Honda Civic Maintenance and Service Costs and Must dos

[laluks]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Waste of money, in my opinion. To our brain, the 3M treatment's look/finish lasts for a day. The next day, the dust gathers on the car's body (if it is summer season) or slush/mud sticks to the car's body (if it is rainy season) - and your ride doesn't look very different from the car which has NOT got the 3M treatment.

+1. I have never ever got any such treatments on the exterior of my car.
I had opted for interior cleaning though.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Waste of money, in my opinion. To our brain, the 3M treatment's look/finish lasts for a day. The next day, the dust gathers on the car's body (if it is summer season) or slush/mud sticks to the car's body (if it is rainy season) - and your ride doesn't look very different from the car which has NOT got the 3M treatment.

Originally Posted by laluks

+1. I have never ever got any such treatments on the exterior of my car.
I had opted for interior cleaning though.

So will a touch up job brighten the dull fading color of my Civic.I have noticed that color is a bit faded and somehow looks dull and doesn't shine even after washing.Should i use a shampoo or something.

I currently don't have the moolah but in 1-2 years i plan to paint the car in white.So just looking for a solution for the above mentioned period.

thanks

[laluks]

Probably a wax and wash solution might help. I used to use such a shampoo form Sonax when the car was new, now lost patience in doing that.

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by Highflyer

I have a 2007 Civic S/AT.

So friends I need advice from you all. Have a look at the pictures and suggest something that would keep it under control. Change of doors is out of question. Even if I have to do it I will do it when these doors fall apart. That would be atleast 2-3 years.

Those are pretty bad rust marks Highflyer. I strongly suspect that a major repair work in the doors has not been done properly resulting in this. Or, there should have been stagnant water stuck up there somehow. H.A.S.S is pretty expensive for any replacement/repair and my suggestion is to go for a friendly and trusted local garage. As a few other members have stated, that should be fine atleast for the next 2 to 3 years.

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Some of you guys have gone in for a exterior detailing job for your civic's from 3M etc.What i wanted to know was How long will the treatment last ? ie 3 month,6months etc.Also will washing the car in the typical washer guy methods spoil the detailing treatment done?

thanks

Sumeet, in my opinion, the gloss and shine will be pretty much obvious for a day or two or maximum a week and, after that, it requires a lot of time and attention on our part to maintain that gloss and shine. If we do not indulge in detailing our cars by ourselves, as smartcat said, it's just a matter of days before dust/mud/slush sets in. In short, those 3M Treatments will initiate the action and it is upon us to continue doing it.

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

So will a touch up job brighten the dull fading color of my Civic.I have noticed that color is a bit faded and somehow looks dull and doesn't shine even after washing.Should i use a shampoo or something.

Now that's a different case. If your car has lost the shine as you state, then 3M's Basic Exterior Detailing could work wonders. When I was there doing an Under-Body Anti-Rust Coating for my Civic, I saw a maroon colored Civic (same as yours) waiting for an exterior detailing job. That car had also lost the shine and it was looking rather dull. The 3M guys were explaining to the owner that they can bring the gloss and shine back. I didn't get to see the final result though.

[Highflyer]

@arvi86
There was a repair done on one of the doors. But that was supposedly a minor dent.
Other three doors are untouched. The condition of seals indicates this.
Probably the drains were blocked that caused this rust.

[akshay1234]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Some of you guys have gone in for a exterior detailing job for your civic's from 3M etc.What i wanted to know was How long will the treatment last ? ie 3 month,6months etc.Also will washing the car in the typical washer guy methods spoil the detailing treatment done?

thanks

The shine of the car, and the colour of the paint will improve a whole lot, and yes the original shine will last for say a week. But it will take more than a year for the car to go back to its earlier state even with normal car washer methods. Infact if you don't use the car everyday don't wash it everyday.

Originally Posted by smartcat

Waste of money, in my opinion. To our brain, the 3M treatment's look/finish lasts for a day. The next day, the dust gathers on the car's body (if it is summer season) or slush/mud sticks to the car's body (if it is rainy season) - and your ride doesn't look very different from the car which has NOT got the 3M treatment.

