installing 2001 malibu head unit

i want to install a head unit in 2 my 2001 malibu, but the stock cd player has a computer that controls the dashboard, the installers near me said there is no way i can do it myself without an adapter to make the dash think its still connected so the air bags dont shoot out and other sh*t malfunction, and they wanted to charge like $350 for them to put in my head unit, so i was wonderin if i could work around it and still put it in myself

once again, the diy'er is getting hosed by install shops. you don't have to pay 350, and you don't have to have someone else do it for you. you do however have to attack the issue of the faking out the ecu. i just did this in my 01 malibu stacy. there are two options, you can get a radio relocation wiring harness (~$25), which has a typical looking wiring harness, along with like a 20' bundle of cables that has another plug on it for the factory radio. so basically you crimp the harness to the aftermarket deck's harness as normal, and then run the rest of that cable to wherever you want to keep the factory radio. i put mine in that big area below the dash in the center, it fits and doesn't move around. there is another opton, it's a harness with a small module that goes in your dash that is supposed to send the required signals to the ecu, but it was $60, and i'm a cheapo, so i went with the radio relocation kit. so in a very long winded response, there's your answer.

oh yeah, and another note on this install, the factory plug doesn't have an accessory wire in it, so you'll have to use an inline splice to tap into the green wire that's in the ignition bundle, just to the left in the cavity. then connect that splice to the red wire in the harness you buy, and the accessory wire in your new deck's harness.