Honda Civic 2018

[Sam B]

1 hour ago, misnad said:

Ah just got it back and it’s really good to see the car back to normal. So no more smelly mold either. They’ve done a comprehensive job and serviced the entire AC system too. Got this done at a place called Sakura Auto A/C and they’re right down the end of Anderson Road. They have another branch on Hospital Road near the Budhdhagosha bus stand. Total bill was 68k.

Here’s hoping this unit lasts longer than the previous one! 

Did you refill with 1234yf too? How much was the condenser?

[misnad]

29 minutes ago, Sam B said:

Did you refill with 1234yf too? How much was the condenser?

Yup, it was with 1234yf. Condenser alone cost me 45k. The rest was gas and service.

[civicnk]

On 2/22/2020 at 9:44 PM, misnad said:

Yup, it was with 1234yf. Condenser alone cost me 45k. The rest was gas and service.

I did bit of a research around the gasses. and found this..

https://www.denso-am.eu/media/corporate-news/2017/august-2017-newsletter-compressor-oil-and-refrigerant-mixing-old-and-new/

One of my friends car had the same issue and he went and refilled 134a. Still no issues and works perfectly..
I am wondering whether to refill 1234yf or 134a now.

[Arin]

@matroska brother I’m planning to buy Honda Civic Hatch or Sedan 2018 or 2019!!

Is this a good idea to buy a civic in 2020

i can see that there more 2nd Hand civics for sale! 
 

 

[matroska]

On 2/29/2020 at 7:09 PM, Arin said:

@matroska brother I’m planning to buy Honda Civic Hatch or Sedan 2018 or 2019!!

Is this a good idea to buy a civic in 2020

i can see that there more 2nd Hand civics for sale! 
 

 

yes it is a good idea to buy if you're not expecting a civic to behave like an allion. I bought mine in 2018 ...brand new from the uk grey import have run for 1.5 years no issues  - and i enjoy driving the damn thing. 

There are lots for sale because you basically got a brand new vehicle with less tax - an appealing prospect. Since the prices haven't changed much and there are now cars used in the uk available for sale you can get them over for a lower price than when they initially came out brand new in 2017/2018. There are a lot of units at car sales too so the prices are lower now. If you can get a well maintained (most of them usually are) used car that will be a good deal because you will be saving up a considerable amount of money. The car is like any modern car - needs a bit of TLC and gune aiya under the kottan tree can't fix it. Fuel is around 10 kmpl on average, needs 95, car is spacious, low ground clearance good handling the cvt box is a joy kill...

We've had a lot of threads on the forum so i suggest you read through them as there's a LOT of information in them. And  @Davy  can you merge this thread ? There are far too many Civic threads in this forum. 

 

[Davy]

Threads merged. Thanks @matroska. 

[Insedious]

On 2/22/2020 at 4:08 PM, Hyaenidae said:

New condenser + R1234yf gas for 70k? That sounds like a steal compared to the deal @Insedious got just about 2 months ago - 100k for the condenser alone and another 80k for R1234yf

 

Definitely, I think I will visit the place and look at the possibility of upgrading the gas. 2 months have passed since the condenser replacement and everything seems to be fine. 

One small thing I forgot update you guys on, the drier on the civic is built into the condenser, I guess it's another way of cutting costs.

[misnad]

Ok guys, the darned stinky socks smell is back and I'm sure something's lodged in the vents. It just comes up as I start the AC and disappears within seconds. The cabin filters seem clean, however I'm going to get them changed after an inspection. As my usual AC service shop was clueless about this, I'm taking it to Hy**id H*b at Piliyandala (yes, they do AC servicing on non-hybrids too) on Tuesday and I called them in advance. Seemed to be more knowledgeable over the phone than the dealer. I've got no idea what is causing this stench given its recurrence. Hope it isn't a rat or some other critter lodged up there.. yuck!

My car feels violated.

[Ruslan]

17 hours ago, misnad said:

Ok guys, the darned stinky socks smell is back and I'm sure something's lodged in the vents. It just comes up as I start the AC and disappears within seconds. The cabin filters seem clean, however I'm going to get them changed after an inspection. As my usual AC service shop was clueless about this, I'm taking it to Hy**id H*b at Piliyandala (yes, they do AC servicing on non-hybrids too) on Tuesday and I called them in advance. Seemed to be more knowledgeable over the phone than the dealer. I've got no idea what is causing this stench given its recurrence. Hope it isn't a rat or some other critter lodged up there.. yuck!

