Honda Accord Accessories

dmert · December 2003

Has anyone installed a radio in place of the factory radio. Kendrid posts a kit from installer.com. They also show a kit that replaces the stock unit, and supplies new A/C contols. Anyone installed a radio with is kit?

lelandhendrix · December 2003

The wood trim pieces cover the original silver, where applicable.

kendrid · December 2003

dmert - the old radio and controls are still there.

When I inquired about the cubbyhole installation kit they mentioned the kit that replaces the original radio and supplies new buttons. I personally do not trust a 3rd party to control the AC system in my new car. I'm sure if you had problems down the road Honda would probably not cover it under warranty since you performed a major modification to the vehicle. Of course you could remove the unit before going to the dealer, but that would be a pain.

ladhnur · December 2003

Can any one help me find the invoice prices for the accessories ( a web site or some thing)
I actually was going to buy the 04 Accord EX Auto today
thanks

chilldog · December 2003

Hello

I am in the process of going to purchase a brand new accord. I plan on upgrading the stereo speakers in an aftermarket fashion. What i plan on doing is replacing the tweets, front door speakers, rear 6x9's and adding an amp and sub as well. But there are a few questions that i've been wondering about, and i've found no answers. Possible somebody can help me. I could really use it.
1)r the tweets hard to replace with aftermarket. How do u go about doing it. Popping the screen? 2)by reading the other discussions, the factory stereo does have outputs to hook up an aftermarket amp. Is this correct? 3)obviously, we'll have to wire the amp to the head unit. Is it difficult to pull out the factory stereo to wire it up correctly. How do u do it, or is there somewhere that shows a diagram of it? 4)Is it simple to hook the amp up and run it to the stereo, meaning running the wire through the floorguard grim? 5)Are the door panels easy to take off to replace the door speakers.
If anyone can help me on these questions, i thank you dearly. I just want to make sure that it's going to work and all.
Thanks again, and get back to me

redsel · December 2003

Has anyone altered exhaust system on 03/04 Accord V-6? I have an 03 Ex-V6 Sedan; while under it I could not help but wonder what the result would be if one were to remove the mufflers/resonators below the rear seat and replace with straight pipe. Would performance and noise increase much? Has anyone tried this or other modifications?;and if so, with what kind of results?
Dennis

davidm820 · December 2003

I don't where the invoice prices, but I found the best prices for Honda accessories at honda.autowebaccessories.com

Good Luck

silverk21 · December 2003

I don't think one will work - or be offered, at least in the coupe, since the speakers are located so close to the rear window. Can't say about the sedan, but I have not seen one yet.

f1monkey · December 2003

I've been staring at the picture of the lower stereo adapter and I'm trying to figure out a few things about it.

It looks like it screws in on the bottom and clicks in on top? It doesn't look like there's much support on top.

Did you use the side pieces shown as separate pieces in the picture? Those look like they might add support.

Do the 2 lips on the bottom of the adapter do anything? What?

Did you use supports on the back of your stereo to releave the stress on the adapter?

I ask these because in my last honda the adapter didn't support the stereo very well and the trim around the console cracked.

My plan is to have a separate stereo and the stock both functional(through an A\B audio input switch) into external amps and new speakers.

Thanks
- Kyle

chilldog · December 2003

Kendrid, is there any information that u can give me regarding my questions. It would be extremely helpful. Thanks!!!!

kendrid · December 2003

"1)r the tweets hard to replace with aftermarket. How do u go about doing it. Popping the screen? "
I do not know. I am having my 6.5" component speakers professionally installed.

"2)by reading the other discussions, the factory stereo does have outputs to hook up an aftermarket amp. Is this correct? "
False. It only has speaker level outputs.

"3)obviously, we'll have to wire the amp to the head unit. Is it difficult to pull out the factory stereo to wire it up correctly. How do u do it, or is there somewhere that shows a diagram of it? "
Goto www.handa-accessories.com and look at the installation guide for the MP3 player. It shows you how to remove the stereo/dashboard.

"4)Is it simple to hook the amp up and run it to the stereo, meaning running the wire through the floorguard grim? "
I am having my 4 channel amp professionaly installed.

