Last night after doing a lot of research on Bluetooth options on the Honda Civic, I was able to find an OE Bluetooth option. Johnson Controls, who manufactures 100% of the controls found in Honda, Acura, GM, BMW, Mercedes, etc designed a Bluetooth kit for dealership/aftermarket installation. This kit is based off the same kit used internally on Acuras and Honda. They have it in 5 colors to match the interior of your car.

http://www.autointelligence.com/ai/blueconnect.asp is the aftermarket boxed version of this bluetooth module.

I should be getting the unit by the end of the week and I will install it either over the weekend or in the near future.

Why did I want bluetooth in my car? Simple reason was because my Mercedes-Benz had a bluetooth feature installed and I really liked the convenience of not having wires hanging around the dash and having awesome clarity in conversations with my office or conference calls.
I have used external BT speaker phones in the car and was not happy with the performance. I also have a BT headset but do not like wearing it over an extended period of time.

A side note on this company, GM has finally decided to add Bluetooth to their Cadillac line up starting with the new CTS. It will have the same Blueconnect system that I am installing in my Honda Civic.

The cost varies by online etailer. You will need to find one that sells (ASH - Light-Gray for Gray or Blue Interior Civics) or (OAK - Light Tan for Tan Interior Civics).

You can also just purchase the dark gray, beige or black kit if total OEM integration is not what you are looking for or price is a major concern.

I paid $249.99 + 4.95 s/h from Amazon.com

Thanks.

The link above is just a reference website, you cannot purchase the Blueconnect directly from this manufacture since it is designed to be sold a car dealerships as an aftermarket OE product. Some dealer installed versions of this product may also umbrella under Honda's standard 3yr/36,000 mile warranty...

 

Perhaps I'm in the minority here but a conversation can wait. If you need to talk pull over. I think any distraction regardless of holding the phone or not is a danger.

 

I will agree with you on that. I see people all the time holding the phone to their ears and driving and eating at the same time.....

My line of work requires me to be on call and available. So having handsfree is very important to me.

 

Are you going to take a lot of nice pictures for us?

 

Once I get it in I will be photo snapping the steps.

Also, since this is a OE kit, the resale value on this car may go up a tinny-weeny bt

 

Thanks for delving into this option and having the willingness to report back to us here. This looks like a very nice setup. Looking forward to your progress and pics.

 

From what I have seen off of the auto innovations website, this should be a very easy install.

Fit and finish will be the best of what is currently out there in the aftermarket/retail market.

fingers/crossed!

 

I recieved the kit today. I will install it this weekend (maybe). I will post pictures of the bare unit soon.

Thanks

 

Okay, the unit is installed and is looking great. Hopefully I will get a real phone call to really test it out.

---- I tried to post the PDF document I created but the site will not let me post it. It is three PDF documents all under 10mb. I will post the instructions on my website and link it back to here.

Thanks ----

 

Ok, I have posted the PDF documents on my Blog site. You can go there to download the files. I don't know why they would not upload on this site....

Enjoy.

http://www.abittans.com