Follow up at Honda

August 11th, 2008 at 18:57 · Filed Under Autos, Blogging · Comment 

Today, I spent another half a day at Honda workshop to follow up with the repair. Last Tuesday a service advisor called me to follow up with my problem and I told him I would only know after I took my car for a test on the expressway the next day. On Wednesday, I had a trip to KL and found that the knocking problem still persisted only at high velocity.

I did not expect it to take so long as I was to purchase engine oil and filter. They fixed my problems and the car was nice to drive again. But I still need to test the car tomorrow morning after a cold start. They were done with my car and the time was after 1300 and their store was closed for lunch. I could not purchase the items so I went for lunch, came back and waited. I fell asleep on the couch.

When the store was opened at 1400, the service advisor woke me up. I paid for the items and headed to my mechanic at Ayer Keroh to have the oil and filter changed. It is cheaper to do such work outside. At Honda authorized workshop, such work will cost around RM75 but it costs me only RM5 at my mechanic. A huge saving.

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My car repaired

August 1st, 2008 at 21:55 · Filed Under Autos, Blogging · 1 Comment 

Regarding my car, read here.

I went to the Honda service center personally this Monday because they did not call me last week as promised. I had prepared to go there to bang tables because I had rescheduled my business trip for the whole week so that I could send my car in for repair, but no one gave me a ring at all.

When I arrived there, I put up a cool face and demanded very seriously to see the service manager. They told me to wait for 10 minutes and when the manager came to me, he apologized before I could speak. So, he was prepared for it. Good grief.

He explained to me the problem would be resolved by changing the knock sensor. He also told me that the Honda engineer told me to change the petrol to the more expensive one. I responded quickly and said it was ridiculous as though I was car-illiterate and retaliated, “Why doesn’t the Honda engineer recommend me to change my car?” He smiled and replied, “Yeah, I told the engineer that the customer would fire him if he was to tell the customer to do so.”

After they had registered my car at their computer, they quickly took my car in to work on. No need to wait in queue. Oh yes! I reaffirmed with them that I paid nothing at all.

About two and half hour of waiting, my car was finally done!

I don’t know if the problem is totally resolved until I take my car for a high speed drive on the express way next week.

After all, thank you Honda and the Honda service center.

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My car need a major repair

July 11th, 2008 at 21:30 · Filed Under Autos, Blogging · 8 Comments 

I sent my car to Honda authorized workshop this morning. I had a technician to go test driving with me so that I could convince him my problem. The knocking sound reduced tremendously after I sent in my car for valve gap adjustment last Monday. But the problem is still there when the vehicle velocity and road condition is right. Read my other posts regarding this problem here, here, here and here.

After some checking, they finally gave up. The service manager told me that they had to dismantle the engine compartment and he called Honda to have them bear the cost since I had good service records with them.

Actually, I was all ready to fire and to bang them because I had spent over RM1,000 and the problem was not remedied at all. Since the service manager guaranteed that they would call Honda to have them to bear the cost, I decided to hold my fire. He promised to call me today or latest by Monday. My car will be in for a few days and they will arrange a courtesy car for me to use. Let see how things go.

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Problem still persists

June 30th, 2008 at 22:28 · Filed Under Autos, WTF · 1 Comment 

WTF! I spent around RM1,000 for the repair and although my car is more powerful than before after replacing a new flywheel but the problem still persists. I will have to wait until Thursday because I am going to KL to conduct an Ada Workshop. Now, I am suspecting the problem is caused by the valve gap. The knocking sound during under-powered acceleration is still audible.

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Working at Honda?

June 30th, 2008 at 13:12 · Filed Under At Work, Autos, Blogging, Critiques · Comment 

I was working at Honda’s Showroom (KAH Motor) while I waited for my car to be repaired since 0830 this morning. One thing Honda has done right is the 3S (Sales, Service, Showroom) Center. They provide free drinks, Astro and WIFI for customers. The waiting area is very comfortable and cozy. One thing lacking is insufficient seats.

It was great experience to do my work at Honda’s showroom. I have a lot to prepare for the Ada Workshop tomorrow.

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Blame, blame, blame?

