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

I had a couple of long drives in the last one month and I have observed the highway drives aren't the calm and serene experiences that they used to be. The car is now very noisy and, in fact, the difference is clearly obvious at speeds above 70 km/h. There is a humming noise that comes in and I guess it's from the front. I'm not sure if its the wheel bearings or the tires that are causing this. I'm planning to get it checked within the next two/three weeks.

I would really be surprised if the bearings are the culprit. My Civic is approaching 70K milestone and bearings are supposed to last much longer than this. But then, I went through this thread and have seen Civics requiring bearing replacement at much lesser odo readings. So much for Honda reliability and ease of maintenance!

Meanwhile, I have updated the ownership thread with this problem along with a couple of other updates (65K service & installation of a new Pioneer head unit) here - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-owned-17.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by arvi86 (Post 3634326)

As we discussed earlier on this very thread, probably this is the time you may want to try your luck with the FNG Ignite. Am sure HASS is going to quote a bomb for the bearing replacement (if that is the case). Also, did you check if it were the tires that were causing the noise ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rr_zen (Post 3634337)

probably this is the time you may want to try your luck with the FNG Ignite.

That's precisely what I was thinking. Anyway, I will go for two or three opinions on what is actually causing this problem before taking the plunge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rr_zen (Post 3634337)

Also, did you check if it were the tires that were causing the noise ?

As I said, I haven't checked anything yet. But tires are prime suspects too as they are now almost 40K old and showing signs of uneven wear.

Even I feel that my car has wheel bearing sound. Sound(distant helicopter sound) is pretty much evident after 85kmph speed & more at 115kmph , but reduces at 130kmph.
Went on a trip, before that
Got the tyre changed (front), Got all wheel alignment & balancing done, got the engine mount replaced (this is another story).
Before to it, there was no sound from my car at all..
Don't know what is causing that sound.

Is it the engine whine thats louder? Bearing is pretty expensive if sourced from HASS. I'm looking at a suspension overhaul and honda A.S.S has quoted an amount upwards of a Lakh! Southend honda are big cheats but I've been going to them for service and I don't like to change dealers.

My trusty FNG guy has asked me to leave the car for a day. He said he'll check for what needs a replacement and I can only get those changed. Ghai Motors said he'll source the entire suspension kit if needed. His prices are very reasonable so I'm looking to get this done in a couple of months. I'm planning a Delhi - Goa road trip and I need her to be as fit as she can get :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolkurt (Post 3634575)

Is it the engine whine thats louder?

It's definitely not from the engine , it's from the wheels , coz I switched off AC, Blower & put the car in Neutral to check the sound, the sound exists.
If it was from the engine, then the sound should have gone when I had put in neutral while driving (speeds between 85-115kmph).
The sound is not too loud either, but definitely noticeable (faint distant helicopter sound)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sushrutha (Post 3634588)

I would suggest, jack up the car and check for the play in the tires. The method is, hold up the tire from up (North) and bottom (South) and check for the play. If their is play, then it indeed the wheel bearings, which are the cause of humming sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sushrutha (Post 3634564)

Even I feel that my car has wheel bearing sound. Sound(distant helicopter sound) is pretty much evident after 85kmph speed & more at 115kmph , but reduces at 130kmph.

Sounds familiar to me except for the fact that I didn't go beyond 100-110 km/h at which point the noise was so evident that I was worried about incremental damage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolkurt (Post 3634575)

I'm looking at a suspension overhaul and honda A.S.S has quoted an amount upwards of a Lakh!

More than a Lakh for just an overhaul? I'm afraid they had quoted for replacement of critical suspension components there!

Quote:

Originally Posted by manim (Post 3634607)

At 1,37,000 kms my car is silky smooth still on original bearings and suspension :)

Yes, I have been following your posts. Your car probably is a testament to what Civics are known for worldwide - Supreme Reliability!

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitpunjani (Post 3634721)

Thanks for the tip. I'll give this a try over the weekend.

