Honda Problems

YOU should follow the recommendation of whichever comes first. If you drive the average number of kilometres, then the odometer reading will most probably come first, so follow that. But if you don't do many kilometres, then you might reach the time limit before the kilometres come up. In that case follow the time schedule. But it's always a case of whichever comes first.

I WOULD be asking the dealer to demonstrate how they were able to get 7.2 litres for 100km from your car. Not only that, I would be furious if my dealer drove my car almost 4000km while in their care. It's outrageous and I would take it up with the dealer principal directly -- and with Honda if you don't get a reasonable response. Consider changing to another dealer as well.

GOOD question. How long is a piece of string? I doubt that a car company would want, or could answer your question. How do you define the life of a car -- does its life end when it finally snuffs out going down the driveway? Perhaps it's when it is worn beyond reasonable fixing? Is it simply when the warranty expires? It's probably none of these, but I'd expect a car to do 250,000km without a major failure of the main components. Many cars will do more, as your Honda Shuttle did, but is it reasonable to expect a car to go forever? I recall in the 1950s it was common to have to rebuild an engine after 60,000km or so. We don't do that now because of improvements in technology.

I FEEL dealers are being mischievous in telling customers that they will get these fuel consumption numbers. The explanation given to you about them being achieved on a specific test cycle is correct. It's also correct that they should be used for comparison purposes. All manufacturers test to the same procedure and get results that are comparable so you can use them to compare one make to another, or one model to another. On top of that there are many factors that affect fuel consumption, so it's hard to pin down the actual fuel consumption you could expect in your situation. If you're unhappy with the Honda, contact the company direct and express your displeasure.

HONDA claims the Accord VTi-L should do low nines for fuel consumption, which is in line with what I would expect.

I CONTACTED Honda head office for the answer and they told us: ``The Honda maintenance schedule requires the Accord to be serviced every six months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first. It is acceptable, however, for the dealer to tailor some maintenance items to suit if the vehicle travels an unusually low distance within the time period. For example, the engine oil should be changed as it will degrade.''

MORE and more carmakers are trimming their spares to save weight and, it must be said, cut costs. Space-saver spares have been around for more than 20 years and work well, despite the limited speed at which they are supposed to be used. The inflation foams, from our experience, are OK. Runflat tyres are surprisingly tough and, from my experience of driving 100km on a puncture last year, work well. The real problem in Australia is getting a replacement tyre in a remote location. Anyone contemplating a long trip should take a full-sized spare.

WE WOULD urge Mr Davidson to take up Honda's invitation and phone the company's head office in Melbourne. With good will on both sides, it should be possible to resolve the issue.

ACCORDING to www.howsafeis yourcar.com.au, the 2006 Civic has 4/5 stars -- quite a high rating.

THERE is a Eurogas kit available from Australian LPG Warehouse. Ph: (03) 9770 2287 for an installer.