30K Service

Time for the periodical service.

This time I was happy to check how Top Car in Netanya works, Honda dealer that sold me my Civic.

I set an appointment one day before to 7:30 in the morning.

But here is a preface to my service :-)

About half a year ago I heard from Honda people that they stopped using original Honda oil and switched to Paz oils (Paz Lubricants and Chemicals). I guess one manager from Honda meet another manager from Paz and they decide to make money drinking coffee at one of Paz roadside retail place :-) I don't want this shit to my car I don't want an oil from their bloody barrel.

So... at 7:00 when all parts stores opens, I called to dealership to ask what oil should I bring with me.

- Me: Hi, I got service at 7:30 for Civic, what oil I need to buy?

- Honda: Hello. What do you mean?

- I don't want Paz oil, I want to bring oil with me. What oil spec is recommended?

- What?

- Yes. So, what oil API spec, SAE?

- No, we use our oil.

- Oh common, bullshit. I can use any approved commercial oil in MY car.

call transferred to warehouse man

- Hi, what oil Honda Civic needs?

- We use 5W-40.

- Cool, what API index? SL, SM, SN?

- What is this?

- (fuck) It's oil standards!

- I don't know. Call me in 1 hour...

Great!

From our last meeting at Honda I remember this: you can use any Honda oil or API SM and above.

5W-30, 5W-40 both ok.

So I bought best Honda oil I found in this time window.

Honda 5W-30, API SN. I know from tests, it performs good. 40 NIS ($10) per 1 u.s. quart.

But I came to Honda already after my time around 8:00 and I should wait until 10:00 if I want service today. We rescheduled to next morning same time.

I drove to work and meanwhile called to Honda support line to ask what the fucking oil I should buy?

- Me: Hello. I gonna to service 30K for my Civic and I want to know which oil to buy, can you help me?

- Honda: Yes, one moment please. You should by Honda oil.

- But there is no more Honda oils in Israel at all dealerships!

- No, you should use only original Honda oils.

- But i try to tell you that Honda not selling Honda oil anymore thus it's impossible to buy or order Honda's oil in dealership at service!

- That's not true. Where are you from?

- Netanya.

- Ok... Wait a second I will call to your garage Top Car...

Facepalm... She gonna talk to them just after I talked to them about oils and they have nothing but Paz oil. (By the way, if you want to know what is Paz oil - good luck, there is no official spec of "Paz Oil" on internet, probably only authorised personal that blend this olive oil know what is it ;-)

- Hey, Alexey, I just talked to Ilan and they use 5W-40.

- But I already bought Honda oil 5W-30, is it ok? Owner's manual says it's ok.

- I don't know, we use 5W-40 oils.

- Ok, I can change it back. But what oil I should by, what standard SM, SN?

- I don't know...

It's so funny. I probably one of few people that care about our cars and we have to fight with their fucking system of "do what we told you to do".

I went back and changed for Liqui Moly as it was second best choice (Valvoline SynPower was but it was on shelf for 2 years). Anyway, I was looking for chance to test this oil as I got some positive responses about it. 190 NIS ($48) for 5 liters.

It's 5W-40 and API SN.

So I bring it next day and everything was cool before...

I asked that I don't need to replace air filter, because I got them and it's 3 min to do that yourself.

And second, I showed them discount coupon I got from them to my postbox :-)

Ilan told that they do not use them, but after I showed that it from their garage - he agreed...

Final receipt is 267 NIS ($68) for:

1. oil filter

2. washer

3. labor

4. they marked here that I used my oil and no need air filter replacement.

A, and they also swapped wheels front-back.

After 30 km I got check tires alert again  :-)

29,970 km | 1Y 10 M

Meeting with Honda representatives

The meeting with Honda Israel (Meir) representatives was done. People attended:
1. Me, the Cockroach Fighter
2. Ilan Cohen (אילן כהן) - Top Car Netanya's garage manager (Honda's official dealer and service)
3. Norit Mor (נורית מור) - Meir's customer's service manager
4. Lior Cohen (ליאור כהן) - Meir's Director of Technical Support
5. My friend Grigory. He came from Haifa with new Honda Civic Comfort manual transmission.

Both Norit and Lior are major figures in Meir organization chart that related to customers. This is a slide from Meir conference presentation Feb 2013 that I found in Google, download full preso here.

To make it short, here are bullets I learned from this meeting:
1. Lior said that this installation is bad and they fixed it from now on.
2. Norit said that they did their "homework" about my complain. Still no idea what this means.
3. Parking installation was made by some new technician that was new to the job.
3. Honda will not call new car's owners to fix this incomplete installation, so it's on you guys.
4. Norit and Lior are not sure that cockroaches got into the car from hole in parking sensors cap, so no compensation will be for me. They think sure that cockroaches came into the car with my cloth or open doors.
5. Norit said because it's not installation issue but I suffered from cockroaches, she can offer me first service for free at Honda garage (equals to about 500 ILS for end customer, less for company).
6. Norit said that I should try to find another parking spot.
7. Ilan thought I found only few dead cockroaches that pictured and uploaded to prev post.
8. I asked for compensation of extermination that helped me partially to stop cockroaches around my car and free 3 services for my new Honda. That is a minimum. And we were expecting that Honda will call new owners to bring them to nearest to them garage to seal the hole in plastic. When I expressed my terms, Norit said that she didn't came here for negotiation, if I don't want one free service I will get nothing.
9. Norit mentioned that it is the first case with cockroaches in Honda. For me too :-)
9. Ilan before worked with Alpha Romeos and was specialized in carburetors, that great bold plus for him as professional.

Overall satisfaction from meeting: it was very interesting and positive mostly because of Lior and Ilan. Norit was totally aggressive.

What I did not understand is why did they call meeting if that is not Honda fail as they say and all talk is about 500 ILS and only because I gone through this. If it worth working hours of 4 people? First free service you can ask when you buy a new car if you push on sale agent.

The facts I have:
- For two years on same parking from 3 my cars only Honda was approached by cockroaches.
- I washed my Skoda Fabia every week. At least for an hour back lid was open towards cockroaches place. Never saw roaches or any insects because of that.
- Mazda 3 that I took after I sold Fabia had no cockroaches for 1.5 month on same place.
- Same cockroaches are around all our 2 buildings that mean 24 cars can be approached by them. I will check with neighbours, but as far as I know, no complains were made. Cars parking around my car have no issue except of ants. That I haven't too in Fabia or Mazda.
- No garbage or sewerage located near to my car.
- Dead and life bodies of cockroaches was found mostly in trunk. Limited winners were able to get to dashboard and front seats, doors.
- There is no other way to get into the trunk beside parking sensor hole or air ventilation. Latter was inspected and I found it perfectly closed as it should be by design. Passengers doors are double sealed with rubber and back lid have one rubber around.
- Next to my car I got neighbour that works in Eldan car rental company. He changes his working car about once a month. I will check if he ever experienced this with any of his cars.
- Also I almost the one that park a car backwards, meaning front of the car toward exit, but others that park opposite need to drive first backwards in a morning to get out of parking.

I will continue to bring attention to this accident as I think that's totally Honda's fail. But in other ways.

Update (2013-10-24)
Yesterday Norit made official summary of our meeting and today at 8:57 she scanned it and sent to my email at 9:07 (hours of course not important).

I will disassemble the trunk plastic again just for picturing that plastic one more time but now with a scale to see, may be I'm wrong, may be the hole is just "few millimeters".

Update (2013-10-25)
Got today this paper "from a friend" :-)

From here we see that all multimedia, twitters and parking sensors installations were done in Bet Tet Teder Baam (ב. ט. תדר בע"מ), interesting. I should visit them... I think :-D
Address in Google Maps and Street view. They are registered company on Ministry of Transport page and the even have Google+ :-)

If Honda (Meir) central located in Rishon LeZion where all cars should be prepared... that is 12 km away from that place. So new cars should be transported by auto transport broker to there. Looks expensive.

Ok, that makes sense. On Honda's site them listed as official garage but a little different - Tet Dalet Reish - Maarechet Azaka VeShema (ת.ד.ר – מע' אזעקה ושמע).
I can't find pictures of open garage on GMaps. But Israeli sites do have them. Yes, I see Honda Accord.

Source: ZooMap

Source: http://ymap.ynet.co.il/Navigate.aspx

And that is probably not the only place for installs. If Honda sells about 550 cars per month (September 2013 data) that's roughly 18 cars per day, one garage will not handle it.

5,200 km | 0Y 4M