[car_guy1998]

Originally Posted by Shanks_Jazz

I liked Honda City as a package with brilliant and well proven Engine+Gear Box combo backed by decent reliability.
What is holding me back:
1) What’s that am missing in city which leads it to sell less than 1000 units in a month
2) Honda’s future in India.

Request your views please.

Even I too am in the same conundrum whether to replace our 2014 Honda City iDTEC, which was bought used in 2017 when the odo was at 35k Kms and driven nearly 160k Kms in 7.5 years (odo reading as of today is 193k Kms), with City CVT or any other car in Petrol AT guise or EV as Diesel is not our cup of tea anymore since the car will be barely driven with me being out of country right now and this will be driven mostly by mom in my absence while dad will drive this occasionally as he has Hycross Hybrid as his daily driver.

While the City still being my favourite despite having Virtus/Slavia and Verna though Virtus is my new favourite, the only thing which is holding me back is the future of Honda. With Honda's future in India being bleak, I don't feel like getting a Honda again and at the same time, I feel Honda's service is also dwindling day by day. Looks like I'll have to move out of the brand itself and get a new car from another brand (Hyundai is the one I'd go for mostly this time).

But, still, our City is trouble free and never left us stranded in 7.5 years of ownership. Also, recently, during my 3 month stint in India, we got the clutch replaced as well as timing kit replaced and can run for another lac or 2L Kms after replacing these.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by car_guy1998

...holding me back is the future of Honda. With Honda's future in India being bleak.

Honda cars India is very profitable as they are using India a manufacturing hub and exporting worldwide, bringing surge in revenues.
(source link)

Even the Honda Elevate manufactured here just crossed 1 lakh cars sales primarily due to the export market.

Honda is in no hurry and can comfortably play the long term game in India. They are here to stay.

Agreed that they tried to get into the mass market segment by going cheap, their Brio based platform models bombed and they burn't their fingers temporarily.

Hope they have learn't their lesson and don't forget what they have always stood for ie., a manufacturer of extremely high quality, premium, safe, efficient, reliable, long lasting cars that are also stylish and fun to drive.

[avdhesh15]

Originally Posted by S2kyon

Hi sir! I am posting to ask if you have also come across a supposed design flaw in the 4th gen Honda city (ours is the pre-facelift one) where the driver side seat belt while unbuckling, gets stuck on the boot lid opener latch on the right side of the driver's seat. It is a minor niggle, But I'd like to know if ours is the only one with this issue. Thanks in advance

Yes, I have the exact same issue. What has become muscle memory now is to remove the seat belt and guide it to its resting position rather than meeting it slide on its own.

[Rony2207]

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

Yes, I have the exact same issue. What has become muscle memory now is to remove the seat belt and guide it to its resting position rather than meeting it slide on its own.

I had a similar experience—I even approached my Service Advisor and inquired whether there was a method to prevent this from occurring at random. However, he just laughed at me and advised me to be vigilant while fastening my seatbelt.

[pravint]

I am happy to share that, My Honda city has completed 1,00,000 Kilometers this week.
Car is in its 10th year and still feels and works like new.



Things I have changed in last 10 years:
1. Tyres First Set at 40000km: stock Bridgestone B250 to Yoko Bluearth AE50
2. Brakepads: almost every 30000 KM
3. Regular Oil change/Service at 10000KM
4. Tyres 2nd Set at 85000Km: Yoko to Conti UC6

Apart from this, car is still on stock clutch, suspension.

[quadmaniac]

Hi folks, my 2017 Honda City is at around 37000 kms, and I need some expert advice on whether to change my tyres or not. The thing is, the tyre at the front right has been through some recent punctures and I am not confident of the job that's been done.

Additionally, I get conflicting advice on whether to keep a tyre based on tread or years. If its years, the stock tyres are now at 8+ years - and were not great to start with (stock MRF ZVTVs). I am also attaching pics if you can share some advice:




If I go with new tyres, would you have any advice on the following:
- Ceat Milaze X3
- MRF ZLX

Both are around 5-5.5k (which is my budget for changing - given I want to keep the car for 1-2 yrs before upgrading).

