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Old 7th September 2014, 14:47   #196
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re: 2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!

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Originally Posted by RavenAvi View Post
Still, I liked the heavy-set, rotating "H" central logo, so I am using it. I prefer my "Got BHP?" keyring over it, though.

FE stands at 19.3 kmpl, as per MID.
That sure is nice to look at. I did not use the honda key chains as had a fear that thier weight and the effect of the swing while driving will damage the key slot in long run. I had such an issue in the Indica. So using the lighter team bhp ones.

That is very good fe for city run.
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Old 5th October 2014, 20:40   #197
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re: 2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!

Vijayadashami, also known as Dussehra Day, is the day when our traditional household sits down to worship the Mother Goddess and get Her blessings for all our vehicles, in true nimbu-mirchi style.

The whole puja takes over 4 hours and is done by Dad, while we assist him. To give you an idea, here's last year (LINK).

Got up early and gave the Empress a nice wash, while Dad took over his Silver Queen. It was very sunny outside so the rituals were completed inside our covered garage. Both cars were decked with flowers and got their nimbu-mirchis hanged up front in the grilles, coconuts were broken, and then came my most favorite part - squishing the lemons under the wheels!


Feast your eyes. No, it's not a salad!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141004_120336.jpg

Crimson sindoor spattered across her bonnet.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141004_120342.jpg

Same across her boot lid.
Took some cleaning afterwards!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141004_120421.jpg

Dad's Silver Queen get's hers as well.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141004_120351.jpg

Empress's squished lemons.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141004_120206.jpg

Silver Queen's squished lemons.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141004_120216.jpg

Empress standing outside, thankful to get some sun tan!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141004_120912.jpg


There's nothing much else to report. My daily drives have come down due to a number of office & family commitments in the past month or so. The Empress is lazing through her existence, with only ~400 kms done in the past month-odd.

Got a call from Honda Service that the Service Truck will be paying us a visit on the 11th and 12th of October, so I'll be getting them to replace the faulty driver door part then. Let's hope the window glass problem is resolved.

FE is at 19.1 kmpl, as per MID. Haven't filled her up in almost a month now.
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Old 5th October 2014, 22:34   #198
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re: 2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!

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Originally Posted by RavenAvi View Post

Silver Queen's squished lemons.


Empress standing outside, thankful to get some sun tan!

FE is at 19.1 kmpl, as per MID. Haven't filled her up in almost a month now.
Did the Eon miss the rituals . 19 is a pretty good number , kindly let us know the feedback after the part is replaced during the service.
Thanks in advance.

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Old 12th October 2014, 00:37   #199
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Re: "Empress" - 2014 Honda City i-DTEC. Golden Brown and royalty on Wheels!

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Originally Posted by pdma View Post
Did the Eon miss the rituals . 19 is a pretty good number , kindly let us know the feedback after the part is replaced during the service.
The baby Hyundai went through the ritual the earlier night, since the dashami stretched into two days this year.

Finally, the door checker was replaced and the problem was solved.

But, guess what? The solution was not the replacement, but a jugaad!



THIRD FREE SERVICE @ 7443 KMs


As before, the due-for-September visit of the official Honda Service van was delayed. Due to be done in the 3rd week of September, they arrived here yesterday for a 2-day Service Camp on 11th and 12th October 2014. I received 4 calls this time, all from different ladies from the A.S.S., asking me to visit it and get the faulty door part replaced under warranty.

I left at 9:30 AM today morning for the Shubh Honda sub-dealership to avail Empress's 3rd Free Service. My usual SA, Deepak, hadn't come visiting this time, instead another SA named Hemant was present. He was aware of my door problem and said the replacement part had been sent with him, and they were supposed to replace the faulty door part and send it back to the company under warranty.

When I arrived there, only an Amaze had arrived for normal service before me, so they promptly took in Empress for all her work.

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_100837.jpg

I listed all which I wanted to be done:

- Faulty door part (called "door checker") to be replaced,
- Driver door window checked thoroughly (afterwards) for solved problem,
- General check-up,
- Engine oil check, if needed replace, if not let it be,
- AC Filter & Air Filter to be cleaned thoroughly.

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_101723.jpg

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_102128.jpg

The technician promptly got to work on my golden brown-haired beauty. He opened the driver door panel and took out the faulty door checker, and opened the seal of the *new* replacement part sent from the company.

