Maybe it's just because I'm an ol' F/W Engineer, but in less than a week of having my SS, I noticed this twice. Enter the car from the front passenger door. Put your key in the ignition and turn on accessory. No need to start. Turn on the radio. Take out the key. The radio stays on. So far OK. Open the passenger door, get out and close it. The radio stays on. It stays on past 10 minutes. The only way to turn it off, is to turn it off or open the driver's door.

OK, I perceive this as a bug, because leaving the radio blasting overnight might drain the battery, but if you wanted to have your radio playing at a park or in the yard and not have the keys in, this would be a "feature."

I couldn't find a note about this in the book at any rate.

 

This should be the retained power and should go off after about 10 min. give or take. I for one am glad to see GM is using their heads when only the drivers door shuts it off early. I had this on my 01 Cavalier but my wifes STS goes off with any door. When we go somewhere and I pull into a parking place, turn off the car and the wife opens her door the radio quits and I have to turn on the power again. Annoying but I live with it. When we go in the HHR this don't happen. I would suggest you try it again from the drivers seat and it should shut off in about 10 min. Then again from the way you did, from the passenger seat. Shouldn't make a difference but you could have a screwed up retained power system.

 

question... s

you entered the PS... was the door open or close when you inserted the key
on DS door... what happens if you open the DS (don t close it) turn on accs... turn on the radio... close the door. does it turn off? i could go out and check but it cold and wet and 4 in the morning.

i was a programmer for DOD programmer for years... amazing what a misssing period can make.

 

Hmmm. I actually think the PS door was open when I did it, but it was closed when my wife did it. Not 100% sure. I'll try again and see for sure. I know the DS door works as advertized.

 

It is programmed to shut off the radio after the drivers door is open. Not the passenger door. The 10 minutes works the same. Only if the drivers door is opened before turning on the igition.

 

Same with the 2LT. PITA.( this issue, not you. )

 

Common GM feature.
The radio is tied into whats called Dome Light supervision. It will turn off after a few minutes.

 

If you turn on the radio without opening the drivers door, and then exit again withough using the drivers door, it will just stay on. At least with mine.

 

Will it turn off when you turn on the headlights or lock the doors with the remote

 

I was just reading the owners manual about the battery run down protection. It says that after 20 minutes of an interior light being left on the battery run down protection will go into action. I would have assumed that the if the radio is left on it would trigger the battery run down feature as well. I guess I am wrong making that assumption.

Speaking of the retained power feature, I wish that it retained power to the windows and sunroof as well as the radio when the passenger door was opened. Many times I shut off the vehicle before closing the sunroof and my passenger opens the door before it's fully closed and it stops requiring me to turn the key to ACC to get power back to the sunroof. I know that I could simply leave the vehicle that little bit longer to close the sunroof but the retained power to the windowns and sunroof would be nice.