My sister’s 2008 Honda Civic LX has started doing something interesting recently. When you start the car, the vehicle does a sudden honk. At first we thought that we were hitting the horn, but it has been continuously occurring when starting the vehicle. While it has been working for the past weeks, just today the radio is now asking for an unlock code. I was wondering if anyone knows what might be causing this.
I’d start by having the battery and charging system tested. Quirks like this often start happening when the battery is dying. How old is the battery?
The battery is like 2 1/2 to 3 months old.
has this problem been occurring from about when you got the new battery? Do you have a third party security system installed ?
If not, this may have to be towed to a dealer.
Are battery cables clean and tight?
The Body control module/ Multiplex control on some vehicles will chirp the horn on start up to indicate the memory power fuse for various systems has been removed (for the purpose of storage). Check fuses # 22 and 23 in the under hood fuse box.
The honking horn combined with the radio asking for an unlock codes suggests that the battery was changed without a backup power source having been hooked up to retain the BCM program settings. Lots of stations still skip the backup power source and your problems are becoming common.
That also trips the need for the “unlock codes” for the radio. Years ago, to counteract theft, OEM radios began being manufactured such that when power was removed they would need a special code to “unlock” them so they’d work again. The idea was to make them useless to thieves. With your VIN the dealer should be able to look up the code for you and unlock the radio.
In addition to checking the fuses suggested by Nevada, you may have to have the BCM “reinitialized” at the dealers. The dealer should also be able to reset the radio.
When my battery was 5+ years old I had it replaced, and I had to reinitialize my BCM to get my windows and my roof to work right. Fortunately, I had access to the protocol.