[mayankk]

Originally Posted by StarScream

My car went for its overhaul job yesterday. Most front suspension components were replaced - the suspension arms, bushings, stabilizer link and springs + shock absorbers (which is one big combined part). The rear suspension was left as is because I was told it is fine. The steering is fine and was adjusted. Total cost - 25k, as opposed to the near 1 lakh estimate given by the previous SA.

I was told the a rear wheel bearing will need to be replaced in another 5-10k kms. At the moment, any problem by listening for sound is not discernible.

As you drive, and dont hear anything, the 25k will fade in no time at all.
But anyway, good that you got most of it done in one go.
peace for the next few years.

for the rear bearing, after youre back from a longish drive, touch each hub/wheel with your hands.
If or when, the rear ones seem much hotter than the rest, time for a change.
Cheerios, and enjoy!

[StarScream]

lapsi, your experience is very similar to mine. I too replaced the OEM battery, an Amaron, last year as a precaution. It wasn't needed.

Last year there was a problem with the car jerking - a bit like missing a beat - and it happened at all speeds and any time, day or night, cold or hot. It was diagnosed as ignition coil failure. The same service center said it's a common problem with the rear set of spark plug ignition coils of i-DSI Hondas.

For the uninitiated, the i-DSI engine has two spark plugs per cylinder and hence eight in total. The ones facing the rear usually develop problems - or so I was told. The recommendation was to change all four at 5k each =20k. Since only one was giving trouble, I only changed that. After a while, the problem recurred. It was diagnosed as another misfiring ignition coil. I got it changed. At this point, the car went for its 120k service, where all the spark plugs were changed.

The problem has not resurfaced, which makes me think it wasn't the coils at all. The service center confidently told me in a few months the problem will happen again. Its been more than a few months and almost 10k kms without issue. Hence, my earlier statement that I don't trust the service center. This is the second time they told me a major repair was needed when a lesser fix was required.

Great car, doubtful service.

Originally Posted by mayankk

As you drive, and dont hear anything, the 25k will fade in no time at all.
But anyway, good that you got most of it done in one go.
peace for the next few years.

for the rear bearing, after youre back from a longish drive, touch each hub/wheel with your hands.
If or when, the rear ones seem much hotter than the rest, time for a change.
Cheerios, and enjoy!

thanks for the tip Mayank. The cost is not the issue - it's the accuracy of the advice, as the first answer in this mail illustrates.

[lapsi]

Originally Posted by StarScream

Great car, doubtful service.

I have been lucky since I have the same SA since the day I bought my Honda City. We have a developed a rapport. The main advantage of this has been that he does only does what is necessary. No extra expenses. And I get assistance even on the phone, if necessary.

I guess, here it all boils down to the individual doing your job and not the company. So it may be best is to maintain good relations with the guy doing your work.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by lapsi

I have been lucky since I have the same SA since the day I bought my Honda City. We have a developed a rapport. The main advantage of this has been that he does only does what is necessary. No extra expenses. And I get assistance even on the phone, if necessary.

I guess, here it all boils down to the individual doing your job and not the company. So it may be best is to maintain good relations with the guy doing your work.

I agree and you're lucky to have that. I don't know if its a NCR phenomenon but in my experience the SAs keep changing, so it's not possible to stick with one.

Case in point, the new one who gave me the exorbitant estimate, left the job 10 days after. He must have been at that dealer for a couple of months max. After I made a scene about not getting proper advice, I got a call from a senior SA who sounded saner. By the time the parts came for the job, he had been transferred to the dealer's other service center. His replacement finally got the job done.

[StarScream]

For all those wondering what is changed in a suspension overhaul. These pictures show the left-hand side components of the front suspension of an NHC (naturally, the same parts on the other side are changed as well). The boxes show the part numbers for the combined shock absorber and spring, and the boomerang-shaped arm:

[sushrutha]

Originally Posted by StarScream

the boomerang-shaped arm:

This is called as LOWER ARM.
Apart from it, did you replace all the suspension bushes, Tie rod ends & Ball joints ?
It's good to replace the above when you replace the suspension/ Lower arm

[KSM-Vtec]

Hey BTW i had done a short thread when i did my suspension overhaul...it may help if you are looking at doing a full overhaul...including a few steering related parts.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...it-solved.html

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by sushrutha

This is called as LOWER ARM.
Apart from it, did you replace all the suspension bushes, Tie rod ends & Ball joints ?
It's good to replace the above when you replace the suspension/ Lower arm

sushrutha, I know what it's called, I was describing the item in the picture. The part name and number are written on the box.

The components that were changed are in the picture. Other parts and rear suspension were fine, according to the service center, and didn't require to be replaced at the moment. BTW doesn't the rod in the picture suspiciously like a tie-rod?

