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

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajslave (Post 3915559)

One way to reduce (if not prevent) carbon build up in the engine is by using the engine in its entire RPM range. Engines that are run at lower RPMs for prolonged periods (example: excessive city usage) tend to accumulate more carbon.

Let me tell of my student day in the 70's. I had a Ford Escort (Mk.I) 1300, which I bought with only <5000 miles on the clock. After pottering about town for a fortnight or more, every time I took it on the motorway is hesitated once or twice, and then started behaving impeccably. I inquired around and was told that was normal, due to coking. Mind you those were the carb days, so things were more relaxed, no emission regulations, no catcons etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres (Post 3915754)

Like Vineet has mentioned in his post, it happens only when she's revved hard. Not when I gradually take her up the curve. There is no corrosion on the underbody or inside at the rear because I haven't noticed anything amiss when the rear seats were taken off last week for damping.

Engine de-carbonizing is something I am contemplating.

Pls try and let me know the results.

Also, there is no underbody corrosion in my car also.

rgds

Quote:

Originally Posted by VineetG (Post 3916339)

Pls try and let me know the results.
Also, there is no underbody corrosion in my car also.

Vineet, I opted out of De-Carbonizing after going through another thread on our forum.
But I did use Abro Fuel System Cleaner and followed it up with Abro Fuel injector cleaner on my next tankful. That annoying smell is now less by almost 80%, barely there if you ask me. I don;t know if it was gumming / carbon deposits or jammed injectors. Whatever it was has surely subsided a lot.

Last week, I have placed an order for Shell 4 Litre 5w-40 Helix Ultra Synthetic Motor Oil from Flipkart. I am yet to get the delivery. I have heard alot about fake castrol magnatecs available in retail stores from one of my cousin who is a veteran in the motor oil business. Shell petrol pump charges Rs.5100 for 4L can while it is available at Rs.3800 in local stores. I have found the same product for Rs.3100 in Amazon while people reviewing that the bottle cap was stuck and suspect it to be fake. I have a feeling that genuine shell cans are refilled and stuck with Fevikwik. The can available at the Shell petrol pump comes with dotted seal which just need a light twist to break.

I will post my flipkart experience once I receive the bottle. I am going to return the bottle if it is going to be hard sealed right away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StallionAmit (Post 3913935)

there seems to be an issue w.r.t the fuel. within 5 kms, 2 indicator bars are dropping (which means a FE of 1.25 kmpl, which can't be possible) , i am suspecting a leak, though on inspection of the car underside reveals no trace of oil on floor.

This first 3 bars vanishes really quickly and that's a wrong way to judge a leakage or the average of your car. I loose 2 indicator bars in less than 100 kms while it takes roughly 650 kms to empty all the bars. This shows the non-linearity. I get a mileage of around 11 in Bangalore traffic and 16.5 during my Bangalore - Kottayam long drives. All checked with tankful-tankful method.

P.S: According to my civic, the fuel average calculator display shows 5% error compared to the fulltank-fulltank method.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VineetG (Post 3915490)

Have the same problem, if revved hard. Does not happen above 110/120 if acceleration is not hard/revved agressively. Its an AT. Have searched for a solution in various forums, but no concrete answer.
It started once when i drag raced it.
HASS says everything is fine. Living with it as of now.
Done 95K kms.

Rgds

The smell would creep into the cabin when you hold the revs above 3K for a short time. Many civic owners abroad have narrowed it to the Vtec being in operation at high revs.

The most likely culprit is a non-working PCV valve. Have it checked and replaced, the problem should disappear.

Hello Guys,

I am getting a set of Wagner brake pads for Honda civic from USA for like 50$ all 4 of them.

While the rear brake pads are same for all models in USA, the front are different for LX/DX/EX series and SI series.The thickness is same though. Can someone help me understand that is the closest USA trim for our 2009 facelift Civic?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0and1 (Post 3924903)

LX/DX/EX should be the same as our India Spec civic. SI is for the 2.0 litre civic in US.

I also got brake pads from US for my civic, but got Honda Genuine from Hondapartsnow.

Any particular reason you are looking at Wagner? Do let us know your feedback if you install them.

Cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolkurt (Post 3925826)

Can anyone tell me where I can source the AC relay? Specific part number would be a big help. The spares guys I know hand me a generic relay which doesnt really work.

I doubt you will be able to source a genuine Honda relay in the general parts market. So forget about the part number. All four pin relays work the same so you can use any other one of good brand. It should work just fine. And what do you mean by "doesn't really work" ? Doesn't work at all or works intermitently or the relay burns out? Maybe the issue lies elsewhere. Most Civics have a thermistor problem. It can also be a blown fuse or insufficeint gas or blown condensor and ac fan fuses which cause intermittent working.

Bhpians,

I have just bought a pre owned 2010 Honda Civic V MT with about 37000 kms on the clock.

I am a newbie to this thread.

I serviced the car recently and had told the service centre (Honda ASS) to fill synthetic oil for which they used 0w-30, Honda Idemitsu oil.

What would be the best synthetic oil for Civic?

And,

To move the car from its stationery position, when the clutch is alone released, the rpm drops too low and the engine stalls. To move the car, the A-pedal has to be given sufficient input. Is this normal?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixantz (Post 3925881)

The air-conditioning works really well. I've done the diagnostic and there's no problem with the cooling or the fan speed.
The issue only crops up during a long drive, when the AC needs to work for hours at a stretch. The fan speed becomes very low, although it still throws out cold air. If I switch off the compressor/ turn off the AC, and switch it on after 5-10 mins, it'll start working again. But this cycle continues. So every half an hour or so, I need to turn it off for 5-10 mins for it to work well again.
Some of the guys at the forum suggested it could be a faulty relay, probably overheating or something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by petroguzzler (Post 3926032)

1. I serviced the car recently and had told the service centre (Honda ASS) to fill synthetic oil for which they used 0w-30, Honda Idemitsu oil.

2. To move the car from its stationery position, when the clutch is alone released, the rpm drops too low and the engine stalls. To move the car, the A-pedal has to be given sufficient input. Is this normal?

1. After one trial with Mobil 1, I went over the Honda/Idemitsu/Savsol oil and am quite happy with it. It is API-SM and not SN but is excellent. In fact when I moved from Mobil1 back to Honda I thought the engine was smoother. Also, of the various options this is cheaper as well.

2. Having an AT I cannot really comment. Could be you are releasing the clutch too abruptly, or maybe here is air in the clutch line (press and release it a few times, with the engine running), else the clutch mechanism may need some fiddling.

Remember Honda engines have very poor torque low down, so a bit of gas when moving off may not be a bad idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgiitk (Post 3926182)

Thanks for the response sgiitk.

Giving a bit of gas when moving off could lead to burning the clutch. Hence the apprehension. Anyways, I am going to have it checked with Honda ASS.

I have also taken the Any time warranty for the 7th year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by petroguzzler (Post 3926218)

Giving a bit of gas when moving off could lead to burning the clutch. Hence the apprehension. Anyways, I am going to have it checked with Honda ASS.

Not exactly. It was normal practice earlier. In fact I taught my kids smooth clutch control (in my Esteem) by making them release the clutch with no gas and avoiding a stall. A little throttle is normal when starting from zero.