rslitman

Summary:

1. What does the PE-0 usually signify?

2. Is this something that can be fixed for a reasonable price?

3. If this is a sign that my original equipment (not aftermarket) CD player is dying or already dead, is it worth replacing or spending what could be several hundred dollars in a car as old as this one?

Background information:

I've had my current Integra since 1998. It has 113,000 miles and runs very well. I've held onto this car for so long partly because I missed the window of opportunity that ended last year to buy an entry-level Acura that runs on regular gas. Even though my car runs great, some of the little things not related to the actual running of the car are starting to fail.

I'm having trouble with the CD player. I get a display of PE-0 or PE-O, which the manual just says is an error. At first, this just happened last winter on cold days with precipitation (snow, freezing rain), and it just happened three times. The first of these three times, the radio also "shorted-out", but the other two times, it worked okay. All three times, several hours later, the CD player was fine.

Over the summer, the CD player had no problems, although when I had the car into the dealer for a window control problem and 105,000-mile checkup, I had them look at this. They couldn't find anything. This was July already, and the last time I had had the problem was in March. So I thought that whatever it was, it had cleared up.

We had a very warm fall in this part of the country. The first cold, damp morning we had, the PE-0 showed up again. And since it's gotten cold for good, it's shown up every day, including dry days. I suspect it's temperature-related. The radio has worked okay each time, and the cassette player has also worked well. I've taken to digging out my old cassettes and bringing them with me in case the CD player isn't working, and I can't find anything of interest on the radio.

Most days, I'll get PE-0 when I start out in the morning, but it's fine when I get into my car later in the day, or even after an hour or so of driving. I suspect it's temperature-related and only occurs when the temperature is below a certain point. Also, substituting a different CD will sometimes work. The first day this fall that I had the problem, it rejected the "South Pacific" original cast CD but took the one for "West Side Story". Friday, it rejected the "Grease" soundtrack CD but played the one for "Hello Dolly". (I guess it likes Barbra Streisand more than Olivia Newton John!)

There's a thread here at:

https://www.honda-acura.net/forums/s...highlight=PE-0

in which the person had this come up on hot days or in situations in which the car gets warm from the heater, while my problem has just occurred on cold days and tends to clear up as the temperature gets higher.

Thanks for any help any of you can give me on this.

totalimmortal

Just replace it. I drive a 98 Accord and I've invested damn near $3500 in audio in my car. I wouldn't consider it old.

Tedmond

rsx, audio is killer on my car. Well my buddy has a 93 integ and he has a kick ass system too. Nothing is too old. If u replace ur deck, ur looking at 20 for dash kit, 10 factory plugin harness, and 100 dollar or more deck. Install will take u 30 min max.

rslitman

No one as yet has come up with an explanation of what that PE-0 or PE-O actually means. If anyone has any idea, please feel free to jump in here.

Anyway, I don't know how much longer I am going to keep this car. If Acura were to announce tomorrow that they're coming out with an entry-level car available with automatic transmission that runs on regular gas, I'd probably be the first one in line to buy one. Well, that's probably not going to happen, but I may start investigating the closest thing under the Honda name that approximates what I have had in 20 years of Integra ownership.

I remember something from when I first got my license in 1971. My father knew it was time to go from being a two-car family to a three-car one. We had two late model Pontiacs. My father always bought new cars (a practice I have always followed, too), but the one time he considered buying a used car was at this point.

We went to a dealer's used car lot and looked at a Plymouth Valiant from the mid-1960s. My father had always heard good things about Valiants and their Dodge Dart twins. In fact, I think the business he owned had a Valiant for deliveries to customers, and some relatives had them, too. The two of us went for a test drive with this car. If any of you were around back then, you may recall that by 1971, FM radio was starting to be more of the place to be than AM radio had been. This car, like the two cars my family already had, as well as just about every car I knew except my aunt's next door neighbor's Cadillac, had only an AM radio. I told my father while we were driving around that if we bought this car, I'd eventually be replacing its radio with one that had both AM and FM. He told me that this would not be worth doing in a car that old.

I've kept this in mind whenever I've had a car that was more than a few years old for which I would have liked to have upgraded the audio system or some other nice-to-have thing.

For one reason or another, my father didn't buy that Valiant. Instead, he bought a new 1972 Ford, the only time he pre-ordered a car rather than buy it from dealer stock. When it finally came, it became "Mom's Taxi". My sister, who had also recently gotten her license, and I shared the 4-door 1969 Pontiac that had previously served in this role. My father continued to use the 2-door 1967 Pontiac for commuting to work. Although only five years old, it had a lot of problems, and one day he went to a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer and traded it in on the spot for a 1972 Valiant.

totalimmortal

Your radio is dying. Plain and simple. Get a new one or deal with it.

sherwood

uh.... I thought PE-0 was just the code for a dirty disc/lens

I'd try a lens cleaner first

rslitman

Thanks for this suggestion.

I bought a lens cleaning CD from Radio Shack. Unfortunately, when I stuck it into the CD player, I got the PE-0 message, and it got ejected.

Perhaps I'll try it again if I can get another CD to play.

If there's another way to apply lens cleaner, please let me know. Or if this is something the dealer needs to do and can do, please let me know, and I'll try to get it done the next time I have the car in for something.

rslitman

I called the dealer earlier this week. They don't handle audio problems but directed me to the place they use, a few blocks away. I am planning to go there on Saturday to see if something can be done.

If the thing is shot, I may try to shop around for something inexpensive that will last me until I am ready to buy a new car.

rslitman

The CD player worked OK on Saturday, yesterday, and today in cold weather - cold, wet weather this evening, in fact. I will see how long this lasts. I did go to the audio place this past Saturday, though.

When I first got into the car at home on Saturday - a chilly but dry morning - I put a CD in the CD player for the first time in probably at least a week just to see what would happen. And it worked! Not one to mess with a good thing, I kept it in.

At the audio place, I described the problem. They said it was something that does come up with cold weather and would be a fix in the price range of $150. An actual price was mentioned; it was a hundred forty-something. However, the technician who would do it was not in that day. They said it'a situation in which I'd have to leave the car there in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon. It will take to long to allow me to wait.

This place is open 8-5 Monday through Friday, 10-3 on Saturday. (My dealer opens at 8:00 but has an early morning dropoff option and is a block from the train. They are open late enough for me to get there Monday-Thursday; I know not to leave the car there on Friday because the train is scheduled to get there only nine minutes before their scheduled closing time that day.) My trip there last Saturday was timed to get there around 10:00, since I didn't know if I could be serviced if I got there later. I don't know if this technician is never there on Saturdays or just happened to have this one off.

One option they offered me was to take the unit out of the car (which they said would take about 45 minutes), let me drive off with the car, and then have me come back later that day or on another day and get the repaired unit put back in. I will be doing a lot of driving tomorrow (Wednesday), and if the CD player gives me any trouble then, I will take it in Friday before I go to work, wait the 45 minutes or so to have it done, and pick it up on Saturday. I'll call them on Thursday to see if the technician can work within this time frame.

I'm sure I'm just postponing the inevitable, but the beginning of this week was not a convenient time for me to come in late to work (or leave early) (nor will the beginning of next week be).

totalimmortal

I can't believe your wasting that much money to fix a factory radio. You could get a brand new radio installed for around that price.