[NEMatters]

Originally Posted by quadmaniac

Hi folks, my 2017 Honda City is at around 37000 kms, and I need some expert advice on whether to change my tyres or not. The thing is, the tyre at the front right has been through some recent punctures and I am not confident of the job that's been done.

Additionally, I get conflicting advice on whether to keep a tyre based on tread or years. If its years, the stock tyres are now at 8+ years ....

I think 8 years is quite a lot - you should change irrespective of the tread depth remaining. My usual rule of thumb is 5 yrs from date of manufacturing of tires. The rubber compound start to become hard and you would loose the grip as well as comfort.

I am using Yoko Bluearth at around 50k kms.. they were good I felt except for the fact that 1 of the tire has got a bulge and needed a replacement at around 40k kms.

I have also heard some good reviews on Continental UC-6

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by quadmaniac

... the tyre at the front right has been through some recent punctures ....

... the stock tyres are now at 8+ years - and were not great to start with (stock MRF ZVTVs). ...

If I go with new tyres, would you have any advice on the following:
- Ceat Milaze X3
- MRF ZLX

The stock ZVTV are the worst tyres I have ever come across. I had it for the first 30K KMs / 2years and it had worn out completely by then.

The second set I went for Michelin XM2 and got it promptly replaced at 5 years and had run 55K KM. The tyres were still good but replaced in the interest of safety as it reached the 5 year mark. Awesome tyres in terms of low rolling resistance and FE but somewhat squealy at higher speeds.

The current set is Continental UC6 has been a good balance of grip and FE and approaching the 3 year mark.

One important thing to note about tyres and batteries is, you have to replace them at the 5 year mark, no matter if they are used or not.
A 5 year battery will conk out at the least expected time and using a 5+ year tyre is a significant safety hazard as it will lose its structural integrity (no matter how good it looks).

Those tyres are in very bad shape. During replacement, ensure that you are going for silica based tyres (XM2, UC6 etc) rather than a carbon based tyre (like ZVTV for example)

[NinerWhiskey]

Hello BHPians!

Note: This is my first thread here, so please bear with me if I’ve made any mistakes. Mods, kindly help if I’ve overstepped anywhere.

In April 2024, I picked up a pre-owned Honda City (2014) as a temporary car until I leave home for education. (Spoiler: We’ve now decided to keep it, because I’ve ended up doing way too much to this car!) I needed a car during my gap year — mainly to travel around with my bike in the trunk, something our trusty 1999 Maruti Zen couldn’t manage. (More about the Zen in another thread!)



Why Honda City?

During 2016, my dad bought a brand new 7-seater from a now-defunct brand, fully loaded, thinking he struck the best deal. We sold it by late 2018 after realizing it wasn’t great. As we were looking for a sub-20 lakh car in 2019, our close relative needed funds urgently, and offered us his 2019 Honda WR-V VX Diesel temporarily, which we used sparingly until recently — now sent back to our native place. With the WRV, we fell in love with Honda’s cabin atmosphere and instrument cluster feel. Skipping the purchase of a car in 2019 and now confused about buying a car in 2024 with roughly a crore budgeted for my education (Airline Pilot) in the coming years, it didn’t make sense to buy a new car for my parents, especially knowing my father’s annual running over the last 7 years was less than 1000 km per year. His office, Bosch, is just 3km away from home, and he uses a two-wheeler to commute. 

But I needed a car, temporarily and quickly. 
That pushed me to the pre-owned market, with only one goal — it had to be a Honda, and since I only liked sedans, the obvious “practical” pick was the Honda City. The City’s 510L boot is massive, easily able to accommodate my bike. It also was the only car that looked gorgeous to me.



Why I chose the “V” variant over “VX”?
The VX adds a sunroof, leather interior, and keyless entry over the V trim.
 Having lived with the WR-V’s sunroof (barely used it), I didn't find it essential. Leather interiors weren’t a requirement for me as well. The only feature I truly miss is the keyless entry system—I could’ve opened the trunk with a button as opposed to an ugly keyhole on the trunk or a lever, but spending 80k extra at the time purely for that didn’t make any financial sense.



