I have an Accord ex w/nav 4cly and the audio has failed. I think it's
in the head unit; just wondering if anyone knows of a cronic problem
with these nav head units and the preamp section, or knows of the
repair proceedure.

The audio does not work for any source: nav, cd, radio, nothing. Yet,
all sources seem to work correctly; I have NO DISPLAY PROBLEMS, and cd
changer works, radio is working, tuning, etc. But no audio. Except,
when I push on the stereo power button, I hear a small pop that tells
me the power amp is coming on and working correctly. That means preamp
is out I guess... and I have tried the fader; it's not just one
channel out; the whole thing is gone.

It's out of warrenty and I have a feeling Honda won't cover it; so I'm
trying to route around them if possible; they might agree to fix but
the diagnosis costs more than the mods to fix up an MP3 player, etc..
just seems like such a ripoff, to tell me, yes your head needs to be
replaced, $135 diagnois; want a new radio?, $1000 please. And then if
Honda won't cover the work, only the parts, I'm hosed out of the
diagnostic fees, cause I won't pay for the replacement myself.

Any pointers or related experience, links appreciated.