Though the Passat was available to the rest of the world as early as 1974, the U.S. market did not see it until the 1990 model year. The U.S. market saw two different models between 1974 and 1990, the Dasher, which lasted from 1974 through 1981, and the Quantum, which lasted from 1982 through 1988. The 2003 Passat came standard with an eight-speaker, AM-FM radio with a cassette and CD player. Replacing this radio isn’t too tough, but it does involve a special set of tools and a trip to the dealership for reprogramming.
Look on each of the four corners of the radio and find the radio removal tool locator slots on each corner. Insert the radio removal tools into these slots, with the angled edge of each kept facing the radio, until you hear the keys click into place.
Grab the lower left and upper right or lower right and upper left radio removal tools and pull the radio about three inches out of the dashboard chassis. Grab the radio by hand and pull it the rest of the way from the dashboard until you can access the wiring on the rear of it.
Press and hold the unlocking button on each of the radio’s wiring harnesses and unplug each harness. Pull the antenna wire from the rear of the radio. Remove the radio from the vehicle.
Remove each radio removal tool from the radio by pressing the unlocking tab on the radio’s body, just to the side of the radio removal tool, and pull each tool from the radio.
Plug the wiring harnesses into the rear of the radio and listen for them to click into place. Plug the antenna wire into its receptacle on the rear of the radio.
Align the radio with its chassis in the dashboard and press its wiring into the chassis.
Press the radio into its chassis until you hear the retaining tabs click into place.
Find the radio security code card that the dealership or radio seller provided if you are installing an original radio, or when you purchased the radio if you are installing a replacement radio. If you do not have this code, see your Volkswagen dealer to obtain it.
Turn the Passat’s ignition to the “Run” position and turn the radio on. Observe as “Safe” appears on the radio’s display, followed three seconds later by “1000.”
Press and release the “1” preset button until the first digit on the radio’s screen matches the first digit on the radio’s security code. Repeat this step with preset buttons number “2,” ”3” and “4” to program code numbers two, three and four, respectively.
Press and hold the top “Seek” or “Scan” button for about two seconds or until you hear an audible beep. If you entered the code correctly, the radio’s screen displays “LSM.”
Take the Passat to the dealership to have the audio settings configured. This task requires special tools and specially trained technicians to complete successfully, so the dealership is the best option.
