Honda Civic 1.8V A/T. EDIT : 9 months / 8,500KM up!

ImmortalZ · 28th March 2009, 21:44

Hello ladies and gentles.

I'd like to report that the car has completed 6 months with us. The odo stands at nearly 5950KM.

Filled up with synthetic oil. The SA told me all Civics use synth. But it is just a money making exercise, obviously. But I'm fine with it as long as they actually filled synth. The engine has smoothed out considerably after the service. It is totally inaudible now at slow cruising speeds where before the service, there was a slight clatter. I just wish it had some more power. *sigh*

There was an annoying rattle with the steering wheel. This has been fixed to my satisfaction. Some part of the plastic cover was touching the steering column and creating the godawful racket that was driving me and my copassengers nuts. It wasn't loud, but it was consistent and piercing.

The car came with a boot lock from an Amby. They have fixed a Honda one after my complaint. It required a bit of a thump with two people helping to make it lock beforehand - now all it needs is a gentle shove. The rear number plate has started rattling again. I'll have to DIY that.

The 3M paint treatment, which was due, wasn't done due to shortage of time. I specifically told him not to do it if they didn't have time to do it properly. I just got myself a bunch of presents for the car from Meguiar's. I'll try to take a beauty shot when time permits.

I did not get the door repaint done. I'm dragging my feet about it. The badly finished fender irritates me every time I look at it, but the scratch is bearable. Bothers me that I have to spend 2500/- so they'll fix their own mistakes, supposedly for free.

Onward!

Vid6639 · 28th March 2009, 22:12

As per Autocar March issue of spare parts, the civic oil filter costs Rs.123 and the Accord costs Rs.309.

Either ACI is wrong or honda charged more or price increased in one month.

kpzen · 28th March 2009, 22:21

42 litres of synthetic oil ?? Or am i missing something here.?

jkdas · 28th March 2009, 22:23

4.2Lit? and just 2700 Rs ? Which brand?

And Honda rattles? Hello? Suzuki does, Tata does. Hyundai does?

OT, met Subin?

ImmortalZ · 28th March 2009, 23:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by vid6639

As per Autocar March issue of spare parts, the civic oil filter costs Rs.123 and the Accord costs Rs.309.

Either ACI is wrong or honda charged more or price increased in one month.

Wouldn't be the first time ACI has been wrong. Some of the stuff in that list they published seem completely random.

The 15400-RTA-004 oil filter seems universal to quite a lot of cars. Civic, US Accord, Pilot, Acura MDX etc etc. Prices range between INR 300-315 in the International market, so I think we get a deal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpzen

42 litres of synthetic oil ?? Or am i missing something here.?

42 units of oil, each worth INR 50/-. I'm guessing 100mL per unit. Might be actually 50mL per unit. I don't know how many liters of oil the Civic requires.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

4.2Lit? and just 2700 Rs ? Which brand?

And Honda rattles? Hello? Suzuki does, Tata does. Hyundai does?

OT, met Subin?

Honda labelled. Supposed to be IDEMITSU OEM. I reconfirmed it is fully synthetic and not semisynth.

The rattle (technically a squeak, since it was caused by rubbing parts) has been there in some form or the other since day 1. It just got exacerbated after the 1000KM trip. Not saying Honda doesn't rattle. I was just saying it was something present and that it got fixed.

No, didn't meet him. We did talk on the phone. His delivery was at 3:30PM. Mine was at 6PM. Times just didn't add up. I asked him to come for the meet on April 3rd (5th?).

swageo · 29th March 2009, 15:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by indivic

My leasing company never takes Hondas to the authorised service centres for body work, a scary thought for me so I try to be extra careful.

Then where do they take to ?. My friend did his honda city at TVS @ Ambattur. He got it done for 5 to 6k, as compared to Capital Hondas estimate of Rs 45K.

I had a miserable experience with Capital Honda. Had a dent on the fender, and they made me replace the fender. Now I see gaps between headlight and fender, and some rattling too. I have already 'visited' them 3 times to rectify this, and going again on 2nd Apr.

ImmortalZ · 29th March 2009, 22:13

Umm, guys, how much of a difference is supposed to be felt after the first oil change? I just went for a late night drive and the car responded and hummed a tune like never before. Did they forget to put on my exhaust or something?

