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Hey guys sorry for not updating this thread in a long time. The car has now completed 5500 kms in 6 months. The car went for its third free service on saturday. Now the experience wasn't what we would call good.

The car wasn't cleaned properly when returned and the biggest shock was the bill. We were charged Rs. 5000/- for the third free service which involved oil change. How such a high bill you ask? so conveniently the service representative called up my dad and told him that the service "requires all tires to be filled with nitrogen." My dad gave the OK thinking that it is a standard procedure. So when the car comes back he is not only charged for the nitrogen but was also charged for the labor. So when he questioned about the free service he was told that only service is free but labor is charged.

Later that evening when my dad took the car for a drive a motorcyclists knocked the window and said that the wheels were wobbling. Dad got it checked from our regular Tyre guy and he said everything was fine. A bit confused here.

Now my question is

1) what is the definition of service in the dictionary of Honda and how does it differ from labor charge?

2) Is filling Nitrogen compulsory in honda service as I prefer filling normal air in my car's tires? also the tires still had the normal black valve caps instead of the green one's that come for tires filled with nitrogen.

3) Is Rs.5000/- for the third "free" service a justifiable amount? I never paid more than Rs.800/- for third free service in Maruti.

4) Doesn't Honda need to give an estimated cost of service? I was never given the same.

5) Also, what is the nominal charge for filling nitrogen in tires as I have never filled nitrogen in my car's. I think Honda has charged somewhere around Rs.500-700 for Nitrogen.



Dad was quiet disappointed in the changed attitude once the first two free services were over. It looked like these people were only interested in the money part rather than the service part.


Look forward to your reply guys.

Cheers

Can you post the break up?

All of them? You could get somebody else to drive it while you observe it from the roadside (or from another vehicle) to confirm. Wobbling is not normal.

The users manual should have details of each service. Have you looked at that?

If the manual says it's required (which I doubt), then yes. Otherwise, your service advisor is talking fibs.

Depends on the breakup.

They should. But do you remember asking for it?

Sadly, that is true with all service centers and all brands today. It's up to us to ensure they do their job and we are not overcharged. Better to get stuff like wheel balancing, nitrogen etc. outside. Not only you get a better job, it also works out cheaper.

So I checked the user manual and I didn't find any mention of filling nitrogen in all tires as a service reqirement. I was charged Rs.2300/- for labor which i think is quiet costly considering the charges for the consumables. I have told my dad to contact the dealership and see what their response is. I would then escalate the matter to Honda.

You are correct my dad didn't ask for a service estimate because he never needed to ask for one in Maruti since they always gave one by themselves. Guess one of the disadvantages of moving away from Maruti:deadhorse:Frustrati

So, its time to update the thread. The car has completed a total of 7k kms out of which I have driven 1000 kms and my dad drove the remaining. Here is my experience of what I felt in the 1k kms I spent with the car.

1. Honda's cost cutting is evident with the amount of road noise that manages to filter in the cabing through the rear wheel well. The inadequate body cladding has resulated in humming noise coming in the cabin which is aggravated by upsizing the tyres.

2. The rear left door has already started rattling in 7k kms which hasn't been solved even after visiting the ASC. I feel Honda's after sales service is lousy and slow in comparison to that of MSIL.http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ahmedabad.html

3. The engine has more than enough power and is also superbly refined and efficient at the same time. The CVT has been mated to a torque converter in this case due to which it gives good low end response and is much better when compared to the other CVT's in the market. The only sore point is the rubber band effect under sudden hard acceleration which is solved by leaving the accelerator for a split second and pressing it again. I manage to get anywhere between 11-13 km/l in the city with the tank to tank method. The car hasn't done any long highway runs so can't comment on the efficiency of the same. I manage to get around 430-450 kms in one tank with 15-20 kms to spare. (Attached pic is just before resetting the MID after refill)

4. I wish the SV came with flappy paddles which are sorely missed when you want to have some fun in the S mode. Currently when i stomp the accelerator the engine revs to 7k rpm and stays there :Frustrati which makes me hesitate.

5. The alternator has started making grinding noise which i need to show to the ASC. The problem has already been mentioned in the 4th gen niggles thread so I would avoid talking more about it here.

6. The power windows are surprisingly slow in rolling up or down. I don't know if they are like that or if the battery isn't strong enough.

7. Changing the tyres was the best thing I did giving great amounts of grip in corners and at high speeds. The ABS also doesn't kick in that soon. The car absorbs bumps and potholes pretty well but some of the imperfections manage to filter in at lower speeds but as you go above 40 the performance improves. The steering is a tad to light and a bit inconsistent for my taste. I wish Honda had given it a more direct feedback. The suspension has been tuned pretty well for rough roads as well as for that occasional enthusiastic driving. Mind you the car is no where as good as the polo or the Linea but it does well for itself.

8. The paint quality is very delicate as even the slightest touch manages to put in scratches and the high dashboard makes matters worse as one cannot get a good judgement of the sides. To prove a point today is the first time a biker managed to brush against my bumper:Frustrati as I couldn't judge the amount of space I was giving him. The worst part is he had a water tank attached to side of his bike which caused a small scratch and no major damage. Mind you out of the various cars I have driven this is the first one in which I managed to get a scratch. Also the orange peel effect is evident on many panels of the car which has again also been discussed in the 4th gen niggles thread.

9. The stock HU has started giving problems hanging intermittently for which it needs to be sent to the OEM as per the ASC. Haven't been able to get the time to do the same.

10. I wish they had given the 2014 city the alarm system that the 2015 city has. I always feel the need to check if the doors are locked when I press the lock button from far as there is no chirp to confirm the lock. Any idea if the alarm system is compatible with the 2014 city?

