Honda Civic Radio Code – From the U and L Serial

Which radio is in your Honda Civic?

Honda fitted different radios over the years. Find your Civic’s years below, but go by the serial: radios are often swapped, and the free check reads it for you.

YearsRadiosSerialCode

1995–2000Sixth Civic Honda radios built by Blaupunkt, Clarion or Philips On the label on the radio, or on the code card that came with the car Instant

2001–2005Seventh Civic, including the Type R Honda CD radios Ignition on, radio off, hold 1 and 6: U and L numbers By email

2006–2011Eighth Civic Honda CD radios, sat nav on some cars U and L numbers on screen; sat nav has its own 8-number serial By email

2012–2016Ninth Civic Honda audio, some with a screen U and L numbers on screen By email

2017 onTenth Civic on Honda touchscreen systems No customer code: the screen is matched to the car Not available

How to find your Honda Civic radio serial number

Most Honda Civic radios show their serial on the screen, so you don’t need to take anything apart. The serial tells us exactly which code your radio needs.

Quickest way

On the screen

Check the handbook wallet for the anti-theft card first.
Turn the ignition on and leave the radio off. Hold buttons 1 and 6, then press the power button. Two numbers appear, one starting U and one starting L: write both down. The letters are only labels for the top and bottom halves — the numbers together are the serial.
Touchscreen (2013 on): go to Settings, then System, then Detailed information.
Older sat nav cars (2003–2012): hold MAP/GUIDE, MENU and CANCEL together.
Nothing on screen? Look inside the glovebox door: dealers were asked to stick a label there with the serial on it, written as a B and then eight numbers.
Off a label, the numbers may sit behind three letters or a B, and sometimes there is one more letter after them. Type the lot — we take the serial out of it.

With the radio off, hold the lit buttons and press the power button.

If the screen shows nothing

On the label

The serial is also printed on a label on the top or side of the radio. Most radios slide out with a pair of radio removal keys (a few pounds from any car parts shop). Push them into the slots on the front until they click, then ease the radio forward. Some have screws to undo first.

Take a photo of the label rather than copying it by hand: it’s easy to mix up 0 and O, or 1 and I.

Tips for your Honda Civic

Turn the ignition on with the radio off, hold buttons 1 and 6, then switch the radio on. Two screens swap back and forth: U2154 and L2135, for example.
Write both numbers down — together they make the eight-figure serial.
A car with factory sat nav needs a second code for the sat nav, and that has its own serial.

What your serial looks like

U2154 L2135 HondaThe U and L numbers, or the serial on the label By email
HO681AA9170550 Honda Philips (early 1990s)14 letters and numbers starting HO Instant
GNB22005937 Honda sat nav8 numbers, sometimes with 3 letters in front By email

Can’t find it or can’t read it? Send us a photo of the label: £9.99, with a full refund if we can’t find your code.

How to enter your Honda Civic radio code

Once you have your code, key it in like this. The example below shows the button presses. Your order page shows the same steps next to your code.

Press buttons 2, 5, 3, 1 and 6, in that order. The radio takes the last number by itself.

Most codes are 5 numbers. Press the button with each number on it, once.
Touchscreens: use the on-screen keypad and press ENTER.

If your Honda Civic radio says LOCKED, WAIT or SAFE

Each wrong code makes the radio wait longer before the next try, and some radios lock for good after too many. Don’t guess: get the right code first, then follow the steps for your radio.

Radio	What to do
Honda	ERR — leave the ignition on for 1 hour.
Honda Philips (early 1990s)	Each wrong try adds a longer delay. Keep the radio switched on while it counts down.
Honda sat nav	After several wrong tries the sat nav stops accepting codes for a while. Leave the ignition on and try again later.

What LOCKED, WAIT and SAFE mean, and how long to wait →

Why we use your radio’s serial, not your number plate

A radio code belongs to the radio, not the car. A dealer usually looks it up from the Honda Civic’s number plate or VIN (the 17-character number in your logbook), which only works if the car still has the radio it left the factory with. Radios are often swapped under warranty, upgraded, or changed by a previous owner.

The serial number is printed on the radio itself, so the code we give you matches the radio in front of you. It is also how we can check it for free before you pay. Main dealers often charge £30–£130, and you usually have to book the car in.

Honda Civic radio code questions

How do I get the U and L numbers on a Civic?

Ignition on, radio off, hold buttons 1 and 6 together, then press the power button. The screen alternates between a U number and an L number.

Is the Civic code 4 or 5 numbers?

The radio code is 5 numbers. A sat nav code is 4.

My Civic is a 2018 and doesn’t ask for a code.

It won’t: from about 2016 Honda systems are matched to the car, so there is no code to buy.

How much is a Honda Civic radio code?

£9.99 per code. The free check comes first, so you only pay once we know we can do it, and you get your money back if the code doesn’t work.

How long does it take?

Most Honda Civic codes appear on screen the moment you’ve paid, and we email you a copy. If yours has to be looked up by our team, we email it within 2 hours and tell you before you pay.

What if the code doesn’t work?

Check the serial first: 0 and O, or 1 and I, are easy to mix up. Still stuck? Tell us from your order page and we’ll put it right or refund you in full.

Another Honda?

See every Honda radio we can unlock on our Honda radio code page, or pick a model: Jazz, CR-V, Accord.

Updated September 2026

Honda Civic radio code from your serial