"5)Are the door panels easy to take off to replace the door speakers."
I am having my front spekaers professionaly installed.

The rear 6x9s are simple to replace.

I am having the components and amp installed because A) this is a brand new car and

I will have it for a while. In the past I have installed them myself, but I don't feel like messing with the Accord, especially with the location of the tweeters. Amp + component speaker installation is going to run me $200 with wires.

kendrid · December 2003

"It looks like it screws in on the bottom and clicks in on top? It doesn't look like there's much support on top."
That is correct. It uses fairly strong clips along the sides and top. It feels sturdy.

"Did you use the side pieces shown as separate pieces in the picture? Those look like they might add support."
I don't understand what you are asking here.

"Do the 2 lips on the bottom of the adapter do anything?"
The very bottom of the harness has the screw holes and helps to make the unit fit tight.

"Did you use supports on the back of your stereo to releave the stress on the adapter?"
No, but this is a good idea.

"My plan is to have a separate stereo and the stock both functional(through an A\B audio input switch) into external amps and new speakers."
I thought of doing that, but I doubted that I would ever use the factory radio so it just gets power so the clock works.

FYI to everyone: I saw the installation kit that replaces the AC controls at Circuit City. The buttons are not quite the same, but they feel close. They wanted $150 for it. The guy offered it for $120 after talking to him about it.

f1monkey · December 2003

Sorry about the mix up and thank you for your help. I restated the screwy questions.

"Did you use the side pieces shown as separate pieces in the picture? Those look like they might add support."

- In the small picture on www.installer.com/kits/99-7862.jpg it only shows one of them and in the large picture it shows both of them. They are the 2 triangle pieces with a bunch of screw holes on each side of the picture.

"Do the 2 lips on the bottom of the adapter do anything?"

- I think that the picture took away the depth perception and the way that I see it. It looks like to pieces in between the screwholes that stick out below the adapter. Maybe they are supports but look odd because of the lack of depth perception.

On the A\B switch thing:
I've got an EX-L so I've also got the XM Radio that I will probably only use for the free 3 months. I know that if I dissconect anything now that I won't hook it back up even if I want to sell it. I only work in spurts.

I also bought the service manual so I'm not too worried about tapping into and pulling apart stuff. Oddly, the service manual is $70 and the owner's manual that comes with the car is $50. To me, the owner's manual has 5 usefull pages and the service manual is 3 inches thick and full size.

- Kyle

kendrid · December 2003

"- In the small picture on www.installer.com/kits/99-7862.jpg it only shows one of them and in the large picture it shows both of them. They are the 2 triangle pieces with a bunch of screw holes on each side of the picture."
My headunit did not accept them.

"Do the 2 lips on the bottom of the adapter do anything?"
Now I realize what you are referring to. The 'ashtray' and power outlet 'rest' on those. They don't really do anything.

Now a question for you: Have you looked in your service manual to see how the doors come apart, and how to get to the tweeters? If so, does it look 'challenging' or fairly straightforward? I'd consider installing my 6.5" components myself if it does not look too bad.

Thanks.

chilldog · December 2003

f1monkey

I am also interested in the questions that kendrid has asked you as well, regarding the tweets and the door panels. If u could share that information with me also, that would be awesome....

Thanks
Chilldog

ken972 · December 2003

Had the 04 version of the auto dim mirror installed today in my 04 exv6 by the dealer. Looks like they have indeed fixed the glitch that was causing the problems from the 03 version being installed in a 04 accord. I bought it from H&A..saved $70 on the purchase compared to the price at the dealer. They charged me 115.50 to have it installed. I works pretty good. It sits closer to you then the oem mirror which feels weird. But im sure Ill get used to that pretty quick. I noticed it doesnt turn on with the headlights..i think the 03 version did that. But not a big deal.

f1monkey · December 2003

For anyone reading this out of order, I havn't actually installed any of the front speakers.

The tweeters actually look really easy. The little speaker covers in the corners of the dash just pop up with a screwdriver and the tweeter is connected to that piece. Now mounting the new ones I have no idea. Might fit to the speaker cover or not. I'm guessing that it won't and I'll figure out a way to mount the tweets underneath the cover. Maybe the part that holds the tweeter onto the cover can be taken off so ther's room for the tweeter.

