Honda Civic 2018

[msham]

has anyone used break pads other than the stock pads on their fk6?

[Supra_Natural]

10 hours ago, msham said:

has anyone used break pads other than the stock pads on their fk6?

Why would you do that though?

[msham]

1 hour ago, Supra_Natural said:

Why would you do that though?

break pads need to be replaced. front pads almost worn out. need to know whether anyone has used non-OEM or b***b* on their fk6s and how they perform? need to know whether there is any benefit from shifting to non-OEM break pads?

[misnad]

So I surprisingly received a call from S******d Motors regarding an online complaint I filed against them a month or so back. It was entered into the system against my vehicle number and I received an acknowledgement so here's hoping they take this into consideration. If they do the vehicular equivalent of "spitting on the fries" by adding some sugar into my engine oil at the next service in response, I'll be sure to let you all know as well  Here's the excerpt (company name redacted):

Customer Complaint Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for your complaint which is received by us and has been recorded for monitoring the corrective action. We always value your feedback to help us improve our service delivery. ID: CMP10197 Date: 2020-05-18 Process: A/M After Sales Customer: Misnad Haque Category: Quality related complaints Failure: Customer has several complaints about Rathanapitiya Automobile Workshop. 1.Adding wrong lubricants. 2.Low quality paint job. 3.A/C repairing issue. Presented below is the original:- " My vehicle (Civic 2018 FK hatchback) was personally imported from the UK in 2018 direct from the factory through an intermediate handler. At the very first service I performed at S******d Motors Rattanapitiya, my car was fed 5W-30 semi synthetic oil (Mobil Super 2000), which goes against the ACEA standards and fully synthetic recommendation in the manual. Upon challenging them, I was told that fully synthetic oils lead to sludge formation even on new engines, which if I'm not mistaken is incorrect. I had to force them to use 5W-30 Fully Synthetic ACEA A5 Castrol Edge oil from the next service onwards. Secondly, I had to get my antifreeze topped up and they had used an off-branded one (Seiken) claiming that it was as good as the one recommended (Honda Antifreeze Type 2) and mixing the two was harmless. The manual states otherwise. What is even stranger is that being a dealer for genuine parts and the Honda service line, you do not even carry the genuine lubricants. Regardless, I eventually had to take the car back for bodywork repairs after a minor accident on the rear left passenger door. The body-shop in Rattanapitiya managed to repair this and paint it, however there were awful paint drip marks as well as over-spray all over the car, which I had to clean up at a different detailing center. Another service was done and the Rattanapitiya service center hadn't fitted the glove-box dampener properly and I had to return to get that done. This happened to me thrice so far. I eventually had issues with a foul odor from the AC system and the service advisor at Rattanapitiya simply said that nothing could be done about it apart from me having to use some charcoal overnight in the cabin area or run the blower on high with the heater engaged. They were extremely reluctant to inspect even the cabin filter or drain tubing. After a while, my AC system sprung a leak and I had to ge t the condenser replaced. As I was out of warranty, I had to pay a hefty sum to do this. However, they claimed to be out-of-stock on the condenser so I had to get it replaced elsewhere. The foul smell from the AC was back and upon getting it inspected at a different service center (Hybrid Hub), they had identified traces of rodent entry just by looking at the cabin filter. I took the car back to S******d Motors Rattanapitiya since I preferred having a dealer to clean up the evaporator and vent system. I was then informed that they did not have R1234yf refrigerant at all nor did they have a recovery machine for it in case they needed to recharge it if the evaporator was removed. To my surprise, they claimed that the same refrigerant could be mixed with R134a via adapters and they had done it for numerous other vehicles. Agreeing to all this and leaving it to their better judgment, I asked them to also swap out the cabin filter and clean up the whole AC system. They replaced the activ ated charcoal filter that was originally in place with a standard paper filter and I can now smell fumes from outside air coming even though the AC is on recirculation mode. What's even worse is that they claimed to clean the unit, however only used a blast of compressed air in the vents. Further, on inspection myself they had also closed the exterior vent flap without my permission and hence it was only stuck on recirculation without the ability to ventilate. I had to return back later in the day to get this fixed. The foul odor returned a day later and I had to take matters in my own hands so I had to purchase and use a foaming evaporator coil cleaner, which I used. It did reduce the odor significantly, however I still need to get the evaporator cleaned. In summary, I am utterly disappointed with the service and knowledge level of your staff as it seems they are unable to handle newer vehicle models. This is the first and last time I will ever purchase a Honda in Sri Lanka and it is all because of your incompetence. Thank you. "

