gatorsfan15

hi everyone i am a proud new owner of a 2.0 mazda3 5spd... i wanted to know a couple of things please the dash shows a media button and a disc changer button but i dont have an auxilery or multi-disc changer... are these upgradable options i can purchase? btw how does the car look?

icspots

What year is your car.... I'm guessing '04-'06 based on the tail lights and wheels. Where are you located?

If you have a single disc player then you still have the LOAD button on the left side of the CD slot.... all of them do. Is this the button you're talking about? If you want to get the 6CD changer you can replace the single disc easily in about 5-10 minutes. You can find the 6CD changers anywhere from free to $200.

As for the audio input in the US all '07+ Mz3's have them but it prohibitively expensive to add the OEM one to earlier model cars. There are a bunch of aftermarket audio inputs you can get ranging from $50 for a simple audio input to full ipod integration (~$150).

icspots

Revised guess. You live in Texas and you have a '06. How am I doing so far? :P

If you're looking for a 6CD you can only get one from a '06-'08 model. In 2006 the harness for the LCD was separated from the main harness so that you could remove the stereo and still keep the ambient temp and ACC readouts. If you were to stick a '04-'05 one in there the LCD wouldn't be plugged in to anything and wouldn't work. The upside is that you can also get a 6CD/Mp3 player (only available for '06+ models) and you can activate the DIS (driver info. system.... i.e. miles to empty, avg. consumption, etc.) on your stereo. Also if you want you can get a flip key to replace your regular one.... actually I recommend getting a third key anyway.

gatorsfan15

dang thats sounding complicated i get it but where do i find these aftermarket pieces or ones from other models?
oh and btw i bought it in texas but live in oklahoma lol and its an 06

gatorsfan15

i appreciate all the help hopefully i will learn every inch of the car now that i have given up my DSM project

icspots

For a list of the aftermarket modules check out my list HERE. The first section is all simple inputs, the other stuff is ipod specific... though you can of course use the simple input with an ipod. I have an Aux Mod and it works perfectly, though price-wise the Grom audio simple input is the cheapest. If you plan on adding sirius later you may want to aim for the Aux Mod as it uses the TAPE/MD port and you'd access it with the MEDIA button on your car.

As for where to find the stereo to get a 6CD.... just start browsing the buy/sell sections on all the mazdaforums. If all else fails check ebay. There are a bunch of these sitting in the closets of people who added aftermarket units and some will let them go super cheap.

No problem man, happy to help out. I seem to have accidentally become the authority across the forums on audio inputs to the stock stereo.... that's what I get for making that damn thread! :lol:

gatorsfan15

haha well thanks dude