Honda Civic - Two Year - 20000 km report

csentil · 15th January 2009, 02:29

I don't know why i write all my reports after 1 Am !! In case of grammatical/syntactical/poetical/political mistakes, Kindly Adjust or as they say in Namma Bengaluru after bumping into one's car, Sulpa Adjust maadi

And cane one of our esteemed moderators please change the thread title to 20000 km Report ?

Have been putting off writhing this report till I hit 20000 kms and I haven't done that for the past one month even though I have 100 even kms left out.

Synopsis: Car awesome, handling awesome, maintenance awesome, speedbreakers 'awe'ful.

Fuel Economy: Has withstood the economic depression. Still at 8 in city and 11-12 on the highways

Trips Done:

5 Trips to Chennai
1 Trip to Karaikal, Velankanni
2 Trips to Coimbatore
1 Trip to Thekkady
1 Trip to Andaman (me not the car, it got only as far as Chennai !!)
1 Near trip to hell
Umpteen trips to driving heaven

Accidents/Incidents

No major accidents this year !! Yupee. Breaking the bonnet on a coconut certainly helped !!! I swear. you can still see the bonnet marks on the coconut!!

Incident 1: Almost ran over a puppy
Incident 2: Almost ran over a goatee..oops goat
Incident 3: Almost ran over my uncle. He is a pain or is he in pain??

Extra Fittings

One reverse sensor.
Driving at 208 kmph and having a video to prove it. (Courtesy youtube link)

The Good

1. Low cost of maintenance. Even the guys who own maruthi's/hyundai's envy the bills I get. 900, 750, 6000 (20k service, synthetic oil, air and oil filter, interior cleaning, ST)
2. Pleasure of driving her. The suspension has stayed the same inspite of again driving more than 80% on the highways and bad bangalore roads.
3. Having an AT. Peaceful and relaxing to drive in the city.
4. Build Quality - Very less moaning and groaning. Nothing that can't be fixed by screwing up (naughty, naughty) bolts and nuts.
5. Top Speed - 176 kmph and I didn't know it until I glanced at the digital speedo. Rock solid.
6 Interiors and dashboard still impress the chicks. Hey the ones i bought for biryani yaar.
7. Got 40% discount on my Insurance on top of the NCB as the Civic was listed in the cars which are eligible for that discount. (Tata AIG)

The Bad

1. Road noise. Actually it depends also on type of road. Certain sections of the GQ there's more road noise (Sriperumbadur - Kanchipuram) and afterwards it reduces.
2. Bottoming out. Have actually got around it, know her well enough to judge where and when she could bottom out.
3. Worn out Discs. Have been cautioned that it will wear out probably in another 3K kms. My front discs. Have to replace the whole set. Guess that's one of the drawbacks with an AT and with aggressive driving.

The Ugly

Too many Civics. Counted 15 Civics parked on Commercial Street, 6 of the same colour. Not a headturner anymore.

I still drive my Matiz and ride an Enticer in town. Civic is for highways and for dates. I've stopped taking it to office often as I got a very bad hike last year. I had the most expensive car in my company till recently when our Centre Fresh got an Accord. Jealous buggar.

ImmortalZ · 15th January 2009, 05:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by csentil

Still at 8 in city and 11-12 on the highways

My last 1000KM gave me 8.5KMPL (less than 100KM on the highways) thanks to the run in period being over. I hit Sport, and then floor the accelerator

Quote:

Originally Posted by csentil

Too many Civics. Counted 15 Civics parked on Commercial Street, 6 of the same colour. Not a headturner anymore.

Time for a body kit then?

Quote:

Originally Posted by csentil

I still drive my Matiz and ride an Enticer in town. Civic is for highways and for dates. I've stopped taking it to office often as I got a very bad hike last year. I had the most expensive car in my company till recently when our Centre Fresh got an Accord. Jealous buggar.

Accord Schmuccord. Civic rules yo.

My second service came to a sum total of zero. My friends are amazed! "Cho chweep to maintain!"

csentil · 15th January 2009, 13:53

I had no run in period. I did like first 2K kms almost all on highways. And no way I was going to potter around doing a "run in" !! I know there are a lot of different views on running one's car in.

I hear some people get 10 on their AT. Frankly I don't know how unless I push the car all around !!

Driving in S mode is a bit scary in Bangalore traffic. I do it only on the ring roads when I want to show the damn pulsars their place

ImmortalZ · 15th January 2009, 15:06

Sentil bhai, you can easily get 10+ with it. I got 13.5 at one point during run in. You just have to baby the car totally. Anticipate changes and all that. Predictive driving gets tiring very quick though. Like when you're using the very little engine braking the AT has and suddenly an auto/2 wheeler cuts into your space and so on.