My car feels violated.

I Guess it's the prolonged humidity stuck in the evap coil (When you switch off the car) which makes the stinky odor. why don't you try an Active Carbon AC filter when you replacing one. i'm having fairly good results using one. got down from Aliexpress. hope it's not the rodents this time.

Edited March 8, 2020 by Ruslan

[misnad]

So it was the rodents causing the stinky smell. There was rat poop and pee on the cabin filter. Only way out now is to clean the evaporator and that means removing a part of the dashboard. They’re going to add a mesh to prevent future incursions for now. Unfortunately Hybrid Hub don’t have 1234yf gas right now to recharge afterwards so they’ll get back to me as to when it can be done. I hate rats.

Edited March 11, 2020 by misnad
Uploaded image of mesh and rodent entry path

[civicnk]

On 2/22/2020 at 7:32 PM, misnad said:

Ah just got it back and it’s really good to see the car back to normal. So no more smelly mold either. They’ve done a comprehensive job and serviced the entire AC system too. Got this done at a place called Sakura Auto A/C and they’re right down the end of Anderson Road. They have another branch on Hospital Road near the Budhdhagosha bus stand. Total bill was 68k.

Here’s hoping this unit lasts longer than the previous one! 

My civics A/C was also causing troubles. I found a local AC repair person who was willing to do it for the first time. He and I  got together and removed the condenser without removing the front bumper somehow. We removed the cross bar which the radiator fits in with some other cables and stuff and push the radiator backwards and managed to unscrew the nuts of the condenser and took it out. I found a brand new condenser for 32k from my local AC repair persons contact. We fitted the thing and refilled the gas and now its working fine again. All done with 50k  

[Quiet]

20 hours ago, misnad said:

So it was the rodents causing the stinky smell. There was rat poop and pee on the cabin filter. Only way out now is to clean the evaporator and that means removing a part of the dashboard. They’re going to add a mesh to prevent future incursions for now. Unfortunately Hybrid Hub don’t have 1234yf gas right now to recharge afterwards so they’ll get back to me as to when it can be done. I hate rats.

Wow you are lucky that those buggers have not eaten anything.   I was not so lucky with my rear and front parking sensor wire harnesses. Better to have that rat repellant spray which you need to apply every 14 days.

[Asanka premawansa]

5 hours ago, Quiet said:

Wow you are lucky that those buggers have not eaten anything.   I was not so lucky with my rear and front parking sensor wire harnesses. Better to have that rat repellant spray which you need to apply every 14 days.

Hi

Any brand name of rat repllant spray ? And where we can buy ?

[misnad]

Managed to get the whole thing cleaned out with a blast of air through tubing into the evaporator core. Blower area was cleaned out today too and swapped the cabin filter. Did this at the dealer though since the other place wasn’t too sure about the dashboard elements that needed removing and they didn’t want to accept the job without a stock of r1234yf. Turns out the dashboard didn’t need to be removed as the evaporator didn’t contain any gunk so it may have been a visit, defecate and run expedition the rats were up to. Guess they needed to use the loo in a cold place.

Cabin filter cost me 12k and they added more mesh around 2 other ventilation spots that the other place didn’t inspect. Total bill was 18k and I don’t get the stench for now plus I’m protected from the critters. Extremely lucky that they didn’t bite into anything apart from a bit of plastic under the hood.

Oh by the way, the dealer told me today that they don’t use r1234yf even though they quote about 80k for a recharge since they don’t have it nor do they have a machine to exchange it. Was told that they just add r134a and that it was ok to mix the two as they have done it before. Good thing I did my condenser at the other AC place ?.

On another note, I think I’m going to write a book titled, “The chronicles of a Civic: the dealer, the aircon and the rat”!

[GWX777]

Googling r1234yf cost gives me a cost of $350. And it’s a true fact too. And there were threads that tells that you can replace r1234yf with r134a. But there are many prerequisites for that. The compressor needs to have a oil that’s compatible with both r1234yf and r134a gases. The connectors to recover existing r1234yf might not be compatible with the ones that designed to work with systems equipped with r134a. and mixing them is also not good. there are many cons and risks compared to the pro of less cost.

