Valve clearance on a 2016 Civic turbo

[pwuser162991014631]

Hi Guys,

I need a bit of advice from the honda community.

Yesterday i went to visit a Honda service centre to get some work done. It was basically a a 40,000 fixed service. Paet of that service was that the valve cleanrance would be checked and adjusted as per requirments. I picked this option as i had recently purchased the car and i wanted pieceof mind that all the major servieable components had been done so.

I left the workshop, slighlty dazzled withthe bill at 72,000PKR - they found pads were low (which i agreed), coolant flush was required which i was happy to go with, but the cost wasnt made clear if im honest, i was expecting much less then that final pill they fed me, but i swallowed it.

The reason i picked the service package of choice was also because i could see the valve cover had a slight oil seep towards the back of the block - behind the oil filler cap. Nothing major but none the less it was seeping slowly and i thought why not get some work done in addition to the cover. I went home and something just didnt sit right in my head - i felt like i had been taken advantage off. I inspected my valve cover, and behold, the oil seepage was still there and the white silicone around the valve cover was not fresh at all, so i can guarentee that it hadnt been removed. I am a vehicle technician in the UK, so i know my way around a car a fair bit.

My question for you guys is, to the best of my knoweldge from working on german cars, valve adjustments require the valve cover being removed on the top of the engine (the black plastic cover with the VTEC sign) . I want to confirm is that the case for the 1.5L turbo 2016 model? If it is the case then i know i have been lied to and robbed and i will be taking swift action, but before i do go in all guns blazing, i wanted to confirm my susppicions from those who know the vehicle better.

Thanks again guys

[Khurram26]

Yes definitely valve clearance adjustment also known as tappet adjustment is done with the valve cover removed.

You can corner them by claiming that oil has started to seep out after tappet adjustment, so they need to fix it by reopening the valve cover and applying fresh silicone.

When they open it ask them to show the tappet clearance.

[pwuser162991014631]

Thank you for confirming my suspicions, im very much looking forward to waking up early tomorrow to come down hard on the manager like a tonne of bircks, I treated them with respect and even bought them 2 dozen dunkin donuts.They kept me in from 9-6 and then for me to see a bill like that and then now to know they didnt eve ndo the job. I even asked the sesnion workshop manager, how was the clearance, he goes yh it was absolutly fine - i was a bit suspicious from the way he replied and how at 125k they were fne without any need for adjustment.

This is my plan for the morning, tell me what you think. I will be going in tomorrow to speak to the manager and customer relations officer - both of which dealt with me. I will come straight out and say i beleive you guys havent adjusted my valves because of the valve cover not being remvoed, that i know this to be thcase becasue the silicone isnt fresh, the bolts havent been touched and nore is the oil clean from the back of the cover which was prior to me coming in. Then i will see what they have to say, i frankly dont want them to touch my vehicle any more. I will take this up the chain straight to head office.

If they refute it, i am going to say no problem, im going to take it to the next honda service centre, i will get them to advise me if they think in their professional opinion if the valve clearnace has been adjusted, they should tell me no straight away from the fact the valve cover shows it hasnt been removed. If they say they need to open it, fine ill pay that cost for me to get confimration. then i will go back to that dealership and throw it in their face. I think before i get to the stage, the threat of me doing this, and the fact they know i will persue this matter to the highest point that they will come to a solution pretty quickly.

[roony]

These are the clearances (cold),

Intake: 0.21 - 0.25 mm (0.009 in)​
Exhaust: 0.25 - 0.29 mm (0.010 - 0.011 in)​

[pwuser162991014631]

Hi Roony,

The clearances are not shown? or is it an issue on my side?

[roony]

sorry the page closed on me. Anyways, ask them to redo it in front of you if they say they did.

[pwuser162991014631]

Im finding it vrery hard to let them touch my car. Im going to ask for a refund i think or another suitable remedy. If the manager i able to lie and say the clearances have been done, i do not want any part of an establishment that has a management like that. Frankly, i got better things to do with my time too.

I have a question, for cold engine, we usually plug in the OBD scanner and get the coolant temp to about 30C. What is the situation here in pakistan or for these honda's?

[nomi01]

For hondas, the valve clearances are to be done when the engine is dead cold. Honda specifically says to do it when head temp is below 35deg C. In the curreent summer, it takes few hours to get it cooled down to proper temperature, which these 3s dealerships wont at all bother or have patience. Usually we ask customers to drop the car at closing time and then adjust them in the morning,

[pwuser162991014631]

Update on the situation. I went to the dealer today and i first went and spoke a service advisor quickly and asked him does the valve cover need to be removed in order for valve clearances to be adjusted. Obviously as expected he replied yes. That is when i said based on your response then, you guys didnt do the job you charged for.

I spoe to the manager who got the senior tech who worked on the car. I told the manager that firstly, i can guaentee the valve cover wasnt removed, secondly, i can tell no one removed the caliper nipple covers to bleed my braking system - which was also supposed to be done. All they diid was suck the fluid from the resovoir and show me its clean. I told him all the nipples are dirty like they havent been touchedd at all. The tech was so rude and said to me infront of the manager i did do the valve clearances and that i didnt need to remove the valve cover fully - i was dying of laughter at his explination. So get this, he said i opened the side from the oil filler cap slighlty and i was able to check and adjust as required, Even the manager, which is master tech looked at him in shock. I replied, please explain how you managed to see and slip in a feeler guage in the last cylinder - closest to the air filter His reply was to just defelect the question and just was plain rude,

The manager knew at this point i was right and that his tech was wrong. They offered to do the work again but i told him that you watched your tech be rude to me and did nothing. He was like this in all the meetings i had with him and now you want me to trust your teams work again - which ultimately the issue of their actions is on your head. I told him im leaving, i want a full refund of all monies and a written apologu from the tech. They will get back to me in 2 days.

I have to say i am disgusted at the fact a senior tech was lying, even when all the evidence was in front ohim he still couldnt admit his mistake.

[pwuser162991014631]

Its a shame to have this service from a main dealer. I dont think buying a decent car in pakistan is worth the hassle no more. As a foreigner you just got treated ike rubbish and robbed. Had i not had the knowledge of cars as i do and nor the advice from the members of PakWheels forums, i would have gone back many time and parted with my hard earned money to be sold no work on my car though

[omaruser156370259465]

Yes, unfortunately this is the reality of dealership maintenance over here. The mechanics don't even know how to change the CVT gear oil which leads to gear failure. They just know how to come up with a big bill at the end to loot people. This is why people prefer to get work done on their car from a local mechanic who are much more experienced and trained than these dumbass mechanics and managers at the dealership who just come up with excuses for literally every single thing and don't even accept their own mistakes.

[danyalag6]

I didn't expect Honda dealerships(more like stealerships at this point) to stoop this low. It is really unfortunate that no consumer protection of any kind exists in Pakistan at all. Otherwise, this issue is grave enough to sue the company if they don't agree to give your money back. I would suggest you contact Honda Japan too if your issue isn't resolved.
Unfortunately this is the state of affairs here, that I actually prefer to do all maintenance that I can do myself. You are an experienced mechanic yourself, as you stated above, so you should try to do this routine maintenance like brake bleeding, oil change, brakepad change etc yourself.
Obviously tappet adjustment needs specialized tools and an experienced mechanic, but I would suggest that wherever you take the car, you ask them to do the job in front of you.

[pwuser162991014631]

I have spoken to the manager and he agreed that i was correct and that the works were not carried out. I told himi want a written apology, all my money refunded and finally the cost to do the wor kall over again from a garage of my choice to be paid by them.

In regards to legal rights, im not sure if it will help but a quick google for punjab, i found the punjab consumer rights act 2015. Im no law student but i am a part qualified ACA student and i know the act means that there services were not as you would expect as standard procedure and at minimum the law allow my money to be refunded or part therof and costs.

I made them aware of this law in the email i was advised by the manager to send to them for the CO's reference for which i should get reply soon.

Also, i hate customers looking at me whilst i worked on vehicle, sometimes you have to get a bit hands on if bolts are stubborn, but a customer will not understand that. I foolihly extended that same cuortisy to these clowns and they took complete advantage of it. They though i was a no body and knew nothing about cars, but they looted the wrong person. I will be going up the chain, Honda in lahore, then to Honda japan, and then worst comes worst ill entertain the courts if i have the fire in my belly as i do now, otherwsie i know the courts here are a joke - (no offence intended)

[omaruser156370259465]

The courts and police here are an absolute joke, the famous movie line "tareekh pe tareekh tareekh pe tareekh". Here, people tend to run away from police and court matters as they will get "khwaar" with no outcome and a shit ton of money spent. I would advise you to recognize a good experienced local mechanic (which is a hard task itself) and maintain your car from over there. Yes, proper garages such as maxpower and PMS do really nice work but their charges are out of this world (no offense to anyone associated with them though).

[farooqk80]

Court and police is a big khuwari

[aliaamar110]

would you please like to share the work done.
i mean complete check up list and dealership name

[emzee92]

Which dealership?

[pwuser162991014631]

I dont really want to name and shame.

The work that should have been done was the 40,000km service, along with rear pads and coolant flush after they advised it needed a change.

They didnt do the brake bleeding - but they came to show me the clean fluid they put into the brake fluid container under the hood haha, little di they know i am already aware of all the tricks of the trade. I inspected the dust caps on the brake bleeding nipples and knew instantly that they didnt touch them.

They were meant to adjust the valves but i showed them they didnt even remove the valve cover. First they said its been done by remove the cover from one side slighlty - i laughed so hard i was crying.

Ther ere supposed to inspect the tyres - they didnt.

I was supposed to get a few other items from the list of their services that were not delivered.

In the end, i settled on my bill being refunded. However, i must say the customer services methods here are so disgusting still. I was going to push for them to oay for the same work to be done elsewhere but i didnt have the time nor did i really want to bother. Professionalism in inudstry in Pakistan is nin exsistant. They dont understand the term that the customer is akways right, But anyways, i got my money back and its matter closed for me - ive even offered them help to change their workshop procedures, they took me up on that and i have coffee meeting booked for next week. Funny how things turn out.

[pwuser162991014631]

what place would you guys suggest in Islamabad or Rawalpindi to get work done, money isnt the issue. I just need work done to a high standard and to not be messed around. I went to a main dealer branch to save time but sadly the opposite happened and i dont relly want to do the work my self - but i will if i cant find suitale shop to trust

[farooqk80]

Which service center did you go to before? I have had good experience with Honda Margalla E11. If you're looking for a workshop you can visit Humsafar autos, owned by @spectra or Rehman autos owned by @rajaatta