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_102637.jpg

We both were in for a surprise, because the (original) faulty door checker was bent by almost 15 degrees in comparison to the new replacement, which was straight as a rod!!

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_102423.jpg

He replaced the door checker units and then closed the door to check for the sound.

Guess what? As he slid the window down, at about 2/3rds of the way, there was a slight "TAK!" sound again!

Imagine my exasperation!

The technician frowned, opened the door panel again, and did a few adjustments.

That only made it worse!

The small sound was replaced by a loud "DUNK!" sound, as if an entire piece of the window glass would break off!

Another round of adjustments followed, and then another.

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_103025.jpg

The sound persisted.

And persisted.

By this time, the other technician who was working on the Amaze, completed his jobs and came over. The first tech explained everything to him and together, both of them closely inspected inside the door and deduced that the door section on the inside part of the door, which housed the door checker, was slightly bent inward as well.

Out came the wooden hammer, and a few soft blows followed.

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_111823.jpg

Door closed again.

Window rolled down.

"DUNK!"

Few more soft blows.

Door closed.

Window rolling down.

"TAK!"

The first technician then took over, and pushed his hand into the door area's gap. Then he closed the door and slowly rolled the window down.

No sound.

He rolled it back up, and then back down again.

No sound.

He took his hand out, and rolled it back up.

Down again.

"TAK!"

I asked him what was he doing when there was no sound when the window rolled down. He answered that he was holding the door checker's pointed section firmly and not letting it shift to any side.

Door was opened again, and the door checker was loosened (again). They checked the gap and noticed that the door checker was shifting horizontally slightly, even when it was tightly fitted.

They reported all of it to Hemant, who promptly called up Kulwinder, the Service Head of Shubh Honda's After Sales Service at Raipur. Kulwinder told them to do a jugaad through some sort of a packing (rubber or metal), so that the door checker didn't shift around when the door was being shut, from an open position.

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_114639.jpg

The technicians took the door checker out (again) and went to the service van and rummaged through the shelves for something good enough for the packing, and found an aluminium part which was a perfect fit for the section inside the door where the door checker went in. It was wrapped snugly around the door checker and all nuts were tightened yet again on either side.

Door closed.

Window slid downwards.

No sound.

Back up, then down again.

No sound.

Repeated 4-5 times.

No sound.

Door was opened and closed a few times to ensure that it's smooth operation was completed without any hiccups, and all was good.

Yes, the jugaad worked!

They opened the door for the final time and showed me the aluminium part used as "packing" for the door checker. It was a completely snug fit between the checker and the door body on all sides.

Problem solved. For now.

I intend to get it thoroughly checked when I visit the dealership in the next few months.

Then they checked the engine oil, and told me that I should get it replaced. I wasn't convinced and said that the oil looked good, and since the manual mentions oil change at 10,000 kms, I'll stick to the same for the next 2 months at least. Hemant mentioned that since the engine was new, I should have got the oil replaced at around the 5,000-km mark, irrespective of what the manual says. I replied that I will be sticking to the manual, and if it says 10,000 kms, then the factory-filled engine oil should be good for the whole duration. He didn't pursue this further. The Air/AC filters were duly cleaned, all top-ups done, checks completed, and Empress was sent for interior cleaning and washing.

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_123837.jpg

By this time, another Golden Brown Metallic City SV MT had arrived, riding on the official Honda accessory alloys, so I checked it out. Looked much better than the horrendous "propellers" on my V MT.

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_125542.jpg

The cleaning guy did a fine job washing Empress thoroughly, but left a few smudge marks on all doors when polishing. I pointed out the same and he came over and did the scrubbing with a bright smile, for which I thanked him.

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_125641.jpg

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_125653.jpg

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_131826.jpg

A couple of Brios had lined up when I went for the test drive with Hemant.

2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141011_135056.jpg

Satisfied with the window glass by rolling up/down a few more times, I went in to pay the bill. I was out of the Service Camp and back home by lunchtime.

A B-I-G sigh of relief! Finally, the problem which had been plaguing me for the past 5 months had been solved. Now, I don't have to get roasted when I am going through the cold starts every morning!

Total Time taken = 4 hours.