Of course, if you're willing to sacrifice some comfort, turning off the AC will bring in some gains. Then I think about the leather seats and the cold I'll be getting the day after thanks to sweating so much...

I hit redline on my way back from collecting the car from the dealership on Day 1. Like I've said before, the car has a personality that gets under your skin, urging you to just floor it.

csentil · 13th March 2009, 20:28

Got my brakes changed on my AT. The front ones were worn off. Got the discs and the pads changed. Total cost 9500/- .

Being an AT brakes are supposed to be the worst hit. The service engineer mentioned that it all depends on how one drives and it should last till 30000 km. I have done 23K.

Other than that no other problem. Just did a quick dash to Chennai and back.

The AT gives good mileage when there less stop and go situations. I got 13+ on my drive from Bangalore to Chennai with no AC 75% of the way. Didn't actually cross speeds over 130 kmph and vehicular traffic was at its minimum. Return trip only 10.5 !!

Sha · 13th March 2009, 20:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by csentil

Got my brakes changed on my AT. The front ones were worn off. Got the discs and the pads changed. Total cost 9500/- .

Being an AT brakes are supposed to be the worst hit. The service engineer mentioned that it all depends on how one drives and it should last till 30000 km. I have done 23K.

My Civic completed 65k in 2 years & 2 months but never changed discs and pads still running fine .

csentil · 13th March 2009, 21:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sha

My Civic completed 65k in 2 years & 2 months but never changed discs and pads still running fine .

Wow that's a lot of kilometres in 2 years !! You have an AT or a MT? MT shouldn't wear out so easily. Also my driving is sort of to blame as well. High acceleration and braking. Speeds above 150 kmph.

The engineer told me it would hold for another 2K kms but I was not willing to take the risk and asked for it to be changed.

Sha · 13th March 2009, 21:15

Mine is MT. Do not do wheel alignment and wheel balancing in authorized centre, even if you do ask for print out of wheel alignment.

csentil · 13th March 2009, 22:29

Yup. I did it once and they did give me a wheel alignment printout. Planning to do it outside. Any good ones around Indira Nagar/K.R.Puram/Domlur

Sha · 13th March 2009, 22:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by csentil

Yup. I did it once and they did give me a wheel alignment printout. Planning to do it outside. Any good ones around Indira Nagar/K.R.Puram/Domlur

One of our Bhpian has good tyre shop and latest equipment you can try there its near double road good one.

manim · 14th March 2009, 14:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by csentil

Got my brakes changed on my AT. The front ones were worn off. Got the discs and the pads changed. Total cost 9500/- .

Being an AT brakes are supposed to be the worst hit. The service engineer mentioned that it all depends on how one drives and it should last till 30000 km. I have done 23K.

My AT has done 37.5K in around two years. So far I have not changed brake-pads. I had them checked personally during the 35K service and found them to be okay.
But I had thought that brake-disc need not be changed for the life-time of the car?
(My car shudders when I brake hard, so maybe I can try changing the disc along with the pads).

swageo · 14th March 2009, 20:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sha

Mine is MT. Do not do wheel alignment and wheel balancing in authorized centre, even if you do ask for print out of wheel alignment.

I did alignment and workshop (outside) guys says only toe can be adjusted. It seems camber and caster can't be adjusted in Civic. Is this true ?

jkdas · 14th March 2009, 22:26

Nice report. Had fun reading it. You missed the pix.
9.5k @ 30k? And since Sha said he id 65k without a pad change, is this normal?

