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No CD Player In Your New GM Vehicle? There Are Solutions

When it comes to media, streaming is unquestionably the standard these days and has been for quite some time. Nevertheless, some folks still prefer to have a hard copy, and yes, that includes CDs. As such, some GM buyers may be disappointed to learn that The General has completely phased out CD players from its passenger vehicles. Nevertheless, there are still solutions out there for anyone hoping to listen to their favorite compact disc.

No CD Player In Your New GM Vehicle? There Are Solutions

This particular topic was prompted by a recent GM mailbag submission, with one GM Authority reader sending in:

“I was terribly disappointed when I purchased my 2022 Chevy Tahoe, to learn that GM dropped the option to have a CD player as part of the entertainment package. I travel and have always listened to audiobooks, as they make the trip much more enjoyable and frankly, they keep me from falling asleep. So far I have not found an aftermarket CD player that can be added, because GM also does not supply a 3.5mm auxiliary jack. I believe this is quite short-sighted by GM management. I am wondering if there are any alternatives that I have not considered.”

Buick infotainment system

For those readers in a similar situation, the simplest and easiest solution is this – buy a smartphone. This may seem obvious, but smartphones provide a virtually limitless supply of audio content that can be easily streamed to your vehicle’s sound system. Pew Research shows that 90 percent of American adults own a smartphone, so we can’t help but wonder how many people who lament the death of the car CD player already have one of these media streaming devices in their pockets.

However, anyone perplexed by the challenge of listening to CDs in their new car may prefer a minimalist device like the Light Phone or an old-fashioned flip phone. Perhaps you’re in the three percent with no mobile phone at all. As such, another practical solution would be to save the audio files to a USB thumb drive. This approach is cost-effective but does require a few technical steps, such as ripping the files from the CD, converting them to a playable audio format, and copying them to the drive. Also, MP3 players with Bluetooth are still a thing; that’s another option for music with simple car connectivity.

2018 Chevy Tahoe infotainment system

For those who absolutely insist on using CDs, a few aftermarket solutions include portable CD players with built-in wireless streaming functionality or a wired USB connection. Although these solutions vary in price, they should prove effective nonetheless.

GM Authority previously covered the disappearance of CD players from General Motors’ passenger vehicle lineup, with the Chevy Express and GMC Savana vans being the last holdouts.

Ultimately, while the phasing out of CD players might feel inconvenient for some, there are several viable alternatives to enjoy your favorite audio content on the go.

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. This article is rude and unnecessary. All you said is “buy a smartphone” and “other solutions exist.”

    Reply
    1. And one of the other solutions stated is an MP3 to a thumb drive. They’re sort of missing the MP3s on a smartphone solution. It’s a bit of work to rip your CDs to MP3, but assuming you backup you only need to do that once, and then you can have your entire music collection on your phone (or at least that music which you consider important).

      I never used CDs in cars, other than to use the slot to mount a cell phone holder. They’re too difficult to get out of the case with one hand, and they typically only hold half as much music as a 90 minute cassette tape.

      But also obviously missing from the article is the reason for no CD players. There is not enough demand for them! The vast majority of people have moved on.

      Reply
      1. Bingo. Can take hours to rip all those CD’s to a stick or card. Almost tempting and quicker to do an entertainment head swap 🤣

        Reply
        1. Cds sound better too.

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          1. They may sound better but take up too much room and don’t hold enough music to justify what MP3 palyers offer.

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          2. You can rip to other lossless formats, as well you can use several audio file formats that are far far superior to CDs.

            Reply
        2. Is that even possible with so many vehicle controls being included in the touch screen?

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      2. I have a 2022 GMC Sierra. Can I use an Apple iPod with Bluetooth to play my own Music? Will it work?

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    2. And I find it stupid because one of the best alternatives (i.e. Apple Carplay and Android Auto) is getting taken away.

      Reply
  2. Agree with prior comment. Captain obvious to the rescue. I’d rather hear you just say you are screwed if you buy a GM vehicle and desire to play a physical CD in your car, as there are no adaptations to be made. No one cares. You are cut off because GM wants to save $.

    Reply
    1. Nobody on the planet offers a CD player in a car. This is now 50 year old tech. Buy a horse and get a vintage Sony Walkman on EBay. 🤣 What’s your next complaint, CB radios and 8 track tapes?

      Reply
      1. I guess this proves there is more horses asses than horses.

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      2. Respect is not your greatest personality trait, all you can do is laugh at people who have a music passion in life.