Charges = Rs. 450/-. (for the outstation visit, not waived off like last time)

FE as per ODO = 19.1 kmpl. (since the last refill and Tripmeter reset)

FE as per FuelLog till now = 20.95 kmpl. (overall)

Last edited by RavenAvi : 12th October 2014 at 00:43.
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Old 12th October 2014, 03:30   #200
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Re: "Empress" - 2014 Honda City i-DTEC. Golden Brown and royalty on Wheels!

Quote:
Originally Posted by RavenAvi View Post
I received 4 calls this time, all from different ladies from the A.S.S., asking me to visit it and get the faulty door part replaced under warranty.

FE as per ODO = 19.1 kmpl. (since the last refill and Tripmeter reset)

FE as per FuelLog till now = 20.95 kmpl. (overall)
I somehow liked this point , they did follow up multiple times so that you are there to get the issue fixed and also the new SA was well informed about your issue which saved you some hassle.Anyways good to see the issue is addressed and some great FE there .

Also aapne desh mein we have a Jugaad for everything , be it a fixture in a door or a mission to Mars .

Getting to Mars through ‘jugaad’

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-e...?homepage=true

PS : Source of the link - Post by srishiva on the Ciaz official review.

Cheers,
pdma.
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Old 17th October 2014, 16:09   #201
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re: 2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!

Hello RavenAvi!
Congratulations(I'm sorry I'm late) to you on acquiring this beauty!
I have been a silent spectator to this thread for the last couple of months ever since we started looking for a new car.
But, in a couple of days from now, we're taking delivery of a Golden Brown Metallic V MT i-VTEC.
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Old 20th November 2014, 17:20   #202
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re: 2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!

Hello RavenAvi,
I just Wanted to congratulate you on your new Golden Brown Beauty.
I had read most of your thread on your Silver Pegasus, and it was that thread that inspired me for buying the Honda city. I am an owner of a Taffeta White City VX i-VTEC.
Compared with your Pegasus, I feel Empress isn't upto the mark. The Modifications and accessories which you had done to your Pegasus, made her definitely a "RavenAvi Edition"
I would personally like to say your threads and the tips which you give are awesome.
i wanted to ask,
1. I tried to get the same galio Door Visors which you had gotten, It looks classy and definitely VFM, but i am unable to find it at any accessory shops. Should i call the customer service number which is printed on the side of the box (in the photo which you posted) to get details?
2. You had posted the problem about the window glass making the sound while rolling down. Did you also have a problem in rolling the glass down fully? In my car, on the passenger side door, the window does not roll down fully, about less than 5% of the glass is still up; but in all other windows it goes fully down.
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Old 22nd November 2014, 10:18   #203
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re: 2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!

Quote:
Originally Posted by pdma View Post
I somehow liked this point , they did follow up multiple times so that you are there to get the issue fixed and also the new SA was well informed about your issue which saved you some hassle.Anyways good to see the issue is addressed and some great FE there.
The dealership's A.S.S. has been absolutely solid in it's response and customer treatment so far. I am impressed by their follow-ups and continuous interaction with me to ensure everything has been done to my complete satisfaction.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pdma View Post
Also aapne desh mein we have a Jugaad for everything , be it a fixture in a door or a mission to Mars.
Indeed! Instead of scratching heads, let's just fix this with a simple solution. Hey, I am not complaining as long as it works!

Touchwood, the problem hasn't resurfaced so far.


Quote:
Originally Posted by sandeepravi View Post
Hello RavenAvi!
Congratulations(I'm sorry I'm late) to you on acquiring this beauty!
I have been a silent spectator to this thread for the last couple of months ever since we started looking for a new car.
But, in a couple of days from now, we're taking delivery of a Golden Brown Metallic V MT i-VTEC.
Congratulations and welcome to the Honda City club, Sandeep. Wish you plenty of happy, peaceful and contented miles with your steed in the future!

Thank you as well.


Quote:
Originally Posted by themonster View Post
Hello RavenAvi,
I just Wanted to congratulate you on your new Golden Brown Beauty.
I had read most of your thread on your Silver Pegasus, and it was that thread that inspired me for buying the Honda city. I am an owner of a Taffeta White City VX i-VTEC.
Compared with your Pegasus, I feel Empress isn't upto the mark. The Modifications and accessories which you had done to your Pegasus, made her definitely a "RavenAvi Edition"
I would personally like to say your threads and the tips which you give are awesome.
Thank you, and congratulations!

