Honda City CVT 16000 km report.

[wilful]

I bought the car end April 2006. Have clocked a little over 16000 kms, mainly in the city with an odd long trip – the longest being Cochin-Coimbatore.
It has been a reasonably smooth experience thus far. The car has been through two monsoons, the last of which was particularly severe.

The pros first –
A nice spacious and comfortable cabin, of reasonable quality.
Smooth power steering for a layman like me – the purist may complain about it being too light etc.
The CVT experience – which, as I mentioned in my introduction thread, is an absolute boon in bumper to bumper traffic.
Easier ingress/egress compared to the OHC.

Cons –
Bumpy ride (esp when compared to the OHC).
Safety features inadequate. (This is a major major grouse I have)
A pillar causing visibility problems (this one is quite a pain) – I haven’t driven it to a hill station yet but I assume this would be a serious issue while driving in the hills.

I have had two niggles – one minor, the other not so minor.
The not so minor one concerned the A/C. Apparently the clutch was defective and had to be replaced (the service guys made me go around in circles before I got it back). I am still not fully satisfied with it but have decided to wait for some more time.
Prominent creaking noise from the front right hand corner which apparently was the fender (or something) – rectified – ok for a few months and has now resurfaced.

Fuel efficiency has been just about acceptable. I drive with the A/C on all the time and keep filling up the tank each time so the figures should be fairly accurate.
City – 9 kms
Long distance – 12 to 13 kms

[Dippy]

Thats a nice review on the CVT wilful. I was thinking you would get more in long distance driving in the CVT. What are the speeds you drive at . My OHC AT gives around 15 in long distance and 10 to 10.5 in City driving.

The A pillar is something my uncle complains about too for visibility.

[wilful]

Thanks Dippy for the word of appreciation!
My long distance trips have not been that many - some of them are actually trips to nearby towns like Trichur (about 70 kms away) using the lesser known routes as the NH is in a mess. With the Kerala roads being rather serpentine and fairly thick with traffic I am not able to stick to steady desirable RPM levels for any length of time. Therein probably lies the reason for the reduced FE. We just don't have open straight stretches of four or six lane roads - well actually to be totally accurate there are a couple of short stretches like the airport to Cochin and Chertala to Cochin.
I am reasonably happy with the miileage in town which is the bulk of my usage.
Just a couple of moans that I forgot to add earlier -
Noisy suspension resulting in loud thuds is a put-off.
The brakes could certainly do with a bit more stopping power.

[Absar]

Hi wilful! It's a good review you've written about your NHC CVT, pointing out some real pros and cons! The bumpy ride you face could be because of hard compound or over-inflated tyres. The FE which you quote sounds really good to me according to the description of the roads by you. Over all, its a auto tranny! The NHC has a soft suspension I think. On the other hand, loud thuds are better than 'thunk's which the cars with stiff suspension face.

Post some pictures of your car please.. Take a picture of the auto tranny gearshift.

cya
A

[wilful]

Thanks Absar! Tyre pressure is probably a contributory fact but I think it is a stiffer/harsher ride than the OHC.
I will be putting up some pics like you suggested.
And the threads about accessories are making my mouth water.
I think my purse will be a lot lighter if I browse them on a regular basis.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by wilful

I have had two niggles – one minor, the other not so minor.
The not so minor one concerned the A/C. Apparently the clutch was defective and had to be replaced (the service guys made me go around in circles before I got it back). I am still not fully satisfied with it but have decided to wait for some more time.
Prominent creaking noise from the front right hand corner which apparently was the fender (or something) – rectified – ok for a few months and has now resurfaced.

I have always found that writing directly to the company instead of the dealer brings instant results. Let me give you 2 examples:
1. In Feb 07, when I wanted to TD a CVT, the Gurgaon Honda Ring Road salesman was lethargic and did not call back inspite of 2 reminders. Wrote to Honda via web at 5 PM, and at 545 PM, received a call from Honda. Then all hell broke loose with the dealer's MD calling me, saying sorry, and arranging a TD.
2. Finally I bought a Corolla. In Sep 07, during 10K service, Galaxy Okhla kept my windows open while it was waiting for a wash. Complained to dealer, and also wrote to Toyota via web email again. Again, response was swift with 10 calls from the dealer the next day. End result: got the entire car washed again and dry cleaned too free of cost. The dealer took the car from my home and delivered it back.

Bottomline: write to the company and then sit back and enjoy the fun.

[simran]

Hi Wilful,

I too get a creaking groaning sound from the right-side, mine is an Exi. It is intermittent, so it happens sometime, and then stops. The service centre has lubricated the right wheel suspension, but this has not stopped.

I was told that there is a cable which rubs with AC ducts that causes this and it lies somewhere in the dashboard. I was not comfortable with opening the dashboard, so decided to live with the noise.

I will try to get the fender opened and checked in my next service.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by wilful

A pillar causing visibility problems (this one is quite a pain) – I haven’t driven it to a hill station yet but I assume this would be a serious issue while driving in the hills.

I didn't find it difficult in hair-pin curves. It slightly blocks the view when the roads curves towards right at 60 degree angle.

Anyway, nice review.

