Hey folks. Twelve years into owning my T/A the car has finally developed sound system issues.

The system is stock other than a Pioneer head unit that I installed a few months ago. Just recently, I noticed that the sound level will play at a normal level, but will suddenly drop to a very low volume, but the strange thing is the sound isn't just low, it sounds muffled, as if someone put a pillow over all of the speakers; this happens randomly, I never know when it's going to happen. The second issue is that there is no sound coming out of my left door panel speakers. I tried installing the stock head unit, just to see if the Pioneer was the issue but the randomly dropping volume and dead left door panel speakers remained. I examined the wiring and connectors in the dash to see if there was any damage, but everything is fine.

What can I do to diagnose these two issues further? I was hoping to get ideas from you folks before I tore the door panel off to look deeper into the wiring for the dead door speaker issue. As for the randomly dropping volume level, I have no ideas. Any suggestions and help are appreciated, and I thank everyone in advance...
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Yes, the Monsoon system has a separate amp that is located in the passenger side hatch area by the spare tire. Thanks for the response, I'm going to try what you suggested. If I have to replace the amp, should I just buy another monsoon unit, or can I just buy a new aftermarket unit? How would I attach it to the wiring harness?