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

Quote:

Originally Posted by petroguzzler (Post 3936892)

Bhpians,
I have a query regarding the civic.
After a cold start, within 5 minutes of running the temperature gauge is at the half level. And if the AC is on, the fan starts running immediately. Is it normal?

The ac fan start is normal and is a feature of all cars i believe. However the temp guage should be at one dot less than the half way mark rather than exactly at the half way mark.Kindly verify this and if this increases you may need to get the car checked out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1lokesh (Post 3936347)

One issue that I asked him to look into in particular was that the car shudders whenever the AC kicks in. Especially in current whether during the evenings when the outside temperature is around 29 degrees and I have set it inside at 26, resulting frequent kick ins and cut outs of the compressor. Now these shudders are not only limited to AC, but the car also shudders, though less violently, when I centrally lock the car through the arm rest control.

SA says he has checked this in 3 other civics in garage and its there in all of them so nothing to worry. I distinctively remember that this issue has cropped up recently. Anyone else here can confirm if they have the same shudder in their Civic? To me this seems to be an issue of inadequate power, which is not in line with Civic's reputation.

SA also told me that AC condenser fan has gone kaput and I should get it replaced. I refused and called up Anis at Unicool Ghatkopar. He is quoting INR 3.5k vs 5k quote of HASS. Seems to be a known issue looking at recent posts in this thread.

A long drive is coming up this Wednesday to Goa :D Should I be worried about this condenser fan immediately or can it wait till I come back? I don't really have any problem with functioning of the AC except the shudders.

Your shuddering problem seems to be electrical. Components like AC and central lock, among others, draw power through relays directly from the battery whenever activated. This puts a momentary strain which is mostly not very noticeable if all systems are OK.

If you have a peculiar situation please show it to a good electrician. Could be your basic electrical parts like main body and/or alternator earthing or main connections have accumulated carbon or corrosion. Should check all other major electrical joints too like battery etc. Check the battery and alternator health and the various relays/circuits concerned. This is best done before monsoon sets in. Peace of mind, you see.

As to the condenser fan, you can tell that Anis guy to check it for himself to determine whether the fan indeed needs replacement. If it does, you are better off doing it pronto. In hot weather these things can conk of at anytime and I don't think you want that happening in the middle of a nice cool highway run.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slickshots (Post 3935985)

I think if your clutch is functioning well, especially for 20k suggest not to tinker with it or change, irrespective of hardness. I am happy with the new clutch, more responsive but I prefer to not push it around too often. Good luck with you project

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar (Post 3936032)

Hi,

Has the clutch fluid been changed lately. Before overhauling the clutch i would suggest the clutch fluid to be changed along with clutch bleeding.

Had taken the car to Ignite today. Met up with Raghav and he sounded very reasonable.

For issue #1 Hardness of Clutch and spring noise, he said that it was a common problem on all Civics and one probable solution could be to remove the spring. But then he himself went against that saying it could prevent the clutch pedal from getting released. He has lubricated it for the time being and the noise seems to have gone away. The clutch feels softer too. He said that the clutch pressure plate should get the required amount of pressure over time with kms clocked, however in my case since my car has clocked only 20k kms in 6 years, that couldn't have happened effectively which could have also caused this problem.

Issue#2 - 'kat kat' noise while turning of steering wheel at standstill. He said that as long as the sound doesnt come when in motion it should be fine and asked me not to touch it at this point of time. Though am not very pleased with this one, would like to wait and watch.

He took the car for a test drive and said everything is perfectly fine and no repair as such was required. He refused to take any money stating he hadn't done anything. Overall, am happy with the visit and his response.

OT: When I asked about bringing my Esteem to him, he sounded skeptical on servicing it as availability of genuine parts is an issue. He agreed to carry out regular engine service etc but not items such as suspension overhauls etc due to the reason cited by him. Have agreed to show him the car once and then decide further course of action basis requirement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1lokesh (Post 3936347)

One issue that I asked him to look into in particular was that the car shudders whenever the AC kicks in.

The AC of the Civic does seem slightly more intrusive when it kicks in but the car should not shudder. Could you drive another Civic and see if it is normal?

I had the same issue last year and I noticed that it was more pronounced in my car as compared to a friend's car. Turned out to be related to the infamous engine mount issue. Replaced the mounts and the problem disappeared.It's pretty easy for the SA to check this.

Hi Guys,

I am facing a strange problem with my Civic. The AC compressor in my car is cutting off randomly and it is cutting off very frequently. It is not because of of ACC. For example its 35 C temperature outside. I start the car set the AC on Low and start driving. The AC will through cold air for some 5- 10 seconds than I can feel that the compressor is not working and the cold air stops coming for 2-3 seconds and than it again throws cold air for another 5-10 seconds. I tried running the AC on manual mode as well but the issue is still the same. What could be the issue ? To me it looks like AC relay but I am not sure. Shall I get it checked at an independent AC guy or shall I take it to HASS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nik0502 (Post 3938164)

How is the cooling? If the chilling is fine then you don't have anything to worry. If not then the thing that causes this is malfunctioning condenser/radiator fans. That increases system pressure to a point where it cuts off prematurely. Also, a clogged evaporator could cause this.

But by the looks of it, everything seems normal because Honda cars AC systems do cut off and on quite frequently. That's how they are. The required cut off temp is reached very fast an it cuts off.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixantz (Post 3938232)

Hi pixantz,

The chilling is quite good when the compressor is working however it is not cooling the car down properly as the compressor is cutting off too frequently. So when the car is running on a hot sunny day the compressor has to work continuously for some time in order to cool the car down completely and that is how it was some days back. But now the compressor keeps on cutting off as soon as i start the car even if the temperature is 35 degree outside and car is quite hot.