 

[RWD]

20 hours ago, misnad said:

So I surprisingly received a call from S******d Motors regarding an online complaint I filed against them a month or so back. It was entered into the system against my vehicle number and I received an acknowledgement so here's hoping they take this into consideration. If they do the vehicular equivalent of "spitting on the fries" by adding some sugar into my engine oil at the next service in response, I'll be sure to let you all know as well  Here's the excerpt (company name redacted):

 

Lol what is so strange is that they import the car themselves- atleast the 1.5 variant and have a subsidiary that sells the 1.0. Plus they offer warranties but yet completely go against manufacturer recommendations on the basics. I doubt they will take much action beyond this because the average car owner will be happy to drop their vehicle off at a service and put up with the quality of their shoddy work.  

[iRage]

4 hours ago, RWD said:

Lol what is so strange is that they import the car themselves- atleast the 1.5 variant and have a subsidiary that sells the 1.0. Plus they offer warranties but yet completely go against manufacturer recommendations on the basics. I doubt they will take much action beyond this because the average car owner will be happy to drop their vehicle off at a service and put up with the quality of their shoddy work.  

It could be that the official supply chain for the SL market is such that the 1.0L cannot be sourced or that the regional Honda corp office has not agreed to it (as it affects their production lines in terms of volume and specs) . So the only way they can go about it is to have their subsidiary source the 1.0L from another market. It is quite common in many other countries. For example, Toyota Singapore never officially got the Toyota Allion, however Toyota Singapore sold the Toyota Allion in Singapore through one of its franchise holders.

Edited May 21, 2020 by iRage

[matroska]

3 hours ago, iRage said:

It could be that the official supply chain for the SL market is such that the 1.0L cannot be sourced or that the regional Honda corp office has not agreed to it (as it affects their production lines in terms of volume and specs) . So the only way they can go about it is to have their subsidiary source the 1.0L from another market. It is quite common in many other countries. For example, Toyota Singapore never officially got the Toyota Allion, however Toyota Singapore sold the Toyota Allion in Singapore through one of its franchise holders.

This is the same thing that Toyota does with "T0y0t@ Sure" in SL - they sell stuff like the Vitz even though they were not actually meant for  the SL market, Honda though have completely distanced themselves from even mentioning any affiliations they just provide 'warranty' from the actual agent.  Guess the agents had to get in on the tax-reduced bandwagon i mean other than the permit holders no one would consider buying the 1.5 Variant of the Civic the agents are offering....(nor the accord for that matter) 

[Dee Jay]

5 minutes ago, matroska said:

Guess the agents had to get in on the tax-reduced bandwagon i mean other than the permit holders no one would consider buying the 1.5 Variant of the Civic the agents are offering....(nor the accord for that matter) 

Yeah that being priced around 9 million and the Accord being around 1.2 million would have set them back a great deal in the revenue front with majority of the other Hondas sold in the yester years being grey imports (Vezels, Graces and FITs)..

Most agents must be facing similar circumstances in Sri Lanka I guess..

[matroska]

10 hours ago, Dee Jay said:

Yeah that being priced around 9 million and the Accord being around 1.2 million would have set them back a great deal in the revenue front with majority of the other Hondas sold in the yester years being grey imports (Vezels, Graces and FITs)..

Most agents must be facing similar circumstances in Sri Lanka I guess..

True - Most of the Honda's are grey imports since The agent never actually got on board with the vehicles that became popular with the 'tax-based-trends'  so apart from the permit holders no one would really buy from them. 

A#W were relatively quick to react to the sudden kei-influx and jumped into the Wagon R bandwagon.

[iRage]

13 hours ago, matroska said:

This is the same thing that Toyota does with "T0y0t@ Sure" in SL - they sell stuff like the Vitz even though they were not actually meant for  the SL market, Honda though have completely distanced themselves from even mentioning any affiliations they just provide 'warranty' from the actual agent.  Guess the agents had to get in on the tax-reduced bandwagon i mean other than the permit holders no one would consider buying the 1.5 Variant of the Civic the agents are offering....(nor the accord for that matter) 

Uhh...i thought Toyota sure was just Toyota's used car shop..which is somewhat different from the above

[matroska]

4 hours ago, iRage said:

Uhh...i thought Toyota sure was just Toyota's used car shop..which is somewhat different from the above

yeah my bad - didn't mention the 'pre-owned' part ... which happens to be the way to get popular cars not intended for Sri Lanka like Vitz, with some sort of agent involvement.

