575 Stereo is "Posessed"

I'm not sure if it is just me, but I've had very bad luck with the stereos in both my previous 550 (died several times) and my current 575 (died creatively several times). Most recently, yesterday, I was driving along listening to a little Jay-Z at moderate volume when suddenly the stereo went to max volume, nearly blasting my eardrums out. At the same time, the head unit display went blank and the on/off and volume controls stopped functioning. I had to stop the car at a bus stop on a busy street, open the trunk, and remove the CD cassette to stop the deafening music. Bystanders were very amused...

A similar thing also happened about 2 months ago when I was listening to music and suddenly the head unit would not respond, wouldn't turn up, down, on/off...nothing. At that time I also had to eject the CD mag to stop the stereo. Problem is, I then had to leave the car unused for 2 weeks and I think that somehow the stereo must still have been draining juice from the battery, as the battery was totally flat the next time I tried to start the car. Alarm was dead and the doors would not shut properly.

I think that the stereo might still be "partly" on now, as even when there is no display on the head unit, I can hear the radio interference from my Blackberry over the system. Which worries me, as I don't want another dead battery.

The history of the stereo is this: When I bought the car from a Ferrari dealer (2nd hand), it had a Sony head unit installed, mated with the stock Becker CD changer, etc. I asked the dealer to order the OEM head unit and install, and they did, although apparently with some strange results.

When I asked the mechanic at the dealer why this problem happened (the first time), he just explained that "sometimes the stereos in the 575s and 360s just turn themselves on!" No explanation why, just this mysterious statement.

Has anyone had a similar problem or a suggested solution, other than bringing it back to the dealer for them to "quick fix" yet again? Much obliged...

 

Thx, Terry, pulled the fuse. Might just stop using the stereo from now on. Getting a major soon, maybe I'll have them look into it then.

 

I would be happy with a crap radio, but the randomness is killing me. May settle for engine music from now on, but sometimes the ladies actually want to have a (closed window) conversation inside the car. Awkward...