Hi. I came home to discover that my car's radio was on and when i checked the key was not in the ignition. I turned on the car and then turn it off but the radio kept on turning on and it could be turn off after hitting any button but then it turned on again. I had to disconnect the battery to prevent it from drying out. What is happening?
Radio turns on by itself
- Thread starter ConMura87
- Start date
TrippinGearz
New member
Well. Its been 24hrs with no response to this thread so im going to venture this is not a common problem. I would recommend takeing it to your dealership or maybe giveing them a call and see if they have any suggestions. I personally have no idea. I havent experienced this and I havent heard anyone that has
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
attrapereves
New member
My radio turns itself off sometimes. I usually never turn my radio off. When I get back in the car from it being off and start the engine, the radio usually always comes back on. Sometimes it does not.
MyLink is very glitchy.
MyLink is very glitchy.
Chevrolet Customer Care
New member
ConMura87,
That is different. How many times has this happened? Have you had a chance to have your Chevrolet Dealership look into this?
Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care
That is different. How many times has this happened? Have you had a chance to have your Chevrolet Dealership look into this?
Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care
1980PontiacWagon
New member
I had a similar problem, my radio would not turn off, no matter what, even if i turned the car off, and locked it. I pulled the fuse for the radio and took it to the dealer the next day, they replaced the radio.
franl24fan
New member
Radio turning itself back on
I just got back from the dealer. For the past few weeks, if I hit a bump my radio would go off. Then a few days ago it started the "ghost" turn on. I have always turned off the radio by pressing the volume control dial (I was told a few years back to always turn off the radio and the a/c when I get out of the car to save on battery use when starting up a car). So I would turn off the radio, see the front panel go totally dark, get out of the car, come back in say 5 minutes (fortunately not after parking for the night), and the radio would be back on
. I watched this happen for a few days, finally decided to risk the service department's disbelief and took it in. They came back and said there was a service bulletin, they were going to order a new radio. So I was not losing my mind. My car is 2 years old with 13,000 miles on it.
I just got back from the dealer. For the past few weeks, if I hit a bump my radio would go off. Then a few days ago it started the "ghost" turn on. I have always turned off the radio by pressing the volume control dial (I was told a few years back to always turn off the radio and the a/c when I get out of the car to save on battery use when starting up a car). So I would turn off the radio, see the front panel go totally dark, get out of the car, come back in say 5 minutes (fortunately not after parking for the night), and the radio would be back on
. I watched this happen for a few days, finally decided to risk the service department's disbelief and took it in. They came back and said there was a service bulletin, they were going to order a new radio. So I was not losing my mind. My car is 2 years old with 13,000 miles on it.
Chevrolet Customer Care
New member
Hey franl24fan,
I'm sorry to hear that you experienced this problem with your Sonic. I'm glad that the dealership found a resolution. Please feel free to follow up with us regarding your dealership visit. I will be glad to document your feedback. Also if you have any other questions or concerns please let us know. We are only a private message away!
Kristen A.
Chevrolet Customer Care
I'm sorry to hear that you experienced this problem with your Sonic. I'm glad that the dealership found a resolution. Please feel free to follow up with us regarding your dealership visit. I will be glad to document your feedback. Also if you have any other questions or concerns please let us know. We are only a private message away!
Kristen A.
Chevrolet Customer Care
franl24fan
New member
Radio replaced
Hopefully no more "ghost" in the car. I'll keep an eye on it though. Dealer said this was the second 2012 Sonic radio with same problem they've had come in over the last few weeks.
What always concerns me when there is a part replaced under warranty is that I wonder if the new part will be better, or just the same part only new and therefore may have another issue down the road when out of warranty. I don't drive the car that much, so I will probably only have 20K miles on it when my 3 year warranty runs out. That is what happened on my last car, same issue came up out of warranty and it cost me a few hundred dollars.