[iRage]

14 hours ago, matroska said:

yeah my bad - didn't mention the 'pre-owned' part ... which happens to be the way to get popular cars not intended for Sri Lanka like Vitz, with some sort of agent involvement.

Yeah....in the past they used to source it from Toyota U-Car (which is Toyota''s official used car dealership line. No idea now though

[Devinda_Z]

On 5/19/2020 at 11:19 PM, msham said:

break pads need to be replaced. front pads almost worn out. need to know whether anyone has used non-OEM or b***b* on their fk6s and how they perform? need to know whether there is any benefit from shifting to non-OEM break pads?

@msham I've often found myself moving away from OEM or stock pads in favour of aftermarket (usually performance oriented) pads in order to improve braking characteristics 

There are compromises though - most performance or aftermarket pads (personal experiences with StopTech & EBC) tend to offer better bite or feel (this again varies based on the product line each manufacturer offers based on use) but this often comes at the cost of longevity.

In certain cases when there is excessive friction from the pads it can wear out your rotors sooner than you'd like as well

I've personally had a poor experience with some Brembo's locally but the agent is good/reputed and was keen to help rectify things. It may have been an anomaly given the usual stellar reputation Brembo has but keep in mind that not all Brembo's are made equally or have the fancy multi-pot callipers+discs to make the most of things.

It ultimately depends on what you want out of the brakes and the models on offer to match the requirements

 

Be careful to stay away from the really performance oriented ones as they're honed for track use which means they will be better when there is excess heat to contend and work to avoid brake fade from prolonged use. These can be borderline dangerous when used on a road car.

Have look at brands like StopTech, Hawk, ProjectMu, Endless, EBC, Ferodo, Pagid etc - the good thing is that the pads are usually small enough if you order the front & rear axle sets separately to even make it home without being held up at customs on occasion as the packs are quite small but the disproportionate weight may cause it to be held as well

 

[msham]

1 hour ago, Devinda_Z said:

@msham I've often found myself moving away from OEM or stock pads in favour of aftermarket (usually performance oriented) pads in order to improve braking characteristics 

There are compromises though - most performance or aftermarket pads (personal experiences with StopTech & EBC) tend to offer better bite or feel (this again varies based on the product line each manufacturer offers based on use) but this often comes at the cost of longevity.

In certain cases when there is excessive friction from the pads it can wear out your rotors sooner than you'd like as well

I've personally had a poor experience with some Brembo's locally but the agent is good/reputed and was keen to help rectify things. It may have been an anomaly given the usual stellar reputation Brembo has but keep in mind that not all Brembo's are made equally or have the fancy multi-pot callipers+discs to make the most of things.

It ultimately depends on what you want out of the brakes and the models on offer to match the requirements

 

Be careful to stay away from the really performance oriented ones as they're honed for track use which means they will be better when there is excess heat to contend and work to avoid brake fade from prolonged use. These can be borderline dangerous when used on a road car.

Have look at brands like StopTech, Hawk, ProjectMu, Endless, EBC, Ferodo, Pagid etc - the good thing is that the pads are usually small enough if you order the front & rear axle sets separately to even make it home without being held up at customs on occasion as the packs are quite small but the disproportionate weight may cause it to be held as well

 

Thank you @Devinda_Z. the exact kind of information and insight i was looking for.  

[Eagle Eye]

To all different concerns of replacing r1234yf with r134a, I would like to add below which shows that latter is slightly more efficient in cooling as I understand.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251667758_A_brief_performance_comparison_of_R1234yf_and_R134a_in_a_bench_tester_for_automobile_applications

Well, this came up as my A/C gave up a day after I took my car out after lockdown. I was reading your posts and found useful info. I am from Wadduwa (closest is Panadura), and did not find any place near me mentioned. I am thinking of taking to where  @misnad got it done.

A friend mentioned about A*co in Jubilee Post Road. Any experience there?

 

On 3/12/2020 at 8:12 PM, GWX777 said:

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.

 

According to this, two can be mixed, can't they?

On 2/24/2020 at 8:23 AM, civicnk said:

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.

