"ACAR" <dimndsonmywndshld@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:84047f08-4afe-4af6-981b-f243157d1fe6@f36g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
> On Sep 25, 7:28 pm, Brian Smith <Hali...@NovaScotia.Canada> wrote:
>> Reggie Dunlop wrote:
>>
>> > You must be an academician and/or a Democrat-- avoiding answering the
>> > question that was asked while managing to inject some holier than thou,
>> > condescending piety that overall is a put-down ;-)
>>
>> Do you have lights in your light switches in your home? If not
>> how do
>> you locate them when you need to turn the lights on in a room when it's
>> dark?
>
> Actually, yes, my light switches are lit. You can have the same after
> a trip to Home Depot/Lowes. Right next to the illuminated light
> switches you'll find an array of night lights. I wonder why they sell
> those to families without young kids?
>
> Do you ever lend your car to a friend? Ever drive someone else's car?
> Ever switch cars with your wife? Maybe there's a reason why other
> manufacturers manage to illuminate these controls. Face it, Honda is
> just cutting corners. Like their inability to equip the Accord EX with
> a power passenger seat.

Another example is the windshield washer fluid bottle.
Only 2.6 quarts of fluid in the US version. More than a gallon in Canadian
version.
Canadian version also has a low fluid level indicator (the bottle has a
float switch).
How much did then save in US version doing this ? $10 ? Maybe $50?

ACAR wrote:
>
> Actually, yes, my light switches are lit. You can have the same after
> a trip to Home Depot/Lowes. Right next to the illuminated light
> switches you'll find an array of night lights. I wonder why they sell
> those to families without young kids?

Of course they are available. They are just not necessary.

> Do you ever lend your car to a friend?

No.

> Ever drive someone else's car?

Yes.

> Ever switch cars with your wife?

No.

> Maybe there's a reason why other
> manufacturers manage to illuminate these controls.

They have customers that aren't bright enough (pun intended) to know
their vehicle, before operating it.

> Face it, Honda is
> just cutting corners.

Hardly cutting corners, when the corner you seem to think that was cut,
is not necessary.

> Like their inability to equip the Accord EX with
> a power passenger seat.

I dislike the driver's side power seat in my Accord (in fact in every
vehicle that has a power seat). They are a waste of money and weight,
adding unnecessary expense to the cost of the vehicles. That is without
adding any usefulness to the vehicle. How often do the majority of
drivers actually use the power option of the seats once the seats are in
the position that the driver finds comfortable? I placed the seat in
the position it is in today on December 16, 2000 when I purchased the
car. It has not been moved again.

"Pszemol" <Pszemol@PolBox.com> wrote in news:gbi3h6.4to.0@poczta.onet.pl:

> "Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
> news:Xns9B24C81EE45FCtegger@208.90.168.18...
>> "Pszemol" <Pszemol@PolBox.com> wrote in
>> news:gbg9s3.8as.0@poczta.onet.pl:
>>
>>> Are there supposed to be any backlight behind these audio controls in
>>> 2004 accord coupe EX-L?
>>
>>
>>
>> Nope.
>
> Thanks. I was hoping I have some blown fuse or something...
> But if this is once again cutting corners, than I have to deal with it.
>
>


It's called keeping the cost down. There's always intense pressure in the
low and mid-priced markets to cut costs (which keeps the price down). Add
to that the huge mandated costs of emissions and safety, and something's
got to give.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

On Sep 25, 6:40*pm, Brian Smith <Hali...@NovaScotia.Canada> wrote:
> Pszemol wrote:
> > Are there supposed to be any backlight behind these audio controls in
> > 2004 accord coupe EX-L? They look odd at night when dashboard is lighted
> > but steering wheel is pitch black...
>
> * * * * Why would there be lights in those switches? There has never been
> lights in the cruise control switches on the steering wheel.
>
> * * * * It's a matter of learning which switch does what and thenit's memory
> from that point onward.

My Ford Windstar had them. It seems like there might be a very low
level of lighting in the switches in our Odyssey, to the
point where it seems like I can see the light only if I am not looking
directly at the switches....! I wonder if the markings absorb
light during the day and reflect it at night, kind of like a watch
number....

I have 3 cars that I drive, along with my wife and 2 sons. So at any
given point, the seats are all over the place in terms of position. So
the power function is nice, although I wish all the cars had the
'memory' function.

Dan D
'07 Ody EX
Central NJ USA

Brian Smith wrote:
> Pszemol wrote:
>> Are there supposed to be any backlight behind these audio controls in
>> 2004 accord coupe EX-L? They look odd at night when dashboard is
>> lighted but steering wheel is pitch black...
>
> Why would there be lights in those switches? There has never been
> lights in the cruise control switches on the steering wheel.
>

Same reason they're on the dash audio controls? Same reason the HVAC
controls are illuminated?