Even if its a placebo effect, I'm lovin' it.

Vid6639 · 29th March 2009, 22:20

Check whether they forgot to put in the air filter. That will give a very sporty note.

greenhorn · 29th March 2009, 22:27

or even a busted air filter will do. I had the same experience after my last service and opened up the airbox to see a torn air filter. buggers probably thought I'd never notice it.

PS: if its more free revving, that would be expected

ImmortalZ · 30th March 2009, 09:10

Oh, thank you very much you monsters. Now I'm worried sick.

*runs off to pop his hood*

indivic · 30th March 2009, 11:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by swageo

Then where do they take to ?. My friend did his honda city at TVS @ Ambattur. He got it done for 5 to 6k, as compared to Capital Hondas estimate of Rs 45K.

I had a miserable experience with Capital Honda. Had a dent on the fender, and they made me replace the fender. Now I see gaps between headlight and fender, and some rattling too. I have already 'visited' them 3 times to rectify this, and going again on 2nd Apr.

Yes, they take it to My TVS, I think it is called Millenium Motors or something at Ekattuthangal, wonder if it is the workshop of the former Skoda dealership

.

I checked out the place last month, not impressive to look at, but I heard they do a good job. I hope I dont have to visit them at all...touchwood

Apparently this the company that supplies the engine oils to Honda dealers in India (info from my SA at Sundaram Motors)

Welcome to Savita

9thsphinx · 31st March 2009, 13:21

Has anyone heard of the Honda Vtec LEV synthetic engine oil?
I had asked Honda to change the oil to synthetic and this is what they put in. It says "Premium Engine Oil SM0W30" on the invoice. Not sure if it is the real deal or was I duped?

indivic · 31st March 2009, 19:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9thsphinx

Has anyone heard of the Honda Vtec LEV synthetic engine oil?
I had asked Honda to change the oil to synthetic and this is what they put in. It says "Premium Engine Oil SM0W30" on the invoice. Not sure if it is the real deal or was I duped?

http://www.honda.net.my/products/lubricants.cfm

It is a Honda branded Idemitsu product, don't know about the rating though, may be Immortalz can help out.

ImmortalZ · 14th May 2009, 15:58

Today, my car was in a minor accident. We were cruising behind a Lancer at slow speeds (30-40KMPH). It was in front of the Technopark gate. It was lunch time and there were several pedestrians waiting to cross.

Someone jumped across the path of the Lancer. He hit his brakes full on and I followed suit. I came to stop without hitting him and he managed to stop just centimeters before some techie had his legs replaced with plastic Lancer bumper.

However, a biker was tailgating me, trying to get through to the left. He didn't stop in time and ended up taking out my brake lights, a lot of bumper plastic. I saw him jump away from the bike. I stopped at the shoulder a few meters away, looked out and saw he was fine. His bike was run over by a driving school 800 and they were busy roasting that guy. It is no use stopping for an argument cuz you will end up paying for the biker's repairs from your pocket.

Anyway, went to Peninsular and the estimate came to INR 20K for :

1) New rear bumper + painting
2) denting + painting of rear quarter panel
3) New brake light

Amount after insurance will be around 6K he says. Time required for the job will be 8-10 days.

karthik247 · 14th May 2009, 16:15

The bumper looks like it can be repaired, unless you want to replace instead or repair.

Colour Wheels should be able to fix that bumper and make it as good as new.

28th March 2009, 21:44	#91
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,179 Thanked: 488 Times View My Garage	Third service complete. Hello ladies and gentles. I'd like to report that the car has completed 6 months with us. The odo stands at nearly 5950KM. Filled up with synthetic oil. The SA told me all Civics use synth. But it is just a money making exercise, obviously. But I'm fine with it as long as they actually filled synth. The engine has smoothed out considerably after the service. It is totally inaudible now at slow cruising speeds where before the service, there was a slight clatter. I just wish it had some more power. sigh There was an annoying rattle with the steering wheel. This has been fixed to my satisfaction. Some part of the plastic cover was touching the steering column and creating the godawful racket that was driving me and my copassengers nuts. It wasn't loud, but it was consistent and piercing. The car came with a boot lock from an Amby. They have fixed a Honda one after my complaint. It required a bit of a thump with two people helping to make it lock beforehand - now all it needs is a gentle shove. The rear number plate has started rattling again. I'll have to DIY that. The 3M paint treatment, which was due, wasn't done due to shortage of time. I specifically told him not to do it if they didn't have time to do it properly. I just got myself a bunch of presents for the car from Meguiar's. I'll try to take a beauty shot when time permits. I did not get the door repaint done. I'm dragging my feet about it. The badly finished fender irritates me every time I look at it, but the scratch is bearable. Bothers me that I have to spend 2500/- so they'll fix their own mistakes, supposedly for free. Onward! Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

28th March 2009, 22:12	#92
Vid6639 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,730 Thanked: 43,480 Times View My Garage	As per Autocar March issue of spare parts, the civic oil filter costs Rs.123 and the Accord costs Rs.309. Either ACI is wrong or honda charged more or price increased in one month.
	() Thanks

28th March 2009, 22:21	#93
kpzen Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Faridabad Posts: 5,610 Thanked: 1,876 Times View My Garage	42 litres of synthetic oil ?? Or am i missing something here.?
	() Thanks

28th March 2009, 22:23	#94
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,687 Thanked: 1,492 Times View My Garage	4.2Lit? and just 2700 Rs ? Which brand? And Honda rattles? Hello? Suzuki does, Tata does. Hyundai does? OT, met Subin?
	() Thanks

29th March 2009, 22:13	#97
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,179 Thanked: 488 Times View My Garage	Umm, guys, how much of a difference is supposed to be felt after the first oil change? I just went for a late night drive and the car responded and hummed a tune like never before. Did they forget to put on my exhaust or something? Even if its a placebo effect, I'm lovin' it. Last edited by ImmortalZ : 29th March 2009 at 22:14.
	() Thanks

29th March 2009, 22:20	#98
Vid6639 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,730 Thanked: 43,480 Times View My Garage	Check whether they forgot to put in the air filter. That will give a very sporty note.
	() Thanks

29th March 2009, 22:27	#99
greenhorn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KL-01 Posts: 7,745 Thanked: 4,402 Times View My Garage	or even a busted air filter will do. I had the same experience after my last service and opened up the airbox to see a torn air filter. buggers probably thought I'd never notice it. PS: if its more free revving, that would be expected Last edited by greenhorn : 29th March 2009 at 22:28.
	() Thanks

30th March 2009, 09:10	#100
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,179 Thanked: 488 Times View My Garage	Oh, thank you very much you monsters. Now I'm worried sick. runs off to pop his hood
	() Thanks

31st March 2009, 13:21	#102
9thsphinx Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Ahmedabad Posts: 1,118 Thanked: 542 Times View My Garage	Has anyone heard of the Honda Vtec LEV synthetic engine oil? I had asked Honda to change the oil to synthetic and this is what they put in. It says "Premium Engine Oil SM0W30" on the invoice. Not sure if it is the real deal or was I duped?
	() Thanks

14th May 2009, 15:58	#104
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,179 Thanked: 488 Times View My Garage	Minor (?) accident. Today, my car was in a minor accident. We were cruising behind a Lancer at slow speeds (30-40KMPH). It was in front of the Technopark gate. It was lunch time and there were several pedestrians waiting to cross. Someone jumped across the path of the Lancer. He hit his brakes full on and I followed suit. I came to stop without hitting him and he managed to stop just centimeters before some techie had his legs replaced with plastic Lancer bumper. However, a biker was tailgating me, trying to get through to the left. He didn't stop in time and ended up taking out my brake lights, a lot of bumper plastic. I saw him jump away from the bike. I stopped at the shoulder a few meters away, looked out and saw he was fine. His bike was run over by a driving school 800 and they were busy roasting that guy. It is no use stopping for an argument cuz you will end up paying for the biker's repairs from your pocket. Anyway, went to Peninsular and the estimate came to INR 20K for : 1) New rear bumper + painting 2) denting + painting of rear quarter panel 3) New brake light Amount after insurance will be around 6K he says. Time required for the job will be 8-10 days. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by ImmortalZ : 14th May 2009 at 16:00.
	() Thanks

14th May 2009, 16:15	#105
karthik247 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR, HYD Posts: 2,710 Thanked: 30 Times	The bumper looks like it can be repaired, unless you want to replace instead or repair. Colour Wheels should be able to fix that bumper and make it as good as new.
	() Thanks