Team-BHP - Honda Civic : Maintenance, Service Costs and Must dos

Went in for the ROGERAB suspension modulator for my 09 pre facelift civic. ALso, got the front lower arm bushes and linkers changed.
The Rogerabs are great and have added atleast an inch of height, and the rear does not bottom out on full load also. Earlier, 2 people at the back and my civic would scrape the speed breaker at our colony's exit.

No such problem now. The front end does now dive after going over rumple strips. I Am now wondering why i did not go for these suspension modulators before.

I don't know the long term effect or efficacy of this solution, but right now i am extremely satisfied and drive with much more confidence on Gurgaon's dilapidated roads. If they continue to work as they are working now, then they have taken care of the biggest issue with Civic, which was the low ground clearance.

ALso, a few months back, had a front end shunt.
The front headlight itself cost ~ 20K INR:Shockked::Shockked

rgds

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar (Post 3853696)

Hi,

Now i am worried about my car as well ..... Did the sound come all the time in your car or seldom while hitting a pothole ?

Also the condenser fan is not a big deal and cost max 3.2k with labour 100 bucks. Got it done from sanatcruz west Gomes Auto Khira Nagar. Make sure the fan make is Denso. My radiator fan went kaput in a month after changing the ac fan as well so i had that changed from Gomes as well. You can check my Civic thread for details.

Thanks

Hi Sumeet,

The noise doesn't come all the time. It depends on the severity of the bump, speed and turning radius. It has to be a sudden pothole/bump with a 30kmph+ speed.

For AC condenser, will try Unicool and see what he has to say before I go for replacement.

Cheers,

Quote:

Originally Posted by nik0502 (Post 3853348)

Also the ad on olx claimed the car have a one month old CNG kit. And owner has not driven much on CNG. As I intend to convert it to CNG after buying it was a stright saving for me as the car was not driven much on CNG and I was getting the kit along.

I know its your choice, but please dont put a CNG/LPG kit on cars like Civic. These machines will last long with a little care and is always a delightful drive. Putting a CNG kit ruins it. please:

Bought myself a used pre-facelifted Civic and still going strong with 156K on odo. PS issues and engine mounting problem wasnt a deal breaker because we only need to change it once atmost and doesnt cost a bomb if done from outside HASS. So dont let that be a reason for barring the pre-facelifted Civic. Although cruise control on facelifted Civic is worth considering.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XtremeTorque (Post 3854133)

I know its your choice, but please dont put a CNG/LPG kit on cars like Civic. These machines will last long with a little care and is always a delightful drive. Putting a CNG kit ruins it. please:

Hey,

I mentioned earlier my monthly running is 3k plus kms. I can't drive on Petrol. Moreover I have been driving CNG cars since 2009 and what my experience says if tuned and maintained properly it doesn't harm much to drive on cng. The performance will be at par and the running cost becomes less than half per kilometre. About prefacelifted model the reason I am not considering them is because of the known issues plus their high mileage. I have seen 4 civics so far. 2 new shape and two old. And all 4 were with Individuals. Out of the 4, 3 had their odo tampered as checked by Honda and I didn't like the fourth car hence did not bother to check with Honda. I have had a carb esteem before and have an mpfi one now. Though I love Esteem to the core but both of these cars have given me nightmares with respect to maintainance. I am looking for a car which I can keep for 3-4 years. Will be driven about a lac kms in this duration. I need piece of mind hence looking for a Civic and not a Laura otherwise I don't really like Japanese and am a fan of European cars because of the build quality.

nIk

Quote:

Originally Posted by nik0502 (Post 3854234)

I think you must look for a diesel.
Any ways the maintenance on the components that needs to be replaced in your usage of 3 years + 1 lakh Kms will be at least 40% of your purchase cost considering 4 to 5 lakhs.

Guys, need to top up the hydraulic steering fluid.

Is a regular Waxpol fluid sold over the counter good enough for the Civic or I need to buy one from Honda ASC? Is there any specific grade (?) for hydraulic steering fluids which we need for the Civic? Any other tips are welcome.

Thanks in anticipation of help.
Saket.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saket77 (Post 3854365)

I use Castrol power steering fluid... I should have a bottle lying in car somewhere. Will try to find and grab a pic of the bottle for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by laluks (Post 3854291)

Hi laluks,

There are not too many options in diesel in the segmnt.as I don't want to buy a german and Altis Diesel commands a very high resale value in the used car market. Even when looking at C segments my brother has a fluidic Verna and we are not very happy with the car. I wouldn't want a Vento or Rapid. I find linea to be under powered. SX4 diesel is one option but I already had a petrol one and I don't want to buy one again. Moreover I am finding it hard to find a low run Civic in the market so I am sure finding a low run diesel will be even more difficult. About maintenance, this is the only reason I have extended my budget to get a 2010 model rather than 2007 model. I want the 1st year of ownership to be pieceful and if the car doesn't trouble me in the first year of ownership then I can easily maintain it in the coming years. I have spent some 60k in maintaining my Esteem in last one year. Also would request you if you could give me the break up of things you have considered under this 40%.

Thanks
nIk

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar (Post 3853696)

Hi,

Now i am worried about my car as well because even i have this metallic sound when the right side goes over a pothole. But this does not happen all the time and i have been to Honda for 2-3 occassions but they never came back saying the axle needs repair so i am hoping it's something else. Did the sound come all the time in your car or seldom while hitting a pothole ?

Now I have the same problem as well, few as in 6 months back I had the lower control arm bushes (the bigger ones only) changed at Hass and ball joints, tie rods inner/ outer all of TRW make changed at FNG and the sound had gone out.

Now after 6-7 months duration approx the sound is back, when I am hitting the right side on pothole or bump at around speed of 25-30 KPH or taking a right turn and hitting a pot hole at similar speeds. What I assume is its the lower control arm gone bad since Hass does not provide the smaller bush for the lca, that might be the culprit in this case. Its a fairly audible clunk, what I understand is it comes from the ball joint hitting on the metal plate behind the brake disc rotor, nothing much alarming than that, as in anything about to give way from the suspension parts :).

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar (Post 3853765)

You can get same outside for much less eg; spareshub.com its at 4.5 k

Ghai spares in Delhi- approx 3k. Not affiliated with them in anyway. Enquired the cost for my cousin's car. He needs a new RHS ORVM too.

Regards,
Saket.