[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by manim

But, can you find out Why did this all happen?
I don't think it happened 'randomly'.
I think yours was pre-owned, so maybe the car was abused earlier?

Manim sir i am not sure why all this happened randonmly.All i can say that is had got the car checked from a reliable mechanic and also at the last service no such issues cropped up.I really don't know if the car was abused but it was fine before.May be i am getting ripped off by Solitaire Honda and i am really gettin royally pinched as the SA called up and said the total bill was 29K including 35K service and that thug of a SA had the nerve to tell me that they have done the job but it's still possible that there can be a leak due to pressure building up in one of the pipes.When i asked why he didn't changed the pipe he mentioned that it cost 10K hence he didn't changed it. The pipe that i am talking about is the one which is the one from the resovior tank leading downwards towards the lower of the engine etc.What's the point of such repairs when i have the chance of getting the same issue again.

I don't think i will ever go back to Solitaire ever again.In fact i feel HASS it only good for oil changes and stuff .For everything else i am going to a independant work shops from now on.

[jatinpatel]

@sumeet

The pipe which the SA is talking of is the Main Feeder pipe which connects the Pump to the Rack and that pipe can be very very well repaired for 3-4k max.

I would strongly advice you to get the pipe repaired asap after the car comes from solitaire as due to leakage in pipe it will again result in power steering system getting irregular fluid pressure and hence it might leak again.

I had got my pipe repaired when i got the rack work done and now its 1yr+ and 9k kms + nothing has happened *touchwood*

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by jatinpatel

@sumeet

The pipe which the SA is talking of is the Main Feeder pipe which connects the Pump to the Rack and that pipe can be very very well repaired for 3-4k max.

I would strongly advice you to get the pipe repaired asap after the car comes from solitaire as due to leakage in pipe it will again result in power steering system getting irregular fluid pressure and hence it might leak again.

I had got my pipe repaired when i got the rack work done and now its 1yr+ and 9k kms + nothing has happened *touchwood*

Jatin i will be getting the car today from Solitaire and quite frankly i don't have the financial resources and state of mind to send it again for repairs ,besides those people at Solitaire have promised a 6 months/5k warranty on the repairs.However i will keep a hawk's eye on the fluid level in the reservoir and if it budges even a millimeter then i will take your word and advice and go whichever garage you got your problems fixed.Even the battery i would most probably get it checked and if needed recharged so that i can go through atleast the month of Aug with the existing.

[sumeethaldankar]

Got the car back in the morning from Solitaire Honda Andheri in the morning.Here's what transpired today.

I had spoken to the SA satish patel that i would be coming by 10-10:30 in the morning at the workshop.I reached there at
10:40 and told the lady at the reception that i had come to take delivery of my car.I was asked to wait for 5 mins which
lasted till 11:10 Am before another SA showed up to attend to me.In between i had tried calling satish but he did not answer
the phone and upong inquiring at the reception i was told that he was 'absent' today.

Isin't this very typical of SA in many Authorised service stations.
The rececptionist even comes to me with a delivery form to sign which refuse to so citing that i haven't seen the car and
need to speak to the SA without which i will not sign the form which states that everything is order.At 11:10 AM finally
another dude walks up to me and we approach the car.I make him pop the hood and as he rambles about the work done i open
up the PS pump reservoir and much to my dismay i find the fluid level to be lower than the low
mark.My tone of voice starts to change and i point out to the low level fluid and ask the SA why
the level is low if the overhaul was done.To which the SA replies Saaar it's like that only.
I ask him to open the hood of another civic parked there for servicing.When we open the other civics reservoir
it was found the level of fluid was much closer to the upper mark and not as low as the one in mine.I tell the SA
straightaway that i want the fluid level topped up.He obliges and goes on to fetch a can of PS fluid.
In my previous post i had mentioned after the completion of the rack and pump o/h the SA (satish) had called up and said that
there could still be problem as one of the pipes had a minor leak.Now this is the very same pipe (pic below) that i had
in the very beginning had pointed out to satish that it looked as if there is some leak.To which satish had replied
no saar that is only moisture that is not a leakage.

The said pipe.Notice the stains which could be the possible cause of the leakage.




During the time of delivery i argued with the new dude that there could have been no problem with the rack and the problem was mainly with the pipe and that the rack o/h unnecessarily to which he refuted the claims.My only gripe was why these
thugs did not tell me that there is also a problem with the pipe as well rather than just blindly go on with the
rack and steering o/h.To me this is their incompetence the price for which i had to pay.
10500 for PS o/h while the rack was 12000k pure labor no materials.

As of now i have to keep a watch on the PS fluid levels and incase if i find the level going down i will have to get the pipe
replaced.The OE cost is 10K but i would not be absolutely going back to HASS for such jobs other than routine oil changes.
Many of the things reported by HASS in car which requires attention like weak suspension due to play in ball joints,front wheel bearings etc to be replaced will be done later on and no sooner than 6 months from independant garages.
As of now i have 3 things to look out for immediately.
1-The battery
2-The PS hose pipe
3-A minor boot cut
Rest all of the issues i guess can wait.


