Specifically, touchscreen/nav radios.
Yes, I could put an aftermarket radio in, but if I can make a 'factory' radio work I would prefer that.
If no, which adapter harnesses are the best for retaining chimes, OnStar, steering wheel controls?

 

I don’t know of any touch screen OEM HU’s that fit the HHR.
Check Crutchfield for the adapters for the radio you choose.

 

"Double DIN" is a specification. So, it will "fit". I don't know for sure if the security chip and steering wheel controls are the same.

 

I was able to upgrade to a factory nav radio in my 09 Charger, there was literally one year that would work without dealing with adapters and theftlock. I did need to use an adapter to add a backup camera. From what I've been able to discern online, pretty much any factory radio swap is going to need a VIN from the donor vehicle and a trip to the dealer to unlock, even if I'm replacing with an identical radio. The biggest issue with radio replacement for me is finding one that looks like it belongs there, and will work with all the electronics, including the factory Pioneer sub.

 

Only a used radio would need to have the VIN. A brand new or cleared radio will automatically read the BCM VIN and store it.
Somebody got a EEPROM programmer from eBay or Amazon to clear his chip for cheap, but you would need to have a bit of electronics knowledge.

 

I looked thru some links , some photos are gone, some adapters are now obsolete.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=hhr+t...&bih=796&dpr=2


I still recommend Crutchfield site. Way better to find current products.

 

Yeah, I looked at a lot of those hoping to find someone using something like a radio from a Silverado or something. There's a good chance I'll just have a local car stereo installer do the job because I went through four radios and hundreds of dollars worth of adapters before discovering the 2011 factory Chrysler head unit would work in my Charger. The Chrysler dash is 'double DIN-ish' so no matter what radio I used it didn't look like it belonged there. Yet when I put a $100 Dual touchscreen/Nav radio in my 03 Super Duty it fit as well as the stock radio. Essentially, I can live without bluetooth, nav, backup cam, Android Auto, whatever if I can't get a radio that looks like it's supposed to be there and functions like stock.

 

DIN refers to the MOUNTING not the face. Any "double DIN" unit will "fit" into the mounting space, not necessarily the garnish.
The way that the security chip works is that the radio cannot be removed and work in another car, but any radio will work in it's place.. A radio with no chip will work, a radio with a blank chip will work, a radio from another car will NOT work unless the chip is cleared.
The main thing is the digital connection, it provides the chimes and the turn on signal. If you don't want chimes you just need to provision a switched circuit from the BCM. The harness ha a hot lead in it no switched most after market radios require both. The GMOS-lan-03 module is a Digital to Analog converter to make chimes and switched power. OnStar and Steering wheel controls needs other stuff I think that is GMOS-lan -04. The GMOS-lan-04 also provides the needed outputs for nav and amp. The module is a generic circuit that is provided by many different vendors at different prices, shop around, just use GMOS-lan-04 to search.

The amp doesn't need anything special besides the turn on wire which can be provided by the antenna amp wire.

 

Thanks, I'll have to look for that. I know what technically fits according to the DIN standard, but so many dash kits look cheap. This is especially true for Chrysler, which is why I went factory.

There are a couple radios I'm looking at that the dimensions are very close, I'm not worried about CD/DVD so depth shouldn't be an issue.

 

We had a member about a year ago post about his install and it contoured to the waterfall , looked factory and very cool.
I’m still looking for that one.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/audi...stalled-57705/


Found it!