Ownership History:

• 1st Owner: Oracle (company), driven by Employee X for the first year

• 2nd Owner: Employee X (transferred to personal name after one year)

• 3rd Owner: Colleague of X (after X went abroad)

The seller provided a full ownership folder which had the documents from the 1st owner until him and was genuine; his details matched with the documents. I found myself in safe hands. The car had no major mechanical and technical flaws except the ABS module, which was known to be faulty on the initial batches. I checked the service history with Honda, did my inspections with do’s and don’ts from TeamBHP, and went ahead with the purchase confidently.
 The car initially had 66,000km on the odometer; it now has 74,000km. Quite some mileage for me! The previous owner also installed 195mm Continental UC6 and a head unit with Android Auto, something which wasn’t available on any cars in Spinny and Cars24 whilst being 30% more expensive for the same mileage, owners, and trim. 

The curious question, how much did I buy it for? Well, a mere 4.6L including the RC transfer! What a steal right?!

I will post updates about very interesting upgrades and restorations (Spoiler alert: I facelifted the car myself-DIY) here every week until I have run out of them. 


Pictures of the car attached below:

Planespotting and Car photography. The body lines are so perfect on the City 4th Gen!


Doesn't look a decade old at all in 2025.


The BEST taillights I have seen on a car so far, A honeycomb-like design that looks perfect.


Golden Brown Metallic in Golden hour. The metallic against the sun is so perfect!


These alloys don't disappoint, The best cars a decade ago came with silver alloys than dual-tone.


The color seems almost black during night and golden brown during day.


The front didn't age as good as the back did, Right? Me and my friend gave it a facelift. (For another post)


I’m never buying anything apart from a sedan after owning one. They are the best form of cars.


I switched most of the exterior lights around to car to LED. (For another post)


No unnecessary sportiness, just the iconic subtle smile. It has a character of its own.


So many microscopic swirl marks, I need to get it detailed.


Aero bumper. I miss this little cosmetic feature on the facelifted bumper
.


A Ferrari model I bought from the Shell gas station.


Toy cars I used to play with as a child, now showcased on the parcel shelf. Always grabs eyes at intersections!


The best thing about Honda engines, the mighty i-VTEC. Sounds so nice when you go over 4k RPM.

Thank you for reading, Until next time!

[car_guy1998]

Congratulations on buying one of the dream cars of an average Indian!

Even I too own the same colour, same year and same variant City albeit in Diesel guise that was bought used when the car was 3 year old and 35k Kms run in 2017.

Cut to present, the car has run 1,95,000 Kms and is running smooth even today except for AC issue, which happened recently.

Now, its been almost 8 years and run 1,60,000 Kms since we bought the car and couldn't be happier with it though we are planning to replace it with an EV or Petrol AT since our low usage doesn't warrant a Diesel anymore after I moved to USA in 2023 and also we have a Innova Hycross Hybrid for other purposes.

This car was mostly used by myself and mom, who used it for her office commute until Apr 2024. Since then, the car has been lying unused and is taken out on occasions where mom goes out driving herself without relying upon our chauffeur while dad barely drives it as he prefers driving the Hycross on daily basis.

Till date, I've replaced the tyres for 3 times in almost 8 years of ownership, clutch for couple of times (1st set lasted around 70k Kms while 2nd set lasted more than a lac Kms), brake pads for every 40k Kms and service cost costs around Rs.10k, which is blessing for me. And, recently,

Even I too face the ABS module issue, which is still there even today.

[NinerWhiskey]

Originally Posted by car_guy1998

Even I own the same color, same year and same variant City albeit in Diesel
Till date, I've replaced the clutch for couple of times, brake pads for every 40k Kms.
Even I too face the ABS module issue, which is still there even today.

Although a dust magnet, Wonderful color in my opinion. The diesel is a mileage machine on the highways!

The OEM pads and rotors lasted 68,000KM, I replaced the rotors and brake pads myself for 6k saving labor costs while learning a lot.

Right!!! And the ABS module costs some 30k to replace.

How do you know when to replace the clutch in our case?