Taking off the door actually looks to be a pain in the but. It's a little different for the 2 door and 4 door and the passenger and the driver.

It looks like you take off the screw behind the door handle (it's covered with a plastic piece), then you pry up the switch panel(door locks, windows etc...), dissconect some stuff under there, find some more screws and then start prying off the door panel. (I actually went and bought a door panel remover tool) Somewhere in the middle of that you disconnect the door handle cable and some more harnesses.

The extra little thing that I'm doing is to run speaker wire to the fronts and tweeters from the amp in my trunk. It's a pain in the but to get wires through the rubber hose connecting the door and body of the car.

If it was my 90 accord, I'd just figure it out the hard way and maybe pull out some clips but it's not 14 years old so I got the manual to do it right. I highly reccomend getting it. It is 4 times thicker than a chiltons or haynes and they also havn't come out with one yet.

f1monkey · December 2003

Kendrid,

I just picked this up today and I'm going to be doing some rewiring to make it do what I need it to do. I had one question on the orange wire that goes into A9. It's called the "Lights On Radio" and it splits off for the new stereo to use. Now I've installed and reinstalled a few stereos in my day and I never remember using that. Any clue? Did you hook that up. I'm drawing a blank on it right now. Everything else makes sense.

- Kyle

kendrid · December 2003

I am pretty sure orange is so the headunit will dim when you turn on your headlights.

Thanks for the info on the front speaker install. The doors sound just like my Grand Prix. I am going to check out the tweeter location and door removal this weekend (I already have the tool). I could save myself $80 if I can do it myself.

Where did you get the manual?

dust90 · December 2003

Just a guess, but it may dim the illumination on the radio when the car lights are on.

kendrid · December 2003

I thought of an issue with replacing the front speakers yourself.

While it might be 'easy' to get the tweeter cover off, you will need to find where that wire connects to the 6.5" speaker under the dash. Aftermarket component speakers have a crossover so you will need to wire the tweeter wire into the cross over. In most stock systems I have seen the crossover is on the tweeter itself.

I didn't see the front speaker wires branch off into two places when I hooked up my headunit. They must branch off somewhere 'deeper' in the dash. If that 'branch' can't be found, it could be a pain to route new wire to the tweeter locations.

topgun7 · December 2003

I am thinking about replacing the speakers for the EX V6 coupe (the 120 Watt systems). I have a budget of about $500 (christmas present to myself 8-)). The installation probably cost about $100 - $150. So it leave about $300 to $350 for the fornt and rear speakers (amp is probably out of the question with this budget). What would you recommend in this price range? Any personal experience? Is the replacement even worthwhile with this budget? thanks.

sandwiches · December 2003

That sounds like quite a high budget. Getting top end speakers and not an amplifier will not be worth your time and may not sound very good. What I plan on doing is swapping out the speakers for some Alpine Type-S units, model numbers
SPS-690A (back) and SPS-170A (front). I hear that these units sound good without an aftermarket amp, plus, they are only $50 a set on eBay.

kendrid · December 2003

I am having MB Quart RCE216 Reference Series 6.5" Component Axial Speakers being installed next week (probably Wednesday). They are $350 at Tweeter, $180 online.

I will be running them off of my headunit for now. I'll let you know how they sound.

I have Alpine Type R 6x9s in the back. They have great bass, but don't sound so great for midrange/treble. The front speakers will take care of that.

Alpine Type S are 'ok'. I'd really try and listen to Polk and the other brands in the $100 price range.

I upgrade my old JVC headunit to an Alpine 9185. It is a 'true' 27w x 4 RMS compared to most headunits that lie. It won't be as good as an external amp, but it should be better than my JVC. It really makes my factory speakers sound bad, but my Alpine 6x9s sound pretty good and can put out a lot of bass.

kendrid · December 2003

Alpine is 9815, not 9185.

f1monkey · December 2003

I got the manual from www.helminc.com, they are the only ones that sell them, they're also listed in the Honda Manual.
It's listed as this:

2003-2004 Accord 2/4 Door L4 Service Manual
Price: $70.00 In Stock
(English, Paper, 61SDA04)

It was a little confusing to make sure I got the right one since there are a bunch os "supplements" to the manual.