15th January 2009, 02:29	#16
csentil Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,350 Thanked: 39 Times View My Garage	20000 km Report I don't know why i write all my reports after 1 Am !! In case of grammatical/syntactical/poetical/political mistakes, Kindly Adjust or as they say in Namma Bengaluru after bumping into one's car, Sulpa Adjust maadi And cane one of our esteemed moderators please change the thread title to 20000 km Report ? Have been putting off writhing this report till I hit 20000 kms and I haven't done that for the past one month even though I have 100 even kms left out. Synopsis: Car awesome, handling awesome, maintenance awesome, speedbreakers 'awe'ful. Fuel Economy: Has withstood the economic depression. Still at 8 in city and 11-12 on the highways Trips Done: 5 Trips to Chennai 1 Trip to Karaikal, Velankanni 2 Trips to Coimbatore 1 Trip to Thekkady 1 Trip to Andaman (me not the car, it got only as far as Chennai !!) 1 Near trip to hell Umpteen trips to driving heaven Accidents/Incidents No major accidents this year !! Yupee. Breaking the bonnet on a coconut certainly helped !!! I swear. you can still see the bonnet marks on the coconut!! Incident 1: Almost ran over a puppy Incident 2: Almost ran over a goatee..oops goat Incident 3: Almost ran over my uncle. He is a pain or is he in pain?? Extra Fittings One reverse sensor. Driving at 208 kmph and having a video to prove it. (Courtesy youtube link) The Good 1. Low cost of maintenance. Even the guys who own maruthi's/hyundai's envy the bills I get. 900, 750, 6000 (20k service, synthetic oil, air and oil filter, interior cleaning, ST) 2. Pleasure of driving her. The suspension has stayed the same inspite of again driving more than 80% on the highways and bad bangalore roads. 3. Having an AT. Peaceful and relaxing to drive in the city. 4. Build Quality - Very less moaning and groaning. Nothing that can't be fixed by screwing up (naughty, naughty) bolts and nuts. 5. Top Speed - 176 kmph and I didn't know it until I glanced at the digital speedo. Rock solid. 6 Interiors and dashboard still impress the chicks. Hey the ones i bought for biryani yaar. 7. Got 40% discount on my Insurance on top of the NCB as the Civic was listed in the cars which are eligible for that discount. (Tata AIG) The Bad 1. Road noise. Actually it depends also on type of road. Certain sections of the GQ there's more road noise (Sriperumbadur - Kanchipuram) and afterwards it reduces. 2. Bottoming out. Have actually got around it, know her well enough to judge where and when she could bottom out. 3. Worn out Discs. Have been cautioned that it will wear out probably in another 3K kms. My front discs. Have to replace the whole set. Guess that's one of the drawbacks with an AT and with aggressive driving. The Ugly Too many Civics. Counted 15 Civics parked on Commercial Street, 6 of the same colour. Not a headturner anymore. I still drive my Matiz and ride an Enticer in town. Civic is for highways and for dates. I've stopped taking it to office often as I got a very bad hike last year. I had the most expensive car in my company till recently when our Centre Fresh got an Accord. Jealous buggar.
	() Thanks

15th January 2009, 13:53	#18
csentil Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,350 Thanked: 39 Times View My Garage	I had no run in period. I did like first 2K kms almost all on highways. And no way I was going to potter around doing a "run in" !! I know there are a lot of different views on running one's car in. I hear some people get 10 on their AT. Frankly I don't know how unless I push the car all around !! Driving in S mode is a bit scary in Bangalore traffic. I do it only on the ring roads when I want to show the damn pulsars their place
	() Thanks

15th January 2009, 15:06	#19
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,195 Thanked: 597 Times View My Garage	Sentil bhai, you can easily get 10+ with it. I got 13.5 at one point during run in. You just have to baby the car totally. Anticipate changes and all that. Predictive driving gets tiring very quick though. Like when you're using the very little engine braking the AT has and suddenly an auto/2 wheeler cuts into your space and so on. Of course, if you're willing to sacrifice some comfort, turning off the AC will bring in some gains. Then I think about the leather seats and the cold I'll be getting the day after thanks to sweating so much... I hit redline on my way back from collecting the car from the dealership on Day 1. Like I've said before, the car has a personality that gets under your skin, urging you to just floor it.
	() Thanks

13th March 2009, 20:28	#20
csentil Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,350 Thanked: 39 Times View My Garage	Got my brakes changed on my AT. The front ones were worn off. Got the discs and the pads changed. Total cost 9500/- . Being an AT brakes are supposed to be the worst hit. The service engineer mentioned that it all depends on how one drives and it should last till 30000 km. I have done 23K. Other than that no other problem. Just did a quick dash to Chennai and back. The AT gives good mileage when there less stop and go situations. I got 13+ on my drive from Bangalore to Chennai with no AC 75% of the way. Didn't actually cross speeds over 130 kmph and vehicular traffic was at its minimum. Return trip only 10.5 !!
	() Thanks

13th March 2009, 21:15	#23
Sha BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Canberra Posts: 539 Thanked: 17 Times View My Garage	Mine is MT. Do not do wheel alignment and wheel balancing in authorized centre, even if you do ask for print out of wheel alignment.
	() Thanks

13th March 2009, 22:29	#24
csentil Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,350 Thanked: 39 Times View My Garage	Yup. I did it once and they did give me a wheel alignment printout. Planning to do it outside. Any good ones around Indira Nagar/K.R.Puram/Domlur
	() Thanks

14th March 2009, 22:26	#28
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,687 Thanked: 1,493 Times View My Garage	Nice report. Had fun reading it. You missed the pix. 9.5k @ 30k? And since Sha said he id 65k without a pad change, is this normal?
	() Thanks