So I have a 2004 Accord that I purchased a little over a year ago and had to replace the battery. To my surprise I discovered the most ridiculous feature ever conceived by an auto manufacturer the first time I started the car, the anti-theft system for the radio. And since the previous owners conveniently left out the card with the 5 digit code according (no pun intended) to the manual you need to get the radio's serial number. The manual says the following:

"To access the serial number, turn the radio on. It must display "CODE", then turn the radio off. Push preset 1, preset 6, and power buttons at the same time, then quickly release."

This does not work as advertised. Instead what it does it displays the letter C, press the combination again, it displays CO and so on until it spells the word CODE, then trying once more produces a message that says ERROR 1.

 

You can register at www(dot)ahm-ownerlink(dot)com which is Honda's owner-link website. With the car's VIN, that can give you the radio code (assuming the radio hasn't been swapped by a previous owner).

 

Unfortunately the site requires the serial number of the radio which I'm unable to get per the instructions provided in the user manual which leads me back to the original question why don't the instructions work?

 

If it doesn't say "COdE", then remove the radio backup fuse for one minute and try from the start again. The radio backup fuse is under-dash Fuse No. 5 (10A).

Sometimes the dealer doesn't need the radio serial number, just the VIN if they have the radio security code in their system. You can check with a local dealer first. You may have to provide proof of ownership. If they don't then you need the radio serial number too.

 

Thanks, finally got it to work after disconnecting the battery cable and starting over. But even then it didn't seem to work as the instructions described the first couple of tries but it finally worked and I now have the stupid code tattooed on my body now.

 

Good to hear you got it resolved and thanks for reporting back.

 

Sorry about that; my daughter's 2007 Civic got the radio code just with the car's VIN. I guess the story is a little different for different years/models.