Coded radio receivers

[cameo]

Anybody knows from what year Honda started installing coded receivers in
Accords as a protection against stealing them? My '94 Accord LX does not
have it. I wonder if the EX model does, though the receivers looks the
same in it.

[jim beam]

i don't know what years, but i have one of each - identical in all
respects except code activation. my guess is that honda got a bunch of
negative feedback about dealer gouging for code reads after flat
batteries and dropped the coded version after just a couple of years.


--
fact check required

[Tegger]

cameo <ca...@unreal.invalid> wrote in news:khtmll$khq$1...@dont-email.me:

Honda has employed anti-theft coded receivers since at LEAST the 1990 model
year for all /US-market/ models. At some point, they began installing anti-
theft on at least some /other/ markets' models (Canada among them), but I'm
not sure when that started.

Where are you located?

--
Tegger

[cameo]

On 3/15/2013 2:22 PM, Tegger wrote:
> Honda has employed anti-theft coded receivers since at LEAST the 1990 model
> year for all /US-market/ models. At some point, they began installing anti-
> theft on at least some /other/ markets' models (Canada among them), but I'm
> not sure when that started.
>
> Where are you located?
>

In WA state, near Seattle, but my Honda's receiver was not coded. I am
to install a Pioneer from Crutchfield into my neighbor's '94 Accord EX
and I don't want surprises. Its factory receiver looks just like the one
I used to have in my LX and Crutchfield sent the same installation kit
as well.

[Tegger]

cameo <ca...@unreal.invalid> wrote in news:ki0m7n$r68$1...@dont-email.me:

I'm not certain of the details on exactly which radios had codes and which
don't. Honda's documentation starts mentioning the need to record and use
the security code in about the 1990 model year, but it may have begun with
higher-end models only. My '91 does not have a code, but it's Canadian
market.

If you do end up needing the radio code for your neighbor's radio, you can
get it for free directly from American Honda, here:
<https://radio-navicode.honda.com/>

If your neighbor does not have a ZIP and phone number matching the one AHM
has on file, you 'll need to bring the radio plus the vehicle's ownership
to a dealer. Some will give you the code for free, some will charge a
nominal amount, like $25.


--
Tegger

[cameo]

On 3/15/2013 11:18 PM, Tegger wrote:
>
> I'm not certain of the details on exactly which radios had codes and which
> don't. Honda's documentation starts mentioning the need to record and use
> the security code in about the 1990 model year, but it may have begun with
> higher-end models only. My '91 does not have a code, but it's Canadian
> market.
>
> If you do end up needing the radio code for your neighbor's radio, you can
> get it for free directly from American Honda, here:
> <https://radio-navicode.honda.com/>

But that should only matter if I want to reinstall the old radio later,
right? The code should not affect the installation of after-market
receivers, I think.

> If your neighbor does not have a ZIP and phone number matching the one AHM
> has on file, you 'll need to bring the radio plus the vehicle's ownership
> to a dealer. Some will give you the code for free, some will charge a
> nominal amount, like $25.

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

[cameo]

On 3/16/2013 8:02 AM, Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:

> For a long time, it was the Accord EX radios only, the ones with higher
> end features.

That still leaves me wondering about the '94 Accord EX.

> Not that Honda acknowledged radios as anything more than an afterthought
> until about 1998--the same year they decided that air conditioning
> should actually work.
>
Oh, so I am not the only one who noticed how weak the A/C is in a '94
Accord? That means that it's not a fluke in my car only. I feel better
already. :-(

[jim beam]

On 03/16/2013 10:49 AM, cameo wrote:
> On 3/15/2013 11:18 PM, Tegger wrote:
>>
>> I'm not certain of the details on exactly which radios had codes and
>> which
>> don't. Honda's documentation starts mentioning the need to record and use
>> the security code in about the 1990 model year, but it may have begun
>> with
>> higher-end models only. My '91 does not have a code, but it's Canadian
>> market.
>>
>> If you do end up needing the radio code for your neighbor's radio, you
>> can
>> get it for free directly from American Honda, here:
>> <https://radio-navicode.honda.com/>
>
> But that should only matter if I want to reinstall the old radio later,
> right? The code should not affect the installation of after-market
> receivers, I think.

correct - it's entirely a function within the receiver and has nothing
to do with the vehicle it's connected to.

>
>> If your neighbor does not have a ZIP and phone number matching the one
>> AHM
>> has on file, you 'll need to bring the radio plus the vehicle's ownership
>> to a dealer. Some will give you the code for free, some will charge a
>> nominal amount, like $25.
>
> Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.
>

--
fact check required

[Tegger]

cameo <ca...@unreal.invalid> wrote in news:ki2b6r$cik$1...@dont-email.me:

> On 3/15/2013 11:18 PM, Tegger wrote:
>>

>>
>> If you do end up needing the radio code for your neighbor's radio,
>> you can get it for free directly from American Honda, here:
>> <https://radio-navicode.honda.com/>
>
> But that should only matter if I want to reinstall the old radio
> later, right? The code should not affect the installation of
> after-market receivers, I think.

It only applies to the factory radio.




--
Tegger

[cameo]

On 3/16/2013 11:13 AM, jim beam wrote:

> correct - it's entirely a function within the receiver and has nothing
> to do with the vehicle it's connected to.
>

Good. And just how do they enter the code when it's needed? I don't see
any key entry pad for it on the receiver, unless they use the station
preset buttons for it somehow.

[jim beam]

yup, preset buttons. turn on, then you get three attempts before it
locks you out for an hour. when entered correctly, it beeps, and the
radio comes to life.


--
fact check required

[Tegger]

cameo <ca...@unreal.invalid> wrote in news:ki3cc1$ni8$1...@dont-email.me:

> And just how do they enter the code when it's needed? I don't see
> any key entry pad for it on the receiver, unless they use the station
> preset buttons for it somehow.

See the page I wrote about this very issue:
<http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/radiocode.html#punchcode>

--
Tegger

[cameo]

Thanks. I hope I won't need it though.

[cameo]

Well, I finally got around installing that after-market receiver (Pioneer)
into my neighbor's '94 Accord EX and that's when I found out that the old
factory radio did indeed have anti-teft protection. Luckily, my neighbor
also told me that because she needed the code before when the battery
was replaced, she wrote it down for future use. So that issue is settled.

Interesting though why Honda bothered with two different kinds of
receivers (for LX & EX) with the code feature being the only difference.
I guesss they wanted to justify the higher price for EX even though the
engine itself should have justified it alone, IMHO.
Oh, that old radio also had a blinking red light, typical of car burglar
alarms even though I didn't see any alarm installed that needed some
remote. Maybe the blinking light was meant to discourage burglers who
associate it with full-fledged security system.

BTW, the Crutchfield installation kit with the factory type pocket made
the Pioner receiver a real nice fit and it also looks good.