[Devinda_Z]

12 hours ago, Eagle Eye said:

To all different concerns of replacing r1234yf with r134a, I would like to add below which shows that latter is slightly more efficient in cooling as I understand.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251667758_A_brief_performance_comparison_of_R1234yf_and_R134a_in_a_bench_tester_for_automobile_applications

Well, this came up as my A/C gave up a day after I took my car out after lockdown. I was reading your posts and found useful info. I am from Wadduwa (closest is Panadura), and did not find any place near me mentioned. I am thinking of taking to where  @misnad got it done.

A friend mentioned about A*co in Jubilee Post Road. Any experience there?

 

 

According to this, two can be mixed, can't they?

ATCO have been in business for ages - they used to be a decent outfit. I haven't been there since the late 90's early 2000's so can't comment about the present but they were fine back then

 

Not sure if new Civic's are his thing but can recommend Janaka who took over the Suraweera AC business for difficult jobs (like on uncommon cars, European cars, exotics, vintage & classic cars etc)

077 942 7178

[misnad]

On 6/16/2020 at 7:55 AM, Eagle Eye said:

To all different concerns of replacing r1234yf with r134a, I would like to add below which shows that latter is slightly more efficient in cooling as I understand.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251667758_A_brief_performance_comparison_of_R1234yf_and_R134a_in_a_bench_tester_for_automobile_applications

Well, this came up as my A/C gave up a day after I took my car out after lockdown. I was reading your posts and found useful info. I am from Wadduwa (closest is Panadura), and did not find any place near me mentioned. I am thinking of taking to where  @misnad got it done.

A friend mentioned about A*co in Jubilee Post Road. Any experience there?

 

 

According to this, two can be mixed, can't they?

I’m not sure about both refrigerants co-existing together however you can completely replace the r1234yf with r134a by the looks of it (assuming the manufacturer gives the green light). The issue is that both fluids operate at different pressures so having a mixture of the two in the same unit might be troublesome. The issue is whether the service stations here actually will empty out the previous refrigerant using their extractor machines or do a shoddy job at it and leave some of the old stuff in.

 

On another note, I’ve discovered something weird with the Civic. So I had to replace all 4 brake pads at the company (didn’t want to risk cheaper or knock-off aftermarket calipers) at a spine-tingling 78k. There was a horrible grinding sound from the wheels even when coasting so got that done before my rotors wasted out. Now remember when I said I needed to replace my car battery as the indicator showed the idle stop system couldn’t activate due to low charge? Well, for some weird reason it seems to have disappeared now and keeps activating like it did before without fail! Now I’m not sure this might be because there is less braking force required to come to a complete stop now (with the new pads and all), but this is just mind-boggling to me right now. Anyway, it’s going to be fun switching off the darned idle stop each time I start up the car now. On the plus side, I don’t need a new battery! New normal, I guess ?

[GK_007]

44 minutes ago, misnad said:

spine-tingling 78k.

Agree that not a good idea to cut corners with brakes, still I would have second thoughts on that price. May I know the mileage of the car ? 

[Eagle Eye]

Thanks @Devinda_Z for the contact. By the way I took the car to Nedimala place where @misnad got it done. It was the same job, but cost me 15K more, as they explained prices have gone up due to limited imports and demand (+ high prices charged at dealers). I did not change the gas type though it was full replace.

I got done my service at St*ff*rd last time (was my first full service from them), agent noted me that Idle Stop has stopped responding due to weak battery and it needed replacing. It of course did not respond after that. I got my battery checked from my regular place (in Wadduwa) to find that it was not that weak (he said you can run some more). Now after the A/C repair, Idle Stop responds as before. Well, this could be expected; but @misnad's finding that break pads could affect is interesting.

[vitz]

1 hour ago, misnad said:

I’m not sure about both refrigerants co-existing together however you can completely replace the r1234yf with r134a by the looks of it (assuming the manufacturer gives the green light). The issue is that both fluids operate at different pressures so having a mixture of the two in the same unit might be troublesome. The issue is whether the service stations here actually will empty out the previous refrigerant using their extractor machines or do a shoddy job at it and leave some of the old stuff in.

