I cant hear it over the internet but it's probaly not valve noise. It's most likely piston slap since it goes away as the engine warms up. Nothing to be concerned about.

 

1) normal,. my auto 07 did that.

wow, i must say i am really glad hondatechav6 joined this site...

 

HondatechAV6 - The defroster doesn't seem to have an effect, however I'd still like to make sure that everything is connected...can you tell me how I can get access to the antenna coil? I don't see it. I assume it must not be in plain view. Do I have to remove a piece of molding to get to it? Thanks!

 

One more thing, just curious...is it normal to havewires secured with electrical tape? A few wires behind the factory radio and in the trunk where secured with electrical tape. The tape was not used to cover a connection; it appears that its just keeping things tidy. Is this normal?

 

yes this is normal. If you go under your steering column youll see more electrical tape than youve ever seen in your life! even yellow electical tape! ok not that much, but theres alot.

also id like to x2 on the whining in reverse, its perfectly normal. You see the reverse gear uses whats called a "spur" gear, which is used to make sure it cant be engaged while the car is in motion. All of the other gears in the transmission use "helical gears".
some transmissions are just more muffled than others for some reason.

Spur:


Helical: