2012 / 2013 CR-V - Accord horn mod

[JustinTime]

Thanks Bob. I already have battle scars from fog lights replacement. That was absolutely horrifying!!!

Will attempt horn mod next!


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

[PNutts]

Are all the clips / plastic rivets reusable? I'm worried that they aren't or I'll break one.

[JustinTime]

You need to take the clips out with care. You use a screwdriver to pry and pop the center part first. then you pull it out a little. And finally you pull the entire clip out in one piece (still 'together' but with the center clip popped out).

To put back on, you insert the entire clip (still popped!) into the holw, seat in place, and finally pop the center pin in (pop it back in).

[JustinTime]

So I tackled the second horn (lower bumper) today. My Gosh, it *is*very hard to reach in there!

Anyhow, I finished the mod, and my impression is that the upper and lower horns sound similar. One is supposed to be a 'high' tone, the other a 'low' tone. Loud? yes.

So, is it just me? Could one of you who already performed the mod indicate whether they sound similar together?

EDIT: I used the exact same part numbers listed on CollegeHillsHonda site.

[PNutts]

Thanks for the update. Did you use a lift or were you able to replace the "bumper horn" with the wheels on the ground? I almost ordered the top horn and some LED lights from College Hill but the $14 shipping stopped me. Tomorrow I'm going to see if my local dealer can get the horns, but after your review I'm not sure I want to spend the effort on the bumper horn. Like you I like a sound that is obviously high/low tones.

[JustinTime]

Pnutts

I did the upgrade with the vehicle on the ground. It is not impossible to perform the swap, but it is in fact quite frustrating. Taking the lower panel apart is straightforward, but the opening is not big enough to work comfortably in there.

Frankly I do not recommend changing the lower horn at all. If you change the upper horn, that produces a fine dual tone sound Combined with the OEM lower horn.

Edit. What you will get however, if you change both of them, it's a louder over all sound.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

[JustinTime]

If anyone wants the high tone loud horn pm me. Part number 38150-SHJ-A02. I will ship it cheaper than anywhere else you can find online. $15 shipped anywhere in the US.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

[PNutts]

I bit the bullet and ordered the grill horn (38100-STK-A02) from my local Honda Dealership for US$22. Per JustinTime's recommendation I'm going to skip the bumper horn. I think I'll measure the sound level before and after (using an iOS app so the results will be rough if not meaningless).

[CR_V_SAN_DIEGO]

I just did the switch this weekend in my 2013 CR V. I ordered the horn, part number 38100-SDB-A02, from www.hondapartworld.com for $33 with shipping. My 9 year-old helped me remove the (3) 12mm bolts with a ratchet and we were done in less than 10 minutes. No modifications or anything else needed.

The sound is better but now I need to replace the lower horn which sound like it's more difficult.

P.S. The part will say "lower horn assembly" but it's a perfect fit to replace the top horn.

[PNutts]

Say hello to my little friend.

Now say goodbye. Since the power connector is on the opposite side of the horn the wire would not comfortably reach it without putting (in my opinion) too much tension on it, even without reattaching the blue fastener seen at the bottom left in the video at 3:16. My wire was only long enough to go from the black keeper on the right side of the video straight across underneath the bracket and down to the horn's connector. So much so that the wire was pulling out of the loom and exposed. The wire itself was pulling up the shroud seen at 3:20.

I rotated the horn on the bracket 45 degrees clockwise to move the connector from the 9 o'clock position but that changed the position of the bell and it wouldn't fit in that position. So the only way I see this working is to rotate the bell 180 degrees so that the connector is in the 3 o'clock position. So far it hasn't budged and my expectation now is that the platic will break before it moves at all.

Oh, well. It's my wife's car and she likes it. I've never had so much buyer's remorse with any other vehicle I've owned.