June 26th, 2008 at 21:32 · Filed Under Autos, Days in My Life · 1 Comment 

I asked a foreman to take a look at my car. I told him about the problems and then we took my car for a spin. After that, he checked the engine oil and the transmission oil. He told me I was using the wrong oil for transmission. The oil should be red in color and he suspected the wrong oil caused the problems. I was very sure that I used the right oil as my car is a CVT (Continuous Variable Transmission) and uses CVTF (Continuous Variable Transmission Fluid) by Honda. I had seen the oil myself before and I remembered it was light golden yellow in color.

I did not agree with his opinions and I decided to take my car back to Honda’s workshop. I would rather spend more to make sure the car had proper maintenance and if Honda people screwed up, then I could jumped on them, screw them and rip them into pieces because they caused me to spend so much and yet the problems were not solved. So, decided am I.

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Something is wrong with my car

June 23rd, 2008 at 10:14 · Filed Under Autos, Days in My Life · 1 Comment 

The problems are becoming more obvious recently. Sometimes, it is difficult to kick-start my car even though the engine is still warm and the battery is in good health. My car sounds weird and the engine performance is deteriorating. I sent my car to the authorized Honda workshop for inspection and had my ECU reprogrammed on June 4. The problem came back after a few days and became worse. I decided to take it to authorized Honda workshop again for inspection.

According to the technician, something called “Flywheel” was causing the problems and it had to be changed. The flywheel and labor would cost me RM638 and RM350 respectively. It was so expensive and I decided to seek second opinions elsewhere.

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ECU corrupted

June 4th, 2008 at 14:14 · Filed Under Autos, Blogging · 2 Comments 

I had been hearing some knocking sound during acceleration of my Honda City for weeks. Recently the sound had become more audible and the engine power decreased quite much. I sent it to the Honda workshop for inspection.

A very experience technician look at my car and he said my ECU unit had been somehow corrupted or messed up and needed reprogramming. There were many cars waiting for repairing or servicing and the technician told me I had to wait until 2 or 3 pm to have my car fixed. I negotiated with him that I could wait for 2-3 hours because I brought my MacBook so that I could work there while waiting.

He really did it in about 2.5 hours. Programming the ECU wouldn’t take much time but they had too many cars waiting in line. Thanked him for a quick service.

The programming cost me RM60 plus 5% tax. What a good pay for a simple job. To program the ECU is simple. Just plug in the cable to the ECU interface port beneath the dashboard and connect to a notebook computer with Honda’s software. The job will be completed in less than 5 minutes or so with a few clicks.

After the ECU has been reprogrammed, no more knocking sound and the car is more powerful again.

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Most Unfortunate

February 5th, 2008 at 23:26 · Filed Under Autos, Blogging, Days in My Life, Friends, Injuries, Medical, Travel · 2 Comments 

Richard, my ex-classmate and best friend, were back from Singapore for the CNY on Sunday. He called me on Sunday night and Monday as well but I wasn’t free to go out with him for a tea. So, tonight while taking dinos downtown for a spin, an idea sparked and I called Richard to find out his whereabout and thought we might go for a drink.

He was shopping at MP and Carrefour. We made an rendezvous at 2145. We went many places in the car to look at CNY decoration in the old town. Then we were at Melaka Raya and I called Richard to change our rendezvous place to Hotel Equatorial. We waited there and many cars and motorcycles had passed by but Richard was nowhere to be seen. The kids were getting boring and started to make lots of noises. I decided to leave but no long after we left the rendezvous place, my phone rang. It was Richard. He told me he met an accident. First I thought he was joking as he used to be. But I heard his jumpy voice and I knew it was not funny. He was behind MP and we rushed to the vicinity.

When we arrived, he was sitting by the road side. He was on motorcycle and a car recklessly knocked him down. I went to understand the situation and to take a look at his condition. Using my knowledge in sports science and sports injuries, I examined his wounds and his right leg. He told me his leg was broken but some youngster who appeared to be the friends of the driver and were St. John members told me his leg was fine and not broken. What a stupid and ignorant youngsters!

Richard had some abrasion on his arms and legs. Not much of concerns. I examined closely and carefully his right leg and I found some swelling began to develop around and above his ankle. I touched and pressed gently and asked him if he felt anything. He told me it was numbed. That further reaffirmed my findings and I told him he had broken leg. I concluded his top part of fibula and the lower part of tibia were broken. I quickly called an ambulance and then came two policemen on motorcycles. One of them went to direct traffic and the other stopped beside to see what happened. I told him it was an accident and the victim had broken leg. This policeman took his own sweet time and he did nothing but standing there to look. I told him to radio the ambulance to reinforce my report. He still took his own sweet time to unbuckle his crash helmet, put it down in the basket, and stood there. I asked him why wasn’t he take any action and he ignored me. When I questioned him the second time, he told me to be patient. I raised my voice a little bit and told him the victim had broken leg and was suffering and he needed immediate medical assistance. He still took his own sweet time. My anger increased and I took out pen and paper and started looking for his ID number on his uniform but his safety jacket had covered his uniform and the ID number. I wrote down his motorbike registration number and he quickly began to radio back to headquarters. What kind of policeman was that? Worst, at the end of the incident after Richard had been sent to the hospital, the two policemen encouraged the driver and my friend’s family to settle outside so that no troublesome paperwork. I told him with a stern voice that we were going to lodge a police report.

After Richard had taken his motorbike which was parked behind MP, he was en route to rendezvous with us. Suddenly, a car came from behind him, passed him and suddenly turned left to go into a parking without signaling and looking at the left rear looking mirror. BANG! The driver was a young college going boy after his form five so he must be about the age of 18 or 19. A new and inexperienced driver with friends in his car talking and cheering away. When they spotted a parking, he endangered Richard.

The driver and his friends (girls and boys) admitted it was the driver’s fault while talking to me and Richard’s sister and mother. We encouraged him to file a police report. I was the one to lead them to the police station. Sadly, this young boy changed his mind under the influence of his friends (maybe) and his family. He did not admit his fault and stated that the motorcyclist (Richard) overtook his car from left rear. I wonder where is his conscience? I wonder if he can sleep and eat well?

My three boys are fascinated by ambulance and they like to see ambulance when we spot one on the road. This time, they had gotten the chance to seean ambulance taking an accident victim to the hospital. They saw the medical officers taking Richard up to the ambulance in a wheeled stretcher and rushed him to the hospital with siren. My boys had seen what an ambulance should do. But I guessed, today was the most unfortunate day for Richard.

After I sent them home, I went to the General Hospital to see if there was anything I could offer. I waited until he was ready to be warded. His leg was confirmed broken and he was really worried. When we (his sister and I) met the doctor in the ward, I asked to see his X-ray. That confirmed my findings. One fracture on the top part of his right fibula and two fractures on the lower part of his right tibia.

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Family Delivery Team

January 27th, 2008 at 18:18 · Filed Under Autos, Blogging, Business, Days in My Life, Family · 1 Comment 

We all went to Subang Jaya to deliver hampers order yesterday. Our plan was to go to 1U for shopping after the delivery. But the car AC and the front brake were giving problem. When we arrived at Subang Jaya, the AC began to blow hot air instead of nice cool air. After the delivery, the AC wasn’t functioning properly yet and the front brake started making some noises. According to my driving experience, I decided to take the car in for a examination by my brother-in-law’s friend. His workshop was in Damansara Utama.

It was a long way from USJ1 to DU and the roads were quite jam packed. When we finally arrived at the workshop, poor R and N were sweating. They had rosy cheeks and sweat wet shirts! What a mobile sauna.

I changed the brake pad mid last year and it was finished in less than a year. So much of the Honda’s spare parts quality!

And the AC, the magnetic clutch of the compressor became faulty and needed to be replaced. The repair would take about 2 hours so we took 3 dinos to Starbucks to cool down with ice blended drinks while waiting for my sister-in-law’s husband to come to take them to her house.

The car was ready around 6PM and I went to my SIL’s house to meet them. We proceeded to 1U in the evening for a quick shopping. LA did not find any shoes she likes. We went to FCUK and nothing eye catching except the price tags. We had dinner at 1U and hang around until almost 10:30PM.

We arrived home around 1AM. When we arrived, we suddenly realized we forgot to attend our neighbor’s grandchild full moon party. The next morning, our neighbor came to our house to deliver some cakes and red eggs and we apologized to her for not attending. What a day!

