I just spoke with Tech at Circuit City over the phone and he said that he last saw Alpine radios in Honda Civics around 96 or 97.

 

Hi everyone;

I know I am just going to (Hate) myself if I do not take the time to do this Post regarding the X/M Satellite Radio Labor Install Price.

So; here goes, I guess this would be the way to start this out. I feel like we all here on this GreenHybrid Forum owe it to each other to (HELP) each other if we can. With that being said, I work at a dealership and I can assure everyone that if a person takes it on themselves to tear apart a vehicle and install anything on it, and later something happens to the vehicle and the dealer concludes that it could be linked to what was done to the vehicle by outside vendors or other parties, the dealer will at that point (Clock-In) on the vehicle and start charging by the (Hour) for the time it takes to diagnose the problem and also the time it takes to correct the problem or problems. If it is determined by the dealer that the add on or installed accessory is causing other parts of the vehicle to (Fail) like the many (Computers) on the new vehicles they will also charge for those Parts and Labor to replace them to get the vehicle back to Factory Specs. In fact I have witnessed complete removal of aftermarket Alarms and all Wiring to get the vehicle back to where it would Function Correctly. There was (Clocked-In-Labor-Charges) to remove all this aftermarket equipment at the Hourly Labor Rate of $80.00 Per Hour.

I think this is enough Preaching on what can happen in some cases with anyone working on or installing accessories on their vehicle. Maybe what I should also point out is that even though the Labor Cost to install the X/M Satellite Radio Option is expensive you do get something for your money that may not be apparent on the front end. If you have Decided or Thought about Purchasing the (Honda Extended Warranty) this X/M is Covered by that also, because it was done when the vehicle was purchased from the Honda Dealer.

Dealer installs the (In-This-Case) X/M on your New HCH ll and you have the (Full-Honda-Warranty) on your X/M and also if anything does go wrong with one of the Components like , Radio, X/M Receiver, X/M Ant. , or any other of the Stereo System you are still covered by the Honda Factory Warranty, (Parts and Labor). It is the Dealers responsibility to Repair what ever has gone wrong, including a (Bad Installation) or a Defective Component in the Stereo System.

So; this has been a lengthy explanation and I just Hope that it is taken by everyone as (Helpful) and not anything more.

Merry Christmas everyone and just think about what I have shared with you, it's for you, believe me, I WORK AT A DEALER SO THIS IS (NOT-MY-OPINION) and it is the way it works.

Good-Luck;

Terry

 

Bingo! Read tonight on page 9 of the Navigation book that Alpine is one of the manufacturers of the NAV system. Also saw Navteq Corp. but I believe they help with the digital media part of the system.

 

So, what does that tell you about the Circuit City "tech".

Now the next thing to find out is if the TERK XM adaptor for Alpine will work in your Civic. If so, we have a cheaper alternative to factory XM that will work off the head unit?!

 

Does the current radio in the HCHII come with AUX input? If so, can I hook up an XM Satellite radio to this? Youk know, one of those smaller ones that I could place in the spot in front of the shifter?

 

Yes, I have done exactly this, and it's sweet. Also, didn't have to practically gut the HCHII!!!

Don

 

Did you do this yourself and if so was it fairly easy??

 

Yes, it was very easy. There is a car kit that comes with the XM Roadie. A little mount that fits in the well between the shifter and the dashboard just below and to the right of the Aux port and 12v power port. The antenna wire runs underneath the floormat, up the doorpost moulding, and the magnetic sat antenna sticks to the outside part of the front passenger post. Very unobtrusive and the hardware cost was less than $50. Sounds great, too!

Don