Roadmaster VR3 car stereo with SD card slot, USB, audio port

Anyone vouch for this brand name? Do they normally sound pretty good? I'd be concerned the sound quality would be poor. This unit seems like a cool idea, but looks like it has a cheap build quality. I do like the idea of being able to play with removable media. Since it's solid state, it should last longer then the cd player, virtually no skipping, etc.

Old news. Walmart has been stocking this exact stereo locally for the last month. You can even order it online for $80 at walmart.com. http://walmart.scosche-cars.com/products/?sfID1=24&productID=1652&walmartProductID=4744710 I plan on getting one as I've played with the demos at walmart and they sound pretty good.

Always known for CHEAP as in crappy. But for the price, and those particular features, I don't see how you could go wrong.

Bought one. Installed relatively easy in '97 Ford Ranger with Premium Sound System. Sounds good. One negative complaint; AUX input should have been part of unit vice part of removable faceplate. Also AUX input much lower volume level that other inputs. Would be nice if the MP3 player would take the files on a MEM-Card and play them in Track number order. Had to precede each track with track number and place in 'album' folder to play in correct sequence. Very pleased with cost/value of this unit. Considering second purchase for other vehicle.

DON'T BUY IT! I had to return 1st one because usb/sd portion kept freezing up the unit. Replacement unit worked for about 2 months and then smoke started coming out of the face plate. PIECE OF CRAP! BTW I had it installed by a reputible car stereo installation business. So it WAS NOT due to installation. It is worth it to spend more money on a better unit.

I second the don't buy one recommendation. Does not recognize playlists and will always start a track from the beginning after power off or mode switch.

Hi, I need youre asistance, i have this estereo, but now show me a fail, on display say: ERROR 13, when try to read USB or SD, How can I do? Tanks for you atention

Does the Roadmaster VR3 support the shuffle feature? Also, does this car stereo remember the song it is playing in USB/SD Memory mode after the car/engine has been off and then turned back on, or will always start a track from the beginning after power off or mode switch? Somebody please help me.

The Roadmaster VR3 does support the shuffle feature, under the "RDM" label. The only setback with this car stereo, however, is that it does not remember what part of the song it was last playing on after the car has been off and then turned back on whenever in CD/USB/SD Memory mode. In other words, it will always start a track from the beginning after power off or after mode switch, which may be problematic for some--not me, though. I can live with it. Now, if this feature were implemented, not only would this marvelous stereo be innovative but celebrated as well by those alienated and disfranchised due to a missing feature. Do note that you have to press on the clock button each and every time you wish to view the time. But the advantages clearly outweigh the negatives. To have both the USB and SD Car slots actually work is more than this customer can ask for. This is truly a clever device and definitely a keeper. I haven't had any problems with this product whatsoever. Great car stereo. On that note...if you pay close attention to that movie Superbad, you'll notice that in a scene Seth has the same car stereo--well, the VRCD500SDU model, anyway--which is cool, you know, because these kids (Seth and Evan) are nerds, so you know they gotta know a thing or two about technology. That's why to see them have a Roadmaster VR3 speaks for itself. Cool movie, by the way, taking into consideration that I found Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin boring. Further, what is the difference between this stereo and the VRCD500SDU you wonder. The 2 models are exactly the same except for the faceplate design. Nothing else changes. I know because I have both, the VRCD400SDU for myself and the other one I bought it for my brother as a present. Our VR3's are still working.

Hi. I have Model VRCD400SDU.It works quite well.I just wondering if I could upgrade it?

I have one of these running four speakers and 2 12 inch subs with no amp , sounds pretty good , but after just over a month , USB files will not play and neither will sd memory cards ..have yet to figure it out .. thank you

Hear!...Hear! on the "don't buy" opinion! Had the unit (VRCD400SDU) professionally installed and was initially really impressed with all the features as well as the sound. Have had unit since April 2008. The stereo had a habit of going into auto scan or search mode on certain channel pre-sets while listening to those channels. The CD player skipped when hitting bumps in road, would stop playing in middle of songs until ejected and re-inserted. The CDs by the way were clean, not dirty. The CD player was also scratching my discs while it still functioned (scratches in the direction of spin). The CD player has completely crapped out now and won't play anything. A real disappointment. I for one won't buy another Roadmaster product.