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The Power of Dreams

January 12th, 2008 at 14:09 · Filed Under Autos, Marketing, Music · Comment 

“This is how it feels like…”

A wonderful piece of advertisement. Good creativity. It inspires my spirit to search for more and deeper… Wait till I get my stuff, then I can begin my research. That’s the power of dreams!

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Compact design

January 16th, 2007 at 23:39 · Filed Under Autos, Critiques, General · Comment 

I took my Honda City to an air-cond service center behind Petronas at Taman Peringgit Jaya for a service. Honda’s compact design has managed to make the engine compartment and the engine so compact but there is a price to pay.

It requires more work to service the air conditioner. To do it, first the front bumper has to be dismantled. Followed by removing the radiator reservoir then unfasten the radiator cooling panel before the compressor can be removed for service. The filter was built into the compressor so to replace the filter, the compressor must be removed. How troublesome!

Fortunately, the workshop is very experienced and has done a good job. After the service, I asked one of the technician why was a sound when the air-conditioner was switched on. He checked and told me that it could be the belt. He said the belt was still good but was already harden. He tried to tighten the belt but there was still some noises coming from the bearing. He suggested to change the belt.

I decided to change it and he proceeded. After changing the belt, the noise was gone. I can feel my car is more powerful. Why? Because the belt runs the air-conditioner, the power steering and the alternator. The new belt provides better power transmission to these components. I also learned that if the belt is broken, the car will be immobilized. First, the power steering will not work. Second, the alternator will not run so it cannot charge the battery and cannot provide electricity to the car.

I am quite furious because I was not told by Honda service technician and they did not check my air-conditioner and the belt. I was having the noise for almost a year. Every each time I complained to the service center, they would spray some silicone lubricants and told me it was alright. After a while, the noise would come back when the silicone dried off.

So good of Honda’s service! I am going to call Honda tomorrow and make a complain to them.

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Assurance from Honda

October 12th, 2006 at 11:22 · Filed Under Autos, Critiques · Comment 

A Honda representative called again a minute ago. He promised that the part will be sent to Melaka today and I could have my problem fixed by tomorrow.

UPDATE (October 20, 2006 1030 hrs) :
The Melaka service center called yesterday to inform me about the arrival of my warranty claim. I went to the center today and had the door rubber seal changed. There was a week of delay from date Honda promised. However, the rubber had been changed but the service center did not clean the carpet for me. Their excuse was that they did not have the spray. I insisted and finally they told me to wait for the next heavy rain to see if there was no more leaking. It was fair enough and I agreed. I hope there will be heavy down pour within a week or two.

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Honda warranty anger!

October 12th, 2006 at 10:21 · Filed Under Autos, Critiques · 1 Comment 

My Honda City is still under the 3-year warranty and there is a leak at left rear passenger side. Every each time when it rains heavily, water will flood the left rear passenger compartment.

Monday July 24, I sent my car back to Kah Motor, Honda 3S dealer in Melaka, to check. The technician at Kah Motor confirmed it was the fault of the door rubber and he filed a warranty claim for me. He told me that I had to wait for 2 weeks. 2 weeks? That’s too long for a part and my car could become a mobile pond on the road!

No choice and I had to wait. I then sent my car for regular service on August 3 and I asked them when I could get my door fixed. They told me Honda Malaysia had no stock. That’s a ridiculous lie I ever heard. How in the hell can Honda Malaysia have no stock?

I waited again and I finally lost my patience again. I called Honda Malaysia on its toll free (1-800-88-2020) on August 25 and they promised me they would call back. They did in less than an hour. The representative from Honda Malaysia told me they would look into this matter and check with Kah Motor Melaka and promised me someone from Kah Motor would call me back. And they did after a while. They asked what kind of problem I had. It seemed like they were not aware of my claim. How could this happen? Honda Malaysia had got my claim in their computer system and Kah Motor was the one who filed my warranty on July 24.

Because of the arrival of Dominik, I was busy at home and had to time to think about this problem until last night. We were out in the car last night and my wife smelled some moistness. She reminded me and I quickly checked the carper. It was wet! Flooded because of heavy down pour on Tuesday morning.

I called Honda Malaysia again today and I gave them one week to fix my problem and to clean up my carpet. Otherwise, I will write a complaint to Honda Japan. Let see how fast they will resolve my case.

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