My new CVT - ownership experience

[f50xj13]

i have the ZX-CVT. for over a year now (may-2007). the car is absolutely fabulous to drive in rush hour traffic in mumbai...
one point which niggles me in the cvt is that if one is cruising on the highway at lets say 80kmph and one wants to overtake, the S- mode is a must otherwise flooring of the accelerator in D- mode gives a spongy feel for a couple of seconds .
however this is about the only fault i have had with the cvt, otherwise i will recommend this car to anyone who can spend 9 lakhs. FE is beautiful, one cant believe that this is a automatic giving such average. me thinks it is equal to the other cars in its class which says a lot.
i was always a anti-auto person, but this car in its own sweet underpowered yet enough power when required way has made me an absolute fan.
last grouse with honda... 9 plus car without alloys/fogs/safety features/climate control....i actually get jealous on seeing a fully loaded maruti swift.....hehehe
ciao

[trrk]

Hi,

> one point which niggles me in the cvt is that if one is cruising on the
> highway at lets say 80kmph and one wants to overtake, the S- mode is a
> must otherwise flooring of the accelerator in D- mode gives a spongy feel
> for a couple of seconds .

I have not had much chances of doing that as I never have crossed my state boundary. Our state has a 70kph limit and I usually stick to it.

I think the kickdown in a CVT is not as sharp as it is in a regular auto. Well, the S makes up for it.

How much has your car run? How has been the maintenance / service expenses so far?

[abhinav.gupta88]

What are the FE figures in city
With S mode
with D mode.

[f50xj13]

Originally Posted by trrk

How much has your car run? How has been the maintenance / service expenses so far?

hi,
my car has completed 15 months with me. running is about 13000 km.
as regards maintenance, i have pretty much done the regular honda recommended stuff...i go strictly by the honda service book and not the friendly advice of the service advisor as they tend to sell you extra stuff like PGM scan/interior cleaning/throttle body cleaning etc which if done at honda recommended intervals is quite enough. plus i avoid wheel alignment until i find something wrong..balancing i do as recommended.
other minor stuff like tyre puncture repair / polish/interior cleaning twice a year are about the only maintenance i do.

FE in city in good sober driving mode is about 11-12(with ac)
FE on highway in good sober driving is about 15(with ac)
FE with S-mode.....i have gotten 7-8 hehehe (without ac)

overall i am only concerned about the fe for the environment factor...else my running is so meagre that fe does not become an issue. still this fe is comparable/better than other cars(manual and non diesel) in its class.

hope this shud answer ur queries

[trrk]

Hi f50xj13,

> hope this shud answer ur queries

Thanks for taking the time and giving a prompt reply.

> my car has completed 15 months with me. running is about 13000 km.

I am into my thirteenth month and 18600+kms.

> i go strictly by the honda service book and not the friendly advice of the

That is what I do too! But the oil change every 5000kms is a waste in my opinion.

I have got an overall 13.2 with AC over the whole distance. That is quite satisfactory. I rarely use the S mode.

Today I had the chance and I tried the kickdown at 80. At 80kph and 2000RPM, I floored the accelerator pedal, the reaction was immediate and the car started pulling.

The same speed and shift to S mode, you can accelerate like a manual and control your acceleration with the accelerator pedal.

In today's experiments, I did not have enough road to actually overtake anything, but was trying to guage the car's reaction.

Could be a subjective thing that I did not feel the 1 - 2 second 'spongy' feel. But to get the real kickdown effect, you have to floor it and keep it floored. Any relaxation will make it go to the higher gearing.

[f50xj13]

Hi, trrk,
I appreciate your effort.
I agree with the oil change every 5000 kms. Most infuriating part is the 15 odd rs for the oil drain washer. that really sets me off.
Another point :- what does your dealer charge for workshop consumables? Linkway charges me 200. I have half a mind to ask him one day to show me the consumed consumables..hehehe.
Yes I agree that you have to floor the accelerator. Try the same in S- mode and you will feel the difference, there you can just floor it halfway, still the car will respond. My point was that after so many years of manual, it is bit of a different ballgame driving a CVT. And I am still driving my friend's Skoda RS on weekends, so maybe subjective.

