Hi! I just bought a 2006 Honda civic LX coupe (AT). I'm loving the car so far but there was an issue with the stock stereo. It worked fine but would not accept any CDs (would just go in for a second, whir about and then eject). The dealer said that they would take care of this problem for me, so they have my car and I have one of their loaners for the time being. This evening, however, things started to get a bit odd.

The dealership called me (this is a VW dealership btw) and informed me that they couldnt fix the stereo and would not be able to replace it with another oem unit. They did, however, offer to install a sony unit for me at no charge. I don't particularly want a sony stereo in my car, as I actually like the way that the stock one looks and sounds. But, since the dealership was really under no obligation to fix this in the first place, (I had already paid for the car, it came with no warranty, and it was my mistake for not putting a cd in it before finalizing the sale) I decided to go ahead and let them install it.

My thinking is that I'll first check out what kind of unit they installed and how it looks/functions. If I don't like it, I'm going to just buy a used one off of ebay (they seem to be going for between $60 and $150). Now here's where a bunch of questions have arisen for me that I have not found clear answers to in my hours of searching.

1. From an ebay listing:

"This will not work in PREMIUM systems. Those systems have an external amp, while the radio I am selling has the amp inside! It is completely self contained!"

How do i know if i have a 'premium' system? I read somewhere that my car could have one of 3 systems - One was by clarion and I forget who made the other two (H/K or some similar company). How do I know which one my car has? The dozens i've seen on ebay look exactly the same to me and I'm worried that I'll buy the wrong one.

Unless directed otherwise, I'm planning on getting something like this:

06 07 08 Honda Civic Cd Radio ID# 39101SNAA010M1 LKQ


2. Some ebay listings say their stereos will work in "06-08 Civic (sedan, 4 door, LX and GX)". Other's say the same but for coupes only. Again, they look exactly the same, aren't the ones from coupes the same as sedans?

3. I'm assuming I'll lose the ability to use the car's built in auxiliary input port (next to the cig lighter) if an aftermarket unit is installed. Does the factory aux input port have it's own leads going directly to the stereo, or are those wires just part of the main harness? I suppose that it wouldnt be very hard to identify them either way and simply slap some rca connectors on them and wire them up to the sony unit.

4. Lastly, I havent dealt with aftermarket car audio in quite some time. I seem to remember that Sony had a very bad reputation in this area - is this still the case?


Thanks to anyone who can help with any of these questions! My last two cars were German (GTI VR6 then a4 1.8Ts quattro) and I loved them, but I'm definitely enjoying driving a Japanese car again =] Looking forward to becoming part of the community here

 

Welcome to HCF, in regards to your question about Sony stereos, I use to feel the same way about Sony as you do when I was in High School but I've had one in my EM2 for about a year and I haven't had any issues with it. It only cost about $135, plays MP3, AAC and WMA CDs and it comes with an aux input jack that allows you to plug your MP3 player directly in to the head unit. I've been rather satisfied with my Sony, but you should always go with a brand you're most comfortable with. I don't know anything about Clarion, but Alpine and Pioneer are good brands with solid reputations.