"Illuminated steering wheel-mounted audio controls" - All Models

http://honda.ca/HondaCA2006/Models/A...2008/Specs?L=E


a

Brian Smith wrote:

> I dislike the driver's side power seat in my Accord (in fact in
> every vehicle that has a power seat). They are a waste of money and
> weight, adding unnecessary expense to the cost of the vehicles. That is
> without adding any usefulness to the vehicle. How often do the majority
> of drivers actually use the power option of the seats once the seats are
> in the position that the driver finds comfortable? I placed the seat in
> the position it is in today on December 16, 2000 when I purchased the
> car. It has not been moved again.
>
>

I agree with you here - I hate the power seat in my '02. My wife and I use
very different seating positions and we swap that car often. The
incredibly slow speed to adjust the seat and the "play" in the motors when
stopped drive me crazy.

I'd like to find a non-powered seat and swap it, but it'll have to be grey
leather and can't be a passenger side one as the side airbag would be on
the other side - well, unless I face the seat the other way...

Does anyone know if they even made a leather non-powered driver's seat for
that (or 2000/2001) year?

a

"Brian Smith" <Halifax@NovaScotia.Canada> wrote in message
news:gbim3c$52d$1@news.datemas.de...
>> Maybe there's a reason why other
>> manufacturers manage to illuminate these controls.
>
> They have customers that aren't bright enough (pun intended) to know their
> vehicle, before operating it.

Why would you have illumination for the dashboard buttons?
You could argue that the customer can learn their possition, too.

>> Face it, Honda is
>> just cutting corners.
>
> Hardly cutting corners, when the corner you seem to think that was cut, is
> not necessary.

Mybe in your humble opinion is it not necessary, but in my opinion it would
be useful. At least for people changing cars a lot or having weak memory. Or
people who do not want having to remember where stuff is...

> I dislike the driver's side power seat in my Accord (in fact in every
> vehicle that has a power seat). They are a waste of money and weight,
> adding unnecessary expense to the cost of the vehicles. That is without
> adding any usefulness to the vehicle.

Again - in your opinion.
Power seat, especially connected with seat memory, is great!
People sharing one car between 2-3 people can easily appreciate this
feature.

> How often do the majority of drivers actually use the power option of the
> seats once the seats are in the position that the driver finds
> comfortable? I placed the seat in the position it is in today on December
> 16, 2000 when I purchased the car. It has not been moved again.

And you think that EVERYBODY is just like you?
So if you never used a emergency flashers in your car Honda should start
making cars without this button or what?

"Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
news:Xns9B2571626BE02tegger@208.90.168.18...
>> Thanks. I was hoping I have some blown fuse or something...
>> But if this is once again cutting corners, than I have to deal with it.
>
> It's called keeping the cost down. There's always intense pressure in the
> low and mid-priced markets to cut costs (which keeps the price down). Add
> to that the huge mandated costs of emissions and safety, and something's
> got to give.

That would be understandable in the lowest priced trims, but I have got EX-L
with leather - it is really hard to understand that 5 bulbs and one more
wire in the harness would be so much savings...

For me, if I had to guess, it sounds more like an 'ooops' on the engineering
side of the accord project. I wonder if 8th generation accord has this
fixed. Along with a larger windsield washer fluid bottle. Do not have the
owners manual for 08 or 09 accord to confirm this.

a wrote:
>
> I agree with you here - I hate the power seat in my '02. My wife and I use
> very different seating positions and we swap that car often. The
> incredibly slow speed to adjust the seat and the "play" in the motors when
> stopped drive me crazy.

I know exactly what you mean. When I first took possession of the car,
I "played" with the seat adjustments for close to two days before
finally finding the correct position. A position that is probably very
close to a normal non-powered seat's position.

> I'd like to find a non-powered seat and swap it, but it'll have to be grey
> leather and can't be a passenger side one as the side airbag would be on
> the other side - well, unless I face the seat the other way...

LOL! That's what mirrors are for <BG>.

> Does anyone know if they even made a leather non-powered driver's seat for
> that (or 2000/2001) year?

I would probably guess that there was not a leather seat made in a
non-powered version.

"a" <a@a.ca> wrote in message news:tt7Dk.1914$Pv5.1021@edtnps83...
> Brian Smith wrote:
>> Pszemol wrote:
>>> Are there supposed to be any backlight behind these audio controls in
>>> 2004 accord coupe EX-L? They look odd at night when dashboard is
>>> lighted but steering wheel is pitch black...
>>
>> Why would there be lights in those switches? There has never been
>> lights in the cruise control switches on the steering wheel.
>>
>
> Same reason they're on the dash audio controls? Same reason the HVAC
> controls are illuminated?
>
> "Illuminated steering wheel-mounted audio controls" - All Models
>
> http://honda.ca/HondaCA2006/Models/A...2008/Specs?L=E

O!
So they fixed this in 8th generation or it is just another Canadian-US
differences.