Honda has to be appreciated for getting this technology to India and for adapting it to suit us Indians. I am really a big fan of the CVT.

ciao.

[trrk]

Hi f50xj13,

> Most infuriating part is the 15 odd rs for the oil drain washer.

It is 18 odd here including taxes. I hope they change it!

> what does your dealer charge for workshop consumables? Linkway charges > me 200.

None so far! Check post no.55 in this thread for details.

> the same in S- mode and you will feel the difference, there you can just
> floor it halfway, still the car will respond.

True. And I am sure it would be better for the fuel efficiency too! I rarely do have to sue either in the roads that I usually take. After all, what can you do when you don't normally cross 70kph?

> I am really a big fan of the CVT.

Well, me too! I like automatics and CVT is different. But a cruise control would have made it easy to maintain a speed without involuntarily feeding it more revs than needed.

[f50xj13]

hi,
Honda knows it has a monopoly car . So it gets away with giving absolutely nothing on the electronics and accessories front . Still if the technology of the CVT is considered, it is one of the best in the world. Sadly the new city does not have CVT but has a traditional AT. Dont know what Honda was thinking.

I would have preferred the CVT with a good music system, no power windows, power steering, anti theft security, fog lamps and alloys, no body coloured bumpers,mirrors,handles. It is really painful to see all sorts of scratches on the mirrors and bumpers which is unevitable in mumbai traffic.

One question for the power windows. Have you ever faced a problem of the driver side window not rolling up dur to dust buildup in the run channels ? I had it on both of my city's. The service guy cleans/lubricates the run channels with silicone spray and it works fine.

[trrk]

Hi f50xj13,

> One question for the power windows. Have you ever faced a problem of the
> driver side window not rolling up dur to dust buildup in the run channels ?

No, at least not yet! But then the car is always run with the windows closed and AC on. But the windows have not acted up until the last time they were used.

[trrk]

Hi,

On 05/11/2008, 406 days with me, the CVT went for its 20000kms service.

The service was booked and I was told to report at 10.30AM. I was assigned my service advisor when I was informed of the reporting time on the previous day (the booking was a done a week earlier).

As is the case is with me, landed at the service centre at 10.15AM. With already 4 service visits, the front end people were familiar with me (friendly chit chat does help) and since my service advisor was free and present, the job card was made and the car taken in at 10.25AM.



Specifically refused Tyre rotation, wheel alignment and wheel balancing. Surprise! Honda is offering its own brand synthetic oil with oil change interval of 10000kms (instead of the usual 5000). Since the 5000kms inspection has to be continued irrespective of the synthetic oil and the difference in cost (almost 3 times the mineral), declined synthetic oil. A half hearted attempt at an interior shampoo was also declined. The bill amount was to be approximately Rs 3000. The probable time of delivery was put at 4PM and I assured him that there is hurry for him as I was prepared to spend the day there at the showroom / service centre.

There was a Rs 350 addition in the job card. This was explained as Eorkshop consumables. This is obviously high and suspsicious addition. I have started the querying process with Honda.

At about 2.15PM I was happily having my Rs 20 Fish curry meals at a nearby home based hotel, when my service advisor rang me asking for the special bolt which was needed to take the wheels off. Inadvertantly I had it with me.

The special nuts had spoiled the thread of two bolts in my front left wheel and one in the right rear wheel. Since the special nuts were not available there, I was given three bolts as a precaution in case I had to take any of the wheel later. Yet to correct it though the wheels are fine as of now.

The car was delivered to me at 5.15PM with the odo at 19979 and with the changed air filter (I had marked it before the service) in the boot. The under bonnet area was squeaky clean (forgot to take a pre service picture, will do it next time) as was the other parts of the car. Full points for that.

The three bolts added more to the bill (as well as the other 350 mentioned above. The bill was Rs 3049.



With this service, the total service costs have added up to Rs 6607 (One of the first cars that I used for me - a Premier Padmini - had the same registration number) and that is Re 0.33 per km in maintenance.

The car had its full tank of petrol after the service with odometer at 20066kms. It has so far consumed 1519.34 litres of plain petrol worth Rs 74184.81 giving 13.20kpl at Rs 3.70 per km. The car has averaged 49kms per day over this period.