I am not indulging in too many modifications because I was told that my warranty would go for a toss. I had finalised tyres for upgrading, a new HU and some other stuff, but now have decided to wait it out till my Extended Warranty period is over, before indulging in mods.

Plus, Silver Pegasus was a Corporate Edition. Except for full safety features, she was completely barebones. So I had a chance to fully accessorise her, and got most of the fittings done at the dealership's A.S.S. itself. Empress is a top variant - she came with most of the stuff. To be honest, I haven't felt the need to upgrade much, except for the stock alloys + tyres combo. That too is in the backburner now, due to warranty issues.

I am loving the attention her DRLs command on the roads though - almost everyone I pass turns around to give Empress a second glance!


Quote:
Originally Posted by themonster View Post
i wanted to ask,
1. I tried to get the same galio Door Visors which you had gotten, It looks classy and definitely VFM, but i am unable to find it at any accessory shops. Should i call the customer service number which is printed on the side of the box (in the photo which you posted) to get details?
For the door visors, I don't see why it should be a problem. Galio is a pretty common name in almost all accessory shops. Ask your nearest accessory guy to get you a set, and they should procure it in a weeks' time. You can call their number, and also visit their official website (http://www.galioindia.com/) and browse through for details on contacting them directly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by themonster View Post
2. You had posted the problem about the window glass making the sound while rolling down. Did you also have a problem in rolling the glass down fully? In my car, on the passenger side door, the window does not roll down fully, about less than 5% of the glass is still up; but in all other windows it goes fully down.
When the problem started (sometime in the middle of May), the driver-door window glass had this problem - it started to roll down, and somewhere at about the 50% mark, it's downward speed slowed down and at around the 67% mark (2/3rds), the glass touched the door checker's edge which produced a super-loud "KAT!" sound, as if the glass would crack. Initially I thought it was a problem of dust accumulating in the window rubber channels, but the sound wouldn't go even after extensive cleaning. Later on, the glass refused to go down fully, and used to completely stop at the 67% mark. The door would become heavy, and would require a superhuman effort to open (I was told later that it was because of the additional weight of the window glass on the door checker which made the door uber-heavy).

Now, after the jugaad, there are no problems at all. I faced this issue for rolling down only - no problems in rolling it upwards. For fear of breaking the glass or burning out the winding mechanism, I had stopped rolling down the glass and used to drive around with the glass up.

I suggest you get the door checked at your A.S.S. center. Something is definitely blocking the path of the window glass. All window glasses are supposed to roll down completely. If you don't get it checked and keep rolling the glass down, you risk burning out the winding mechanism and/or cracking the glass (if it's stopping at an obstruction). Get this rectified as soon as possible. The problem might seem minor at this time but it will cause major headache in the future. Better to be safe than sorry.

Sorry about the late response. It's my appraisal month so I am slogging it out at work.

All the best!
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Old 22nd November 2014, 16:32   #204
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re: 2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!

Quote:
Originally Posted by RavenAvi View Post


For the door visors, I don't see why it should be a problem. Galio is a pretty common name in almost all accessory shops. Ask your nearest accessory guy to get you a set, and they should procure it in a weeks' time. You can call their number, and also visit their official website (http://www.galioindia.com/) and browse through for details on contacting them directly.
I searched thoughout in many accessory shops, no one had them, neither were they interested in getting it for me. Its okay anyways, as i found them on eBay.in
Here's the link, http://www.ebay.in/itm/Wind-Door-Vis...item2c913c64a2



Quote:
Originally Posted by RavenAvi View Post

I suggest you get the door checked at your A.S.S. center. Something is definitely blocking the path of the window glass. All window glasses are supposed to roll down completely. If you don't get it checked and keep rolling the glass down, you risk burning out the winding mechanism and/or cracking the glass (if it's stopping at an obstruction). Get this rectified as soon as possible. The problem might seem minor at this time but it will cause major headache in the future. Better to be safe than sorry.

Sorry about the late response. It's my appraisal month so I am slogging it out at work.

All the best!
When I spoke about it during my third free service, they said "It's like that for all the cars". I guess I have to be a little more firmer about it during the next service. Thanks for the information.

No problems about the late response. We all have work to do.
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Old 5th January 2015, 16:48   #205
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re: 2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!