For the last few years I was listening to music on the stock HU by either burning CD's or from my MP3 player via an FM transmitter. I had a lot of CD's with my music on it as my other car also has only a CD player.

The problems with this approach were 1) burning a lot of CD's and swapping them in or out although a 6 CD changer helps. 2) FM transmitter reduces quality a lot no matter what brand of player is used.

I'd looked for options for AUX Input earlier and was avidly following how Hiren.mistry had done it. Not being technically inclined, I did not go down that route and forgot all about it. HASS told me it cannot be done, so that route also was closed.

I was not open to plonking down Rs. ~10k for a 2 DIN HU (non-touch screen) & new dash panel just to gain access to playing songs directly from my MP3 player or USB stick.

Then by chance, I came across a much easier method which just cost me the amount paid for the Aux-In adapter wire. :)

Others might have gone this route. I did a quick search of this thread and didn't find anyone who had posted about it, so apologies if this has been posted earlier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjwQ3Q5mNJo

I ordered the wire from Ali express. It can be found at http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Auto-...746920849.html.

Once the wire arrived, I tried just opening the panel under the player and fitting it into the AUX port, but 40 minutes later, decided that this approach just looked good on youtube video and was not going to work for me.

Since I didn't want to rip open my dashboard and then goof up, I drove down to my regular accessories shop and showed the guy the video of how it's done since he hadn't worked on a civic earlier.

All it took was 10 mins and now I can play MP3 on my civic! Since it was getting dark by the time this was done and I was too excited, I just forgot about WIP pics. All I have at this point is a pic of the shipped wire. We cut a small hole in the plastic panel under the HU to pass the wire out from under it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by laluks (Post 3635124)

How long did it take to arrive at your doorstep from your order? Any customs issue? I guess not since the value is less.

Aliexpress orders usually take anywhere from 15 days to 3 months if you choose the free shipping option, depending on how quickly our customs department works. I've received a consignment in less than a month (received at Kolkata's office from China and dispatched to the local post office later) and a small packet (the size of an A4 sheet) in 3 months which I thought was a lost case. With DHL and other expedited shipping service, it is usually a week's time.

Small consignments like packets do not attract customs duties. The bigger ones do. Then again, it depends. I was slapped a 3k duty for my Polo's armrest (came from China) whereas the tail lights (came from Germany) which came in a much bigger box and was heavier attracted none! I am not sure how this works.

@gomzi

The problem with the above setup is that your wire looks like it's one complete length. What will you do when it starts to give away? The connector end is the one which gets issues with use over a long period.
I had gone for a similar setup and this was the issue I faced.

Then I took it to a local accessory guy here, Automarc. They just snapped put the HU, and added an aux -in port. We made a small hole for the aux port. Now I just buy aux cables and keep replacing them when they go bad. Total damage: Rs 1500.

@arvi86

Yes major suspension parts replacement. With HASS, it's only replacement, no repair. :/

Quote:

Originally Posted by laluks (Post 3635124)

How long did it take to arrive at your doorstep from your order? Any customs issue? I guess not since the value is less.
How's the quality of the sound transfer?

For such a small package there's no customs issue. It arrived in around 15-20 days from order placement via Singapore Post (free shipping).
The quality of sound is much better than FM transmitter and near the quality I hear from the CD player. I'm not an audiophile and not yet used this enough to compare my favourite songs on MP3 vs CD for quality. If I do get around to it, i'll post here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolkurt (Post 3635243)

I would have loved to see a description of your setup to get my local guy to replicate it. I guess I missed your post on the topic, might have saved me some time. :Frustrati

I just stumbled across this method when browsing for something else online and since the aux-in port connector wires weren't available locally, ordered it online.

I had the same concern for the eventuality you faced and the accessory guy who fitted it for me said if the cable goes faulty, as long as the aux-in port connector which connects to the back of the HU works, he can make another aux-in wire for me. How did your chap do that crucial connection?

I forgot to add, my total damage for this came to Rs 1600. Rs ~1500 (USD 23.xx for the wire+shipping and Rs.50 for fitting)