I'm pasting here my letter to VR3 about my issues with the 500CS. They are not perfect but worth the money for sure.
Problems with the bluetooth model:
You cannot look in mp3 folders as you can in the 400 series. The menu jumps right back out before you can select anything.
When in tuner mode on an rds channel, forget changing settings, you must go into another mode to set anything with the select button, it act's
like it does at the search folders level mentioned above, it
exits the menu.
It seems the scrolling text somehow interferes with your attempts and exits.
Setting names and number in the speed dial memory provides no way of editing. If you make a mistake, you're sunk.
The instruction manual needs ore explanations on many of the functions.
The use of examples of the functions differences in application from other similar funtions would help. One example is the descriptions on p.24 5, Automatic Scan and store "A" and "B". What is the difference?


Now for a wish list:
SAVABLE PROFILES
Setting the settings after an install is time consuming and often
unforgiving and confusing. It's particularly difficult for a non techie
person who will simply ignore all the features rather than optimize the settings, so here is a really great solution:
Create a computer program that you can load on a computer that allows you to set all your favorites, speed dial names and numbers and graphically explains the settings, then the user can save their settings to a file and load it on to a jump drive, SD card or cd. When setting up the radio for the first time or for different users there could be a submenu in the radio
the user could go into to load or restore the (profile) settings.
So if you have battery trouble you don't end up at square one, you simply make sure the card cd or drive is in the unit and go into the restore profile mode, find the file and you are up and running again.
If there was another driver that likes rock music that occasionally drives the car, his profile under another name could be on the same media or his own media, and he's up and running with all his settings, and the other persons profile would still be there as needed.
FIRMWARE UPGRADES:
Knowing the bugs I've described another advantage would be to offer firmware upgrades and fixes that also could be downloaded (uploaded) using a recordable media.
I absolutely gave up putting speed dial names and numbers in because the interface is so unforgiving and tedious, and ultimately futile when all data is lost.
You have potentially one of the greatest products out there, if it worked as advertised it would be great enough, with fixes and my suggestions it would be fabulous.
Like I said, I've installed six of these on family members cars so you know how I appreciate them as buggy as they are, but I refuse to install a bluetooth model in my personal vehicle because for me the poor mp3 search interface is a deal breaker. My vr400sdu though buggy actually allows searching folders so I'm sticking with it.

"Error 13" dosent play USB or SD any more thats all i used so now all i have is a cd player or do i?? can some one tell me what this erroe is?

ya me too i am getting an error message for usb slot ect.

Your shit sucks I would really like it if your company could stand behind your product and make this right 200.00 dollers for my DVD sub unit it worked for about a week I plan on suing you in small claims court

my vcrd500sdu stop responding to my sd card and also to my mem stick, i would like to know hat the hell is the reset button on the thing for?, i pressed the reset button hoping that it would be put back to it's original status, but nothing happens, i've looked through the booklet but there is nothing to tell you how to change this problem, you must have a idea? your the ones who are selling it, or is it just a product you sell, if so can you direct to the right person

Dear Friends, I bought a VR3 sound, but do not know what would copmpativel sd card, bought a kingston and not read the songs of SD card, you could help me Sd card which is compatible with my VR3

Dear Friends, I bought a VR3 sound, but do not know what would copmpativel sd card, bought a kingston and not read the songs of SD card, you could help me Sd card which is compatible with my VR3

THE CLOCK ON MY UNIT WILL NOT HOLD TIME, ROADMASTER SAID PAY TO HAVE IT TAKEN OUT AND SEND IT BACK. TOLE HIM I WILL NOT BUY ANYMORE VR3

worked great for yrs till a few days ago. bumped a curb lightly and audio wont work. ill only get sound when im stayin still or hitting bumps. otherwise i get no sound in my speakers and the audio will skip horirbly or not even work at all. power is workin. not useing cds got my ipod hooked up to it. ne sujestions? is it the cd player? or something with my car now?

Don't waste your money. Works for less than a week and dies. Road master and vr3 is pure shot and I hope the company folds. Never again.

Hey, bought the VR3 sound for my cavy and it was awesome! I moved to Minnesota where it gets really really cold (-40) and one day it just quit working. The lights come on but thats all. Any ideas? Can't say its all that bad cuz how many other stereos out there read SD and USB and AUX and CD?

i have a 400sdu reads error 13 when i use sd or usb slots bought different kinds of mem chips and mem sticks no change please help

I bought a vrcd400-sdu and installed it worked great for 2 days then I started having problems with it, the fm radio starts popping after about 20 mins of the stereo being turned on all other features work fine but not the fm radio...I email there customer support and they told me to check all my connections again it had to be a connection issue...My background is as an electronic tech and ive installed many stereos in my life and have never had issues like this.. I contacted them again via there help desk and have yet to hear anything back from them ... My feeling are i should have done my homework and checked out the company before i bought, I will not buy another thing from roadmaster and I think im going to send this piece of crap back to them and tell them where they can stick it....
with the econamony we have to watch our money and if companies are out there trying to pass bad quality just to make a buck we as consumers have the right to say no...I am going to replace it with a more reptiable product.... In my words DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY, THEY DON'T SUPPORT THERE PRODUCTS

Same thing whit my... any anwser yet ?

