2003 Honda Accord CD player

You can try a cleaning cd with a drop of liquid on the brushes, but there's only a 50 percent chance that will solve the problem. Another thing to look at is if the disc is turned coming out compared to when it went in. If it is indeed reading the table of contents, the disc has to be spinning and it should play. If the disc doesn't start spinning, it won't read it either. That would require a new spindle motor.

Other than cleaning, you can expect to need to visit the dealer. Very few manufacturers still allow us to buy radio service manuals, so you won't find any low-cost independent shops that can work on the radios.

A cleaning cd has three or four little brushes on it made of very fine hair, similar to a kitten's fur. Those hairs are about 3/16" long. Those discs come with a small bottle of cleaning solution. Put a drop of that on one of the brushes. Pop it into the player right away before that fluid has a chance to evaporate.

If this solves the problem for a little while, the better repair is to remove the cover and clean the laser lens with that solution on a cotton swab. That's a very delicate operation, and on a lot of models there is a lot of disassembly needed to get to the laser. I work mostly on Chrysler radios because I can get the service manuals for most of them. Their Mitsubishi-built radios are real high quality, and the lasers are easy to access and clean. Their less-desirable radios are made by Alpine. Those take a long time to take apart and put back together. A lot of Honda and Toyota radios are made by Alpine too, but since I don't work on those, I don't know how hard it is to clean the laser properly. If your cd slot is real close to the top of the face plate, it will probably be easy to clean. If it's near the bottom of the radio, don't bother trying to take it apart.

Unfortunately that is what my repair business has come to since most manufacturers will no longer allow us to buy radio service manuals. Car owners are tied to the grossly-over-priced authorized repair centers. The dealer won't be able to repair anything. All they can do is remove the radio and send it out for repair.

If you saw the disc comes out the same way it went in, meaning it never started spinning, that can mean the spindle motor is bad. Tight bearings can cause that, but I've run into more motors with worn internal brushes than anything else. There's usually no way to fix that because too much gets damaged by disassembling the motors to inspect them. There are a lot of aftermarket replacement motors available, but you have to know which one to order.

You might also inquire at a local tv repair shop if there are still any in your area. The problem here is it takes a proper test bench to hook the radio up for testing, and most tv shops don't bother with that because every car brand is different and their benches won't get enough use. I specialize in Chrysler radios because I can still buy parts and service manuals. Most other manufacturers have locked everything up for themselves because they make a lot of profit on these repairs. It all depends on whether they put profits or customer needs first.

Or you can ask at a local tv or stereo repair shop, but chances are they're also going to tell you you're tied to the dealer.