But the 3M treatment, or any detailing treatment for that matter is not just supposed to be a car wash. No doubt dust will gather, or mud will stick - but after its washed off don't you think it will still look a whole lot better than before?

Originally Posted by laluks

+1. I have never ever got any such treatments on the exterior of my car.
I had opted for interior cleaning though.

You should try it then, especially if you have a darker colour.

[Tempelhof]

Sent my car for a MEGA 40K service yesterday to Whitefield Honda.

The engineer called me this morning and told me that the front brake discs need to be replaced as they have worn out unevenly - if they are not replaced, there will be agitating vibrations while braking at over 100 kmph.

Any experience from users here? When is this normally replaced?

DISCLAIMER: I drive pretty fast and brake very hard, often.

In addition, I have requested the HASS to do the following:

• Engine Mount Test
• Under-chassis rust removal and fresh coating
• Top surface detailing
• Upholstery Cleaning
• All the 4 doors inner panel cleaning and coating
• Windshield cleaning and polishing

Will keep you posted...

[KSM-Vtec]

It is possible. Recently i was facing the same problem of vibrations while braking over 100. For now i have changed all my brake pads and got the disks skimmed. Need to do a test to see if the problem has been solved.

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

The engineer called me this morning and told me that the front brake discs need to be replaced as they have worn out unevenly - if they are not replaced, there will be agitating vibrations while braking at over 100 kmph...

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by KSM-Vtec

It is possible. Recently i was facing the same problem of vibrations while braking over 100. For now i have changed all my brake pads and got the disks skimmed. Need to do a test to see if the problem has been solved.

What is the meaning of 'disks skimmed'?

[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

What is the meaning of 'disks skimmed'?

They call it disk cutting/polishing in the garage language. basically the send the disks to the turners shop who polishes the disk and takes off the uneven layer of the disk.

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by KSM-Vtec

They call it disk cutting/polishing in the garage language. basically the send the disks to the turners shop who polishes the disk and takes off the uneven layer of the disk.

Thanks. Was this done at a HASS? Is this a Honda approved procedure? (from a safety point of view)

[sgiitk]

Disc skimming is perfectly fine within limits (about 0.030"on either face, once) but Honda recommends changing the discs. I fact whenever the pads are changed honing the discs is a recommended procedure, if you are not changing them.

[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Thanks. Was this done at a HASS? Is this a Honda approved procedure? (from a safety point of view)

This was not done at the HASS...but let me tell you they can also do this for you.

I dont know about it being Honda approved but this is being done locally since we have started getting disk brakes on cars in India.



+1 to that, but i would do it more than once. In fact i would call it a good practice as it makes your pads last longer.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Disc skimming is perfectly fine within limits (about 0.030"on either face, once) but Honda recommends changing the discs. I fact whenever the pads are changed honing the discs is a recommended procedure, if you are not changing them.

[mayankjha1806]

Noticed two problems over the weekend drive to Tirupati.

One when suddenly hard braking from speeds of about 120 the car shuddered a little and it felt as if the brakes were struggling to bite. This did not happen if the braking was slow and smooth. Looks like as its mentioned above need to get the brake discs checked under warranty.

Second, the AC took time to become chilly, especially if the car was doing slow speeds the AC was blowing cold air but not chilling, when it started moving fast (~80) then the AC become very effective and chilly. Need to get these checked as well.

[manim]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Sent my car for a MEGA 40K service yesterday to Whitefield Honda.

The engineer called me this morning and told me that the front brake discs need to be replaced as they have worn out unevenly - if they are not replaced, there will be agitating vibrations while braking at over 100 kmph.

Any experience from users here?

Mine had exactly this problem (agitating vibrations while braking at over 100 kmph).
It started at around 25K and vanished after I replaced the front-brake-pads along with the discs at 40K.

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

When is this normally replaced?

Depends. Though I had to change the front pads and discs at 40K, I still have not replaced them now after 65K (1,05,000 kms now). Reason: have changed my driving techniques to hypermiling!