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      3. Rick………….your mom called & wants her curling iron back! lol

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      4. Vinyl was the thing 50 years ago, cassettes, 40 and CDs, 30. You must be a kindergartener.

        Reply
        1. I had a factory CD player in my 1989 Thunderbird SC and this wasn’t the first car to have one. That was 36 years ago.

          Sony released their first commercial CD player in 1982, 43 years ago as the 2025 electronics are now being introduced.

          The development of the CD player actually started in the lat 60’s by Philips and then was joined by Sony some years later.

          So Rick is right that CDs are now a 50 year old technology.

          Reply
        2. Vinyl is still a thing. You’re not paying attention.

          Reply
      5. You are correct, however Subaru does offer an accessory CD Player on their accessory’s website. I think they were one of the last companies to offer it in the vehicle a few years ago.

        Reply
        1. One of the reasons why I bought my 2018 Subaru was because it has a CD player. I use it often!

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      6. My first CD player was 1985 or 86. I quit buying records and tapes in early 80s due to this upcoming technology.

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        1. … and you likely have not heard good quality fidelity since!
          (Analog vinyl records produce higher fidelity sound than the digitally sampling of that sound, as with CD’s and MP3’s.)

          Reply
    2. Best thing is not buying any more GM products. They keep taking things away and raising the price. I have bought my last GM product. They are a big rip off and won’t fix the problems they have now. I have a 2017 Malibu that has a problem with the gear shift as I have had it for ever. There is a class action law suit to fix this problem as two years go they wanted around $600 to fix it. When you stop the car it says you need to shift into park and you can’t move the gear shift. Eventually you can move it but you have to keep moving the gear shift or you can’t do anything. My answer is stop buying General Motors cars. f you want a car with good warranty buy a Hyundai

      Reply
      1. What does your shifter have to do with CD players?

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      2. I bought a new 2024 Chevy truck, loaded. Salesman said I could get a portable CD player & plug it in. I did, does not work! I love music & have a ton of CD;s. If I would’ve known this from the start, would have bought a used truck! I’m ticked.

        Reply
  3. I miss the days of the CD players, especially 4 or 5 carousels. I switched over to MP3’s for my 2019 Encore. It’s alot of work to move the music over. I figured out that it is very difficult to drive and select at the same time if you have many CDs on the MP3. I began breaking it down into smaller bites which worked better. All was well until I bought the 2023 Encore GX and the MP3 isn’t really compatible. I suspect it is an MP4 and I’m not up to transferring again. Sirius XM will have to do.

    Reply
    1. Sirius is great but nothing like listening to a whole album in your CD player. Plus lots of options are expensive but it’s nice to get what you want. I kept my 2011 Camaro mainly because I love it but also because I like listening to CD’s when I bought my 2023 Camaro.

      Reply
      1. I think exactly the same! Whole album and taking time to discover all the music sounds.

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  4. Sadly, CDs are being phased out. Even computers are no longer offering CD players built in, so it was only a matter of time before vehicles stopped offering them. The smartphone really is your best alternative today. You can get a cheap $200 smartphone with 128GB-256GB of storage that can virtually hold your entire audio library. You don’t even need to pay the monthly subscription plan if you intend to use it only as an audio player. All you have to do is download your desired audio while connected to WiFi, and then you can play it wherever you are on the road using Bluetooth.

    The next option is a USB stick. The author writes of transferring CDs to the USB stick. Alternatively, you can download audio files from the Internet to the USB stick using a computer. Once the files are on the USB stick, you can leave the USB stick connected in the car so your entire music/podcast library is in the car at all times.

    Lastly, as Jonathan notes, there are portable CD players with Bluetooth that can play CDs while using car’s stereo speakers. These go for ~$40-$100. If you don’t want to transfer your CDs to digital format, then this would be the simplest method to keep playing your CDs.

    Everything is becoming digital. It may not be ideal, but the first two methods can let you store all of your songs and audiobooks without needing to change CDs. Once set up, it really makes a difference. Personally, I love listening to podcasts and streaming songs in the car with a smartphone. It’s easier, the audio library is larger, and if your car has steering wheel controls (as many do), you don’t need to fiddle with the center console or swap disks.

    Reply
    1. Richard P…. Where can you get a smart phone for $200.00???? They are nonexistent for that price tag!

      Reply
      1. They exist! Some might argue a used flagship would be better at this price, but in North America you can find the Samsung A15 and A25 for around $200 online. They certainly don’t perform like a flagship $1,000 phone, but if you’re using them strictly as MP3 players, then you should be OK. If you want better capabilities, then an A35 or A55 would be much better, but those run closer to $300 to $350.

