I've got an '02 LX with a regular steering wheel and stock single DIN CD player. I want to install a CL-S leather wheel which already has radio volume buttons. Does the car already have provisions for the volume buttons? Or is it something I'd have to wire (or get the cable reel from a CL-S)?

 

It should be the same but worse case scenario u can just take off the old controls and put it on the new steering wheel. Provided its the same

 

Oooh this is kind of a tricky situation.

The EX model did come with steering wheel controls, while they LX and EX are closer with each other than previous generations (like the 5th gen) I'm not sure if the wiring would be the same between the two. My reasoning for it is I know between my DX 5th gen and EX 5th gen, the wiring harness for the radio was different (EX had the tweeters.)

That being said, I would see if you can find an accessory/option catalog for the 6th gen Accord and see if you could purchase an LX with steering wheel controls. If the answer is "yes", then my guess is it was just a simple steering wheel swap and the plugs exist. If not, then you are probably going to have to run some wiring to the steering wheel and figure out where it plugs in on the head-unit. The head-unit is also a key factor, if it was the same between the EX/LX then you have a better chance.

 

From what I found at Majestic, an '02 EX had steering wheel volume option, and the '02 LX did not. They also do not share the same cable reel, but that could be related to the side airbag option on the EX. They do have the same standard single DIN CD player with optional cassette add on. I suppose I'll have my answer when I pull the wheel. Worst case scenario, I have nonfunctioning volume buttons on my nice leather wheel

 

Yeah, honestly I don't know of an easier way to do it other than yank the old wheel off and compare.

The other thing you could do if you have the ability to is to compare the OEM plug for the head-units and see if they have the same wire count and position. Those volume controls connect to something

 

Well I took the wheel off and it's not prewired for volume controls. And since I don't have any kind of cover plate I just left the buttons on there rather than have a big hole in the side. I do want to mention Duplicolor vinyl paint. I originally had a beige wheel and airbag, and rather than spend $100 on a replacement black airbag, I painted the old one. Cleaned it thoroughly, then gave it three light coats of flat black. Dried completely in less than 2 hours. It's a great match for the other black plastics in the car. The wheel had a little sun fading, but I put a little Armor All on it and now it all matches. Overall I'm quite pleased with it. I did a lot of reading and everything I found said it should hold up for years. The other thing I found is not to use it on hard plastics without an adhesion promoter

(picture is pre-Armor All)