[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I barely do 4500km in a year on my Civic. It completes four years this May end. I am thinking of going over to an annual service schedule (with full synth as is now). Any advice.

Add me to your list. My car just completed 4 years a few days ago and I am nearing 15k km on the odo. For the last two years I have been following only an annual maintenance schedule and it works for me. The only other times I visited the HASS was to replace wiper blades and to replace the strut bearings that caused some noise while turning the steering at idling speed.

Updated my ownership thread with details only yesterday.

Link:http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ic-v-mt-6.html

[sumeethaldankar]

My civic has run's approx 3500 kms annually and i am using mineral oil for the period it has remained with me.My oil change intervals are around one year more so with the honda oe oil.

I had switched to mobil 10w 30 and quite frankly found the oil giving up before completing a year.I subsequently replaced the oil with Total semi-synthetic 10w 40 since dec and the car is doing fine with same.However i am planning to switch to honda synthetic after completing six months.

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

.I subsequently replaced the oil with Total semi-synthetic 10w 40 since dec and the car is doing fine with same.However i am planning to switch to honda synthetic after completing six months.

I changed from mineral oil to Mobil 1 0W 40 fully synthetic oil at 9k kms. Wanted to try 0W 30 fully synthetic as suggested by few members of the forum. Since this grade is not available in Mobil 1, I chose to go with the Honda OE oil (Idemitsu synthetic oil) 0W 30 and have driven the car for a little over 1k kms post the oil change. No difference noticed whatsoever.

[skdking]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

...........

I had switched to mobil 10w 30 and quite frankly found the oil giving up before completing a year.I subsequently replaced the oil with Total semi-synthetic 10w 40 since dec and the car is doing fine with same.However i am planning to switch to honda synthetic after completing six months.

Hello Sumeet,

I am totally at sea while evaluating condition of the engine oil. To me it all appears the same.

How do you say that your oil gave up in less than a year?

Any tell tale signs?

With your running, same as mine BTW, the oil should last more than a year.

Or, am I missing something here.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by skdking

Hello Sumeet,

I am totally at sea while evaluating condition of the engine oil. To me it all appears the same.

How do you say that your oil gave up in less than a year?

Any tell tale signs?

With your running, same as mine BTW, the oil should last more than a year.

Or, am I missing something here.

I found the engine wasn't smooth enough and there was knocking while pulling in lower gears eg in second gear.Both these factors have dissappeared after the oil change.The Honda oe mineral oil which is semi synthetic was definitely smoother than the mobil 10w 30.

@ rrzen the idemitsu is a better choice as it is muc cheaper than the mobil.You may not notice difference as both were synthetic.

[coolkurt]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I barely do 4500km in a year on my Civic. It completes four years this May end. I am thinking of going over to an annual service schedule (with full synth as is now). Any advice.

My Civic is 7 years old and has completed 89k kms. I switched to an annual service schedule 3 years back. Full synth. (10000 kms or 1 year, whichever comes first). Car still drives like it's new. No engine mount issue either. Will replace the clutch kit for the first time tomm.

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by skdking

Hello Sumeet,

I am totally at sea while evaluating condition of the engine oil. To me it all appears the same.

Any tell tale signs?

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

I found the engine wasn't smooth enough and there was knocking while pulling in lower gears eg in second gear.Both these factors have dissappeared after the oil change.

In addition to what Sumeet has mentioned, you can check the viscosity of the oil easily.
Preferably, without starting the car, use the engine oil dipstick to get a drop of oil on one your finger. Now, use your other finger to press against this drop and gently lift apart the fingers, so as to have this drop stretched between these two fingers.
If the stretched droplet is transparent (orangish in color), and less sticky, then its good to go. On the other hand, if its darkish (blackish orange), and is sticky, then its time to replace.
Hope it helps.

Another thing is, IMO, it wont harm to change the engine oil once every year, irrespective of low running. The engine will love the change

[ramanak]

Originally Posted by manim

Same here too!

In the first six years I did a hefty 1,28,000+ kms.
This seventh year I did a mere 3,500 kms.

My 3.5 year old civic has done 77 K Kms.Most of this was done in the first 3 years, past 6 months, usage has been very low.Question to low mileage users,once in how many days do you guys make sure the car is run just to avoid battery or any other issues which may arise due to leaving the car unused?

[sgiitk]

@ramanak; I had my Accent down for over three months after my heart surgery. Started without a hiccp. I guess modern cars can take three months with ease.

[manim]

Originally Posted by ramanak

once in how many days do you guys make sure the car is run just to avoid battery or any other issues which may arise due to leaving the car unused?

Yes, I am worried that the battery may die suddenly, and since mine is an AT, push-start is not possible.
I try to use it at-least once a week for around 4 to 8 kms.
Sometimes it goes completely idle for around two weeks.

Apart from the battery the engine could also be damaged due to prolonged unuse, so I make a mark in my calender the day the car was last used and give myself a reminder before two-weeks to force-use the car.

I also strain my ears to carefully hear the starting/cranking sound after long periods of unuse, to detect if the battery is weak.
The Amaron is presently doing a god job, it is 4+ years old and may be nearing the end of its life.

[sumeethaldankar]

@Manim, It's best if you change it soon since your civic is a automatic one.

I sometimes leave my car idle for a couple of weeks at times.However i do start the car and move it bit front and back just to charge the battery,keep the engine parts working fine and also to drive the rats away.

[civic-dk]

The speed sensing lock in my 2007 Civic SAT doesn't work. I tried the instructions provided in HondaCivicforum, but it didn't work.

Let me know if any of the Civic owners on Team BHP has made it work on a pre-facelift Civic.

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by ramanak

Question to low mileage users,once in how many days do you guys make sure the car is run just to avoid battery or any other issues which may arise due to leaving the car unused?

Ideal scenario is what Manim and Sumeet has mentioned. Have it running for 5-6 km's/mins once in 1-2 weeks.
This will be useful, mostly wrto the battery life. Since it has to continuously support the security systems, ecu etc, without sufficient charge, it will drop off. Need not worry for anything related to mechanical, as 3 months of non usage will not have any effect on cars like the Civic.

And yes, Hand brake should NOT be engaged, if intended for long term parking. If parking in non plain bed, have stopping support on the wheels instead.

Originally Posted by civic-dk

The speed sensing lock in my 2007 Civic SAT doesn't work. I tried the instructions provided in HondaCivicforum, but it didn't work.

Unfortunately, the program steps mentioned in the manual for this will not work in the pre facelift models.

[civic-dk]

My 2007 Civic SAT makes a thud kind of sound from the front right suspension when it encounters a road imperfection or the protruding metal separators while taking a right turn or U turn at a speed of, say 20 km/hr. There is no sound at slower speeds.

Look forward to inputs on what the problem could be.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by civic-dk

My 2007 Civic SAT makes a thud kind of sound from the front right suspension when it encounters a road imperfection or the protruding metal separators while taking a right turn or U turn at a speed of, say 20 km/hr. There is no sound at slower speeds.

Look forward to inputs on what the problem could be.

Get the engine mounts checked, could be one of them.