Sending my Honda Civic FD2 in for 105,000 km PM service

It's been awhile since the last one. 1 year, to be exact. Didn't really do a lot of driving throughout the past year, thus the long interval, even observing the recommended 5,000km between servicing (which was the normal recommended distance for cars from those days). My "usual" choice for servicing my Civic is still the GS Tay Honda Muar branch.

It's been a busy day from the start, so I only managed to arrive around 3.15pm. A little late to start, but I reckon it'll be manageable, as at 105,000km it's just a minor service.

My civic has been quite well behaved since the last service, with only a minor issue with the brake switch stopper. Well, I guess it's partly to do with the driver (yours truly) also being "well behaved" and the fact that it's a Honda, after all. It's no Toyota, but reliability is just fine.

Now, the brake switch stopper (or so I'm told, that's what it's called) is a plastic / rubber stopper that connects the brake pedal to the brake light. It's a normally-off switch, which means, when the brake pedal is not pressed, the stopper presses against the switch, which opens and keeps the brake lights OFF. When you step on the brake pedal, the switch closes and the brake lights come on.

 

It was one night purely by chance, that I was looking out my window and saw that my Civic's brake lights were on. I was unable to get them to switch off whatever I tried (was considering to disconnect the battery as a last resort). Finally, after a short call to my family mechanic, he enlightened me to the existence of this switch, and provided some hints to "MacGyver" a solution. The switch itself is intact and working, but I guess that the stopper simply disintegrated with age, as I found several remnant fragments on the floor mat. With some crude parts I found lying around my house (screw, double sided tape) and luck, I managed to install a quick temporary fix (which lasted quite some months, till today).

The service team also highlighted and replaced (with my consent) the aging radiator cap and the plastic holder that held the hood support rod (another one of those parts which could do with a shorter name)....

There were surprisingly quite a number of cars there for services as well. Strange, as afternoons were usually less packed than mornings. In the end, my car was ready just before 6pm. Roughly 2.5 hours spent there, which was still acceptable, given that I did not make an appointment. 

 

While driving off, I did notice that my boot was not properly closed, so I carefully stopped at a petrol station to shut it before resuming my journey home. Guess they forgot about it, though I'm not exactly sure what they were checking back there.

 

With my current driving habits, it's likely to be another year till my next service. Glad that my Civic's holding up fine - in spite of being nearly a decade old. Thanks to the crew at GS Tay Honda Muar for keeping my car running in tip top condition!

Disclaimer : I've said it before, I say it again. I'm not paid or affiliated to this Honda branch. Just sharing my experiences.