The manual doesn't give any info on the tweeeter crossover or if it's on or off of the tweeter. A diagram just shows the tweeter wires tapping into the door speaker wires at some point. It's part of the reason I'm just using my own. I won't have to do any alteration to the stock wiring and connectors, it's just more work

It makes sense that it would dim the unit when the lights go on but I've just never gotten a harness or owned a stereo that actually had that input.

- Kyle

kendrid · December 2003

Thanks for the info on the book.

In my old Grand Prix the tweeter was wired off of the woofer. But with that component setup the tweeter was in the door - not the dash.

I might take off a tweeter grill and see if I can get a door off this weekend. If getting new wire to the locations isn't hard I'll try and do it. Getting to the tweeters seems like it will be a major pain.
With my GP I left all of the factory wiring in place. It was very easy to remove my speakers when I sold the car.

I spoke to Tweeter again today. They are who I have been talking to about getting the speakers installed. They have always quoted me $75 to do it. I pressed him about extra fees. He had 'forgot' to mention that wiring is another $45. $120 is quite a bit of cash for an hour or two of work. If/once I get a door off if it looks reasonable I think I will talk myself into doing it myself.

kendrid · December 2003

I popped off the tweeter cover tonight. It was very easy to do. There is a lot of room, but nothing to mount a new tweeter on. The factory tweet snaps into a plastic harness. You would have to figure out some way to get your aftermarket tweet to fit into the harness.
The speaker cable goes deep into the dash, following the outside of the car.

I also removed my door. It took about an hour to get the driver's door off. I took my time and it wasn't too bad, but I do want to warn of a few things.

Here is the post from a few days ago about removing the door:

"It looks like you take off the screw behind the door handle (it's covered with a plastic piece), then you pry up the switch panel(door locks, windows etc...), dissconect some stuff under there, find some more screws and then start prying off the door panel. (I actually went and bought a door panel remover tool) Somewhere in the middle of that you disconnect the door handle cable and some more harnesses."

1. Take out the screws behind the door handle, and in the armrest (you have to pop out the rubber 'mat).

2. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PRY OUT THE SWITCH PANEL!!!! If you do, you will break it. No, I didn't break mine.

3. Use the door removal tool to unpop all of the plastic rivits. The door will be free except for all of the wiring.

4. Remove the cable on the door handle.

5. NOW you can remove the switch panel - from underneath. There are plastic tabs that you have to bend to get it out. If you try and pry from the top, they will break and the panel will not have anything to 'grab' onto.

6. remove the wiring harnesses. Have fun. This took me about 30 minutes (literally). The 'big' harness is the biggest pain in the ... to get off. It should be easy - it isn't. Obviously designed to be installed and never removed.

7. The door is now free.

8. The speaker. After all of that, I can't figure out how to remove it from the door. There are no screws or anything obvious holding it on. It almost looks like it is melted to the door. Any help from the manual on this??

Once it is free, I fail to see how an aftermarket speaker will go into it. There are no screw holes to screw the new speaker into. I'd think a kit is needed. Tweeter said they will fit fine. Maybe after the speaker is removed it will make more sense.

I checked out the tube the wiring from the door runs through. It is quite small. In my Grand Prix it was large enough that I was able to use a cable snake to get new speaker cable into the door. It looks like it would be a real pain with the Accord.

The inside of the door is covered in quite a bit of plastic material that must be for sound proofing.

dust90 · December 2003

According to Crutchfield instructions, "Press in clip at top of speaker/bracket assembly. Pull out assembly from the top." It also shows a photo of a medium size screwdriver, prying at the top of the door speaker.

I haven't tackled my door speakers yet. Did the rear 6X9's & they were easy and made a great improvement. Good luck.

kendrid · December 2003

The 6x9s are very easy, and almost anything is an improvement over stock. Those magnets on the factory 6x9s are a joke.

Thanks for the info from Crutchfield. Do they state if the tweeter wire goes to the 6.5" woofer in the door? If not, do they say how to install an external crossover (where do the wires for the 6.5" and tweeter branch apart?).

