Car Stereos: Trailblazer Radio Replacement, abs airbags, utter rubbish

Question
The aftermarket radio was recently stolen from our 2004 Trailblazer.  We brought the vehicle to an installer, and he pointed out that the wiring harness is missing.  It appears the prior vehicle owner removed the original wire harness during the previous aftermarket installation.  This explains the lack of door, seat belt and lights on chimes.

The installer offered to either install the new radio without the wire harness (similar to the prior installation) but recommended that we purchase the wire harness and install it properly.  He indicated that lack of the wire harness may cause long term damage and we might notice other components (such as dash display lights) going out over time since the wire harness is an important part of the vehicle's data bus.

Is there any truth to the statement that lack of the wire harness will cause other problems to develop over time?  Or is he simply trying to sell us a component that will simply add annoying "safety" sounds to the vehicle?

Thanks,
Trey

Answer
Hi Trey,

A little bit of column A, and a little bit of column B.

The door chimes and warnings sounds are an important part of your car's safety system.  These chimes are also there for letting you know when your abs/airbags have failed.  These are important sounds to have.  I would advise buying the unit.

That said, suggesting that your dash lights will die in the future because of the lack of the harness is complete and utter rubbish.  I don't know why he couldn't have just told you the truth as to why you should have it.  (Because you should).

But at the end of the day, ultimate, it's up to you.

Justin