1st Anniversary REPORT: Honda Civic FD2 2.0iVTEC

FIRST year Summary: Honda Civic FD2 2.0IVTEC

NOTE FROM NEXT REVIEW ONWARDS, I'll Write a Review on the Civic 2.0FD2 EVERY QUARTER (ie. every 3 months). So my next review would be at "15th MONTH". Why? It's because I have nothing much to write on the car on "monthly" basis since the car is SO NEW. Rest assured, the Telstar will still be updated Monthly as it has more stuff to write (eg. trip to workshop, change which part).


Ladies and gentlemen, I now present you the 1 Anniversary update. 12 months passed baby... Nothing much to update for this month except I have driven this car to my Church Working Adult's camp in Country Heights Resort, Kajang with the help of my Latest toy "GARMIN NUVI 255W" with "Junction View" and 1 passenger.

At 6.30pm, I missed the Church service, drove from Kajang to Petaling Jaya to attend a friend's wedding (picked my mum along the way). Left Petaling Jaya for Country Heights Kajang at 11.30pm, reached there 40 mins later (hey, that shows that I was NOT SPEEDING). Also, I relied a lot on Cruise Control.

On my way back from Kajang, there's 4 passengers. Before we left Kajang, we went to Haji Samuri Sate.


Picture above and below, the Civic hit a Kerb while negotiating a 90 degree turn at 50km/h (the famous turning from BU12 to Sunwaymas, Petaling Jaya. Lower left side of bumper Damaged, rim dented and left tyre peeled off (3cm). I immediately took to workshop as I fear my dad will KILL ME. The workshop did A wonderful job without me breaking the bank. Costs RM260 only including spraying.




Picture above, the "DAMAGE".

Major Expenses: RM260

To cap it off, here’s the “Annual Logbook”.

Lastly, the LATEST Fuel consumption doesn’t sound promising: 300km for RM50 (27.778L) fuel. ONLY 10.9km/L. for Mostly Highway Driving.

HERE’S THE ANNUAL LOGBOOK (12th month)

LAST 6 months:
Best: 12.75km/l (90% highway driving) (November 2008)
Worst: 8.5km/l (100% City driving) (May 2009)
Averaged: 11.1km/L

LAST 1 YEAR:
Best: 13.75km/L (90% Highway driving) September 2008
Worst: 8.5km/L (100% City driving) – May 2009
Averaged: 11.125km/L

Mileage when new: 0008km
Mileage Now: 17900km
Average mileage: 1627km

Performance:
0-100km/h: 9.2 seconds (“D” mode), 8.9 secs (paddle shift).
Top speed: Unknown (But someone recorded 215km/h as seen in Youtube)


For specifications and other details: please go to Honda Malaysia Website.
http://www.honda.com.my



I now present monthly “FLASHBACKS” of the Civic FD2 since Day 1 owning the car. ENJOY:

START:



"On 19 June 2008, my dad booked a new Sparkle Grey Pearl Honda Civic 2.0IVTEC. Initially, the salesman told my dad waiting list until 3rd week of August (more on that later). I can say that I have 4x "lucks".

“So called Luck #1”: Interest rate 2.35% by Public Finance. You know what? After 4 days booking, the interest rate shot up to a horrendous 3.5%. We took 6 years loan @ RM90,000.

“So called Luck #2”: Waiting list cut short by 3 weeks. It’s because someone cancelled the booking which is due 3rd week of July.

"So called Luck #3": The no plate I bought back in January 21 2008 (for the Nissan Grand Livina which my dad cancelled in March due to false promise by salesman (CALVEN of Tan Chong PJ)- Promised Chinese new year but Delayed till End-April) still can use. Selangor plate: B?? 1222. Thank God I DID NOT WIN the No. WRQ1222 which I bidded. If NOT...

28 July 2008, 12pm: Took Delivery of the car.

Volume 2:

Today = One month anniversary since we took delivery of the Honda Civic 2.0iVTEC. Sent for 1st 1000km service 2 weeks ago. They only rectified the defect (see picture below). The whole A-pillar cover came loose on both side, the left side is worse than the right. I try to fix it back, but the thing “Pop up” again.


Fuel consumption: 40L worth of petrol good for around 470km (11.75km/L) mix driving of 45% city, 55% highway. Best: 40L of fuel, 510km (12.75km/l).

In this “Longtermer #2” entry (Volume 3), I’ll cover the Civic’s ride and handling.

Due to the 17” rims and low profile tyres (Michelin Pilot Preceda 215/45 R17), the car’s ride can be a little hard hence comfort’s a bit sacrificed. Eg. You can feel the “yellow speed-breaker lines” (soft thump… thump… thump… thump… thump…). In contrast, my Telstar (also with 17” rims but shod with 4 Bridgestone My-01 tyres), went past the same speed-breakers with barely audible noise.

But there’s always some positive points, the handling’s quite amazing. The Civic cornered with minimal bodyroll. The engine’s surprisingly quiet (whisper) for an IVTEC. Engine noise only crept in during hard acceleration (from 3500rpm onwards)- eg. traffic light start upshift from low gear to higher gear AND during kickdowns (eg. 4th gear to 3rd gear or 3rd to 2nd gear).

FOR THIS MONTH: Fuel consumption: 40L worth of petrol good for around 470km (11.75km/L) mix driving of 45% city, 55% highway. Best: 40L of fuel, 510km (12.75km/l).

VOLUME 4:

Today = Three month anniversary since we took delivery of the Honda Civic 2.0iVTEC. Sent for 2nd service 5000km service 3 weeks ago to Sumber Auto Edaran, Jalan Universiti, PJ.. They performed oil change (MINERAL OIL!!!???). Why MINERAL Oil? I asked the service advisor AND WHY 5,000km service interval? My questions were not answered.




What is the service procedure? 1) Parked the car at designated bay, went to service office, take a number. 2) They designate a service advisor for you asked you to return around 3 hours later. 3) I saw them covering the seat and the steering.

Then, The Service Advisor talked my dad to purchase a “Central Locking Beeper” for RM290. “BEEEPPP” (Unlock), “BEEEPPP” (x3) lock. Previously, the central locking was silent type (just light blinking).

3 hours later, went to service office again, they updated my Civic's service logbook. pay up then only you can drive away your car.

The whole A-pillar cover came loose on left side AGAIN., they tried to fix it back, but the thing “Pop up” again after a while especially parking under hot sun as this car's not tinted.

Service aftermath: The car became more responsive and eager. Better acceleration and more refined on the road (smoother engine). 0-100km/h in 9.2 seconds. Not bad for a FIVE SPEED Automatic (In "D" mode instead of using "S" paddle - shift. If "paddle shift" slightly faster => Below 9 secs)).

Thus, the Civic 2.0IVTEC has better Acceleration than VW Jetta 2.0FSI (9.8secs), Skoda Octavia 2.0 FSI (10.1secs), Mitsubishi NEW Lancer 2.0 CVT (10 secs) and New Ford Focus 2.0i Hatchback (9.7secs).

Average mileage per month: 1933km

Update 5:
Early this month (November), we drove the Civic 2.0iVTEC to Penang (total estimated journey of 1200km including driving around Penang). Why Penang?

Coz my mother side Grandmother passed away at 85 years old in her sleep due to Heart Attack. Very GRAND FUNERAL though. Lot's of VVIP turned up. Anyway, Let's get back to the topic...

The car's very stable at speeds up to 170km/h (can't go faster as there's some traffic)

Wonder what's with Honda Malaysia's 5,000km service interval? You know what? Did my research, Honda UK's Civic service interval (1.6 iVTEC Hatchback) is 12500 MILES NOT Kilometres, which is actually 20,000km. Also, Honda Australia's service interval's 10,000km.

UPDATE 7:

For the month of January, the Civic made 1 trip to Klang, 2 rounds to KLIA and 2 rounds to LCCT, in addition to daily trips to work and back (by dad).

I tried the Paddle Shift on my trip to Klang. The "ROLLING START" at toll booth from 0-100 and beyond => Surprisingly FAST. That night (10pm), at the toll booth, there's slight G-force as I used the paddle shift from "2" to "3" to "4" and finally "5". Within a short distance (less than 15 seconds), the digital speedometer shows: 138km/h. I backed off and reduced the speed to 110km/h (speed limit) (cause there's 4 people on board including me). Tried the cruise control as well (set at 120km/h) nothing special.

This month is the 8th update of Longtermer #2, Honda Civic 2.0iVTEC FD2. Nothing much to update except it had been scratched/dented twice almost the same spot. See photo on my "8th update" posting.

This month is the 9th update of Longtermer #2, Honda Civic 2.0iVTEC FD2.


Went to IKEA with this car. Do check out the capability of the BOOT (picture). 6 "Herman" white chairs (flat packed), 4 pillows, 2 "POANG" Cushions. ALL WITHOUT SPLIT FOLDING THE REAR SEATBACK! The rest, seeked IKEA for delivery. Ie. Dining table for 6, Sofa 3 seater, "POANG" frame, 4 beds + 4 mattress etc...

Mileage NOW: 14244km, Average mileage per month: 1571km

This is 10th update of Longtermer #2, Honda Civic 2.0iVTEC FD2. Sent the Civic for 15000km service. Not much, just oil change and engine draining and other Preventive maintenance service.

Took the car to Putrajaya (for friend's wedding) and back with 1/3 fuel left (4 "little" bar left). On the way back only refilled at Puchong BHP station (1st time filling BHP petrol since 2006). Man, the fuel is POWERFUL. I dared to say it's AS POWERFUL AS V-Power. I only filled RM20 (11.111L). It's good for 120km before the next fill up (10.8km/L => LESS MILEAGE THAN SHELL).

One week later I even more "gung ho", last 2 bar, managed to drove from Section 17, Petaling Jaya to Pavilion, KL AND BACK. At that time, upon reaching home the Fuel level: 0 bar left and orange warning light's on. Only fill up the next morning.

Mileage NOW: 16804km
Average mileage per month: 1528km

FUEL CONSUMPTION (This Month):
Best: 11.8km/L (Shell V-power)
WORST: 8.5km/L (BHP) 100% City driving

LAST 6 months:
Best: 12.75km/l (90% highway driving) (November 2008)
Worst: 8.5km/l (100% City driving) (May 2009)

This is 11th update of Longtermer #2, this month's a busy month for the Civic 2.0iVTEC FD2. Clocked 1300+ km over 11 days fetching my Hongkie friend and his parents around, mostly city driving save 3 return trips to KLIA. Hence, my own car, the Telstar is "neglected" most of the month in May.

Went to Royal Selangor Club (Desmond's father is "Reciprocal Member" and Royal Lake Club (my Dad's member) almost everyday...

Mileage: 16,804km
Averaged per month: 1528km

Before I go, here's a parting shot:




THE END

That’s all folks, thanks for having the time and patience to read this. An ORIGINAL JEFF LIM’S Production.