this is in my 2003 Honda Odyssey EXL-RES

it will play radio / tapes just fine and even controls the rear
entertainment system fine. However, I can not insert CD's into the CD
mechanism. There are two metal tabs on either side, right inside the
slot load that block the CD from coming in. I've had it apart and am
having a difficult time figuring out what makes them drop. I've
requested manuals for it from a few sites, however, I'm not sure what
my chances are there.

anyone else experienced this sort of metal tab "you're-not-allowed-to-
use-your-own-cd-player" trick from a panny/matsu****a drive? It
appears as though the CQ-JH series is pretty large and the 39100-S0X-A
series is sorta...but not the 500.

anyway, Even a used unit that's got massive facia damage would do the
trick for this as the CD mechanism is a separate part w/ a small
ribbon to connect it to the rest.

tia.