[gasman]

We have an EXL-RES and we've now realized that there are no speakers in the third row. the speakers stop in the doors of the 2nd row. The kids are always saying they can't hear the radio and it's kinda getting annoying.

I noticed that there seems to be a plastic insert along the third row side panels which is where some speakers can be located (touring models?)..

Has anyone tried to remove these panels and is there pre-wiring there? I'd try a DYI project to install speakers if there were....

also, I noticed the dvd player shows DOLBY surround sound when watching a movie - does the sound system really play in 4.1 channels in the EXL-RES?

Thanks!!!

 

[Gstom1]

Does the Rear Entertainment System (RES) on the EX-L have speakers on the ceiling next to the screen?

If so, under volume/souund settings, set the fader all the way to the rear most setting and the sound will default to the top speakers. This will make the sound more audible for passengers in the rear rows while keeping the front row quieter.

I hope this works for you.

 

[jsquared816]

@gasman

I too want to add speakers in our touring in the 3rd row and I've asked this same question on some other thread in this forum, but I got no answers.

I found this photo of an Touring Elite's 3rd row.

After seeing this, I took my Ody to car audio shop to see if they can pop those panels off. They could not. I took it to another audio shop which is located in the Honda Dealership I bought our Ody and discovered you can buy what they call the "Pillar Garnish" of a Touring Elite and fit them into your's. What sucks it that you cannot buy just the grill.

If I'm not making sense check out the parts here: Pillar Garnish & Speakers

If those links don't work go to: Southbay Honda, once you've selected model, year, and door/version (Elite), the parts your are looking for is Pillar Garnish and/or Speaker.

As far as being pre-wired, I'm not sure, if you find out please post.

I plan on doing this modification by the end of the month.

Thanks and hope this helps.

We have an EXL-RES and we've now realized that there are no speakers in the third row. the speakers stop in the doors of the 2nd row. The kids are always saying they can't hear the radio and it's kinda getting annoying.

I noticed that there seems to be a plastic insert along the third row side panels which is where some speakers can be located (touring models?)..

Has anyone tried to remove these panels and is there pre-wiring there? I'd try a DYI project to install speakers if there were....

also, I noticed the dvd player shows DOLBY surround sound when watching a movie - does the sound system really play in 4.1 channels in the EXL-RES?

Thanks!!!

 

[jsquared816]

I went to a local car stereo installation shop to have a pair of speakers installed in the third row.

Having these 3.5" speakers installed really makes a difference. It really sounds clear and they fill in the third row nicely.

I took the kids for a ride without telling them that I installed the speakers and purposely turned the volume a few notches down from what we normally have it at. They did not complain about not being able to hear anything.

 

[BamaOdyssey]

I went to a local car stereo installation shop to have a pair of speakers installed in the third row.

Having these 3.5" speakers installed really makes a difference. It really sounds clear and they fill in the third row nicely.

I took the kids for a ride without telling them that I installed the speakers and purposely turned the volume a few notches down from what we normally have it at. They did not complain about not being able to hear anything.

Can you give some details about this? I would love to add them before our big trip. Cost, speaker type, was it prewired, difficulty, etc.

Details, man details!

 

[jsquared816]

Can you give some details about this? I would love to add them before our big trip. Cost, speaker type, was it prewired, difficulty, etc.

Details, man details!

Sorry for the late response and sorry for leaving out the details.

COST:
a.) Labor $194 (2 hours)
b.) Speakers - Infinity Reference 3032cf 3.5-Inch, I bought from Amazon for $48 (capacitors included)
c.) Pillar Garnish (Left and Right): $93 with shipping, purchased from HondaPartsSales.com and took about 7 working days to get to me.

PREWIRED - I'm not sure if it was prewired, the guy who did the work said he ran the wires and capacitors under the Door Sills.

DIFFICULTY - I was charged an additional hour, so I guess it was more of a tedious job than it was hard (for someone experienced). He had to remove few more panels than he expected and remove the rear hatch door to install the pillar garnishes.

Overall, I spent more on labor than I was originally quoted, but I'm happy with the results. I also got quotes from other places and the highest I got for labor alone would be about $300. The place I went with was about midrange, but I decided to go with them because there shop was located in the Honda Dealership we bought our Odyssey Touring from. So I figure if he needed a "Honda Part" it was readily available. Also, if you plan on ordering the pillar garnishes you may want to place a note specifying the color and that the parts have the speaker grill. These parts are non-returnable.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[Ekinxiao]

Can you post a picture, I am plan to upgrade my this month. Thanks

 

[teamTMS]

I am interested in where they connected the speakers to. Can you post some photos?

 

[jsquared816]

Sorry that these are late. Nothing too spectacular since it looks pretty stock.

Pictures:
1.) This is a view from behind my original pillar garnish without the speaker grill. You can see the plastic rivets, I guess that's why you can't just replace that small panel with just the grills.

2.) A view of the new pillar garnish installed. Sorry it's a little dark.

