Stock CD Player Code!
 

My friend has a 99 prelude and he unhooked his battery the other day and now he needs the code for the cd player. I know you can go to the dealership and get it, but you have to pay money. Does anybody know where it may be hidden on the car? Let me know asap, Thanks!

The car paperwork includes a card with the code on it. If that is missing-sorry but you WILL visit a dealer to get the code.

There should be a zip-loc bag full of all the warranty, info about the car, master ignition (red key), owners manual, and the card with the radio code on it. If he lost it or never had it, sorry, but the dealer is the only place he can go.

97 gs...... what I had to do was pull out the radio and get the serial code off the radio, it took about 10 minutes to do this and a call to the dealer, with that serial code the dealer will give me the code to the radio for free so if you guys have time, pull out the black trim panel, then there should be 4 screws which hold the radio in, pull the radio out and get me the serial code and I can call the dealer over here if you want which gives the codes for free with the serial #, let me know....

what is that redkey for anyways?

i thought it was just a neatlooking key.. but then i read the back and it scared the #()@$ outta me..

You don't know? Good thing you asked. That is the master program key. If you loose any of the other keys (full access black keys or vallet gray key) and you need a new key, you need to bring the red key to your dealer to get the new key programed for your car. DO NOT LOOSE THIS KEY, AND DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRY TO USE IT TO START YOUR CAR!!!!! If you use it, it will dissable your anti-theft system, the car won't start, and you will need to replace the ECM. It is a master program key only, so even if you loose every other key, don't use the red key. You'll know if you've damaged the anti-theft circuit because the green key lamp on your dash that blinks when you shut the car off will just stay on all the time, and obviously the car will not start.

ok yall he found the code on the inside of his glovebox. I think it was near or on the hing. I dunno if its like that on all prelude, but if it is thats where it's at. Thanks for the replies though.

Hmmm... I'm having this same problem with my Del Sol, battery went dead, now I need the code... I'll try my glovebox also, since I didn't get any paperwork from the previous owner... that son of a -----

whoa does all hondas have this "red key"???

All new Hondas and Acuras do. Any Honda with the anti-theft immobilizer system have it. You'll know if the car has it when starting or shuting the engine, you'll see a green lamp with the symbol of a key blink on the dash board. On these cars, there is a transponder in the key that contains a matched code to a computer in the car. If the code is missing or doesn't match when someone tries to start the car, it won't start. Car can't be hotwired, or started with a key that was duplicated at your local hardware store. You must order it from Honda through your dealer, and have the red key to program the new key. They cost about 60.00 each for a new one. That red key is for programing only, and will damage your car's immobilizer system if you try to use it to start the car. It contains a master override code that can only be used to program new keys to your car's specific code. That's why the red key is in a sealed box and on the back it clearly states "DO NOT USE THIS KEY". As bad as it might seem, this is worlds better than the key GM uses...... even though they're cheaper and don't need to be programed, it's VERY easy to get a duplicated key for the GM Pass-key system, since it's only a resistor, and not a frequency transponder.

The dealership should have given your friend a card with code on it when he first bought it, they always put it inside the owner's manual.

Newer models have, it's a key that u use to reset or reprogram all the settings of the car.

wow crazy shiet. i never heard of anything about it

Well, its really not new, nor is it big news. Car companies have had coded keys for about 10-15 years. It's only been the last 5 or so that the technology has trickled down to virtually every car, not just elite or expensive high end. Heck, MB and BMW have done away with the cut tooth key and tumbler ignition as we know it on their high end models. On BMW 7-series, you insert the ignition tool which kind of resembles a key, but it really isn't. You stick the piece into the dashboard where it's marked and the car is in accessory mode. Then you press the start button to start the engine. That device contains an actual electronic circuit which tells the car's ECM and ignition to "wake up". On Mercedes, you insert a similar device, turn it to accessory, and press the fob itself to start the car. My aunt's 1992 Buick LeSabre has Pass-Key, which is the easiest and cheapest way to code a key. Just a little chip resistor. When it first came out in 1989, it was great. But it only took about a year for theives to learn how to defeat it. Transponders are much more difficult to defeat, but they can be done. The ignition fobs that MB and BMW have are the first real theft ignition protection. Because the cars are so computer oriented, you'd need an engineering degree to understand how to hotwire it.

yeah i always heard that the bENZ are the hardest to jack cuz they got those laser cut keys. but i bet one day they'll find a way to override those computer. but i never expected HONDA to have something like that RED KEY.

Re: Stock CD Player Code!
 

I actually went to the dealership today and I got the code without paying a single dime. What you need to do is just take out your friends center console and remove the radio and write down the serial number, the model number, and the reference number. Bring those sets of numbers to the parts department and they will look it up for you at no charge. Hope that helps.

