Time for my Honda Civic FD2's 65,000 km PM service

Once again, it's time for another routine preventive maintenance appointment for my Honda Civic FD2. Another trip down south to GS Tay Auto in the coastal town of Muar.

So far, my experience here has been nothing short of exemplary. Though, some may point out that it was probably because up to now, I've always sent my car in during week days, where the majority would send their cars in during weekends. So, this time round, I decided to make a service appointment on a Saturday instead, just to see how the quality of service holds up.

Traffic was smooth that morning, so I arrived at the service center just before 10am. Stepping into the service reception office, I was quickly greeted by the service adviser. Glancing around, I noted that it was indeed a full house that Saturday morning, with all service bays filled with various makes of Honda cars, and many more waiting in queue.

I had just over half a bottle (1 liter) of engine oil left over from the previous service, so this time round, my Honda Civic FD2 needed only 4 liters. Earlier, it did cross my mind to try out the 0W-20 engine oil from Honda, which I first found out on the Fastmotoring website. In theory, a lower viscosity rating of 20 as compared to the normal 5W-40 fully synthetic oil would translate into better fuel economy (since there would be less resistance from the thinner oil). However, all things being equal, a thinner engine oil would most likely result in a higher wear-and-tear rate on the engine internals, especially if one visits the upper RPM regions often....

I braced myself for a long wait in the waiting lounge, and help myself to a hot cup of Nescafe. The waiting area / showroom in the adjacent building was lightly decorated in tune with the current festive mood (Chinese New Year), with small red lanterns hanging from the down lighting fixtures.

Once small caveat - there was a sign on the restroom door that stated "Out of service". I later clarified that only 1 of 2 stalls was actually clogged up, so there was still hope for anyone who had to answer the call of nature.... :)

While waiting, I walked over to the front to see what cars were on display. There were 2 of them - the current model Honda Accord and the Hybrid Honda Insight. Hmm, too bad the Honda CRZ wasn't on display here....

Not long after I sat down and started to compose the draft for this blog post, the sales receptionist came up and informed me that my car was ready. Eh? It was just an hour after I arrived! I was quite surprised that they had managed to "process" my car so quickly.

I got a free gift in the form of a travel bag, which could be folded up in a neat and compact form when not in use. Well, once again, another quick service from GS Tay Auto Muar. Of course, in any case, I attribute the good and speedy service to the fact that I called up beforehand and made an appointment. Since a regular preventive maintenance is planned and not a sudden event, I advise everyone to do so in order to minimize time spent waiting at the service center. Of course, there are service centers that don't allow making appointments or some who, in spite of making an appointment, take 4~5 hours for a simple service (I've see both of these poor examples, unfortunately, so I'm citing real experience here).