[sushrutha]

^^ OK.
Now how is the feel of the car after the suspension overhaul ?
For the benefit of others can you please share the cost of the OTHER parts(damper & Lower arm price is visible) + labour.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by sushrutha

^^ OK.
Now how is the feel of the car after the suspension overhaul ?
For the benefit of others can you please share the cost of the OTHER parts(damper & Lower arm price is visible) + labour.

The ride for sure is a lot softer than before. It had become quite hard. No more clunk sounds from the suspension when going over a poorly built speed breaker.

While the ride is comfortable, I'd actually started to like the hardness because the car handled better and felt more "tight." Now on expressway speeds if feels less surefooted and more floaty. Now I know what a sports suspension feels like

Ill post the prices a little later. The bill is in the car and it's not with me at the moment.

[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by StarScream

While the ride is comfortable, I'd actually started to like the hardness because the car handled better and felt more "tight."

That is so true! I was also planning to keep the old shocks and trying a higher viscosity oil to get that planted feel. But haven't done it yet.

[Vivek5870]

Starscream, can you let me know who was the SA who quoted you with 1L bill for suspension and steering job. I have been using the same SVC for the past 5 years and have been satisfied barring a few small incidents where I refused to pay for things which I did not ask them to do.

[rajneeshmakhija]

Long post warning .... but with a request to kindly read and reply with suggestions

Background: I have a 2006 Honda City ZX (aka Type 4); done 88k kms. Typical drive is within the city, with occasional excursions. Driving style is generally calm and composed, and aggressive on occasion. Carefully maintained; under Honda A.S.S for the first 60k, at a local garage since then.

The problem: For the last 4-5 months, I noticed some odd behavior from the suspension. Like @narayan stated 'can feel every pebble on the road'. At the same time, the standard suspension tests (pushing down firmly to test for repeat bouncing) would not indicate anything wrong. I thought this was pretty much my imagination, till the wife commented on my driving !!!

Off to the garage; where my mech does all the looking/feeling and test-drive to pronounce that the car is as healthy as a 6 year old should be! Leaving me totally confused.

In parallel, it was also time to replace my tires. Two of them were not were well worn out, and one of them also had a slow leaking puncture, which I tried to fix a couple of times with no success. Someone suggested the worn out tires could be part of the trouble. So, switched to 15" wheels (upgrading from std 14"), and picked up a new set of 'Hankook Ventus V12 Evo' (190/50 R15)

As you may guess, this tire change did not fix my problems. Everything was pretty much the same :(

After a lot of deliberation, and taking some time to note the specific troubles, I came up with the following list

• 'Whoosing' sounds when going over a speed bump
• Dull 'thuds' when running over pot holes
• Rough ride on roads with paver block, I could pretty much feel every joint
• On concrete/cement roads, I could feel a bumpy ride (again, every joint on the road would result in a minor jolt)

My mech continued to insist that nothing was evidently wrong, but had no recommendations on fixing the symptoms. We discussed all components that needed to be changed in the event of a suspension overhaul, and I asked him to go ahead regardless.

The overhaul was done in three phases, simply to see if we could control the costs.
Phase 1

• Lower Arms
• Tie Rods
• Balance Rod Links
• Steering Ball Joint

Phase 2

• Front Shock Absorbers

Phase 3

• Rear Shock Absorbers

Unfortunately, none of this fixed the problem. After every stage, the alignment was revisited to ensure that there are no external influences to the core issue.

I'm still at status quo, and continue to face the issue of a rough bumpy ride. Hopefully someone on this group will be able to help identify the causes, and point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance, and thanks for the patience reading through this long post

[Max]

Originally Posted by rajneeshmakhija

Someone suggested the worn out tires could be part of the trouble. So, switched to 15" wheels (upgrading from std 14"), and picked up a new set of 'Hankook Ventus V12 Evo' (190/50 R15)

190/50 R15, seems low profile Tyre and may be the reason behind sound and jerks. You may consider 185/65 R14 for better ride quality. Also, suspension overhaul should fix many of above problems.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by rajneeshmakhija

Long post warning .... but with a request to kindly read and reply with suggestions

Background: I have a 2006 Honda City ZX (aka Type 4); done 88k kms. Typical drive is within the city, with occasional excursions. Driving style is generally calm and composed, and aggressive on occasion. Carefully maintained; under Honda A.S.S for the first 60k, at a local garage since then.

I had a similar model car earlier and you should note that the City's ride was always little stiff and nothing to write home about.
I'd say the problem is in the tyre sizes. Upping the rim size to 15" will send the ride quality for a toss. I'd suggest changing to 14" immediately. The stock sizes is 175/65 R14, but an even better option is 185/60 R14. This sizes is very well suited and also does wonders to the car's ride and handling. It isn't just me, even Autocar India recommended this size for this model.