        Reply
        1. Those mid-range (e.g. A55) phones perform very comparably to the high end for many/most tasks. I had an A53 and it was comparable to the wife’s S23+, even did one task faster, although that was probably due to connection issues. Most people waste money on smartphones by buying high end, unless they do something like game or a very few other things.

          Reply
    2. Yeah, but I don’t NEED another portable CD player. All I need is for GM to have included a 3.5mm input jack in the front of the infotainment system. Done!

      Reply
  5. I have been able to progress without a CD player, although I did just upgrade my 2002 Tahoe to a new stereo which does include a CD player, but my 2021 Yukon obviously doesn’t have a CD player which I have used my iPhone to connect to certain music artists whose albums I purchased through iTunes, however, it would have been nice to not have to buy again, since I have CDs, considering the fact some people already had CDs before technology took over.

    Reply
    1. You don’t have to buy again. You can rip the CDs to MP3.

      Reply
  6. Does not mean that we all need to follow the automotive and streaming industry trend like sheeps… I have a Spotify account in free mode, and 190 GB of audio files , and 520+ music cd collection ! No one will force me to loose precious hours of my life ripping all these !!!!

    Stop it already! We all know the alternatives but they don’t offer great audio quality and like vinyl lovers we have a right to exist and a right as customers to be respected !!! CD and Vinyl are not going down the drain as there are still a market for it !!!

    Reply
    1. My car has a CD player and also plays from a USB flash drive. But the songs sound the same from either media using the factory equipment. I doubt you can hear the difference between a CD playing and a well recorded USB file.

      Reply
      1. “I doubt you can hear the difference between a CD playing and a well recorded USB file.” Especially in a car.

        Reply
  7. There are some portablr CD players that only need a USB connection to operate and transfer audio to the infotainment system. I have one made by LG that cost less than $50. But I do use a 64 GB USB flash drive that is holding over 5,000 songs. I listen to it with random play so I can never play the same song again in months.

    Reply
  8. I have one of the last Fords with one and I have to admit that I rarely use it. Sirius XM more than meets my needs since I’m retired and not in the car much. But for road trips, it’s a hassle not having one.

    Reply
  9. Wife has 2020 Equinox and son has a 2017 Camaro RS, both bought new. I recently sold my ’79 Corvette (cassette deck & first year available with that choice over 8-track player). I drive my wife’s hand me down, bought new ’02 Impala LS which has both a cd and cassette deck. It just passed 200,600 32 mpg miles with the great 3800 v6, however it blew the upper intake manifold recently and a mechanic friend towed me the last 2 miles to his shop after a 110 mile trip home from a visit to my college son.. Have spent about $1K to make it dependable again or sell to get repair $ back as wife is getting a ’24 XT4 this month. I’m an old rocker,’55 model, with about 150 of each formate of 8 tracks, cassettes, and cds. Funny how I have the same artist recordings on all three in many cases. I love putting a physical cd of my chosen cd in the deck and playing it in its entirety. Guess I, as a dinosaur, will be getting a cd deck to plug into the Equinox when it is handed down to me this month!

    Reply
  10. I have a USB stick with music. Worked on my 2012 Silverado and my 2012 Ram. It will not work on my 2023 Enclave. Cannot figure why.

    Reply
  11. You can get a smartphone through Walmarts straight talk for less than $100 .

    Reply
  12. Darn reds, removing CD players and regular keys to vehicles.

    Reply
    1. I wish the key option existed in an EV, but AFAIK, it doesn’t. Apparently the damn fobs can be hacked without even being cloned, although it does require a bit more of an expensive device than what the Kia Boyz use.

      Reply
    2. Right… I refuse to purchase a vehicle if it does not have a real key. GM SOLVED the vehicle theft problem 30(?) years ago with their PASS-KEY key system. What could be simpler? You have THE physical key to get both in the door and to start the vehicle. You don’t have the key, you no go. Done.
      The first thing I do with key fobs is remove them from the key chain and throw them in a drawer, as I have never found a need for them, and don’t want to deal with battery replacement or electronic copying.
      I can’t wait to visit the Chevy showroom when I am ready to test drive the new Blazer EV… and then promptly get out of the vehicle BEFORE the test drive after the salesman tells me “there is no key”, and just walk away….

      Reply
      1. Are you OK with hydraulic brakes yet?