 

On another note, I’ve discovered something weird with the Civic. So I had to replace all 4 brake pads at the company (didn’t want to risk cheaper or knock-off aftermarket calipers) at a spine-tingling 78k. There was a horrible grinding sound from the wheels even when coasting so got that done before my rotors wasted out. Now remember when I said I needed to replace my car battery as the indicator showed the idle stop system couldn’t activate due to low charge? Well, for some weird reason it seems to have disappeared now and keeps activating like it did before without fail! Now I’m not sure this might be because there is less braking force required to come to a complete stop now (with the new pads and all), but this is just mind-boggling to me right now. Anyway, it’s going to be fun switching off the darned idle stop each time I start up the car now. On the plus side, I don’t need a new battery! New normal, I guess ?

Just try this method to permanently switch off the SS function (hoping your Civic got a push type switch like in the eclipse Cross). it worked for me

 

. 

[Dee Jay]

2 hours ago, Eagle Eye said:

I got done my service at St*ff*rd last time (was my first full service from them), agent noted me that Idle Stop has stopped responding due to weak battery and it needed replacing. It of course did not respond after that. I got my battery checked from my regular place (in Wadduwa) to find that it was not that weak (he said you can run some more). Now after the A/C repair, Idle Stop responds as before. Well, this could be expected; but @misnad's finding that break pads could affect is interesting.

@Eagle Eye is the AC working when the Civic is in Idle Stop mode? Is it only the blower or blower plus cooling as well? Yes, this can be expected and attributed to efficient cooling from the AC system with less strain on the auxiliary battery after your repair.

 

3 hours ago, misnad said:

There was a horrible grinding sound from the wheels even when coasting so got that done before my rotors wasted out

@misnadThat might be cause of the brake pad wear indicators but for it to be triggered when coasting means it might have had a brake bind as well?

Did this low battery warning pop-up during the curfew period when the car was stationary or prior to that when the car was running as usual?

On a separate note, hope your battery is at a good level cause the battery died on a friend's 2017 Civic EX at the office parking lot without an early warning! I was surprised with this cause this car usually throws in even the service reminders and other notifications when it senses them..

[GWX777]

1 minute ago, Dee Jay said:

@Eagle Eye is the AC working when the Civic is in Idle Stop mode? Is it only the blower or blower plus cooling as well? Yes, this can be expected and attributed to efficient cooling from the AC system with less strain on the auxiliary battery after your repair.

 

@misnadThat might be cause of the brake pad wear indicators but for it to be triggered when coasting means it might have had a brake bind as well?

Did this low battery warning pop-up during the curfew period when the car was stationary or prior to that when the car was running as usual?

On a separate note, hope your battery is at a good level cause the battery died on a friend's 2017 Civic EX at the office parking lot without an early warning! I was surprised with this cause this car usually throws in even the service reminders and other notifications when it senses them..

If it’s a cell death after it was last parked, then the car simply won’t be able throw any errors or simply do any thing as a losing one cell brings down the total voltage below 10.5V. And no unit is designed to work with this voltage. This can happen for a battery showing good voltage. Has happened to me as well once with my GP5.

[Eagle Eye]

2 minutes ago, Dee Jay said:

@Eagle Eye is the AC working when the Civic is in Idle Stop mode? Is it only the blower or blower plus cooling as well? Yes, this can be expected and attributed to efficient cooling from the AC system with less strain on the auxiliary battery after your repair.

@Dee Jay, Idle stop does not get engaged always, I guess that is when compressor is running. During idle engine stop, engine restarts when compressor is needed for cooling. It's logical, isn't it.

[RWD]

3 hours ago, misnad said:

On another note, I’ve discovered something weird with the Civic. So I had to replace all 4 brake pads at the company (didn’t want to risk cheaper or knock-off aftermarket calipers) at a spine-tingling 78k. There was a horrible grinding sound from the wheels even when coasting so got that done before my rotors wasted out. Now remember when I said I needed to replace my car battery as the indicator showed the idle stop system couldn’t activate due to low charge? Well, for some weird reason it seems to have disappeared now and keeps activating like it did before without fail! Now I’m not sure this might be because there is less braking force required to come to a complete stop now (with the new pads and all), but this is just mind-boggling to me right now. Anyway, it’s going to be fun switching off the darned idle stop each time I start up the car now. On the plus side, I don’t need a new battery! New normal, I guess ?

did you ever get your brake pads cleaned during services? I don't service at Stafford but every time I do a service the garage would remove the pads and give it a good old cleaning, they were always coated with brake dust. 78K seems way too much- isn't that more than most Euros?

[Eagle Eye]

The important point is, do not jump into conclusion to replace the battery just because Idle Stop does not engage.