The PS fluid level after the SA topped up after the work was suppose to completed.Imagine spending 29K and still having to worry about the fluid level every now and then.What's the point of me spending so much money? When i said this to the SA during delivery he was like no saar, no issue would come.All you have to do is keep checking the fluid level under the hood.

[sumeethaldankar]

Guys i am in a fix.I had taken the car for a spin yesterday in the evening after taking delivery from Solitaire just to check whether the fluid levels go down in the PS reservoir.I decided to check it tpday early in the morning and i found that the level has gone down again.In my prev post i mentioned that i had got it topped from the SA at the service station before taking delivery.

Now as per the report one of the pipes do have a minor leakge and this could be the issue but i am not sure.My question is whether i should take the car back to those thugs or give it to a independant workshop.Soliatire would probably ask me to replace the pipe which as per them is 10K.The repair work is under warranty for 6months/5K kms and not the pipe etc.

So please rain your advice on me.

Thanks all

[sgiitk]

It is a simple job and a good independent should be Ok. Also, I see you are in Mumbai so an organised independent like Carnation or Bosch is another option. They will not be as cheap as the roadside chap but may give you greater peace of mind.

[manim]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

I decided to check it today early in the morning and i found that the level has gone down again.

Now as per the report one of the pipes do have a minor leakage and this could be the issue but i am not sure.My question is whether i should take the car back to those thugs or give it to a independant workshop.

If there is still a leak after the 'rack and pump o/h' you have done (and paid for) then was that not really necessary? Maybe you could have just replaced the leaking pipe and saved costs?

I personally will not trust anyone with my Civic, other than the A.S.S I am friendly with (in Madurai), but in the bigger cities I think there will be better/competent independent ones.

Nowadays I always check the PS fluid level after long drives, and so far the level is perfectly maintained.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by manim

If there is still a leak after the 'rack and pump o/h' you have done (and paid for) then was that not really necessary? Maybe you could have just replaced the leaking pipe and saved costs?

I personally will not trust anyone with my Civic, other than the A.S.S I am friendly with (in Madurai), but in the bigger cities I think there will be better/competent independent ones.

Nowadays I always check the PS fluid level after long drives, and so far the level is perfectly maintained.

Manim sir, this very fact was not told to me by the SA when he had called me to say that along with pump even the rack would needed repairs.That conniving unethical person probably figured i may opt to pull out the car from the job if he mentioned all 3 things needed to attended to as the bill would have come to existing 10K more + labor.

He told me about the pipe leakage only after the work for the repair etc was done.I had already pointed out the leakge to that thug but he dismissed it by saying that it was moisture. I am contemplating writing a mail to Honda customer care but i am not sure what good it will bring.But i do think that Solitaire Honda held back information and gave me a car which could still give issues even after a massive repair bill.I am absolutely not going back to those thieves again.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

He told me about the pipe leakage only after the work for the repair etc was done.I had already pointed out the leakge to that thug but he dismissed it by saying that it was moisture. I am contemplating writing a mail to Honda customer care but i am not sure what good it will bring.But i do think that Solitaire Honda held back information and gave me a car which could still give issues even after a massive repair bill.I am absolutely not going back to those thieves again.

From what I understand they may have replaced the wrong part. Go back there and speak to the service manager and see if anything can be done about it.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

From what I understand they may have replaced the wrong part. Go back there and speak to the service manager and see if anything can be done about it.

Akshay the SA had "claimed" that the rack and PS needed repair in their report.I got a photocopy of the report when i went there to pay the bill, it also says that the car would need a pipe replacement.This part was not highlighted to me by the SA when he called me to give me a estimate.He only talked about the PS and rack o/h but kept mum about the pipe/hose.

Only once the job as done and the bill as made he called me up and said that the pipe/hose also has a leakage and may cause problems to me.This is what i am precisely ticked off about.Going back there might not help as they will simply refute claims that there was no issue with the rack and PS.

[hiren.mistry]

@ Sumeet,
I don't have my civic anymore but during the time when it was with me I got it serviced at Solitaire Borivali.
From my interactions with the SA's there, HASS is good at only replacing anypart that goes wrong. They will not spend any efforts to check if a particular component can be repaired. So much so that this was quoted to me verbatim "Replace not repair" is their motto.

As suggested by the highly respected prof upthread, you'd be better off getting the car checked by an independent garage like Carnation. Alternatively, you can have your looked up by Sunil Shanbaug (Select Auto Garage)

I would also go the the extent of saying that maintaining a Honda is cheap is a big fallacy.

All the best.

[jatinpatel]

@hiren and @all

Maintaining a 14-16L car is never gonna be cheap, although we might have got the cars pre-worshiped but the base value of vehicle doesnt change. So we need to think before we buy.
Buying an Elephant is No big deal but Maintaining one is.

And you have no ideas as to how has the previous owner used the car before so you cant just constantly bash the car that its fragile and all.

Many owners on this very thread have had trouble free experience with civic eg.Manim with his 1.2L driven civic.

Its all about how one uses the car, How its been taken cared off and by whom or which Service center is take care off.



