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Just bought a 2006 Civic LX, 60K miles, from a Honda dealer, supposedly with a "150 point check." Bought it during the day, but when I drove it home, it was night, and that's when I discovered that there was no illumination of the audio controls (on the radio).

Is this a common problem, and most importantly, is it easy to fix? Is it just a fuse? Is the illumination provided by a regular incandescent bulb, or by a LED?

 
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The radio should be lited as well, light level controlled by the little buttons on the left on the dash.

Somebody must have fiddle with the radio in the past,

best is to get it back to the dealer and see if you can get some sympathy warrenty...should not bee too hard to get it back to light.

plastics

 
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Thanks. Why does the non-functioning backlight mean that someone had fiddle with the radio? Under normal conditions, it never stops working?

 
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if the other dash lights work, and the radio works (but without light), you prolly need a new radio.

 
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The other dash lights do work, and the radio does work, but without a light. Yikes.

 
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yeah cause i was gonna say a fuse, but if the radio works then it has to be an internal problem in the radio. if its under warranty, just take it back and have them swap in a new one. if not, you may try and open the old one and see if you can look at the bulbs or something. then look for a replacement on ebay. they are usually under $100.

 
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Well, the car is no longer under warranty, but everything was supposed to be in working condition, so I'm going to try to get sympathy... Wish me luck!

 
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By the radio lights, I mean not only the presets, but also the row of buttons above for "AM", "FM", MP3, etc.

 
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How do you get $100? I did a search on eBay, and the unit includes the A/C controls and cutouts for vents, but costs $200:



So perhaps it is just an individual illumination component?

 
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so all of the lights are out on that panel? if so its prolly a fuse then. ive seen those units on ebay for around 100 tho a few weeks ago. just keep looking

 
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No, just those indicated by arrows:



What a terrible design to make everything part of a common faceplate assembly!

 
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if you take it apart, i bet you will find the radio is a separate piece, or at least removable (even if it doesnt have its own face). i think the front trim is like a faceplate controling different pieces from the back. and yeah its a strange design. makes it very hard to upgrade to a different stereo without buying a whole new trim piece.

 
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try 8thgencivic.com in the sale section....

Si model(premium model) $100 LX is non-premium model
http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/car-a...nit-07-si.html

but I would spend that much on aftermarket for pretty much same price....

 
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But aftermarket is difficult on the '06 Civic because of the faceplate, isn't it? Crutchfield? The aftermarket faceplate doesn't exactly reproduce the original, does it?

 
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yeah pretty much it does.

 
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You were right on the money. Initially, the used car salesman I dealt with claimed that the radio wasn't illuminated -- until I showed him the portion of the manual that mentions it. So we looked at a used 2007 Civic whose radio was back lit. Then the repair department seemed to go through the same song and dance.

Now that they've recognized the problem and acknowledge that the entire radio has to be replaced, they're trying to figure out who has to pay for it.

 
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well, make them pay...or at least refund some of the money...

 
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They did not charge me, but the repair report states, "transferred audo unit, a/c controls & circuit board over to original trim piece, used part trim piece was damaged"). Sounds as if they used a used trim assembly to fix the problem, didn't they? And now pressing the CD eject button causes weird noises to be heard, as if something is rubbing or stuck. Would they have misaligned the radio with the CD slot in the trim?

 
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hmm maybe these decks are just prone to problems. so long as the thing is working, and the cd doesnt scrape the plastic, i think it will be okay for now.

 
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It's worse than that -- it won't accept a CD. Back to the dealer

 
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I have this SAME EXACT problem, the audio controls don't light up. I bought the 06 Civic LX on Monday, was there today, the mechanic told me that there are no light bulbs there so they're not supposed to light up. After reading this forum I planned on going tomorrow but I don't know exactly to what to say, I don't have a owner's manual because it is a used car.

 
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The mechanic is wrong; all of the controls on that trim panel are backlit. If he doesn't believe you, ask him to show you another 8th gen Civic, but be sure to turn on the lights in a dimly lit area or when it's cloudy!

 
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He enough went far enough to print out a diagram of the control panel showing a illustration for a circuit board and the ***** and such and told me no bulbs were there for them, again looking at it I didn't even see indication of bulbs for the heating controls which do work, I kinda think they didn't want to help just very fustrating, but it's good to hear that you got your problem sorted out.

 
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yeah ive never heard of a radio that doesnt light up. how can you even use it at night?

 
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I've just purchased a 2007 Civic ex and noticed similar problems with the lighting on the stereo part of the dashboard. The stereo still works but it's backlight isn't. Its extremely annoying to see the large dark portion on the dash when driving at night. There is no doubt in my mind that it should be lit because I've been driving a 2008 Civic with a lit stereo during the time I was looking for a replacement car. After weeks of researching this issue, I've come up with two solutions: replace the dashboard completely or live with the problem. I really hope there are other ways to deal with this...

 
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I know the feeling, a dark portion just bothers me, and gearbox its very hard to work. Hopefully all goes well in the morning and they don't keep denying theres a problem.

 
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Exactly. And "bulbs" wouldn't necessarily be on the wiring diagram any more than integrated circuits in the radio...

 
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hey guys have you tried taking apart the dash or radio and seeing if the bulbs can be simply replaced? i know the older style radios came apart and they had lil bulbs with color condoms you could take out. i dont think they switched to LEDs for the newer stereos yet or this prolly wouldnt be an issue. if you cant figure it out, try and find a newer model radio with working light and swap that in.

 
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I am in the same boat here to! just bought an 06 civic lx coupe and the stereo light flickers and cant seem to make up its mind if its on or off. Maybe a wire short?