I can't get it to recognize any sd over 2 gigs? and it takes too long to reboot when restarting the car. if you can live with that it's a great radio for what it is and you can't beat the price under 80$ from walmart.

I bought this product because I was looking for a badass stereo with a lot of features, the VRCD500SDU and for four months it did just that. Wow'd by my friends, envied by my neighbor and smoothy sending signals to my speakers, remembering my presets and reading any memory card/stick/cd/aux I could give it. Then one day, without provocation the unit wouldn't turn on. I popped off the faceplate and hit the reset button, then it sprung to life, but had forgotten all my presets, and settings. I pulled the whole thing back out and checked all the wires, they were providing the correct current, including the yellow "constant power" memory wire. My only conclusion is that the head unit has an internal malfunction. Don't bother trying to call or e-mail for help. I have sent two e-mails, it has been 5 weeks, no responce. When you call, you will be placed in que, and told there is a heavy call load, and your wait time is over 25 minutes. I got ahold of the operator, and apparently, Roadmaster USA, has ONE (1) functional tech support phone line for the entire nation to funnel into. Madness, from California to Maine, 1 SINGLE phone line!?!??! I couldn't get a true wait time, but I would estimate 2 years up to eternity. If you like short lived bliss, then buy this unit, because for a short while it will deliver soundly. However, if you like reliability or a strong backing from the company when something goes wrong, seek something else NAME BRAND. Do not make the mistake I did, DO NOT be wooed by the low cost and surplus of incredible features. Roadmaster USA has gained a
I bought this product because I was looking for a badass stereo with a lot of features, the VRCD500SDU and for four months it did just that. Wow'd by my friends, envied by my neighbor and smoothy sending signals to my speakers, remembering my presets and reading any memory card/stick/cd/aux I could give it. Then one day, without provocation the unit wouldn't turn on. I popped off the faceplate and hit the reset button, then it sprung to life, but had forgotten all my presets, and settings. I pulled the whole thing back out and checked all the wires, they were providing the correct current, including the yellow "constant power" memory wire. My only conclusion is that the head unit has an internal malfunction. Don't bother trying to call or e-mail for help. I have sent two e-mails, it has been 5 weeks, no responce. When you call, you will be placed in que, and told there is a heavy call load, and your wait time is over 25 minutes. I got ahold of the operator, and apparently, Roadmaster USA, has ONE (1) functional tech support phone line for the entire nation to funnel into. Madness, from California to Maine, 1 SINGLE phone line!?!??! I couldn't get a true wait time, but I would estimate 2 years up to eternity. If you like short lived bliss, then buy this unit, because for a short while it will deliver soundly. However, if you like reliability or a strong backing from the company when something goes wrong, seek something else NAME BRAND. Do not make the mistake I did, DO NOT be wooed by the low cost and surplus of incredible features. Roadmaster USA has gained a crackerjack seat on my Shit List.

Wow I must have gotten the only good unit because I have had mine for about two years now and it's working fine. The remote only lasted about 6 months before the volume buttons stopped working and then a few months later it died altogether. My brother took it apart and tried to fix it but to no avail. I really think $20 for a new one is robbery so I am living without it. I think it may have been my fault. One day I left a cheap 50 cent lighter sitting right next to the remote and it was hot out, the lighter exploded and the remote went flying.
I have not used the SD slot as I don't own a SD card but the USB port works well and so does the other input jack (have not noticed lower volume using this input). I have a master plan which involves putting a shock-tested, portable external hard drive in my car (320gb) and am hoping my VR3's USB port sends out enough juice to power this thing up. If not, it comes with a Y cable so I can always plug one of the USBs into a cigarette-lighter-to-USB-adapter in order to get the extra power. I will post on here and let you all know if it works. I am anticipating that it will since the hard drive comes formatted as FAT32.

The cons:
Radio reception blows. It barely gets channels any other stereo can get. But I don't listen to the radio so it's no real biggy for me.

The tech support blows too. I sent them two messages when I first got this thing and they never responded.

In all, as a 70 dollar impulse buy some years back I am still quite happy with this product. Let's see if it lasts over a decade like my old Panasonic did. I doubt it.