If anyone does remove the speakers, please let me know if the tweeter wire is hooked up to the woofer.

f1monkey · December 2003

Sorry if you took my summarized directions for taking off the door and almost busted your switch panel. Sorry about that. I didn't have the manual in front of me at the time and I was just trying to list the basics or different steps that I remembered.

I havn't gotten to the doors yet, I'm still customizing the stereo wire harness to enable 2 stereos. Looking for the same adapters on the ends of the wires in the harness.

I havn't decided exactly how I'm going to do the fronts\crossover\tweeters. I have a set of Diamond Audio S600a's and the crossovers are huge. I highly doubt it will even fit in my door. When I pulled off the center dash piece last night it looked like I might be able to feed wire to the tweeter from there. It's just another guess. If not, then I could try from underneath but I'm sure that's pretty well blocked with a bunch of crap that makes my car run.

dust90 is right about taking out the speaker, there are 3 clips and the manual says to take off the top one first and then the others will come.

- Kyle

kendrid · December 2003

I thank you for your directions - they gave me somewhere to start. I actually had skipped that step, as I wanted to see what was inside of the door before I began.

I didn't shine a flashlight into the dash from behind the headunit. I should have. I would be nice to mount the crossovers right there.

Thanks for the info on the 6.5s. I will be doing this myself now, even if I end up putting the tweeters in the a-frame of the door (if I can't route wire or access the wire to the tweeter).

Someone in the main Accord thread just said that he installed 6.5s in his coupe. He installed the tweeters in the door frame instead of the dash.

tblazer503 · December 2003

has the speakers covered... cool =o) glad no one had to trim grille's or surface mount the speaker like I did... =o)

kendrid · December 2003

I don't think any of us have actually installed the front 6.5" speakers yet. Tweeter claims my MB Quart components will fit without mods.

dmert · December 2003

Early in this section, someone started the reason for the poor sound was the location of the tweeters. If you mount the tweeter in the same location are you not continuing with this flaw? Any other suggestions for wear to mount the tweeter? Also, how was the speaker mounted in the door without having to replace the grill. Do the windows work properly?

kendrid · December 2003

The installers at my local Tweeter claim that in the dash, where Honda put them, is the best place for imaging.

They could have just said that to make installation easier, but doing a mount on the frame of the door would be even easier.

In my previous car, a 99 Grand Prix, the tweeters were located in the corner of the window (by the exterior mirror). It sound fine, but the left front tweeter is right in your face so it ends up being much louder than the other. Where Honda put them places them farther from you, so the imbalance I had in the Grand Prix should not exist.

lelandhendrix · December 2003

There is nothing wrong with where the tweeters are. The tweeters on the dash or on the a-pillars sound exactly the same as long as the entire system is voiced for that location. And even though Mark Levinson or the late Henry Kloss didn't sit down and voice them personally, they have been optimized for that location in the Accord.

There's really nothing wrong with the stock system in the Accord. However, just like everything in existence, there is always room for improvement.

yoribe · December 2003

Is anyone out there using a K&N filter in their 03 Accord? If so, have you noticed any improvement in fuel economy or performance?

kendrid · December 2003

Well I attempted to install my MB Quart 6.5" component speakers. They will not fit unless they are flush mounted with the front panel of the door (ie: trim off the factory grill).

I am not opposed to a 'professional' doing it, but there is no way I will be doing it.

The problem with the speakers is that their metal basket is too wide for the factory location. The factory 'woofer' magnet is about 1" in diameter (no joke). My MB Quart driver is about 3".

I am going to have them professionally installed now.

Another bad thing happened, the under-dash mounting harness broke. One of the clips that holds the harness into the dash broke off when I was removing it. They are designed to grip and never let go (they might, but mine didn't). Well, that cost me another $30. Grrr..

f1monkey · December 2003

I'm still 50\50 on how mine will fit. I'm just assuming the worst. Maybe the window will hit the speaker or the magnet will get in the way somehow. I did put in my 6X9's and even used the same factory screwholes and screws. I did pull off all of the foam padding around the stock speaker grille. It would have been touching the surround of the new speaker.