        Reply
  13. I have a CD changer in my 2016 Rav4. I have owned this car since new and to this day have no idea if the CD changer works or not as I have never used it nor own any CDs anymore. My 2022 XT5 doesn’t have CD player. As long as they don’t pull a Tesla and kill my FM tuner I am good. The one local AM station I listen to on occasion, 1010 WINS, moved to an FM frequency so I am even OK with not having AM tuner. But kill my FM tuner without giving me a free listening alternative (like free internet connectivity on the car to run iHeart Radio through the car itself) then you can expect me to walk out of that dealership without buying anything and see me over at the competing manufacturers dealer instead. I can begrudgingly accept you taking away my Android Auto but take away a basic feature that as been in my cars since I was born and you can expect I will cross you off my shopping list. So be warned before you get the idea.

    Reply
    1. In case you haven’t heard, the auto manufacturers are moving to eliminate AM radio. Why? Because the darn EV technology creates too much interference. (Think about that a second… if the interference is that bad, do YOU want to be sitting inside a metal cage, being constantly bombarded by the EMR causing that interference?? I don’t!)
      Congress is working on a bill to prevent AM radio from being removed from new vehicles given its importance for accessing local information in times of inclement weather, traffic problems, local weather, and so on. You can find petitions online to eSign to show your support for such bills. (AM radio is the only kind of radio I listen to when in the car today.)

      Reply
      1. GTO Guy:

        Whoever is saying the AM radio receivers subject passengers to harmful levels of EMR is ignoring basic physics.

        The circuitry of every car radio I have ever seen, back to when radios use vacuum tubes, is already inside a metal box that is effectively a Faraday cage. This began years ago to ironically protect the radio circuitry from the EMR from ignition coils, distributor rotors and spark plugs, not to protect the passengers.

        And yes, there are holes in the case, but the openings are smaller than the wave length of the EMR. (The same principle applies to the window and perforated screen on your microwave oven that prevents the microwaves from cooking your eyeballs when you look inside the oven …. as long as the door is closed and the door seal in intact).

        Follow the $$$$. GM in particular wants to eliminate the AM to reduce its production costs.

        In 1964 my father wanted to buy a new VW bug. It was on the showroom floor for $ 1313 + $50 for a radio. He was so mad about the cost of the radio he refused to buy the car! I’m sure GM could make a radio an option for far less than the cost of that VW’s radio in today’s dollars.

        Reply
  14. My 2019 Impala has a CD player and an 11-speaker Bose center-point speaker system with digital equalization. It sounds great and provides the ability to still listen to my CD collection, as well as more modern source materials. Many of my friends and family were amazed that Chevy offered such a system. To my knowledge, Chevy no longer offers anything like that in its vehicles, at any price.

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    1. Awesome!!!!

      Reply
  15. To Rick 7/4 9:24 AM: Why don’t you KISS MY ASS?

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    1. Zesty demands?

      Reply
  16. All my cars have C/D’s. It’s nice to have alternatives.

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  17. I will keep my 520+ music collection and still have a mini hifi Sony cd audio system in my house! Let’s trigger the MP3 fans … think that I am old, no I am 41 …. I have been a music lover since 1994!

    Reply
  18. Amazon sells USB CD Players..plugs into USB Port..their are various kinds..make sure the one you get works in your Vehicle.

    Reply
  19. You don’t have to rip your CDs, just go online and download the songs you like !!! HELLO ever hear of the Internet ?

    Reply
    1. Luddites

      a person opposed to new technology or ways of working.
      ” small-minded and resisting progress”

      Reply
      1. Wow! You think I am narrow-minded and small-minded… Hmm let’s see : my passions in life are financial world, business world, car world, music, science-fiction novels, and many other types of books, … I can continue… Iike technology even if your small-minded mind thinks otherwise. Also, I try my best to speak your language and my mind is open to all that America has to offer to the world.

        Reply
  20. I still listen to CDs in the car. I have 6000 cds and it’s easy to get music within seconds of entering your car. Yes I do stream alot also.

    Reply
  21. I work for a GM dealer and hear all kind of problems with the audio systems now. Give me a CD player!!! My 2021 Tahoe will disconnect from Android audio when it gets WiFi interference and then will not reconnect. I have even stopped, cut off the engine, shut everything down and it still did not connect. Give me a hard-wired system.

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  22. oh yeah!!! coooool !

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  23. To people Who are saying : cds take too much place…

    When I had cd players in my cars… I only took 1 cd or two in the car…

    Reply
  24. I am not resisting on technology and progress!!!!