Hopefully no more "ghost" in the car
. I'll keep an eye on it though. Dealer said this was the second 2012 Sonic radio with same problem they've had come in over the last few weeks. What always concerns me when there is a part replaced under warranty is that I wonder if the new part will be better, or just the same part only new and therefore may have another issue down the road when out of warranty. I don't drive the car that much, so I will probably only have 20K miles on it when my 3 year warranty runs out. That is what happened on my last car, same issue came up out of warranty and it cost me a few hundred dollars.
franl24fan
New member
turning radio off
I learned within a few days of buying the car that turning off the ignition did not turn off the radio, so I have always used the power button (pushing in the volume control dial). When this episode started the radio came back on after turning off the power button and the front display going to black. That is why I was convinced I had a "ghost" in the car. Tech at the dealer said there was a short in the radio circuit board that caused the connection to jump across and restart the radio. Ghost
I learned within a few days of buying the car that turning off the ignition did not turn off the radio, so I have always used the power button (pushing in the volume control dial). When this episode started the radio came back on after turning off the power button and the front display going to black. That is why I was convinced I had a "ghost" in the car. Tech at the dealer said there was a short in the radio circuit board that caused the connection to jump across and restart the radio. Ghost
Italianjoe1
Member
Is this on mylink cars or base radios for the people affected?
Blue hedgehog
New member
The OP didn't say what radio he has or what year his sonic is, so we don't know what radio. franl24fan has a '12 sonic so he doesn't have a MyLink.
I have the MyLink. One day when the car was a few months old the radio didn't turn off when I opened the door with the key out of the ignition. I had to turn it off by hitting the power button. That was the one and only time it happened though.
franl24fan
New member
New radio issue
Well, now I have a different issue with the radio that was just installed.
It is constantly dropping off line, the screen says Loading XM, takes several minutes before channel comes back on. This is not the same as "signal lost", there are a few places here in town where that happens. This happens all over town and randomly. Seen some other blogs on this issue, supposedly it is another supplier issue.
This is really making me think twice about Chevy claims of improved quality.
So I guess I take it back to the dealer, maybe 3rd radio will be the charm.
Well, now I have a different issue with the radio that was just installed.
It is constantly dropping off line, the screen says Loading XM, takes several minutes before channel comes back on. This is not the same as "signal lost", there are a few places here in town where that happens. This happens all over town and randomly. Seen some other blogs on this issue, supposedly it is another supplier issue.
This is really making me think twice about Chevy claims of improved quality.
So I guess I take it back to the dealer, maybe 3rd radio will be the charm.
Chevrolet Customer Care
New member
Hey Fran,
Sorry to hear you are having a concern with your newly installed radio. If you would like for us to reach out to your dealership when you return, please let me know. You can private message me your name, VIN, phone number, and dealership name.
Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care
Sorry to hear you are having a concern with your newly installed radio. If you would like for us to reach out to your dealership when you return, please let me know. You can private message me your name, VIN, phone number, and dealership name.
Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care
franl24fan
New member
Still having issue
Well I waited to see if the update would fix the problem. I am getting the error message Loading XM less often than before, but still at least once a day or more. the first radio that was replaced due to turning itself back on never had this message for the 2 years it was installed.
The dealer doesn't know what else to try, I also did the refresh with XM as they suggested. Guess I will have to live with it. Disappointed.
Well I waited to see if the update would fix the problem. I am getting the error message Loading XM less often than before, but still at least once a day or more. the first radio that was replaced due to turning itself back on never had this message for the 2 years it was installed.
The dealer doesn't know what else to try, I also did the refresh with XM as they suggested. Guess I will have to live with it. Disappointed.
Old thread, but in case anyone else has the problem with the radio turning itself on, I fixed mine fairly cheap. I bought a used radio with the same part number at a local salvage yard for $35. Of course when I installed it the display came up "LOCKED". The local dealer wanted $150 to reprogram the radio.
Uh, no.
Other internet sites suggested that the ghost turn on is caused by the volume knob wearing out or a spring breaking. So just for kicks I swapped the faceplate from the new radio to my old radio, and sure enough, it fixed the problem and was not locked. Apparently the security feature is in the body of the radio, and not the faceplate.
Easy swap too. Just remove one screw on each side of the faceplate, and then gently pry the top and bottom off the clips with a small flat blade screwdriver. Took about 3 minutes.
Uh, no.
Other internet sites suggested that the ghost turn on is caused by the volume knob wearing out or a spring breaking. So just for kicks I swapped the faceplate from the new radio to my old radio, and sure enough, it fixed the problem and was not locked. Apparently the security feature is in the body of the radio, and not the faceplate.
Easy swap too. Just remove one screw on each side of the faceplate, and then gently pry the top and bottom off the clips with a small flat blade screwdriver. Took about 3 minutes.