I have a 04 that I bought used. The previous owner removed the factory stereo and installed a Sony. That one works fine is suppose however the troubling thing i face is the message bar above the stereo (with the temp, time, etc.) they typed something on. Well, to my my knowledge i am unable to change it because when they removed the original radio that also removed the buttons to make any changes to said bar..even the time. The only way I know of currently to change that is to disconnect the battery and reconnect it again at the desired time. Also, the steering wheel's radio buttons don't work with this other radio (cruise, yes so I know it isn't a technical issue). Does anyone know where to get the RX 8 Factory radio w/ aux/mp3 input for a not outrageous price? Is it worth putting the factory one back in? Usually one takes factory out and puts something else in it's place but I'm not sure on this one. Any suggestions?
Thanks!

 

Whatever harness the person used to install the radio has some way to change the top bar. I know on the Metra kit you hold down the A/C Mode button and it will let you change the bar. As far as the steering wheel controls go, they didn't install the aftermarket piece that lets you use them with an aftermarket HU which I believe is this.

 

Chris is correct. The Metra kit used to install the Sony headunit is what allows you to type whatever you want on the top amber colored bar. Google the instruction manual and it should give you step by step instructions on how to change it. Also, steering wheel controls are lost when you remove the factory radio UNLESS you buy the optional add-on that Chris linked to above. Not too terribly difficult to install/program.

And yes it's worth keeping the Sony versus trying to install a factory radio back into your RX8. Sound quality of aftermarket units are almost ALWAYS better. Plus they give you major flexibility with other add-ons (external amplifiers, iPod, bluetooth, Sat radio, etc).

 

WOW! i feel like an idiot. haha. We had NO idea 'Metra' was a kit. The top bar says 'Metra's RX-8'....we were always like "what the heck, Metra?!"
That. is. hilarious.
Thanks a lot for the tips! I will definitely look into them!!

 

went back a few years and found the threads about the Metra kit and how to change it. We seriously thought 'Metra' was the previous owner...
Thanks for the help!!!