New Civic Owner: '13 Coupe EX-L w/Navi Kona Coffee Metallic

Hillstones

Well-Known Member
204
137
Valencia, CA
Vehicle Model
Maxima Platinum
Body Style
Sedan
Hello all,

My name is Pete, and I am 43. I traded in my '03 Accord Coupe EX-V6 Navi for the '13 Civic Coupe EX-L w/Navi in Kona Coffee Metallic. I love the Kona Coffee color. Much nicer than the Graphite Pearl on my old Accord. Gas isn't getting any cheaper, so I wanted a car with better MPG than the Accord. I am not into paying a premium for a Hybrid, to never recoup that cost in gas or the expense to replace the battery system. So I had my eyes set on the Civic EX-L w/Navi. (No Si here...the MPG on the Si was no different than my Accord V6). I love the new Civic and the 10-year improvement in technology. I love the i-MID display, which remains separate from the Navi (not so in the new Accord, it is one or the other). I love the iPod USB interface which displays the album artwork on the i-MID. Odd that the album artwork does not also appear on the Navi audio screen.

I have tinted the windows, 20% in back and 35% on the doors. I have replaced the interior, license plate, and trunk lights with white LEDs. Nothing too bright, just slightly brighter than stock. I put a 6-LED board in the trunk, because a trunk should be well lit. I am not into lowering a car or changing exhausts. I bought the car for the fuel economy. I do need to add a few more extras like the splash guards and trunk tray. I am thinking about the Honda Blue LED interior ambient light kit, but don't know how much light it would add in the foot wells.

The Premium Audio System is not very Premium. I don't know why Honda put such lousy speakers in the back, and it sounds like the amp has less volume in the rear than the fronts. The subwoofer doesn't do anything. I was hoping for at least some pretty decent sound from the subwoofer. So in the near future I want to bypass the factory amp and install a new amp, components up front, new rear speakers and a new sub. I want to retain the factory Navi head unit, and since it is an unpowered unit, it would hopefully be easy. However, I am not familiar with differential balanced outputs, which I believe the premium system uses. So suggestions would be helpful for adding an amp and new speakers.

Here are some pics of the new car. The first and second pic were before the windows were tinted, but show the Kona Coffee better in sunlight. The third pic was overcast, which makes the car look almost black.

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Welcome! I like the color too.
 
You'll have to add your pics to this thread!!
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/kona-coffee-metallic-2013.6685/

We've only had one other user post pics of their kona coffee so far.

Take a read through the ambient light light DIY threads. Some users have been pretty unhappy with output, so they've modified the covers to let more light out...
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/9thcivic-2012-civic-ambient-lights-diy.3366/
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/2012-civic-si-ambient-lights-red-si.4288/

or look through the pages of Pauly99to17 's thread. He's done a lot of blue interior lighting upgrades
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/paulys-youre-my-boy-blue.6598/
 
That color looks so good! Got any pics of the interior? And welcome :wave: there's a lot of great info here provided by good people
 
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I had the interior illumination done in my car, it was pretty weak when initially installed (mine is red as I am driving an SI). I drilled out the centers of the caps over the lights and it looks good. Also the kit had 3 lights and a on/off switch for 2012, however for the 2013's they eliminated the middle light and the on/off switch. Now that I have gotten the lights brighter, I like it.
 
I do need to add a few more extras like the splash guards and trunk tray.
My OEM trunk tray just arrived today. Bought it from a Honda dealer on eBay for $74 including shipping. It's a great investment at that price, and it's very durable.

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I also ordered the Weathertech Floor Liner floor mats for the front and back. I'll post pics on Saturday when they're delivered.

The Premium Audio System is not very Premium. I don't know why Honda put such lousy speakers in the back, and it sounds like the amp has less volume in the rear than the fronts. The subwoofer doesn't do anything. I was hoping for at least some pretty decent sound from the subwoofer. So in the near future I want to bypass the factory amp and install a new amp, components up front, new rear speakers and a new sub. I want to retain the factory Navi head unit, and since it is an unpowered unit, it would hopefully be easy. However, I am not familiar with differential balanced outputs, which I believe the premium system uses. So suggestions would be helpful for adding an amp and new speakers.

I agree with you entirely regarding the sound system. It's the furthest thing from being "premium". Though we did discuss, in a recent thread, that it would be incredibly labor-intensive even to just swap the factory speakers for better ones. I guess we're stuck with them.

Link to that discussion:
http://9thcivic.com/forum/index.php?threads/please-help-me-with-speakers-,-im-clueless.8433/

Wow! That interior looks far more upscale than you'd expect a Civic to look. And it has all the amenities the "premium" cars have (i.e. heated seats, Navi, satellite radio, etc)
 
I agree with you entirely regarding the sound system. It's the furthest thing from being "premium". Though we did discuss, in a recent thread, that it would be incredibly labor-intensive even to just swap the factory speakers for better ones. I guess we're stuck with them.