- Kyle

treoster · December 2003

I have used a K&N Air filter since 8K miles (now at 23K).

I also keep fairly meticulous mileage (mpg)records. My driving is pretty much the same all the time.

Prior to K&N, avergae = 25.2 MPG
Post K&N, next 8K miles, average = 26.1 MPG
Post K&N, (to date), average = 25.7 MPG

So, take the info for what it's worth. You could read it as variation, or you could read it at 1/2 to 1 more mpg with K&N.

I mainly use them because they trap dirt better than OEM paper filters.

I'm replacing mine soon (They do get dirty, and although they can be cleaned and oiled, I just like replacing them every year/25K miles)

Hope that helps.

kendrid · December 2003

I just dropped off my car at Tweeter. It should be ready by the time I leave work.

I questioned the installation guy before I committed to anything. He is NOT going to cut out my factory grills. He said that he will be able to attach the speaker to the plastic panel. I did a little reading before I left and some of the car install forums said the same thing. Something about using friction nuts (no idea what those are) and 'adapter rings' which cost me $15.

So I still probably could have done it myself knowing that there is a way to fasten the speaker behind the factory grill, but I'm done messing with it.

I will let everyone know how it goes.

chillenhonda · December 2003

chillenhonda · December 2003

I can agree with treoster. I've installed a K&N filter on both my 1999 Prelude 5M and 1999 Accord EX-L 5M. For $37, I wasnt expecting to be blown away, performance-wise. The effects were more dramatic in the Prelude. It revved slightly quicker, and mileage improved about 1mpg on average (I also keep good records, and that number is an overall average). The same happened with the Accord, but the wuicker revving was less noticeable and the mpg improved only about .5 mpg overall.

mreamy · December 2003

Is it possible to add an aux port to an '04
Accord V6 EX with NAV/XM without disabling anything (XM radio, etc.)? What I've read in this form is a bit unclear in this area.

mreamy · December 2003

Anybody used the MP3 player with the Nav?
Are there graphical onscreen controls?
How about titles. Does it show only file names or the info from the MP3 ID tag?

barryss · December 2003

The head unit does have an aux port, however it's used by the XM receiver. If you want to run an external MP3 player, you need to either disable XM or have some sort of A/B switch installed.

Barry S.

tblazer503 · December 2003

I had no major issues with mine... simply used my dremel to carve out the grille. Carved out all of the grille looking part. Then simply surface mounted the speaker. Doesn't look too bad, haven't had anyone really notice except if I point it out since it only sticks out about 3/4"... it does make it much easier to adjust my tweeters for imaging, though....

I tried to mount it in the existing hole even with modifications. Rolled the window down, slid the speaker in an "ka-thunk" the magnet grabs the window rail. so I would have needed about a 3/4" spacer or so, and wasn't worth it to me...

chilldog · December 2003

Hey tblazer503

U don't by chance have any pictures of door speaker install after it was all done, do u? I am curious to see what it looks like. To be honest, I am trying to visualize what u are talking about, as i don't know. When u say factory grill, are u talking about the mesh grill that blends in with the door???? Sorry i sound like a retard, but can u get back to me..

Thanks a lot
Chilldog

kendrid · December 2003

Tweeter was able to install my MB Quart speakers *without* having to cut out the factory grill or modify my car in any way.

They didn't use the factory harness at all (I don't think anyone could - it is junk). They attached the speakers right behind the factory grills. It is a tight fit, but the window still goes down.

It sounds pretty amazing compared to stock. I'm glad I replaced my system. I plan on having this car for a long time so it is a worthwhile 'investment' for me.

Here is a rundown of costs:
Alpine 9815 headunit: $350 online ($500 MSRP)
MB Quart RCE216 Reference Series 6.5" speakers : $175 online ($350 MSRP)
Alpine Type R 6x9s: $100 online ($200 MSRP)

Total is $625 (MSRP of $1050). It is hard to justify buying locally when I saved $450.

I *highly* recommend one of Alpine's new headunits with time correction (9813 and 9815). It makes a world of difference. It allows you to set the distance of each speaker so the sound reaches you at the same time. Once properly setup, turning it off and back on makes a dramatic difference.

Honda Accord Accessories

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