Happy New Year to my entire Team-BHP team and fellow City owners!


Apologies for the lack of updates over a long period of time. November was my appraisal month and I was really busy fighting through it. December became more busy, with a couple of training sessions at Gurgaon and Bhopal, plus an impromptu trip to China for 10 days ate up most of the days leading up to the New Year day.

We also started extension work at home to add a few more rooms to our existing nest, so Empress has been doing duty standing guard outside our home for the past 1 month or so, since her garage space is taken up by construction materials and concrete wastages.

Empress's running has come down a bit, with me doing only home-office-home trips for the most part of November and staying out of station for long periods of time all through December. Thankfully, this period is niggle and stress-free as she lazes through the days at our home. Only annoying niggle which remains is the squeaking inside the cabin - which I presume is due to the seat covers scraping with each other and not the actual seats. No other parts from the dashboard or outside are either squeaking or rattling, thank God, although I am a bit saddened whenever I see the interior door panels flex/bulge outwards when the windows are rolled down/up!

Recently I met a friend after a long time and when he gazed at Empress and remarked, "Gosh! It's already been almost a year since you got her!" that I realised - how quickly time has gone by! It seems like yesterday when I was taking delivery and driving her home for the first time. Indeed, time waits for no one. Who knows it better than me - I still feel like 20, when I will be turning 40 next year!!

Well, I owe Empress and all of you a recent set of pictures, so since I had a bit of free time today, here we go.

All photos have been taken by my iPhone 6 Plus, so please pardon the quality.

The front. Still as majestic and Civic-ish as ever.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1872.jpg

The "H" mono and it's moustache. Also the LED DRLs.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1873.jpg

Front two-thirds. Silver Queen gazes in envy!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1869.jpg

Close view.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1871.jpg

ORVM completely BHP-ified!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1874.jpg

Side view. Magnificent stance!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1862.jpg

Rear two-thirds. Resemblance to the Verna is uncanny!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1864.jpg

Dare we say, the fluidic City?!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1865.jpg

The whole rear view. Also BHP-ified on both sides!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1866.jpg

The paint quality is still pretty lush. Check out the reflection!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1881.jpg

ODO as of today afternoon.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1876.jpg

A mix of an outstation trip + in-city drives.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1877.jpg

Overall.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1875.jpg

Cabin view - front.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1889.jpg

Multi-colored soft pillows brighten up the rear.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1893.jpg

Not spared of underbody scrapes, like under the front bumper.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1885.jpg

Closer view. Front bumper overhang is dangerously low!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1884.jpg

An overhead shot.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-20141020_165425.jpg

My favorite view.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1868.jpg

Still "Live To Drive!"
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_1886.jpg


Ciao!!

Last edited by RavenAvi : 5th January 2015 at 16:52.
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Old 24th February 2015, 19:09   #206
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re: 2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!

Had a pleasant surprise visit by Team-BHP (and HVK) members Rajnish, Parimal, Santosh and HVK-ian MadhuSudan earlier today. They had been on a week's tour of the Kanha National Park and Amarkantak and rounded it off with a visit to the Chitrakote Falls and the Kanger Valley, more specifically the Kutumsar Limestone Caves.

I am sure Santosh will post a detailed travelogue once they reach back home.

They drove down all the way from Amarkantak, via Raipur-Dhamtari-Kanker (meeting fellow HVKians on the way), and reached Chitrakote before midnight last night. I met up with them for breakfast as they drove into my city from the Chitrakote Falls, and guided them towards the Kanger Valley, onward towards the Kutumsar Limestone Caves. They returned back by the afternoon, and immediately left for Nagpur.

I gave them a brief tour of the city in my Empress, easing their nerves and making them feel relaxed (they were apprehensive about this area and it's notorious reputation of being Naxal-infested). Rajnish and Santosh were particularly impressed by Empress, specially her in-cabin comfort and riding manners. Rajnish commented on two things - how clear the view from Empress's reverse camera was, and how well she was masking her speeds on the highway (he felt like she was travelling at 40-50ish speeds, when she was actually over 80 kmph!)

