Shhhhhh! Haven't you ever heard of the Yakuza? I value my life!

Seriously though, I'm not going to let my one bad experience, that may have only been a one time occurance, tarnish the reputation of an otherwise very respected dealership. Besides, it really wasn't much more than a difference of opinion between me and the sales manager, and I got what I wanted. Plus, I sent a slightly revised addition of what I posted here as an additonal item when I sent in the post sale "Dealership Questionaire". I'm told that these go straight to the Dealership's GM, so hopefully the sales manager will be dealt with.

 

Dark Horse: The sales manager should have not agrued with you and said, "sir I will take car of this." Instead he left a mild sour taste in your mouth and you had to fight to get what you were promised in the beginning. If he had done what was right this post's tag line would be quite different.

 

Not that I agree at all with the terminology "XM Ready", but it is used across the industry, and it in no way implies that XM is installed. The problem is that anyone who hasn't researched satellite radio (including myself) gets mislead by the "XM Ready" statement. The assumption is that it is ready to activate (I also thought this before researching).

The problem is, this is an industry wide problem - not Honda's (save for the fact that some dealers still don't understand what "XM Ready" means).

If you do research at Best Buy (or any other online site) any CD Player/Car Stereo Unit that says "XM Ready" requires the purchase and installation of the XM receiver - all they provide is the connector & firmware to understand XM's signal from the XM receiver.

For example:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1134702498131

Just because this unit is "Ipod ready" doesn't mean it includes an ipod.

I agree it is silly terminology and cryptic to those who don't understand the lingo, but it is the way it is and I don't think Honda is anymore at fault than the people who created this "standard" terminology.

The dealers should be a bit more clear with the definition of XM Ready.

 

I agree, this is a problem. Just because it is industry wide terminology doesn't make it right. Especially since XM is relatively new and purchasing this car is most people's first experience with XM. My last car was an 05 Honda Element which came standard with XM. When I saw the XM logo on the Civic Hybrid I naturally assumed that it also had XM, despite the tiny "ready" beneath the logo. Making it a 900$ procedure to get XM is also unexcusable given that aftermarket systems cost a small fraction of this.

 

They should call it "XM Compatible".

We were going to get it, but when I saw the price, I balked. If it were Sirius, I'd just buy it and install it myself, but I haven't found any XM content I couldn't live without.

 

Well put. I thought XM was included prior to my purchase. I then discovered it wasn't (again before the purchase). Fortunately it wasn't a deal breaker. I bought the Pioneer Airware and it works just fine for a fraction of the cost. $900 is just unreasonable IMHO.

 

I had the same experience. The problem is, my dealer assured me that all I needed to do was activate XM through the screen. A number of calls and a subsequent online search confirmed that it was only "XM Ready." A follow-up survey was sent to me, wherein I complained about the false assurances, but does Honda management actually even read those things? By the way, the dealer is Gardena Honda in Gardena, California. I love my car, but didn't appreciate the lying.

 

HyMinded, if you want action, call the 800 number on OwnerLink at the Honda Site.

 

I don't think the dealer was lying on purpose. When I bought my HCH the dealer told me the same thing. I knew he was wrong and I told him so. He was very surprised. The "XM Ready" schtik is just as misleading for the dealers as for the customers. The fault lies squarely with Honda for mislabeling the feature and not educating their dealers about the facts.

 

Same here... my salesperson implied it was "ready" to be activated. My only interest was in integration with the Navi controls. When he said it would be $900 to activate, I almost died! I've been an XM customer for several years, with three activations on the family plan. I know that each activation only has a small (maybe $15) fee. When I pressed harder for info, they advised me of the added hardware needed.

Since I had my XM Roady from my old vehicle, the $900 wasn't even a consideration. Navi integration would be fun, but not $900 worth of fun.

What in that kit could POSSIBLY cost that much? My Roady was $40 and came with the antenna, wiring and receiver... in fact, more of a receiver than in the Honda unit, since Honda's receiver doesn't need a display nor input buttons, since all of that is controlled through the Navi.

Even if half of that is labor, that's still $450 for a part which shouldn't cost more than $100 (even with customized harness connectors). Shame on Honda for this one!