I have a 2011 wagon with tech package in the USA. I have traced a parasitic drain on my battery to the audio unit (the DVD drive with the blinking red alarm dot). Has anyone tried replacing theirs with a used one? What was the outcome? At this point I am getting by with pulling the #15 fuse under the hood to keep the battery from discharging overnight, which is silly and annoying.

More technical details: A new OEM unit literally costs $9,000+ USD depending on which site you go to. On eBay they have used ones for about $200 USD. However, they do not come with the anti-theft codes to actually make it work. A couple of ebay sellers responded to me that I can get the codes from the VIN, which is only partly true, based on the Honda website statement: "You can retrieve your codes using this website by providing identity verification and vehicle information in a few simple steps." One of the pieces of information you need to put into the website is the serial number, which is found on the anti-theft card in the glove box. Link to Honda site: https://mygarage.honda.com/s/radio-nav-code?brand=Acura

 

If the seller provides you the VIN# of the car the radio comes from you can get the code from Acura/Honda. It works I've done it before! But I have to asked. Why are you wasting time with this outdated system? Upgrading to Android Auto Apple car play is the best thing I've done to my TSX to make it modern. I used this method below, it is the best available. All of my steering wheel controls works and I have full HVAC visual function. I recommend you watch all 5 parts of those videos to see the improvements.

 

It's great to hear that the VIN was all you needed. I was very worried about throwing money down the toilet. To answer your question, This is all about an electrical gremlin, not an upgrade. I do not want to invest in a whole new system, because the car is not going to be with us much longer. But I still need it to start and all the windows to open, etc. I have thought about installing a Navtool or a double DIN like what's in those videos, but decided against it for two reasons. 1: when I was looking into replacing the head unit, it became clear that it was not possible at the time. 2: I realized it was too much effort and potentially introducing new gremlins, when I could just use my phone with spotify to get all the stereo features I wanted. Anyway, thank you very much for the info. I will post once I get the hardware installed.