Some pictures:

Afternoon tea at Raipur yesterday, with HVKian Jose.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3309.jpg

MadhuSudan meeting up with HVKian Rishi at Dhamtari.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3315.jpg

The team of four, just before departing Dhamtari.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3316.jpg

Morning view of the Chitrakote Falls, from the guest house nearby.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3333.jpg

The Falls at their thinnest, of the year, probably.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3334.jpg

Breakfast meet with me at Xtra Class, Jagdalpur.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3342.jpg

Rajnish & Santosh in front of "The Wall".
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3344.jpg

Time to leave. At my residential colony.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3352.jpg

Team of Four all set to leave, as my Empress peeks from the far distance.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3355.jpg

Yours truly with the team. Rajnish took the snap.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-untitled.jpg


Ciao, until the next update!

Last edited by RavenAvi : 24th February 2015 at 19:13.
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Old 18th March 2015, 17:29   #207
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Re: "Empress" - 2014 Honda City i-DTEC - Golden Brown - Royalty on Wheels!

[quote=RavenAvi;3431191]The seat cover set arrived yesterday from Autoform headquarters, 25 days after I had ordered it. The design I had finalised was not available in immediate stock, hence the delay.

Autoform U-New Cross for the 2014 Honda City, Beige/Black dual tone combo.

Total Cost = 12,500/- (including fitting charges)


Hi Dear,

I have also ordered the same U New Cross for my Honda City IVTEC. Could you guide me for door trims also as mine need replacement. The original fabric on door trim has become dirty.
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Old 31st March 2015, 00:33   #208
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Re: "Empress" - 2014 Honda City i-DTEC - Golden Brown - Royalty on Wheels!

Quote:
Originally Posted by raj_k View Post
I have also ordered the same U New Cross for my Honda City IVTEC. Could you guide me for door trims also as mine need replacement. The original fabric on door trim has become dirty.
For door trims, I would suggest sticking to OEM Honda. There aren't many choices available online, specially in our country's websites. You might get lucky on places such as aliexpress.com, but be ready to shell out extra for shipping charges.

----------------------------------------


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMPRESS!
FIRST PAID SERVICE @ 10056 KMS


Yes, time surely rolls past in a jiffy!

On 26th March, my brown-haired Empress completed 1 year in my protective custody.

It has been quite an eventful year, with the initial batch of niggles, to the 6-month problem with the door checker, and Her Majesty dominating my life completely. As the 26th was destined to be a busy day at work, I only had enough time to Jopasu her completely from front to back and deck her door-handles with red ribbons to mark the occasion, as she growled to life yet again and drove me to my office without breaking a sweat.

Passed the 10,000-km mark a couple of days before (24th March, no pictures sorry!), and also got a surprise call from Honda that Empress's service is due, and to bring in her for massages & maintenance on the 28th of March at the local Honda sub-dealer where the maintenance truck would be arriving.

I was doubly glad, because I could not give her a long wash on her birthday and she badly needed one, plus it was time to get her lifeblood replaced - the engine oil.

Left home promptly at 9:30 AM on 28th of March and reached the sub-dealership at around 10-ish. My usual Service Advisor, Deepak, had come with the maintenance truck and I was glad to see his familiar face. He greeted me with a big smile and then looked over Empress with an admiring glance, commenting on how well I had been maintaining her.

No other cars had arrived by then and since it was a work day for me, I requested Deepak to complete Empress's jobs as quickly as possible so that I could still head back to office before closure time (it was a Saturday). Deepak noted down all that I wanted to be done:

1) Change engine oil & oil filter,
2) Inspect all 4 brakes and clean them,
3) Underbody checks for any/all dents/cracks on the critical parts,
4) Clean Air Filter/AC Filter thoroughly,
5) Top-up coolant & distilled water levels.

He noted down the readings from the ODO while I took my stuff out - USB drive, in-car mobile charger and my car papers. The cleaning guy instantly came over and started cleaning the interiors, while the 2 technicians on duty brought out the jacks. Empress was elevated on her right side (driver-side) with her 2 wheels in the air (embarrassing position as you can imagine!), as a technician went below her engine section and pulled her drain plug out. Her (factory) engine oil had lost quite a bit of it's viscosity, and I was glad I had decided to stick to the 10,000-km mark for the oil change. About 45 minutes later, the fresh engine oil, an all-new oil filter, and a new drain plug was filled back into Empress's innards. This had refreshed and replenished her, and now she was good to go for the next 10,000.