The last tankful (including the run for the service and the service station test drive) was 11.87kpl. This was expected as the just previous tankful gave a 17.44kpl due to the less than patient petrol pump attendant. It would have taken in at least one more litre. The mileage would have been in the region of 16kpl as it was a highway drive to Kollam and back.

Way back in Feb 2007, when my Marina TDi finished its 20000kms service (@19950), the costs added upto a total of Rs 3313.93 at Re 0.17 per km. At 20275kms, the Marina had consumed 1468.50 litres of plain / premium diesel worth Rs 50882.81 at 13.81kpl at Rs 2.51 per km.

All mileages are with AC on 100%. My cars are driven by me and my driver mainly.

[fidaford]

The 20000kms service seems rather expensive @ 3049 inr compared to my ford fiesta 1.6 1st year or 20000 kms whichever is earlier service which came to me as 2164 with taxes.
Seems that the service costs of Honda are more than Ford, much to my surprise as i thought that Ford maintenance cost is high.

[trrk]

Hi fidaford,

> The 20000kms service seems rather expensive @ 3049 inr compared to my

Even without comparison, it is expensive. Between the 15000km service done on 10/07/2008, the oil cost has gone up by Rs 132 and the paid service cost is higher at 875 (250 more). They have also added 350 as workshop consumables for this service. The bolts are not standard and so that 350 should not be considered as part of the normal service.

The paid service cost has gone up by Rs 50 in comparison to the board (same since 1 year) and that 350 is suspiscious. So a 700 should have been less which would bring it to 2349 which in itseld is more, in my opinion.

> ford fiesta 1.6 1st year or 20000 kms whichever is earlier service which
> came to me as 2164 with taxes.

Could you post the details here, if possible?

> Seems that the service costs of Honda are more than Ford, much to my
> surprise as i thought that Ford maintenance cost is high.

There could be a lot of surprises if specifics are posted here regularly and accurately.

The cleaning was absolutely fantastic. Next time I should take a before and after picture especially the underbonnet area.

[Swifty2008]

Your bill is indeed expensive. Honda service costs are generally low. In your case, the car is also not that old. My uncle has a Jan 2008 Honda City. I will check with him and update you soon.

[trrk]

Hi Swifty2008,

> I will check with him and update you soon.

Thanks.

> Your bill is indeed expensive. Honda service costs are generally low. In
> your case, the car is also not that old.

The question is not whether the car is old or new. My cars run the distance (within the prescribed time) for a partilcular service.

msdivy has posted his 20000kms service details in his thread. But he has not mentioned when the service was done.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...tml#post815161 (NHC - Service Costs, etc)

It is 2599. The paid service cost is higher and the workshop consumables lower. There is something fishy. The charges seem to vary from dealer to dealer.

[trrk]

Hi,

When I came back from a trip to Belgaum in early December, 2008 I was not happy with the alignment as my steering was skewed. Since the last alignment was at the 15000kms service, got it done in my place. The odo was at 23918kms and it was on 18/12/2008.



The car went for its 25000kms service on the 16/01/2009 with the odometer at 24998kms. The car was booked for 'quick service'. The service was finished and car delivered in 3 hours.

No complaints raised. Alignment was asked to be done to cross check the previous one.



The alignment print out was given on request.



There was a Rs 350 consumable charge when I had my last last service over and above the regular paid service charges.

I had asked Honda to give me a split up for the paid service charge. I received a call from somebody in Honda. He did not give me details and asked whether the service advisor explained the charges to me. I explained to him that I had no complaints regarding the service or the service advisor and I just wanted to know what all I get for the the charge I pay. He said he will get back.

Two days later, the service advisor called me asking why I complained. I explained to him the whole thing and even sent an email to the local dealer service centre that I had no complaints against the service or the service advisor.

I was never told what all to expect for the paid service charges either by Honda or its dealer.

This time, there was no consumable charges (neiher was I charged this in the 15000kms service), but no service advisor. It seems he quit.

I still don't know about the details of the charges.

In my last fuel filling it was at 28110kms. 2128.242 litres of petrol costing Rs 103807.07 so far at 13.20kpl and Rs 3.69 per km. Service costs total to Rs 9305 and are at Re. 0.33 per km.