How-To: Replace door speakers

78732 Views 34 Replies 20 Participants Last post by Miguelcon74, Mar 23, 2020

chuck5330

Discussion Starter · Apr 8, 2012

Here is my first how to so i hope it comes out well. I took numerous photos and anyone having questions feel free to ask. On with the show...

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Vehicle door Family car

Here we have our right rear door. Basic at this point.

Here's what's going in. Polk Audio components and Crutchfield speaker adapters.

Here's a close up of the speaker adapters.

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Here's a close up of one of the two torx bolts holding on the door. They are size T15 btw. This one is in the arm rest, the other is behind a plate by the door handle.

Here is the door panel removed. You can see two cables. The one with the yellow is the door latch, the other is the plug for the power window switch.

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A close up of the latch connector.

A close up of the harness for the window switch. Push the button on the side, and it pops right off

Vehicle Motor vehicle Vehicle door Car Automotive exterior

The door with the interior panel removed.

Vehicle door Automotive exterior Vehicle Car Bumper

The backside of the interior panel. You can see where the connectors are that hold it to the door.

Audio equipment Loudspeaker Car subwoofer Subwoofer Auto part

Here is the door speaker. This one is the Pioneer upgrade system. More to come in the next post.

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chuck5330

Discussion Starter · #2 · Apr 8, 2012

Ok, continuing on...

Here is a close up of the decal on the Pioneer speaker. Some very interesting information on here. Btw, the is NO information on the back of the speaker, just this decal on the side.

Since no adapters are available for the speaker connector, I had to cut the wires. I went back about 6 inches from the connector so I could re-attach it if needed.

The goal of this job was to replace the pioneer speakers with something else to hopefully even out the sound in the car. Currently almost all the sound goes through the front speakers and very little goes through the rear, with the exception of the subs. They work just fine

End result: NO DIFFERENCE!!! God was I disappointed! In the end, I actually put the factory speaker back in. Thinking at this point it has got to be the amp doing the splitting of power to the speakers. I'm welcome to suggestions but think the only fix will be to bypass the amp and run external amps to the speakers.

Comment away!

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chuck5330

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 8, 2012

No, with not seeing a change in volume with the rear, I held off with changing the front ones. Until I can find a fix, I'm holding off with any more upgrades. I can say this though, the rear speakers with the component tweeters were a very nice upgrade. Brought the highs out very cleanly and the were sharp and bright. Sadly, the volume level to the rear was awful, so much so that the front speakers totally wash out the rear doors.

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chuck5330

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 9, 2012

take the two screws out and the door panel pops off. I would suggest a panel remover tool (what I used) but if you dont have one, a slotted screw driver will work as well. They do pop off and on easily, just don't force it. Even steady pressure and it won't be a problem. Look closely at my pics to see where the plastic screws are. The brackets are an EXACT match to the factory speaker. They are awesome! FIT PERFECTLY! Best $14.99 you can spend. I highly recommend them! Funny thing, factory speaker is only held in place by ONE bolt! (9/32 btw

) the bottom has a lip the fits inside the door and then you just lean the top in and bolt it. Super simple!

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chuck5330

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 9, 2012

I contacted Stacy over at Customer Care and she suggested taking it in to the dealership. She set me an appointment for Friday morning so let me see if they have any suggestions. I think we both know the outcome of this, but I'm willing to give them a try, lol.

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chuck5330

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 13, 2012

Well here it is: Just left the dealership and they were very cool. They pulled my car in, brought in another from the showroom floor that also had the pioneer system and let me compare side by side. They were identical in sound. Moving the fader towards the rear was a SIGNIFICANT drop in volume. Just to compare, I picked a random car off their lot and listenend to it. Although it had the nav and the touch screen (having seen this now REALLY with I had gone that route!) the sound was WAYYY better than mine. WTH I thought? I paid more for my stereo and this base model sounds better in the rear? WTH? So I talked with their tech guy and the shop manager and had them both sit in both cars and see and hear the difference. They both agreed with me. they contacted GM and as it turns out, The reason my rears are so quiet is the subs are taking away from them. The basic system has no subs, therefore, they equally share the power. They basically told me not much that can be done unless I go the separate amp route and upgrade the speakers themselves. There is no recall or TSB regarding this issue as of this morning. Not that I'm terribly surprised, just wished mine sounded as good as that one I listened to in the LTZ. So, Xtreme, need you to get with me so we can discuss how to upgrade and which parts I need. Stacy, thanks for setting up the appointment for me and let your bosses know they should address this issue with their Pioneer rep so it can be fixed.

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