I personally would NEVER EVER go to Solitaire ever in my life, had 3 bad experiences with them and simply cant tolerate the un-professionalism in their work and attitude.
I would rate Linkway and Arya better in this, but then Arya sucks in work satisfaction and promtness in delivery.

For me although Linkway is completely out of the way but am stuck to it for its shear professionalism and work satisfaction and their repair first then Replace attitude.
and Un-Like other A.S.S they dont change the synthetic oil every 3-5k kms nor do they call you if you have filled synthetic oil, They recommend 10k oil change intervals for synthetic and 5k for mineral which is proper.

Now for a person who understands about cars and all like US team-bhpians it doesnt matter that much but for a Common man if he replaces synthetic oil every 5k kms then its total RIPOFF for him.


In case of sumeet after having a word with him, and also seeing the pics,

what i assume is he has been charged for work which is not done and secondly to me the feeder pipe which solitaire claims to be a bust seems to be fine cause there are not Proper Proper oil wetting marks on the line.
And even if the feeder pipe is leaking the fluid level wont go down .5-1mm in just 20-30km drive.
This means either the Internal oil seals of the pump or rack have a failure which again means the work is either done very very badly or not done at all!!

also sumeet cliams the cars was given to solitaire on saturday morn and was deliver on monday at 1-2pm and since sunday is holiday its simply not possible to repair both Pump and Rack in one day of saturday and fit it back to the car in such short time till monday.Period.

Accessing the rack of the civic is the biggest pain in the back end, have experienced it myself and so is removal of pump. even if you have proper power tools and lifts still it takes hell loads of time and add to that componenet repair itself.
Secondly in bill it says 12k for labour alone ?
The oil seals which are required in the pump and rack overhaul they fell on the head of the mechanics at solitaire from heaven then ?
They are parts which are not charged for, Rack and pump opening and fitting labor should not exceed 3-4k max add to that 7-8k given to the Rack repair specialist, he puts his own quality of seals and what not cause honda does NOT sell oil seals for rack and pump as stand-alone component.

What my feeling is the Money is made but the work is not done!


I would sincerely suggest all Team-bhpians to discard using Solitaire for Love of Cars which we share.

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by sarathlal

any idea, on the throw of the fog lamps for post 09 models? Am talking about the OEI ones, and i rarely get the throw for more than couple of meters :(.
Though it offers good lighting towards both the side and turning is an easy affair at night with the fogs. But the front line visibility offered by the fogs alone has been disappointing.

Hi, any idea on the above query?
Also, any idea, what is the significance of the number forged on the alloy wheels? All 4 wheels have the same number.
The JWL mark is Japanese Alloy wheel safety seal, but the number is something that was not decipherable.

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by jatinpatel

@hiren and @all

Maintaining a 14-16L car is never gonna be cheap, although we might have got the cars pre-worshiped but the base value of vehicle doesnt change. So we need to think before we buy.
Buying an Elephant is No big deal but Maintaining one is.

Jatin,
I get where you are coming from and I don't deny it. When I said Honda's are not cheap (or reliable for that matter) I was not comparing the Civic to a Swift. Take Toyota Corolla for example, I recently helped my BIL buy a pre-used Corolla auto which needed brake pads to be changed. They cost around 2K whereas the Civic's cost a whopping 6K.

What you meant about manim's ride is an aberration, as mentioned by manim that he barely does city rides (where the main wear and tear happens) and its mostly driving (economically) on the highways in the 80-100 KMPH zone. Given that, of course his car won't have suspension, brakes or any other mechanical bits that will go wrong. I've driven my BIL's Nissan Pathfinder and a Tiida in Dubai that are closing in on 2L KMS and they drive like absolute new car. No rattles, no squeaks whatsoever. Even in UAE Honda car have a reputation of being expensive to maintain compared to Toyota or Nissan.

To conclude I feel Honda never tuned the Civic to our condition and the result is for all to see. Personally, I loved my Civic (I still do) but given a choice would I own it again? I don't think so.

Apologies to the mods for going OT.

Regards

[razor4077]

There's been some discussion around this already on this thread. I've been facing some shuddering/jerkiness in my Civic at low revs (1500 rpm or lower). In any gear, when the tacho is at or below 1500 and I try to hit/feather the throttle, the car jerks a bit. Smoothens out as soon as the revs go close to 2000. The other option is to ride the clutch.
This behaviour was always there, and I think this is a characteristic of Civics, but thought I'd check anyway. Having driven a diesel Elantra before, I was used to driving around traffic in 3rd gear at very low revs peacefully... not possible on a Civic methinks. I think that I am just lugging the engine (not good), but the other option would be to ride the clutch (also not good!). Any thoughts on this?

Also, I've noticed that there is a slight hesitation while accelerating flat out similarly around the 1500 rpm mark, beyond which it is typical Honda smooth. Is this expected?

From experience, if I sense any jerkiness/hesitation in an engine, I'd get the injectors, throttle body and spark plugs checked. Will do so at the next service. Funnily though, Honda a.s.s told me that they don't clean injectors!