I was wondering if I could purchase an 05 Stereo and place it in an 02. I heard the 05 models had the CD player fix or something.

anybody?

Yes, all the OEM radios fit in all the years. ( For the US IS 300 version.) I've swapped an 02 for an 05 twice with no problem. But, for a few more bucks I would go with a Pioneer Avic aftermarket head unit. Then you can have touchscreen access and menus, siirus or Xfm, Ipod interconnect, watch DVD's, Nav, and a back up camera. A couple wire mods and it looks stock! The stock radios have a known CD player issue. The 05 did address that, but most of the radios I see are around 4-500 bucks, used. For an extra hundred or two, you can get an AVIC brand new.

Here's a link to a thread I did that covers the install and how it looked once it was in.

Page 2 Modifying an IS300 Chronicles

Thanks for the help..I ordered a 05 stereo for my 02 on ebay and the cd player is not working. The radio works but when you press the Disc, disc load or disc eject button nothing happens, not even an error message its like the button is not even there. The guy on ebay is claiming that the 05 is not compatible with the 02 and I ordered the wrong part since they have different part #'s and is trying to charge me a 50% restocking fee for returns due to me ordering the wrong part. I say the stereo is messed up, he says its working perfectly fine and not compatible. So we are currently going through a dispute.