Radio frozen on “ENTER CODE”
 

This is regarding an ‘08 base TL (no navigation) with almost 110,000 miles.

So, last weekend while driving, the radio suddenly got stuck on one station (KISS FM of course), not even being able to switch to AUX, XM, or CD. Upon turning the car off and on again, the radio seemed completely dead.

I checked the under dash fuses #’s 5,7, and 32, replacing only #5. I also checked various fuses under the hood. Now, all I’m seeing is an intermittent “ENTER CODE” message. I DO have a five digit code written into my owners manual but no matter what I do, the screen only alternates between the “ENTER CODE” message and a black screen. In addition, the trick of holding the 1 and 6 preset buttons to get the serial number doesn’t work.

An old thread I found on google mentioned going to an underground parking garage? Others mentioned disconnecting the antenna? Any help is appreciated.

Also, interestingly enough, my Bluetooth HFL still works.

I would try to leave battery disconnected for couple minutes and that might hopefully reset all modules.

Otherwise you might need a new radio. There is barely any information - just testing inputs like power ground etc. Try getting one from junkyard or something if it comes to that.

Thanks for the reply. I mentioned the issue at the place that normally changes my oil and they actually had someone working there with experience working on 3rd gen TL electronics. He was able to fix it earlier today though everyone at the shop warned that it could still die and need replacing. Apparently, whatever the issue was was contained within the unit itself.

I did ask him what he did differently but he was frustratingly vague about it, only saying that the button combos are “tricky.”

I guess we’ll just have to see how it all plays out from here (see what I did there).