[wilful]

Thanks vasudevan, simran and msdivy.
Yeah writing to the company does help but I try and do it only if the push comes to the shove.
simran - Initially when I heard the creaking sound, one of the Honda service guys told me the same thing - 'that there is a cable which rubs with AC ducts that causes this and it lies somewhere in the dashboard.' Later they said it was the fender. I think that their original assessment could be right. I detect this noise only intermittently like you - especially when the car warms up.
And like you - am not too keen on getting the dashboard opened up.
msdivy - it is reassuring to hear that visibility on hair-pin bends is not affected .

[wilful]

http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/8...7165145cx3.jpg

[trrk]

Hi,

>The CVT experience – which, as I mentioned in my introduction thread, is an > absolute boon in bumper to bumper traffic.

I bought the CVT just to enjoy an automatic with reasonable fuel economy. So far it has been nice. Shifting to a petrol after diesels for about 10 years ha its own misgivings.

> Bumpy ride (esp when compared to the OHC).

This has been the disappointing factor so far. Give a lot of importance for the ride part and had to compromise on ride for the automatic part.

> Fuel efficiency has been just about acceptable. I drive with the A/C on all >the time and keep filling up the tank each time so the figures should be fairly >accurate. City – 9 kms Long distance – 12 to 13 kms

All my cars do run with AC on always and it is always a tank full when refuelling. Filling to the brim has been a pain in the CVT, but still insist on it. That could have been the reason for the aberrant result of 21.77kpl over a distance of 160kms. The lowest if has gone is 11.68 and the last tank full gave a 12.22kpl over 154kms.

The roads that it usually takes is the Alleppey - Changanassery route where I go and it takes the same road to my daughter's school in Champakulam. At around 60 to to kph (1500 to 1750RPM) in these roads, I have got upto 13.54kpl over a distance of 201kms. The best other than the questionable 21.77 figure has been 13.59 over 59kms which was on the day of delivery - from the Honda showroom to my place.

Do you change engine oil every 5000kms or 6 moths whichever is earlier?

I hope to do a mileage check aftr my tomorrow's trip to Cochin.

Rajesh, Alleppey, Kerala
(Marina LS BSIII, Oct 05, 33802 kms, 13.96 kpl, 45km/day)
(Honda City CVT, Sep 07, 1670 kms, 13.17 kpl, 37km/day)

[wilful]

Originally Posted by trrk

Hi,



Do you change engine oil every 5000kms or 6 moths whichever is earlier?

I hope to do a mileage check aftr my tomorrow's trip to Cochin.

Rajesh, Alleppey, Kerala
(Marina LS BSIII, Oct 05, 33802 kms, 13.96 kpl, 45km/day)
(Honda City CVT, Sep 07, 1670 kms, 13.17 kpl, 37km/day)

Hi Rajesh,
The oil is changed every 5000 kms (only).
I probably get a poorer mileage thanks to the infamous Cochin roads and traffic - which, I'm sure you are familiar with.
In your case the relatively open roads obviously help.

Just one more fact - while I fill up the tank each time, I tell them to use the auto cut-off - so no filling up to the (absolute) brim in my case.

[Absar]

Hi wilful! The picture of the auto tranny is beautiful!
Did you change the gear lever knob from the OE to an aftermarket leather knob to match with the interior, or was it provided with the car?

Btw doesn't this auto tranny have a button to engage when shifting to P & R?

cya
A

[wilful]

Originally Posted by Absar

Hi wilful! The picture of the auto tranny is beautiful!
Did you change the gear lever knob from the OE to an aftermarket leather knob to match with the interior, or was it provided with the car?

Btw doesn't this auto tranny have a button to engage when shifting to P & R?

cya
A

Thanks Absar. I'm glad you like the pic.
No I did not change anything at all. The knob is the original one.
And yes - there is a button (situated in the front end of the knob) to engage while shifting from P to R etc.

[trrk]

Hi,

> The oil is changed every 5000 kms (only).

Fine. Even the modern diesels have an oil change interval of 10000kms.

>I probably get a poorer mileage thanks to the infamous Cochin roads and
> traffic - which, I'm sure you are familiar with. In your case the relatively
> open roads obviously help.

Very true. I am quite familiar with the infamous Cochin traffic snarls. I avoid coming to Cochin for this reason. The Marina serves for the town trips in Alleppey.

>Just one more fact - while I fill up the tank each time, I tell them to use the >auto cut-off - so no filling up to the (absolute) brim in my case.

The auto cut off is not very consistent and so it may not give you correct results. The non linear fuel guage does not help either. I still have not got used to the metre position and the amount of uel it would take. It has always been brim to brim calculations for me.

I did come to Cochin for a birthday party this Sunday. I left Alleppey at 5PM and was back by 9.45PM. The total distance was 140 kms out of which 20 kms was from Vytilla to town and back to Vytilla. I did traverse the MG Road at about 8.20PM and it was relatively free except for a 300 ft stretch near Kavita. I took the North bridge, Kaloor - Kadavantara road onto Vytilla and Alleppey. The mileage was 15.91kpl with speeds not crossing 70kph.

Rajesh, Alleppey, Kerala
(Marina LS BSIII, Oct 05, 33802 kms, 13.96 kpl, 45km/day)
(Honda City CVT, Sep 07, 1810 kms, 13.35 kpl, 39km/day)