A few white Amazes had driven in by this time, and Empress stood out between all of them as a Honda which had come from another planet!

Her wheels came off after that, as the 2 technicians went about cleaning the discs/drums and tightening them back. I casually inquired if the shoes were good, and was given a thumbs up by the techies. The brakes hadn't lost their bite, and it was good to know that they were holding up pretty well.

A silver-colored City VX i-DTEC drove in during this time, and was parked right beside Empress. I am glad to report that Her Royal Majesty didn't lose her demeanor at the sudden, tough competition. Rather, she looked more majestic than ever, sneering at the silver-haired beauty!

Then, one of the techies went under her to give a thorough underbody checkup. Although she suffered from a few scratches on her underbelly due to my (occasional bursts of) recklessness, nothing was too bad to cause any dents or cracks. A sigh of relief there.

She was then driven into the washing area to be washed. The midday temperature had soared to a sizzling 42°C by then, and Her Royal Eminence welcomed the shower-spray she got for the next 40-odd minutes, complete with shampoo foam, tyres/alloys/wheel-wells cleaning and air-drying. She was shined to a sparkle by the hard-working cleaner boy, before she was driven back to me. Her tyre pressures were checked on the way as well.

It was close to 2 PM by the time all jobs were completed. The total bill came to Rs. 4,600/-, which was very reasonable for the first paid service (according to me). Paid up, thanked Deepak for the prompt service, checked Empress out with an approving eye from all sides, and then drove back to my office.


DETAILS OF FIRST PAID SERVICE:

Engine Oil + Oil Filter + Drain Plug = Rs. 2,800/-
10,000-km Paid Service = Rs. 1,155/-
Out-station Charges = Rs. 450/-
Service Tax @ 12.36% = Rs. 198/-

TOTAL (adding all of the above) = Rs. 4,603/-
ROUNDED OFF = Rs. 4,600/-


Post the service, I have noticed that the engine noise and clatter has gone down a bit. Also, the gears now slot in a bit more smoothly than before. The initial lag has also gone down slightly. Maybe it's just my perception, but a subtle change in Empress's driving manners is very noticeable. And it's for the better, too!

Fuel Efficiency stands at a rock-solid 20.1 kmpl! The last in-city trip of about 350-odd kilometers shows 19.9 kmpl, which is fantastic.


Here's a brief pictorial:


Princess posing with the Empress.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3737.jpg

My two precious gems.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_3740.jpg

Majestic, in any surroundings!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4631.jpg

Service day! Right side up!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4657.jpg

The Service Truck ready for duty.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4658.jpg

Empress's innards open for inspection.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4659.jpg

Interior cleaning in progress.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4662.jpg

Engine oil being drained.
New oil filter can be seen.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4669.jpg

Whew! The cool of the inside was enticing.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4664.jpg

Brakes being cleaned and tightened back.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4680.jpg

If you thought the Honda City was cheap, think again!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4671.jpg

The Mobilio is glaringly overpriced as well!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4673.jpg

But then again, so is the Amaze!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4672.jpg

Rummaging through the Customer docket...
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4675.jpg

...and I find this very interesting bit of info -
the "Return to Invoice Value" Add-on Cover under Honda Assure!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4674.jpg

There's a Honda Care Maintenance Package on offer as well!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4676.jpg

3 different Hondas - a City ZX, an Amaze and a Brio!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4681.jpg

The Empress patiently waiting for the water to be switched on.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4684.jpg

Joy!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4685.jpg

Washing continues as the Amaze waits for her turn.
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4686.jpg

Shampoo-foam all over, washing continues!
2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!-img_4687.jpg



Ciao, until the next update!
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Old 31st March 2015, 09:49   #209
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re: 2014 Honda City VMT i-DTEC - The Golden Brown Royal Eminence. EDIT: Now sold!

Thanks dear. Your detail reviews are really praise worthy.
There was a last minute change and I have now taken U-Flap seat covers of Autoform. The door trims would also be provided by Autoform next week. I would post the photos shortly.
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Old 10th April 2015, 23:49   #210
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Hey Raven.
Great write up ,in one of the snaps you shared technician is spraying water to engine bay. I believe modern diesel engines should not be treated that way. Compressed air old gentle wipe is OK ,but pressurised water in engine bay is a strict no in my opinion.
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