Hi folks,
Great site. This is my second post and my first set of questions about the new 'to me' 2003 accord EX I bought 2 days ago. It is a manual with 79k miles and looks and drives really good. I am surprised by how peppy this 2.4 4il engine is. I love it.

1) Radio: One of the radio buttons shows 'CD/AUX'. Is there any AUX input connection somewhere. The manual that came with the car does not refer to any AUX input. If not do you guys have any suggestion to connect an MP3/Ipod beside using an FM modulator?
2) General: The car has 79k miles on it and as I said drives really good. I bought it from an Honda dealer. Beside obvious maintenance things like brakes rotors and pads (which seem to have been replaced recently) what particular things should I look at on an Accord of that mileage and age?
Thanks a lot
Al

 

1. The AUX input is on the back of the radio, for a CD changer or iPod->AUX converter.

2. Nothing that I can think of... unless you can tell something is wrong.

 

It's a proprietary connection on the back of the stereo, for a CD-changer from Honda.

I got a converter module from Crutchfield dot com for about $150 that plugs in there & works really well. (Probably other places have stuff too.) The front stereo controls can operate an iPod; you press the buttons as if you were switching discs in the changer. If you have a different MP3 player, you probably have other options.

It works great, you can lead the iPod wire wherever you want. I put it in the center bin below the stereo. Once plugged in, you don't really have to touch the iPod, so it could just as well have been in the glovebox.

 

Thanks. So I need to take the radio out to access the aux input. Any tip for taking the radio out that may help?
Thanks again

 

For general maintenance stuff, I'd take the wheels off & take a good look around.

Rubber boots on all the ball joints - cracked, dried-up grease?
Rubber boots on the axle CV joints, inboard & outboard.
Rubber bellows on the steering rack.
Any fluid leaks?

By this time, the brake fluid should have been replaced once or twice; verify that it looks nice & clean.

 

I spent a couple hours with the installation, but it was a couple years ago so maybe I don't remember everything.

The little bin #23 ("NOT an ashtray") snaps out, revealing a couple screws that hold in the big square box #13 below the stereo. Pull that out.



I think you can reach the back of the stereo, but it's easier if you remove the whole panel with the stereo controls.

I also removed the large panel above the stereo, #7 or 8. There's a bunch of empty space there (for the NAV??). That's where I mounted the iPod controller interface.


Here's another picture that might help???

 

Awesome!
Thanks