3.) A picture of one of the door sills. Speaker wires and capacitors run under both door sills (passenger and driver). Sorry, I did not want to remove them to take a picture of the wires.

4.) A picture at rear where on of the rear hatch bars connects through the driver side pillar garnish.

**I'm sure there were other panels that had to be removed for this install, since it looks like the pillar garnishes seem to interlock with other surrounding parts.

Again, sorry for the delay.

I am interested in where they connected the speakers to. Can you post some photos?

 

[Gstom1]

2.) A view of the new pillar garnish installed. Sorry it's a little dark.

It looks great dude! How's the sound quality? Any distortion?

 

[jsquared816]

It looks great dude! How's the sound quality? Any distortion?

I think it's hard to just isolate the 3rd row speakers and determine the sound quality. But, the sound is noticeably clearer and filled in back there with the combination of the subwoofer and 2nd row speakers. Did I answer your question?

 

[Gstom1]

I think it's hard to just isolate the 3rd row speakers and determine the sound quality. But, the sound is noticeably clearer and filled in back there with the combination of the subwoofer and 2nd row speakers. Did I answer your question?

Yeah, I'm just curious how good these aftermarket accessories are. Since I already have a Canadian Touring (Elite), I won't be installing these in my van.

So no 3rd row isolation means you can't fad the sound to these speakers only? Do these show up in the audio menu sound set-up?

 

[engfant]

I'm pretty sure they just tapped off the 2nd row speakers so no isolation but even a small amount of sound will fill that space. Good deal.

 

[jsquared816]

I'm pretty sure they just tapped off the 2nd row speakers so no isolation but even a small amount of sound will fill that space. Good deal.

Correct, tapped off the 2nd row speakers. So if you FAD to the rear, you would be FADing to 2nd and 3rd row.

 

[Shanti]

Rear speaker question?

I added the rear speakers to my Touring model yesterday. The sound is clear and provides the rear fill I’ve been missing. The sound is also clean with no detectable distortion even with the volume level cranked at 34.

I purchased the Pillar Garnish made for the Elite model and I chose the Infinity Kappa 32.9cf 3.5-inch speakers. This particular speaker fits perfectly flush against the grill and this enables the sound to be contained and projected directly through the grill and not escape around and/or behind the grill. This speaker is awesome both in design and sound.

The project lasted about 2.5 hours and for the most part followed the same route that jsquared816 originally posted. The look is definitely factory.
Although the addition of the rear speakers is an improvement to the system, the rest of the speakers are going to be replaced in the near future to provide me with the “big clean sound” I like. I plan on adding the following speakers:
1. Infinity Kappa 60.9cs component speaker system in the front.
2. Infinity Kappa 50.9cs (rear door)
3. Infinity Kappa 32.9cf 3.5-inch – center of dash
4. Alpine or JL subwoofer in the rear (I was surprised to see how much depth the sub box had)

Also, I plan on switching out the amp with a higher quality Alpine or JL.

 

[marathon89]

Shanti,

Can you help explain what the wiring looks like. Is the van prewired or did you have to tap into the door speakers?

I am very encouraged by the results posted so far. I will likely order the panel parts tonight. Prices online look nice between $35 and $45 per pillar. Anyone find better prices?

Michael

 

[Shanti]

Michael:

The van is not pre-wired. You have to tap into the rear door speakers. The wiring for the rear door speakers is contained in a harness containing a group of color coded wires located underneath the door sills. If you plan on doing it yourself, the wires a very thin, be careful separating the covering, and then tie in the wires for your new speakers.

You will definitely appreciate adding the speakers.

Enjoy!

 

[marathon89]

Speakers came in a few days ago. Still waiting on the pillars. Tempted to cut out the speaker holes in the existing pillars just to run the wires and see the improvement in sound.

Top cover in the rear came off with now problems, Do not expect any problems from the pillars but will have to wait and see.

Local Honda dealership is still claiming they have not heard of any other complaints about the lack of sound in the third row.

Anyone else converting?

Michael

 

[bmlove]

No 3rd row speakers

We just test drove an EX-L NAV this afternoon and I sat in the 3rd row while DH drove and I noticed the lack of speakers. We have a 2002 EX-L and I'm pretty sure there are speakers in the rear side panels. DH tried and tried to turn up the volume and fade to rear with little luck. It looked to me as if there were speaker panels in the rear side but I didn't investigate (that what I come here for ;-) Very interesting. I can't believe Honda didn't put in 3rd row speakers since they're big selling point is the 3rd row space. Urgh. One more thing we'll have to install aftermarket. So are the 3rd row speakers standard in the Touring or Touring Elite?

 

[sastexan]

So are the 3rd row speakers standard in the Touring or Touring Elite?

Touring Elite only has 3rd row speakers.

At this point, we rarely have passengers in the 3rd row, but I can see in a few years that will become more commonplace. If I were to do this modification, I would prefer to run the wires all the way to the head unit and add a fader switch on the dash so I can isolate and adjust the 3rd row speakers (but probably tap into the 2nd row speakers via the amp, wherever that is lurking in the dash.