Wow! That interior looks far more upscale than you'd expect a Civic to look. And it has all the amenities the "premium" cars have (i.e. heated seats, Navi, satellite radio, etc)

The front speakers would be easy, remove the door panels and the A-pillars. The rear speakers are harder than other cars because the Civic has a one-piece rear deck, but it is not impossible. Remove the C-pillars and then remove the rear deck. You have access to all three speakers to replace. I haven't worked with a system with differential balanced outputs, but the head unit is unpowered, so it should be easier to bypass the factory amp for aftermarket compared to the Civic without premium and a powered head unit. The ex had an '08 Element with the same premium system and that subwoofer sounded surprisingly good. All I had to do in that car was replace the 4 door speakers for much better sound. I was hoping for the same thing with the Civic, especially since the Civic has a trunk. Guess not. I can't believe how poorly the rear speakers sound compared to the fronts. I will probably have a stereo shop do the job since I am not familiar with differential balanced outputs. I am still doing research on it.

The trunk tray is essential and I had one in my Accord coupe since day 1. Really keeps the trunk in brand-new condition, even 10 years later. I will check out the links on the LED ambient lighting, but it sounds like those are a waste of money, so I am glad I did not buy them. The EX-L with Navi is very nice with lots of amenities. I am glad the Civic now has a leather interior option. It has a nicer dashboard, heated seats, auto climate control, heated mirrors, and Navi includes XM as a standard feature. I love the Bluetooth HandsFree, Bluetooth Audio, free FM Traffic with the Navi, and the USB interface. I don't have to add my own iPod connection kit. The voice recognition is a joke, too many commands to do a simple task. Easier to use the touchscreen on the Navi stereo to get something done.
 
Yeah I agree about the voice command being too complicated for its own good. A few button presses on the touch screen gets the job done. I also disabled the feature where the Navi talks back to you every time and gives hints.

Speaking of Navi - the graphics and resolution are sub-par for a new 2013 model year car. Seems so incredibly dated.

And I wish the Si came with the auto/digital climate control. Should've left the knobs for the LX only.

About the traffic service - is that free via the FM transmitter like some Garmin/TomTom units? I thought the traffic service comes in via the XM sat radio?
 
You're right about the FM traffic:

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Does that mean its free for life?
 
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The front speakers would be easy, remove the door panels and the A-pillars. The rear speakers are harder than other cars because the Civic has a one-piece rear deck, but it is not impossible. Remove the C-pillars and then remove the rear deck. You have access to all three speakers to replace.

It is necessary to remove the rear seat side panels and the molding that covers the airbags before removal of the rear deck is possible due to the way everything interlocks.

From what I have read so far, there are no direct fit tweeters either. So that means a bit of custom work...probably just drilling new holes. It would be best to buy a component set for the front as 9thgizzyguy mentions in the thread Phaheem referenced above. If installing an amp to connect them to, it would be necessary to run wire from the amp to the front speakers as well as installing the new crossover and running the wires that the speakers will connect to.

This really isn't a job for the faint of heart.
 
Does that mean its free for life?

I doubt that it's going to stay free.
 
Does that mean its free for life?

I doubt that it's going to stay free.
FM traffic updates on Garmin navs are typically free indefinitely, for as long as an FM signal is broadcast with that information.

In my wife's car, the traffic info comes in via XM radio. So when the trial subscription ran out, so did the traffic updates.

The XM trial in my Civic is valid for 3 months. We'll see if, in 3 months, the traffic updates are still available. If they are, then it's coming in via FM signals
 
The FM traffic is free for life, because it is delivered by FM, not a through a paid XM subscription. My GFs Chevy Equinox has XM Traffic and it never works because it always says, "No data available", even in busy Los Angeles. The Honda Civic brochure says the FM traffic service is included with the Navi system and it is only available in the US, except Alaska. Says nothing about FM traffic being a paid service. So far, it works well. If I am sitting in traffic, the traffic info confirms I am in traffic. Ha! I haven't yet figured out how to get it to re-route me around the traffic.
 
The FM traffic is free for life, because it is delivered by FM, not a through a paid XM subscription. My GFs Chevy Equinox has XM Traffic and it never works because it always says, "No data available", even in busy Los Angeles. The Honda Civic brochure says the FM traffic service is included with the Navi system and it is only available in the US, except Alaska. Says nothing about FM traffic being a paid service. So far, it works well. If I am sitting in traffic, the traffic info confirms I am in traffic. Ha! I haven't yet figured out how to get it to re-route me around the traffic.
Yeah nice! That's good to know its free for life...good job Honda. I like pushing the INFO button on the navi, then pushing Traffic Incidents on the touch screen to see what's going on, on and off my route
 
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