[misnad]

Smell was back as the compressed air flush of the vents wasn’t sufficient (thank you Sta**ord! ?). Got a can of BG Frigi Clean evaporator foam cleaner and did it myself by passing the tubing through the blower motor assembly. Total time taken: 30min. The AC is now draining perfectly as I can see a steady stream of water (initially some brown stuff) coming out of the drain tube under the car. Here’s a guide so anyone reading can do the same without spending big money at idiots’ garages.

1) Remove the glove-box by following instructions in the owner’s manual (carefully unhook the dampener)

2) Open the cabin filter cover making note of the airflow direction indicator (downwards). You need to press on the two side clamps to release it

3) Pull out the filter from the slot to expose the blower motor assembly below

4) Shake the can of FrigiClean and attach the tubing to its nozzle

5) Cut off the other end of the tubing if it has a screw adapter nozzle as it won’t fit through the blower motor

6) Pass the tubing through the blower motor (important to get the tubing past the fin otherwise you’ll damage the motor)

7) Spray the can until empty and foam will fill through the assembly all the way into the evaporator. If you see or feel foam backing up into the motor fins, stop immediately and withdraw the tubing

8 ) Replace the cabin filter cover only (without the filter) and start the engine

9) Switch AC blower on Full and temp Lo with standard ventilation (face). recirculate mode off.

10) Watch the stuff coming out out of the drain tube under the car and leave it running for 10min

11) Switch off the car and replace the cabin filter into position while closing the lid (cabin filter airflow direction has to be downwards).

12) Re-fit the glovebox but first get the dampener hook attached (it’s very hard to do this after you’ve got it into the hinges)

13) Leave the car unused and unoccupied for 30min and you’re good to go!

[Ruslan]

Good stuff Mizzy, where can you get the BG frigi clean and the cost please. This looks like DIY evap coil clean.

[misnad]

On 3/14/2020 at 9:09 PM, Ruslan said:

Good stuff Mizzy, where can you get the BG frigi clean and the cost please. This looks like DIY evap coil clean.

Thanks! Got it from a place called Lexus Lanka. You’ll have to go to their head office. Yes, it is an evaporator coil cleanup without opening up the dash. You could either go this route via the blower or even better would be via the drain tube under the car for foam injection. Didn’t have jack equipment so did it this way.

[Quiet]

On ‎3‎/‎12‎/‎2020 at 2:31 PM, Asanka premawansa said:

Hi

Any brand name of rat repllant spray ? And where we can buy ?

https://greasemonkey.lk/product/liqui-moly-marten-protection-spray-200ml-1515/

[misnad]

Hey all. So it’s been a week since the DIY evaporator clean-up and touch wood, I didn’t get the foul odor resurfacing although faint remnants came through for about 2 days on start-up. Here’s hoping I’ve managed to get all the muck out and won’t see any more problems now that the blower vent is messed up. Might take the second can I bought and get it injected through the drain tube so it gets to the evaporator coil directly just to be doubly sure. I checked up on how Toyota Lanka services their vehicle AC systems and they use a proprietary foam cleaner using the same method I tried plus via the drain tube. Seems sensible as it actually worked.

How’s everyone doing through the curfew period?

[abiman]

Curfew and work at home showed that the honda maintenance minder counts not only down, but also up. 

Mine went from 170 to 200 days. 

 

[RWD]

7 hours ago, abiman said:

Curfew and work at home showed that the honda maintenance minder counts not only down, but also up. 

Mine went from 170 to 200 days. 

 

Lol really! Must check it out! 

[abiman]

I saw rat problem here and now I have CAT problem. Only one visible here. But there are 4 of them. Any suggestion to keep them away? Did anyone had cat damage to cars? 

 

 

 

[misnad]

22 minutes ago, abiman said:

I saw rat problem here and now I have CAT problem. Only one visible here. But there are 4 of them. Any suggestion to keep them away? Did anyone had cat damage to cars? 

Cats hate citrus stuff, so probably boil several orange peels in water (thick concentration), add some lime juice (no sugar obviously) and a little detergent into a spray bottle. Spray around your vehicle often and you'll keep them at bay. I had a kalawadda and some stray cats sitting on the top of my car before, but they don't come by nowadays. Hope this helps you.

[abiman]

5 hours ago, misnad said:

Cats hate citrus stuff, so probably boil several orange peels in water (thick concentration), add some lime juice (no sugar obviously) and a little detergent into a spray bottle. Spray around your vehicle often and you'll keep them at bay. I had a kalawadda and some stray cats sitting on the top of my car before, but they don't come by nowadays. Hope this helps you.

Thanks. Will try that