for it when I know you could get an answer much quicker on a dedicated forum.

Good luck.

**jmaglio1** · 01-19-2008, 02:05 PM

Ok. Thank you.

**dolceness** · 01-26-2008, 12:42 AM

Hi my parents just recently bought me a used 2003 jetta and i'm having the exact same problems with the radio as you did.

Can you please tell me how you were able to get your radio fixed?

**jmaglio1** · 01-26-2008, 02:36 PM

Sorry, but i wasn't able to fix it. I went to a Volkswagon Dealership and they said sounds like the radio just stopped working. I asked for a price on a new radio and they were not very helpful, saying I had to take my radio out and bring it in before they could give me a price. You need a special tool to take out the radio so that was out of the question. When I pressed him more for a price, he said about $250 for a re-furbished one and about $1,000 for a new one. This is ridiculous and i would never pay $1,000 for a radio. You can try the dealership in your area, but do not let them talk you into leaving your car and having them check the radio. They will charge you just for checking it even if they don't fix it. I am going to check out some audio stores that install after-market radios and see what kind of deal I can get. Good luck and shop around before you buy anything.

**dolceness** · 01-28-2008, 10:50 PM

I asked a guy who worked on jetta's and told him my problem and he said i would just have to get an after-market radio but the dealer would have to do it because they have the prongs that are needed to take the radio out, just as you said. I agree with you as well about never having to pay 1,000 for a radio, I'm just hoping that my extended warranty will cover fixing my radio.
If you find anything out, please let me know and I will do the same for you if I hear anything good from the dealer.
Thanks for replying.

**redls1bird** · 01-28-2008, 11:01 PM

The "prongs" you refer to are just radio removal tools. Most shops that are going to install your aftermarket setup will have these on hand. If they dont, i wouldnt suggest using them. Also, 250 bucks isnt bad for a refurbished unit.

If you do use a shop, make sure they are familiar with the VW's. A common mistake is to use a brown wire as a ground in the harness, but its actually a CAN wire and will keep your vehicles communications system from working correctly.

**puter** · 01-31-2008, 09:44 AM

Originally Posted by jmaglio1

I bought a used 2003 Jetta for my daughter with only 12,000 miles on it. The Monsoon radio suddenly stopped working. The display shows FM 88.1 (the radio staion) but there is no sound and the radio is frozen, meaning none of the channel, AM, FM bass, treble etc buttons work. If you raise the sound, you see the bar increasing the sound, but again nothing comes out. If you put in a cd, the display shows the cd is playing, but the cd control buttons are completely ineffective. I disconnected the battery to try to put the radio in Safe mode and then reset it, but apparenly the disconnect power anti-theft only works if the radio is put into another car. Any suggestios would be greatly appreciated. The warrenty is expired and if there is no fix for this I'll just buy an after-market radio and have it installed. Thanks.

Your car is not necessarily in the year that this may be a problem but you may want to look into it anyway:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1318562