    I have a tablet, chromecast, spotify account etc etc.. read 600+ pages books .. have many passions and listening, collecting, loving music is one of them! So to people calling us small minded … you are the ones!

    Reply
  25. I have a CD player in my ’11 Camaro and it’s still a cool car! I used to listen to CDs a lot, but now mostly XM. If I went back to CDs in my other cars, I would more likely use a portable CD player than have to mess with transferring music or use any streaming device. I hated having to buy the towing package for my ’20 Silverado to get Sirius XM, but then it’ll have a higher re-sale value, maybe. Yeah, I’m a dinosaur! lol

    Reply
  26. It’s real simple I bought a portable dvd player with a usb connection on it and it plugs right in to my 2021 chevy Silverado truck and I have thousands of cds and they sound great on that factory stereo system.radio is so lame nowadays and I dont play with my phone while I am driving.not everything in life requires a phone in your hand.or it doesnt for me.

    Reply
    1. Really ?.. Will this work in my 2022 Chevy Spark 1LT and its MyLink audio system? I am totally with you on your reply of the news article.

      Reply
  27. The author of this article is completely missing the point about CD players: CD quality sound and from a physical disc. God forbid GM relegate a thin 2mm sliver of dashboard real estate to a CD player. God forbid GM should spend an extra $35 – $50 to include a CD player, with CD quality sound, in vehicles that have higher end speakers systems. God forbid they should have the sound quality of the audio source match or exceed the quality of the speakers. Why would anyone want that? Let’s just listen to crappy mp3s and lossy streaming audio.

    Reply
  28. Misleading
    You offer no solutions..very odd and frankly empty after so much conversation
    Not hood

    Reply
  29. Just buy a boombox. Or you can get a cd player installed . Aftermarket underdash installed.

    Reply
  30. Reading all the comments I didn’t see where anyone mentioned the lack of cell service. I’ve driven cross country several times and vacation in the mountains and there are so many place’s without cell service. Hours in the car with no signal. Streaming just isn’t viable everywhere.

    Reply
  31. I purchased a wireless/wired CD player for my 2024 GMC and it does interface with the onboard infotainment system. However, the sound quality is poor without making significant changes to the onboard EQ. Switching formats is a pretty miserable experience and absolutely not safe while driving. For those of us who still enjoy CDs as one option of many for long trips, it’s just not worth it. I would advise just settling for the onboard system and a cell phone interface.

    Reply
  32. We have an i-pod with hundreds of our favorite songs on it and have it set to shuffle. Our 2017 Terrain has a usb port inside the console where the i-pod is connected and we just leave its there where it charges as it plays so it is out of sight, out of mind. No problems, although we were originally disappointed that we couldn’t get a CD player in the Terrain, the i-pod has turned out to be quite adequate for our needs.

    Reply
  33. Yes, this is not fair to the people in this country .First of all the sound quality with streaming is not as accurate as a cd.Loading a cd takes about 2 seconds and then you control everything from the steering wheel.Who wants to waste time transferring all there songs into a phone and then programming it to the car. What about all the people who have created a huge collection of cd’s over the years which takes thousands of dollars and now told you can t play them any longer when you purchase a new car Thats total BS.Very unfaiar.They took something so simple with quality sound and made it more aggravating to deal with these other options.Were going in reverse instead of forward.So I guess we are supposed to throw all our thousands of dollar collections in the garbage now.Very disgusting !!! I currently have a Lexus SUV and it has a beautiful cd system with 10 speakers .When I put a cd in it is like a concert hall inside that car.The dealership has informed me that all of there models no longer are available with cd players in them. Fortuneatly my vehicle has only 36000 miles on it so I will be able to enjoy the cd player for awhile.

    Reply
    1. Oh yeah! You get it! All the sheeps are following like blind sheeps! Your point of view resume mine

      Reply
  34. Even though the new vehicles have both usb a and c Jack’s, only one of every 4 songs on those sticks play. I’ve tried different sticks and transfer of music. If they only gave you a 3.5 mm jack, you could use a mp3 player. My sister bought a new Subaru and it has the jack. At least make it an option.

    Reply
    1. My 2016 had aux port, my 2022 Spark has no aux.

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  35. CDs are yesterday’s technology. Time to move on.

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    1. Tell this to Vinyl lovers ! Is that your best argument ? You did not read all the posts here huh !

      Reply
  36. If you still use CD’s you shouldn’t be operating a motor vehicle of any kind.

    Reply
    1. Wow… you are ridiculous.

      Reply

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