A couple of month's ago I bought a 2003 accord ex coupe. When I bought it was raining so I was not really paying attention to the radio. couple of day's went by I started to notice that my reception was not that good. Then I notice that I did not even have an antenna. Has anyone else had this problem? what would be a solution for something aftermarket so I can get better reception? Thanks for your help and suggestions.

Is it tinted?

Keeping in mind that you have a rear window integrated antenna, it is quite possible that the "antenna" could have been damaged. I have heard of ice scrapers causing havoc with them.

And as Honda247 mentioned, if your window is tinted, that could also cause your problem.

I have heard of ice scrapers causing havoc with them.

How can ice scrapers cause damage when the antenna is on the inside of the window?

How can ice scrapers cause damage when the antenna is on the inside of the window?

That is the excuse that the garage gave my grandmother...:lmao:

I agree with 04coupe. I'm not sure how ice scrapers can harm the antenna, when its on the inside of the glass. But the tint can affect the reception. One thing you can check ot the antenna connection behind the radio. Or you can just take it back to the dealer and have them check it out.


OP you mean to say you have not used you radio from the time you bought your car, or you just been playing CDs? But check your tint. Even if you change to an after market unit, if the tint is causing the porblem then it will be present on the new unit. If I am not mistaken metallic tint will cause this, correct me if i'm wrong.

No it is not tinted. I have seen them with the shark fin, and my car does not have it. I think I need a finn attena. I have an fm transmitter for my Ipod. All I really want to do is get something so I can listen to my Ipod. I already have a fm transmitter.

The fin is for satellite radio, not terrestrial radio aka FM or AM.

no tint. I want something better than an fm Transmitter, so that I can listen to my ipod. I want something simple with not being a big install.

I have the indash 6 cd player and it is before the aux inputs.

Moved to Audio & Electronics.

Can't damage the integrated antenna in the rear windshield unless you are scraping on the inside of the glass where the wire is embedded.

Tint won't affect either since the antenna element is between the glass and the tint therefore exposed to the radio frequency wave, and only metalized tint will have an effect in "shielding" the signals to electronics which receives signals from within the car.

You may have a poor connection of the antenna connector either at the base of the windshield or at the radio itself.

As for iPod connection, look for USA Spec and a whole bunch of other devices mentioned over the years in the Audio & Electronics section, there have been many threads on this many times.

Thanks I am new to the site so Im still exploring everything still. I figure I would just be lazy and ask instead of searching.