When I bought my car last year (used 2001 SH), I never received the red key. The dealership only gave me one key (yea....its bull****!). So I thought I need the red key too to reprogram the other keys, but that's not so. The Acura dealership that I bought my car from didn't even need the red key in order to reprogram it. All they did was just use the current key and copied the key and the chip inside the key (don't ask me how they did it) but IF you did lose your red key when you first bought your car, its not the end of the world! THEY ARE ABLE TO REPROGRAM YOUR KEY WITHOUT IT!!!!

One day what Mercedes and BMW have will trickle down to a Honda Civic. What Honda has now, MB had ten years ago. Just like everything concerning technology, as it gets cheaper to make, more products will use it. As for the red key, I think Honda debuted it on the 1997 Prelude. I don't recall which, if any, Acuras had it at the time, but I would assume at least the RL did, since it was last redesigned in 1996.

Re: Re: Stock CD Player Code!
 

Well that's good to know. My dealer had me a little worried (not that I have a tendency to loose things), and the salesman made sure I understood all about the key. So then the other side of the story is don't loose any of your keys, as someone could just go to any Honda/Acura dealer and have it copied. By the way, how much did they charge you?

Re: Re: Re: Stock CD Player Code!
 

Acutally, it was free because I went back to the dealership later on that week to have an extra key made in case I lost the only key that I had But I'm sure if you lost it now and you had the car for a few years, they'd hassle you and make excuses not to make it. But they ARE able to do it without the red key.

but damn there still a red key out there. and that person can just make a copy and jack your car.

what?

Can someone help me!!!. I need the code for my cd player. I lost the card.

serial numer 93A218766

the only vehicles that use the "red key" are the 97-01 preludes, which use the type-1 transponder system. all other vehicles at the time of this post (with the exception of the 03 accord) use the type-2 system, which do not require the use of the "red key" to reprogram, instead using the PGM or HDS units that all dealerships have in the shop. additional keys can also be made simply by bringing any working key to a dealership with an ilco transponder duplicator. this saves time & doesn't require the car to be present. the 03 accord uses the new type-4 transponder system, which utilizes rolling codes. they require use of the PGM or HDS to add/remove keys, as type-4 keys cannot have their RF code programmed into another key by the ilco duplicator.

there is no type-3 transponder system. (at least in USDM production vehicles)

as for being unstealable...any dealer can get the key code & immobilizer bypass code for any honda with just the vehicle's VIN. the key code can be used to cut a new key without an original key to trace. the immobilizer bypass code can be used to start the vehicle without using the correct transponder key or any other special equipment for that matter. a thief that knows someone at a dealer and had a handheld key cutter (no bigger than a power drill) and a few blank keys could stand next to a honda (transponder or not), read the VIN off the dash through the windshield to their friend at the dealer, cut the key standing on the side of the road, get in the car WITHOUT damaging the car or using a slim jim...then use the key in the ignition to unlock the steering column and start the car after putting in the immobilizer brake code. if they're quick, they could have the car started about 2 minutes after they called in the VIN. no damage to the vehicle whatsoever.

before you get paranoid...all VIN inquiries are tracked, and individual dealer employees are identified by id/pin combinations. anyone that has half a brain would not risk having their name attached to the VIN inquiry of a vehicle that was stolen a few minutes later :)

I guess some of the key traces done on Gone In Sixty Seconds weren't that far from the truth.

Can i buy the immobilizer system and install it in my 96 honda civic?

you would have to find a way to put an 01+ ECM/PCM in your car...which i'm pretty sure is not possible. the immobilizer system works in conjunction with the ECM/PCM and the fuel system.

you can buy aftermarket immobilizer type systems, but they are significantly less secure than the factory installed version. i don't know of any that use an in-key transponder either...they all have little keychain devices similar to a mobil speedpass.

even if you hav the red key and you loose all of the other keys you cant get a replacement made you have to replace the immobilizer unit and it comes with a new red key and a master key, because the red key is only a learning. And any dealor can access the vin inquiry and it won't point to anyone in perticular and they can get the brake code which is used to bypass the immobilizer, only key codes require a tech number and a social security number.

this is true. you need to replace the immobilizer (comes w/red key and new master key) if you:

1. lose the red key
2. lose all your other keys
3. use the red key to try and start the car (almost always but not every time)
4. the immobilizer unit fails for any reason.

any existing master/valet keys can be reprogrammed to the new immobilizer unit.

when i referred to requiring the DPSM and last four of SSN for getting access to a car, i was talking about the key code request, though i didn't make that very clear. previously, VIN status required both, and contained the key code. if you look at a recent VIN status request, there is (last i remember) a line for key code, but it is no longer filled in. VIN status is no longer traceable in the same way, although it is recorded as being placed by your IN username. since VIN status is performed by most service advisors when checking your car for existing campaign codes, there isn't much risk in running one.

If you lost power to the radio, you can display the radio serial by turning car to on position, push pwr, preset 1+6 simultaneously. It'll be displayed on screen. There shouldn't be a need to be pulling radios out of a car for this operation.