Some say when it's too soft, some say when it's too hard, confusing.

Thanks

[AROO7]

Originally Posted by NinerWhiskey

How do you know when to replace the clutch in our case?

Some say when it's too soft, some say when it's too hard, confusing.

Thanks

Just benchmark your car's clutch travel/ force to press with any other Honda City (either a new one or with a new clutch set). If you have to put in a lot of effort compared to the latter, then it's time to change. Other tell-tale signs could be difficulty in doing gear shifts.

If the above is not possible, go to ASC and get their test-driver to drive your car. They can also easily diagnose if the clutch needs replacement.

Lastly, as a rule of thumb, a car with more highway kilometers will see less clutch wear compared to a car mostly run in the city.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by quadmaniac

Hi folks, my 2017 Honda City is at around 37000 kms, and I need some expert advice on whether to change my tyres or not.

Additionally, I get conflicting advice on whether to keep a tyre based on tread or years. If its years, the stock tyres are now at 8+ years

If I go with new tyres, would you have any advice on the following:
- Ceat Milaze X3
- MRF ZLX

Both are around 5-5.5k (which is my budget for changing - given I want to keep the car for 1-2 yrs before upgrading).

I’m not a tyre expert but you shouldn’t have gone anywhere near 8 years on the same set of tyres. Just see the significant amount of dry rot on your tread.

Tyre life isn’t an either mileage or tread depth type decision, it’s whichever comes first, you can have all the tread left but by 5 years of age the tyres will likely start deteriorating and showing dry rot (tiny cracks in the tread/sidewall.) Even before dry rot, the rubber gets hard and it rides terrible.

I’ve not used either of those two personally, but you can get Continental UC6 at around 7k per tyre with discount as online tyre prices are highly negotiable. Behind a saving of 7-8k in I’d say avoid the cheap stuff and go with a better brand, 2 years is quite a long time and you’re compromising grip, ride quality and cabin NVH with the budget tyres.

Originally Posted by NinerWhiskey

In April 2024, I picked up a pre-owned Honda City (2014) as a temporary car until I leave home for education.
The curious question, how much did I buy it for? Well, a mere 4.6L including the RC transfer! What a steal right?!

Congratulations on the City!

I believe you overpaid, fair market value for a car after 10 years is around 20-22% of its on road price for single owner, low mile examples in excellent condition. City V was ~12.5L on road in 2014, today it’ll be valued at around 2.5-2.7L tops. Add in the fact that you’re the fourth owner, and the numbers are even lower.

You can get excellent condition, single owner Accords from 2013 for 4-4.5L, you get twice the car for the same amount. More power, better interior and better high speed stability.

Just numbers to keep in mind the next time you’re in the market. Hondas are very reliable and go decades with good maintenance. My Accord went 15 years with zero failures until the ban ensured I had to sell it.

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by AJ56

I believe you overpaid, fair market value for a car after 10 years is around 20-22% of its on road price for single owner, low mile examples in excellent condition. City V was ~12.5L on road in 2014, today it’ll be valued at around 2.5-2.7L tops. Add in the fact that you’re the fourth owner, and the numbers are even lower.

Boss Bangalore prices are insane. Comparing with NCR is like comparing chalk and cheese. Thanks to NGT's ill will and unwavering stance on older cars, this region possibly has the lowest used car prices in the entire country.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by self_driven

Boss Bangalore prices are insane. Comparing with NCR is like comparing chalk and cheese. Thanks to NGT's ill will and unwavering stance on older cars, this region possibly has the lowest used car prices in the entire country.

With older diesels, I’ll agree. But with petrols, I’ve seen zero difference between Delhi-NCR, Bombay and Lukcnow, three cities I’ve looked at the used car market closely, Bangalore is definitely higher but it’s not double. Bombay in fact has always been 5-7% cheaper than Delhi for 10-12 year old petrols. Why this is I don’t know but these are the numbers.

Also, if the car you want is cheaper in another state, simply buy it from there. 25-30k spent in airfare and hotel is a small price to pay for a better deal. My Accord, HR registered was recently bought by a gentleman from Bangalore, flew down and drove it back.