I guess I'll leave the alarm alone then - if its there or not - I will test tonight. Is there a way for me to tell if EWS is disabled?

Anyone gotten rid of the radio that came with it? Upgraded speakers and or amps?

 

Has anyone went from normal climate control system to auto climate control? Or to something other than the one that's in mine?

 

The switch to auto climate from Manuel seems some...a couple folks did it...but a hug hassesl...the dampers are different, the panel is just a swap, and there is s sensor that goes in the top of the dash to sense light/heat...
Most folks with auto climate usually kept in in manual mode, so you are not missing much.
If you are not happy with the car, why buy it?

 

Whicj radio do you have? If you have the HK, UPGRADING IT IS A MAJOR issue.
The speakers are non standard, no crossovers (bulit into the amp) and the wiring is screwey....the radio uses speaker levels inputs that are frozen for the amp....just lots of non standard stuff that must be ripped out to start over....
If the stock system, then most any stero swap can be done.

 

Zippy - I'm seriously loving all the info - and you make alot of sense.

Not sure the radio type - I would guess it's the 'stock' radio.

I'm happy with the car - these are some of the options I was also looking for - 'nice to have' but not needed though a better radio might be needed. Just trying to figure out what I would like, what my options are and what makes sense to do .. kinda like moving into a new house and it has most of what you want - and now you want to make it even better (or put the things you would like to have in it).

From the limited 'playing' I have had with it, the radio does sound like a piece of crap.

 

You can tell if you have the hk by with checking for the amp under the seat, or even just looking at the doors...the door cards are different to accommodate the extra tweeters....
Stock speakers were "adequate" at lower volumes, the hk similar at moderate volume.
But after years of heat, cold, and moisture, I'd be swapping them pretty fast myself....was on the edge when I sold my car...was just one more extra $$ that I added to the list when the choice to sell made more $$ sense.
The actual head unit was the same for both stock or HK....just had an extra "enabler" added to allow it to control the amp....biggest issue is the stock head is fairly low powered, and finding efficient enough speakers for it is hard...so it usually dictates a head swap too....
Be sure to get the right adaptors....the head adds voltage to the antenna cable for an inline amp...the 2005+ cars have diversity antennas... One in the glass, one on the roof... That's why so many newer gen 1 folks could swap to a shorty antenna and still have OK reception.... And why so many aftermarket heads have terrible reception... The owners went cheap, and got an unpowered adaptor.

 

If your car is all stock the easiest way to tell if you have the HK system is the door speaker grills say Harmon Kardon on them. Not sure if it's because I have the NAV, but my amp is located in the back, behind and a little forward of the cd changer connector where your iPod interface is.

The factory Bluetooth retrofit was was somewhere around $500-$600.

Your car needs to be programmed by the dealer, or with the NCS Expert software, to let it know it has the alarm installed. The retrofit alarm hardware is about $325 with the turn signal stalk with the red light on the end.

I've seen a post where it was said if you install the stalk without the alarm, the light will still flash, even if your car is not coded for an alarm. Not sure if this is true, but the stalk alone is around $90 now, so I'm debating on trying it.