2003 Accord Navigation
 

I'm here because I have a problem with the nav, and my dealer wants $4,000 to fix it.

Hi New Member..You posted in the wrongforum on your 1st post...
I will move it to somewhere's else for you :)

I'm not an expert in this sort of thing, but if you want help you should probably describe what's wrong, and then ask a question (i.e. where can I buy parts, is this a reasonable price, can I fix this myself).

Problem with 2003 Navigation system
 

The system worked as expected until I installed a new DVD, 2010 version, I believe. I had updated the DVD at least once before with no problem. The first indication of a problem occurred when I put in an address, and after initiating normally an error message announced that the routing could not be completed and the trip was dropped. As I neared my destination, I reinitiated the trip several times and finally it stayed in place. So the problem seems related to distance. Satellite link seems normal. I decided to eject the new disc to examine it and possibly replace it with the old disc. But it wouldn't eject. That's when I went to my dealer, who couldn't get the disc to eject either. The dealer said the only fix was to replace the whole system at a cost of $4,000. I have found vendors who offer refurbished modules in the $600 to $800 range, but I would rather find a shop that can troubleshoot the problem and fix it for a reasonable price. After all, it's just a computer.

Is the DVD built into the Nav unit or is it separate (like in my 2006 Odyssey)?

Sounds like the DVD unit itself might be bad, which is probably not repairable. Is it possible to replace just the DVD unit itself? Could you get another unit from a junk yard?

The DVD unit is in the trunk. I've found vendors who offer refurbished units for $600-$800. Still seems like a lot for what is basically just a mini PC. Just as there are PC technicians who work down the the chip level, there ought to be specialists who can troubleshoot and fix a nav unit. Junk yard idea is a good one. Hadn't thought of it. Thanks.

Another thought is that if you pulled the DVD player and disassembled it, you might be able to use the guts of a DVD-ROM drive and replace it. I don't know how comfortable you are doing this sort of this, but it occurs to me that this is likely some sort of IDE based drive.

You can get DVD-ROM drives for under $10, so its worth a shot. First take this unit apart and see if its just a stock drive inside, and then also determine the interface. Its old enough that its unlikely to be SATA, but you never know.