Another niggle for the niggles thread? My SV MT too has this issue of resetting the audio system only when im on a bluetooth call - more often when there is a network call drop occurring! :Frustrati

I don't know if mine is a similar issue but what happens is that it hangs when switching from FM to Bluetooth and when streaming music it suddenly stops and starts again as though it intermittently looses connectivity.

So I sent the car to Landmark Honda yesterday for getting some niggles sorted out that were bugging me from a long time. These are their responses when I call them up today for a follow up:

1) Stock HU hanging: He says that it was because of the antenna being loose which was causig the system to hang and loose bluetooth connectivity and sometimes even factory resetting. My reaction to this was:uncontrol I straight away told him that what he is saying is impossible and something was definitely wrong with the HU. He said that he would pair his phone and check it out.

2) Boot not closing: The boot had not been set properly causing it to not close. He says that the setting has been done and I won't face the issue again.

3) Back door rattling: He completely forgot about the issue when I called he said that he will see it when the car will be test driven.

4) Rear Power windows not working/ working slowly when pressed together: He said that the motor has been lubricated and the problem is solved. Don't believe him have to see for myself.

5) Alternator grinding noise: It turns out that it wasn't the alternator that was causing the noise on cold starts but infact the A/c compressor had failed which even answered the ineffective cooling and loud rattle when the A/c was started. I had told them in the very beginning about the issue to which they had said that the sound was normal and they had cleaned the A/c filter which would sort out the cooling problem. The solution had worked for two weeks after which the A/c was again not working. The compressor has been approved for warranty and I wouldn't have to pay for anything but the gas recharge and fitting of the new compressor would take 1 additional day:Frustrati

Expecting the car to be ready tomorrow hope that it doesn't throw any new nasty surprises. Shame on you Honda for the horrible QC. The car has done just 7.4k Kms in 9 months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcJPyMC-yCA

The noise is high frequency. I had similar noise and suspected metal contact. But was due to air leak into the manifold. take a long screwdriver and touch the alternator body and listen. be careful not to slip the screwdriver.

Honda ASC returned the car after changing the compressor and the noise was back the next day. The cooling was also ineffective initially and they said it could be because of inadequate gas. Fortunately the cooling improved and started chilling after a long drive may be the gas had not circulated? I am not sure but the Ac is just fine now.

They had forgotten about the door rattle despite reminding them twice. They made me wait for about 20 mins for the rattle and after taking it home the rattle started again on top of that yesterday a new rattle surfaced from the dash:Frustrati

The HU was hanging and they recorded the same on video but they didn't agree to change the unit as they said it could be because of frequency problems from the phone. Later, I tried the HU with 5 phones in total with the same hanging finally they agreed to change it after seeing how frustrated I was with the whole issue.

In short almost all the work that I had sent the car for was not done despite spending 2.5 days in the ASC. I am still being patient with them and have scheduled one more visit in the next week which i hope would be the final visit.

Honda city noise update

Update: 8k kms/ 1 year

The car is due for its one year service in a few days. Called up my SA for an estimate for the service. Here is the exact conversation that takes place:

Me: Hello, my car is due for service.

SA: which service is it?

Me: the 4th service which is at 20k kms/1 year.

SA: Ok, please get the car in the morning on any weekday and the service would be done by evening.

Me: what would be the estimate?

SA: sir it would Rs. 21k only.

Me::Shockked: :Shockked: I'm sorry i think you said 21k?

SA: yes it is 21k

Me: are you sure its 21k for the service?

SA: No, service is 9.5k and amc is 21k

Me: when did i ask for amc, i want only the service cost and also want my alternator and HU fixed for the issues that have been shown before. I am also facing some noises from brakes while applying brakes at triple digit speeds.

SA: sure sir please get the car we will get the problems fixed.

I believe 9.5 k is quiet steep for 1 year service. I have already got the alignment and balancing done from outside so won't need that and will also remove most of the unnecessary jobs. I believe it should come anywhere between Rs.4-5k.

Will update when the service is completed.

Can you please share the latest Average Fuel consumption figures in city driving and highways?

The car is due for its first paid service 1 year or 20k kms so still have to see the difference after the service since the air filter is pretty clogged.

I was getting about 11.5 consistently but since last few weeks it has dropped to 8.5 to 9.5 km/l.

The car met with an accident on the way to the ASC. So it still hasn't completed its service and is in the workshop for repairs and insurance claim. All credits to auto's and my bad luck was soo damn good that it happened at an auto stand.

The car has done just 8.6k kms in 1 year.

The sales team from Capital Honda, Chennai is claiming that the AT version returns 13-14 Kmpl in city and 16-17 Kmpl in highways. They said the AT version returns better mileage than the MT version.. Seems like a tall claim going by your experience(11.5Kmpl)..

A CVT returns better FE than manual only on the highway due to the 7 speed transmission or final drive ratio. In city driving conditions the FE will come crashing down.

Go for the CVT only if you are looking for convenience. The CVT would disappoint you if you are looking for outright performance and better fuel efficiency. Also, you need to learn how to drive the CVT or else the rubber band effect will get you:Frustrati

The ciaz is a better bet if you want FE and better responsiveness in the AT variant. The city is better in the manual avatar.

A well driven city CVT can return a maximum of
city: 13
Highway: 18-19

That too with steady speeds and a light right foot.

I would suggest going for the city cvt only if you are going for vx variant else i would suggest the ciaz zxi AT. The paddle shifters in the vx somewhat help to control the rubber band effect under hard accelaration.


Hope this helps.

Cheers

Finally got the car back today after a week. They have done a great job in matching the paint and the work is as good as factory finish with perfect paint match. They took a week but it was well worth it. Let the pictures speak for themself.

Before:



After: