160,000 km PM service for my Honda Civic FD2

It's been awhile since my last Preventive Maintenance update. Somehow, my lifestyle does not require driving frequent long distances all over the country (in spite of Malaysia having more "country" to drive long distances over, compared to, say, Singapore). And so, finally, it's about time the odometer on my trusty Honda Civic FD2 dialed in 160,000km. Well, not exactly, as of course, I make it a point to send all of my cars in for preventive maintenance once within 1,000km of the upcoming service.

Interestingly, although car manufacturers generally set the service intervals as "every X km or after X months", I never really follow the X months part, due to my driving habits just mentioned above.

I called up GS Tay Honda Service Center in Muar as "usual". I'm a regular there, but each time I call up, most likely will be one crew rotation later, so it's a fresh new face each time. You can find their contact on Google Maps. I successfully made a service appointment for the following morning day. 

I arrived roughly 1/2 hour earlier, most probably due to good weather, plus abnormally smooth and sparse traffic. The Service Advisor was courteous and pleasant, and after a quick inspection for "pre-damage", I headed across the back lane to the customer waiting lounge. It was nearly full, but fortunately, I managed to find a seat.

It took roughly 4 hours for the complete service. Apart from the usual engine oil & filter change, I also changed my ATF, inner cabin air filter, engine oil treatment and cleaner - coming up to RM741.05, inclusive of labour and tax. The technician was quite thorough, and the post-inspection report revealed there was a bit more work to be done. Specifically:

- The 12V battery was in poor condition (<70% CCA)

- Rear Right wheel bearing need replacement

- Outer right driveshaft boot torn and need replacement

- Leaking valve cover gasket and timing chain cover

Hmm, not bad, I guess it's to be expected given the age. I asked them to get back to me with a quote for repairs, as looking at the list, it may or may take more than a day to get everything done. The battery replacement I could do on my own, but as for the others, will leave it to the trained experts. Meanwhile, will keep a close eye on things and drive "conservatively" to reduce the chances of mishaps / further damage.

A fine testament to how long cars from those days and these manufacturers were built to last. Well, will update once more once I receive the quote. BTW, my tires are in need of replacement as well, so I'm looking out for a reasonable good tire shop closer to home.

Patching a patched tire

Recently, I noticed that the front right tire of my Honda Civic FD2 was deflating much faster than the other tires. The rate of deflation was alarming (in terms of days) and seems was getting shorter between trips to the gas station (for air to inflate the tires).

Thus, I stopped by Ee Hern Trading at Taman Melaka Baru (you can find it on Google Maps, so I don't need to leave the details here) to get it fixed. I was here two years ago to patch a leak on a Toyota Fortuner (read about it here) with a good experience back then, so hope things are still good after so long. True enough, the helpful guy there wasted no time in removing the tire and checking for leaks. Interestingly, it wasn't a new nail in the tire, but the leak was coming from an previous old patched leak. The young gentleman was quite frank, a repair may or may not work or last, but since it just cost RM10, can give it a try and if still leaking, can opt for tire replacement.

Given that it had been some years since my current set of tires, I opted for the patch. It was a quick fix, done in roughly 15 mins. Well, let's see how long it lasts, and my expectation was to find some time to replace all 4 tires soon. Since the good old days of "tracking" on the Sepang F1 circuit were way behind me, won't need an ultra high performance tire, so will be on the lookout for something "average" - haha, transitioning nicely into "uncle" phase...! :D

Forgot to ask what tires they have at Ee Hern, will try to drop by again one of these days to ask (also if they have ready stock). The shop is a bit small, so I'm worried that they may be overloaded / without stock - let's see.

150,000km Preventive Maintenance Service @ GS Tay Honda Muar

It's been awhile since my last such posting. Just because I don't write about it doesn't mean I don't do my preventive maintenance service at regular intervals (in the case of my Honda Civic FD2A, it's every 5000km).

Covid-19 was relegated to the history books and "has been" memory (though there are micro-cluster outbreaks from time to time, so too early to completely let down your guard). Thus, since the beginning of the year, I've been busy on business travel quite frequently, now that international borders are all opened up. Thus, haven't had much time to drive around, so interval between preventive maintenance services have become even longer.

I usually called up and made an appointment in advance, as opposed to just turning up and trying my luck. Given that it took me around 1 hour to drive from my home to the service center, confirming the slot is very important to avoid 2 hours of lost time (remember, the journey back also takes 1 hour).

Recently, GS Tay Honda Muar started using WhatsApp to send reminders, as well as take service appointments. Thus, for this service, let's give this new system a try. As I arrived in the morning at 9.00am (give or take a few minutes), it was a lucky thing that I did make an appointment. It was quite packed today, as there was already a queue of cars lined up to the reception area at the entrance / exit of the maintenance building. In previous times, I parked along the road nearby and walked over to register, but then they always asked me to drive in, so this time I just went directly there. After a quick check on the checklist to confirm my car was registered for an appointment, the staff on duty checked out my car and I proceeded to the waiting area after signing off the "Walkaround and Diagnosis Sheet".

Besides the regular preventive maintenance, need to take care of a rather peculiar issue with my exhaust. When coming to a complete stop in D, the exhaust may start to give off a continuous rasping note, like a loose floorboard. Also happens when completely stopped in R, as when parking. It's not just noise - sometimes, the engine seems to vibrate as well, as though the exhaust is blocked. As soon as I shift into N, the vibration stops, and idling is smooth once more. Driving long-distance or hard (as in Italian tune-up) does not remedy this. My guess is could be related to the ignition system (plugs, coil) or sensor, hopefully nothing major.

The waiting area was, unsurprisingly, full, as out of the 11 seats, there were only 4 empty spaces. Truth be told, there were more unoccupied seats, but with bags and belongings of the adjacent person. And there were usually more at the showroom area, though those are normally used for discussions between the staff and prospective buyers. I found myself a seat and waited patiently, started to key in some note for this blog post to pass the time.

A quick glance at my surroundings. Majority of the folks were reading (good habit) on their personal electronic devices (handphone). One gentleman to my left was "old school" and was reading the newspaper (printed on paper). Just some annoying guys who were watching some video with audio on the speakerphone. But only for a short while, then back to the usual ambient background noise. I was the only one typing away on a laptop, so I'm also somewhat of "old school" myself. There was one other lady, which I guess was a teacher, who was busy marking a stack of papers. While waiting, I did witness 2 new owners collecting their new car, taking photos with the Honda Sales advisor and their new ride. One was a CRV, the other one not so sure (too many SUV's these days, all start to look the same to me).

After around 45mins, the staff called me up and ran through the cost estimate - always a good practice to avoid any nasty surprises. Besides the usual oil / filter change, today they would be doing some engine flush / aircon condenser cleaning / tire check. I normally don't skimp on preventive maintenance, which I consider as vital to avoid unexpected and even more expensive repairs in future, so I agreed with their proposal. Only concern for me is how long it would take....

Halfway through, the Honda staff called me up and advised to change the front brake pads (which were quite worn out), battery (which I can confirm is getting old as having some problem to start in the mornings) as well as aircon filter (close to the point of disintegration). I knew of all the above so they were not just pulling my leg. From experience, I know that the price of parts here were comparable to outside, just the labour cost will be higher than the generic workshop outside.

At the end of the day, they did put the balance of 0W-30 Honda Fully Synthetic oil and the old aircon filter in the front passenger seat. I did ask them if they managed to resolve my exhaust issue - the good news is that they figured out it was related to the positioning of the pipe / resonators (if I understand the explanation correctly), but due to lack of time, they could not take care of it today. So, I guess I will have to get it done during my next preventive maintenance service at 155,000km. Which, from experience, could be 1 year later.... 😅

On the way back, to my pleasant surprise, seems to be some form of reverse-Schrodinger's Cat phenomenon - after checking the exhaust, seems there is much less sound / vibration when stopped in D / R. Didn't completely go away, but very much tuned down the noise level. Well, hope it stays this way until the permanent remedy! 🤞

All in all, another good experience sending my car here for service. Not sure if the staff are the same, but here the courtesy and pleasant nature of the staff has been consistent through the many years. This is what basically keeps me coming back here, even though it's roughly 1 hour (one way) from where I live. Well, until the next service then...!

1995 Toyota Prado Land Cruiser J70 / L79 (modified for off-road use) for SALE -> SOLD

[Update - sorry, but she's been sold. Congratulations to the new owner!]

By now, regular visitors to this site will know that I'm a long-term (perhaps for life) member of the Puma 4x4 Club Malaysia. A legal (as in registered with the Registrar of Societies Malaysia, registration number 1057-05-8) club of 4x4 enthusiasts and avid-nature / camping lovers. Many members sign up their spouse, family and friends, so not everyone owns or drives a 4x4 (which is meant to go off-road and into the wilderness, not like those Honda CRV, Proton X70 SUV's). Of course, not every adventure is a hardcore crawl through mud and rocks - most of the time, trips are relatively family friendly, though camping in the woods does mean basic facilities like toilets and such are done "one with nature" style.... 😀

There are 2 ways to get into this - one is to get yourself a nice (preferably used) 4x4 and upgrade / modify it as needed, or get a seasoned one that has already gone through some experience. For the latter, today might just be your lucky day. Long story short, the club just happen to have a modified 1995 Toyota Prado Land Cruiser L79 Model for sale. This is one generation earlier than my J90 Prado, which frankly, I have never actually brought into the woods myself.

Back to the L79 - it's a 2.8 inline 4 diesel. It's modified for functionality, having a winch up front which is useful for pulling others (and occasionally yourself) out of tight spots. The car is currently parked somewhere in Melaka for viewing of prospective buyers. I'm not familiar with this car, so don't ask me any questions about what's it like to drive, everything working or not - just posting here to help the club advertise. In case anyone is interested to view / enquire about the price, please call up KC Ang at  01 Seven 989161 Nine. As of today, the listed price on Facebook is RM35,000 though it may change without notice in the future. It's more than the stock model, so the price is for the upgrades / modifications. Don't take my word for it - do check it out yourself if you are interested or you know anyone who might be.

Well, if you are interested to get into this 4x4, do consider signing up as a member and perhaps we can meet up face-2-face someday in the middle of the jungle...! 😂

Patching a leaking tire at Ee Henn Trading, Taman Melaka Baru

The Toyota brand runs strong in my family (even before counting those rebadged Toyotas by our "2nd Local Automobile Manufacturer"). Due to some complicated storyline best delivered over a round of beer, latest one coming under my wing is a 1st Gen Toyota Fortuner. As I'm not particularly obsessed about SUV's, can only say a Google search identifies this one as an AN50 AN60 model. Though I could not really find what is the difference between the AN50 and AN60 - if anyone have any clue, do drop a comment below....

Exaggerated stock photo for illustration purposes only - not my actual car.... 

Anyway, recently I came to notice that the front right tire was slowly but surely deflating over a short period of time. Specifically, in just less than 1 week, the tire pressure can drop from 220kPa to 160kPa. Public service announcement here - there is no real way to tell visually if your tires are under-inflated, even those "normal" tires (not run-flat). Unnoticeable if any differences in handling, at least at low, city-driving speeds. Wouldn't want to risk evaluating on the highway.

Anyway, I always had in my mind (far, far in the back of my mind) to get it fixed. However, the combination of genuinely busy work schedule plus worry about the time it might take to get it fixed meant that I had put off the repair for several weeks now. So, the routine was to head to the nearest petrol station every week to "top-up" air. Occasionally, I have used a portable cigarette-lighter-powered air pump to fill up - however, that takes a very, very long time and is quite noisy.

Finally, today, after running some errands in town, decided to bite the bullet and get it done once and for all. At the advice of my wife, who had a recent positive experience, we stopped by Ee Henn Trading (the actual name of the tire shop) at Taman Melaka Baru, Batu Berendam.

Ee Henn Trading, right at the traffic lights next to the Hong Leong Bank

Upon arrival, found there was just 1 car in-progress, and the boss was casually seated at the shop entrance. After alighting and giving a brief problem description, he got straight to work on my car. He jacked up the car on the right side, in order to remove the tire - since it was a "real" 4x4 (not like those pseudo city SUV's that were never meant to go off-road), the suspension had quite a lot of travel so it had to be jacked up quite high until the tire was completely off the ground. Once that was done, the tire was removed and inflated before submerging into the water tank, in order to trace the puncture. Sure enough eventually he managed to find the culprit - a really small nail roughly 2cm long and perhaps no more than 2mm in diameter. That would explain why the air loss was so slow....

Having removed the nail, he then proceeded to patch up the spot with the tire patch kit, and in no time, the tire was fixed. All in all, it took roughly 15mins (to be fair, practically no queue) and cost RM10 - a fair price to pay in my humble opinion. Definitely a good experience here, and will come again in future.

And - now I don't have to worry any more about my weekly tire inflation routine! 😀

In this case, I gauged the risk to be low since I did not travel long distance or at high speed, and fortunately, nothing happened to my Fortuner. Of course, my advice is to always get your car fixed up as soon as you can, even though it may appear a small or benign matter, as until then, the risk and dealing with the consequences rest entirely on your own shoulders.

Leaky roof repairs - Toyota Prado J90 [Fixed]

Birds of a feather flock together - so the saying goes. This seems to be so very true, at least in the context of my poor old Prado....

Starting from roughly half a year ago, things started to wrong, mainly wipers that could not turn off plus aircon that do not turn on, followed by the most catastrophic occurrence of sudden coolant leak earlier this month. Actually, to continue the story from the coolant leak, after swapping the busted thermostat coupling, my mechanic David drove my Prado J90 back to his workshop to do a thorough check up. Just in case some other component of the cooling system decided to throw in the towel. Since it's there, I asked David to fix the roof and take a look at the clutch, which I felt had started to slip intermittently, mostly while in 3rd or 4th gear.

Now, the details. The paint on the roof had visibly bubbled and popped out in several areas, most apparently at the front end. One particular spot was quite bad - roughly 1cm in diameter. I temporarily covered it with some car decal (cut out a small piece from an unused Puma 4x4 club decal😅). Since it was on the top of the car, and the Prado wasn't exactly low, I figured 99% of the time no one would notice, and the 1% of the time someone might have noticed, never came to my attention.... 😁

David sent a few photos today - seems the roof integrity was compromised in several locations, even over the edges down the A pillars and sides. I was quite shocked, and it took me awhile to reply. Though the greyish sealing didn't look too conspicuous, due to low contrast against the maroon paint, I asked David to go ahead and respray the affected area - as I don't think the seals would do well for long against the harsh weather elements. Well, looks like my Prado J90 will be in the workshop for a little bit longer.

I didn't get a chance to ask about the slipping clutch though. The feeling is that sometimes, after shifting into gear, you step on the accelerator and the car does not speed up, only the RPM rises. Letting off the accelerator and stepping again SLOWLY seems to help. I figured this could mean there might always be some degree of slipping, and invariably would grind the clutch away to complete destruction. Better to get it fixed now, rather than risk breaking down in the most inconvenient of time or place....

Some people ask, how old is my Prado J90, and after hearing it's from 1997, the next common piece of advise is "go and get a new car-lah....". Hahaha, no thanks. I like what I have, and besides, I don't think anything you can buy new on the market today will still be as drivable 26 years later.... 😆

Well, whatever it is, I really hope she gets fixed soon. For now, I'm using my daily 4 door (Honda Civic FD2A) whenever I need to ferry around some friends from work, though it's not ideal due to the extremely low ride height resulting in frequently scrapping the bottom when going over speed bumps (even when I'm all alone)....

Will update again, hopefully once she's back from the workshop.

[Update: 21 May 2023] My Prado's back! Roof is restored, and the unsightly blemishes / rust / holes are gone. Really unforgiving weather we have here in Malaysia, hope this keeps the rest of the interior from falling apart. Luckily we don't have snow, so we don't have to deal with rust as a result of salt they use on the iced roads during winter...! 😅

Catastrophic External Coolant Leak - Toyota Prado J90 [FIXED]

Toyotas are known to be trusty and reliable. And I can vouch for this, backed by my own personal experience. However, no car is indestructible, and my trusty 26 year old Toyota Prado Landcruiser is no exception.

One fine morning a couple of days ago, I had just parked my car in the company car park, ready to face yet another pencil-pushing day (or modern equivalent, since we've long since gone paperless and pencils were only used by old school die-hards like myself). As I walked out in front towards my office, there was a sudden gush of water coming out from under the hood, on to the floor below. If my Prado were a pregnant woman, I'd say it was time to rush to the hospital for a "happy birthday"....

I knew this could only mean one thing - coolant leakage. Or rather, based on the sheer volume of water, something must have burst somewhere. Since there was nothing I could have done, as things were still hot as I had just shut off the engine, I proceed on into the office. It was only in the evening, after office hours did I return to look into the engine bay.

Upon popping the hood, I confirmed that there was no visible remains of water in the radiator, and in the coolant reserve tank either. As there was just water and not steam gushing out earlier that morning, and my car did not overheat during the drive to office, I guess it just coincidentally happened while I was in the car park. Lucky nothing happened in between, as there was really no where convenient to stop along the way.

None of the hoses looked ruptured or decoupled, so I called up my family mechanic, David to help come and take a look. As my car was INSIDE the company, did some alignment with security. Fortunately, security personnel were very nice and supportive - this wasn't their first experience.

David came to take a look. After pouring in some water into the radiator, immediately a stream of water came shooting out from the side of the engine. Fortunately, it was the coupling that connected the thermostat to the hose. Fortunate, I say, as that was fairly easy to replace - provided the part was available in stock and nothing else was leaking. David ordered the part, but we had to wait to today to get it fixed, as it was raining every day. In fact, this morning it was drizzling, but we figured out we had to get it done today, as the company premise was less crowded on weekends. Plus, I didn't want to leave my car there any longer, as that would mean I'd take up 2 parking bays in our already-congested parking lot....

Hose to radiator and thermostat coupling removed (left arrow), revealing the thermostat (right arrow) above the alternator.

It was a quick job, removing the coupling which had a nasty ~2mm hole, as long as replacing the hose. Once done, David filled up the radiator with water. After starting, everything checked out ok - no sign of leaks elsewhere!

This wasn't the end of it - we still had to counter-check and fill up with coolant (as we only used water for now), and so David drove my Prado back to his workshop. Besides, it was time for the regular service maintenance. A word of advice to everyone - no matter which car you are driving, never skip your regular maintenance or use sub-standard / imitation parts. That's a false economy that will come back to bite you some day....

And there you have it, all done in just under an hour. A very big thanks to the management and officers of the company security for their help and facilitating the on-site repair operation. I will share my experience with my team and colleagues - in case any of them find themselves in an unfortunate similar situation.

Squeaky suspension, aircon NG, wiper fail - Toyota Prado J90

Toyotas (at least those manufactured before 2000) have a reputation of having legendary reliability. For my 1997 Toyota Prado J90 Land Cruiser, I can very much vouch for this, as we have been been through much together, without ever breaking down in the middle of nowhere. Though I don't exactly go off-road (yet to take her out for an adventure with the Puma 4x4 Malaysia Club), we quite frequently take trips to the orchard / farm, hauling heavy stuff (furniture and large home appliances, stuff for recycling, bags of fertilizer) and occasionally driving to office. Especially useful if need to take many people, as the foldable 3rd row seats allow for flexibility. Not bad, so far at 420,000+ km, still going strong...!

Having said that, there are things that breakdown, as nothing is completely indestructible. Let's play a game - based on the observations / symptoms, try to guess what could the problem, and later I update once it's fixed. See how accurate (or totally way off) my estimates are....

Issue #1: Aircon system.
Symptoms: This didn't really stop working all of the sudden. Rather, over time, the cooling diminished, until today, it's just blowing air. It's hard to say exactly when, as when driving to office it's either early in the morning before 8am, or in the evening, so you never notice if its not working, unless its a hot, sunny afternoon during a lunch outing. The Prado actually has 2 independent aircon systems - the front vents taking care for the driver and co-driver, and the rear system for the middle and rear passengers. The one at the back could be working, but never really got around to checking.
My guess: There is a leak somewhere. Based on past experience, I believe the aircon guy uses a florescent dye with UV light to detect the leak. Depending on where and what needs to be changed, if is the piping then not so bad, otherwise the compressor or condenser will be costly.
Actual: To be updated....

Issue #2: High-pitch squeaky sound as the car is moving.
Symptoms: As the noise seems proportional to the bumpiness of the road.
My guess: I reckon it's the bushing. Again, in a multi-link suspension system, there are many, many bushes, and it's not so easy to see which ones are worn out. Replacing them is another story, as they can be stuck firm in place and take a lot of manual effort to push out.
Actual: To be updated....

Issue #3: The forward wipers.
Symptoms: As I understand it, one day, as my wife was driving, the wipers suddenly started and wouldn't stop. Stopping at a workshop, they make a quick fix by disabling all settings except high-speed. So, on rainy days, it's a bit of a chore, to turn on the wipers manually, then have to get the timing right to stop just as it's in the right position, with the wipers either fully stopped or at full speed.
My guess: The rear wiper is working fine, so most likely an issue with the front wiper stalk switch. At least its working, so driving on rainy days is still do-able.
Actual: To be updated....

Called up my trusty mechanic, David, who collected the car just yesterday. No hurry to fix, as it's after the annual harvest season, but good to get done as soon as possible. Will update here once done, and then let's co-relate my guessing and the actual.

Does RON97 make a difference in a 1997 Toyota Prado J90 Landcruiser?

 

My 1997 Toyota Prado Landcruiser 2.7 - it still runs...!

Old cars, especially those made by Toyota, seem to have an extremely long life. While performance is nothing to shout about (excluding the real performance models like the Supra, MR2 and AE86 that never made the mainstream here in Malaysia), Toyota's are known and proven for high reliability.

My Prado as above still runs (of course, having taken over the upkeep and taking good care of it does help), of course with some squeaks here and there, but then don't forget that this is, after all, a 20+ year old car with 400,000+ km on the odometer. Not gone for hardcore off-roading like my buddies in the Puma 4x4 club, but I do use it for getting out for light field-work and also to transport larger-than-normal stuff that would not fit into a regular car.

Now, the 3RZ-FE 2.7 liter engine at its heart was designed for a min RON 91 fuel, which is way below the RON 95 minimum fuel sold at the pumps in Malaysia today. Those of you from "my time" and before will know, once upon a time, we did have RON 92, which was the cheapest fuel on the market, but was discontinued (possibly as Proton's with their Mitsubishi engines, needed at least RON 95, while my Honda Civic FD2A could live with RON92, see my post from 2008 HERE and also HERE). So, as is general knowledge, there is no advantage to using fuel of RON higher than the engine was designed for. Or is it...?

Since as long as I can remember, driving the old Prado I always had to be a bit careful when shifting or when accelerating at low RPM's. There is a tendency to jerk just as the clutch was let out completely when changing gears and stepping on the gas. Same goes when the car is in gear, then you let off the gas completely and then stomp on the accelerator pedal. I always thought this had something to do with the age of the car, so anyway, even consciously adjusting my driving style, it was nigh impossible to avoid the jerks, which seem to be coming more from the engine or exhaust rather than the transmission.

Last weekend, went to my usual favorite Caltex gas station for a partial fill up. Normally I would always fill the tank up to full, but since the current COVID-19 pandemic had significantly reduced travelling, I only put in enough gas to go ~1 month between refueling. This was to avoid "stale gas" (will write another post on my experience on that topic soon). Back to the gas station. So happened that the pump that I was at could only dispense RON97, as the RON95 pump was under repair. Rather than drive over to the next pump or go to another gas station, I just decided to go with the RON97, which was priced at RM2.60 per liter. RON95 is currently capped at RM2.05. Partially filling RM41 worth of fuel (slightly overshot original target of RM40, hence round up to the next Ringgit), that get's me ~15.7 liters of fuel, as opposed to 20 liters if I had used RON95.

Starting up and driving away, I noticed that that the ride was now smoother and without the jerk at each gear shift. Also from complete foot off the accelerator to moderately depressing halfway to the floor, is smooth as well. After that, did some short driving around a few kilometers to confirm. Definitely not a placebo effect, and in the first place I was not expecting any difference.

Once home, tried to do some research online, but majority of what turned up is the usual "no need for premium fuel unless you have a <insert high performance car of your choice>". Only one Youtube video which a helpful chap described a plausible explanation. For old engines, the carbon build up in the cylinders could have artificially increased the compression ratio, which may cause detonation / knocking under heavy load / high temperatures. Since this is Malaysia, where temperatures are anyway always high, the heavy load situation could be as encountered during the initial stepping on the gas pedal.

Normally, I don't believe things without evidence. Here I have an observation, and am trying to find an explanation. So, where to go from here? Will continue to try out if this is consistent, until the next refueling run. Then, I could try to go back to RON 95 and see if the problem recurs (and then if RON 97 can eliminate the problem), therefore successfully being able to turn-on / turn-off the problem. If that is the case, then moving forwards there are only 3 choices - 1) Switch permanently to RON 97, 2) Revert to RON 95 and hope this does not impact the life of the engine, 3) Send in for cylinder decarbonizing and then start testing RON 95 again.

At least for now, decarbonizing will need to wait, as due to travel restrictions I'm not able to drive down to Desmond's place @ KL Auto to get it done. If indeed this is the actual root cause. Will post further updates on the situation.

Does any of this make sense? Anyone out there have any similar experience or opinions to share?

DIY leather car seat stitching repair [FIXED]

Most of the times, DIY is a faster, cheaper alternative, provided you know what you are doing.

As the country is still in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, it's a good time to learn new skills and do things yourself, in order to avoid unnecessary travelling and contact with external parties.

Thus, I decided to take care of a long-time outstanding issue with my car - a torn leather seat. This tear was on the driver's side - the side where I sit, so when I'm in the car I don't see it, and when I'm not in the car I definitely can't see it. Still, the adage "a stitch in time saves nine" keeps tugging my thoughts back to this, as I fear one day I will be left with an ugly gaping gash.

Last year, when I was in KL, I asked if anything could be done to fix it. The seat cover "expert" (subcontractor of Desmond @ KL Auto) said it was too risky to repair, as the leather was old and thin, likely to tear and thus the entire seat cover should be replaced. And since there was no way to match the passenger's side, he recommended to change both driver and passenger seat covers. Now, this would cost somewhere above RM2K, and even that, with a lower-quality leather material. Given that option, I reluctantly deferred the repair, and hope it would not get worse.

Now, having done a series of DIY's at home over the last couple of months, including replacing my own spark plugs, I thought I'd have a go at sewing back the seat cover. The first thing that came to mind was to use the standard needle and thread from my sewing kit. However, on second thought, I doubted that it could be THAT easy. So, thankfully we have YouTube! :)

I looked up a couple of videos on what actually needed to be done, and figured out I needed the right tools and equipment. My seat cover was not actually torn - it's just that the thread had broken and come undone. For this kind of sewing, a standard straight needle would not be able to loop through the leather (definitely not thin as described by the seat cover expert), hence I needed a hooked needle. And the standard thread for sewing cloth would not do either, hence I needed thick, waxed thread. Once again, I placed an order on Shopee and waited for the parts to arrive. As usual, delivery services are fortunately still working amidst the MCO (Movement Control Order) lock-down.

Looking at the seat cover, on the plus side, the material was still thick, especially at the edges where the material was folded. The holes left by the original stitching were still intact - thus I concluded that the existing thread likely snapped, and thus left this gap. Therefore, I would sew through the existing holes in the seat cover - this made it easier as I didn't have to make new holes (which would likely weaken the material) and also the holes on both sides would be lined up.

In spite of using the existing holes and waxed thread, the needle did not exactly glide through like a knife through hot butter. It was impossible for me to push it through with my fingers, hence, I had to use a pair of grip pliers (couldn't find any smaller one) to push the needle through. Slowly but surely, I got the job done, just like what I saw on YouTube....

I made sure that each insertion went in and out of the right holes, and after an intense 30 minutes or so, I finally finished the last stitch. The interesting thing about this technique is that we only use a single thread through instead of dual threads, and we tie the new thread to the old threads on both ends.

Here's what the final outcome of my latest DIY repair project turned out:

The tweezers here is what I THOUGHT might work for pushing the needle through. Ended up it was too weak and had no grip on the needle, so I had to use the pliers instead. Lucky it looked OK, and was sturdy enough that it didn't unravel or turn out looking worse. Otherwise it would be a classic case of tikus membaiki labu (a Malay proverb that literally means "Mouse fixing a pumpkin"). Well, only time will tell if this will hold (and since I don't drive around that much these days, this will take some time to find out for sure).

Now, not shown here, on the right side of the driver's seat, the cushioning was worn out due to excessive rubbing getting into and out of the car. Yes, that is on my list of D.I.Y. TO DO. But that will be a story for another time....

DIY spark plug replacement

They say "Necessity is the mother of all invention", perhaps Necessity had another child named "DIY"!

In spite of being somewhat of a "car-guy", I must admit I don't have much actual hands-on experience up to now, as most of the tinkering and mods are done by the professionals, of who I make a quick shout out below:-

- Desmond's team @ KL Auto (and various subcontractors) - just about everything else

- Leon's team @ Quicksave - tires and rims

- David Low @ Melaka - our trusted family mechanic for standard services and repairs

- GS Tay Honda Muar - where my Honda Civic gets preventive maintenance work done (in spite of being well over the warranty period)

Now, back to the story....

I noticed that one of my cars was getting harder and harder to start, and lately, the engine sputters and dies off. This was happening at an increasing frequency (which was alarming and down-right dangerous). The first time this happened, I checked my ignition cables, and found that one of them was badly damaged, to the point where the inner copper core was visible. At this point, I would not risk driving any long distance until I fixed the problem. Not good - but fortunately, Desmond has a spare set and DHL-ed it to me. Changing the cables was fairly easy and straight forward. Of course, in order to avoid connecting the wrong cable to the wrong spark plug, do change one cable at a time, as I did.

Now, this time round, the cables were still good, but the familiar symptoms began to recur. As it was again risky to drive up to KL Auto for a check, plus we're in the middle of the MCO (Movement Control Order) lock-down, I figured out that it could be the spark plugs instead. Hopefully....

This time round, I tried something different. After extensive checking on spark plugs (believe me, there are many variations out there depending on your car, so getting the wrong ones would be disastrous), I ordered some through Shopee and waited patiently for them to arrive. A good thing that online shopping still worked, though the courier service was a little slow given the current circumstances.

When the parts finally arrived, I got out my tools and popped the hood. Though the procedure was easy, this was the first time I ever did it myself. Having taken out the first plug, I noticed 2 things. Firstly, the tip of the spark plug electrode was almost worn out completely. Instead of a cylindrical shape, the old plug was now resembling a concave cone (like the back side of a Herschey's Kisses chocolate). Secondly, from the screw threads right to the tip, the plug was blackened. This indicated that there could be something else wrong besides the plugs. Take a look at the photo below - the old one is on the left, next to the new one on the right.

Anyway, I managed to swap the old plugs out and screw in the new ones in under 15 minutes - being very careful to screw in the plugs so I won't damage the threads and also risk under / over tightening them.

Once done, I turned the key to on and then fired her up. I was extremely relieved that the engine came on and idled smoothly once again. My first DIY spark plug replacement successfully executed!

Though I knew there's more to fix than I could DIY, at least I got her up and running again. Will plan a trip down to KL Auto as soon as this MCO is lifted so the experts could take a look.

Ailing Alternator on my Honda Civic FD2 [FIXED]

The moment I released the key after cranking the ignition, I instantly sensed that something was amiss - oh, no! What a time to have an unscheduled car problem...!

Two things struck me simultaneously - couldn't remember which sense triggered first. But it was either sight or sound. My eyes registered 2 warning indicators on the dashboard - the amber power steering indicator and the red battery indicator (as above). My ears registered a humming sound not unlike the supercharger on my dad's old C200K (which would have been good if I actually had a blower under the hood). At first, I thought it was due to the heat - it was, after all, high noon with blazing sun beating down on my car (which was parked right out in the open under a cloudless blue sky). So, I switched the engine off and started it again after a brief moment. No luck, as these telltale signs persisted. Proof that in "real life", CTRL-ALT-DEL-ing something does not really banish the problem.

I tried turning the wheel - and yes, it was as I thought - power steering was gone. Thinking about my options, I concluded that since I only lost power steering, it would be possible to limp back home (through some hard work). My Honda Civic FD2 had an electric power steering (an advancement over previous hydraulic power steering technology), and any interruption to the power system meant it would not function. It did take me some effort to reverse out of the parking space and turn 90 degrees to the right in order to drive down the road. Didn't realize how difficult it was. Can only imagine what driving was like way back before the invention of power steering....

At first, I avoided the main road, noting the humming sound was linked to my throttle. After driving some distance, I noticed the indicators going on and off intermittently. Pulling over and restarting one more time, at least the power steering light went out, and my steering assistance was restored. For how long, there was no way to know, but I did not want to find out. Along the drive back, the red battery light came on and off occasionally. I remembered my Scangauge, and toggled to the battery voltage display. I saw that the reading was fluctuating between 10~12V, which was too low. Did not go higher as I revved, so it definitely had to be the alternator.

I made it back home, and parked in my usual spot (thankfully power steering continued to function). Popping the hood, I checked to see if there were any unusual signs (rats gnawing at the wires, broken belt, and so on), but there was no visual cues that indicated that there was a problem. Just the faint humming sound (which somehow sounded louder from inside the car).

The next morning, the car was a bit harder to start while cranking, which was expected as the alternator could not charge up the battery anymore. Thus, it was risky to drive as this could mean total loss of electrical systems once the battery was depleted. Among other things, this would disable the ignition system, leaving her dead in the middle of the road.

Thinking about it, I consider myself lucky as my alternator/battery did not fail immediately (which would have been dangerous if I were driving through a corner). Just a reminder to keep a keen eye (and ear) out for any abnormalities and have it checked out before something serious boils down!

David, my trusty car guy, came to collect my Honda Civic FD2 for repairs. Either we'll have a new alternator, or rework it (if possible). Estimate a quick fix within a day. Well, will update here again once things are patched up. Till then, hope this does not happen to any of you!

[Update: 27 Feb 2020] Well, what do you know? My car's all fixed up! Basically, they took out my alternator and replaced some of the internal components, instead of swapping in a brand new one. Total downtime ~1 day, and cost just under RM500. Let's see in the long run, if this would be the wiser choice or false economy.... (keeping fingers crossed)

A speedy drivers' license renewal at JPJ Melaka

In the blink of an eye, 5 whole years have passed since I last renewed my driver's license. With the expiry date coming up, and lots of things to do (Chinese New Year's just around the corner), it was going to be hard to find some time to get it done.

While it was possible to renew the driver's license at the Post Office or UTC, today I had some time in the morning, so I decided to test the efficiency of the Melaka JPJ staff (and also my luck). The Melaka JPJ officially opens at 7.45am, and I have absolutely have no reason to doubt it. I arrived at the JPJ (Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan) Melaka, (https://goo.gl/maps/WXmxMxbTPynFxmhG6) at Bukit Katil roughly around 8.40am. It wasn't too crowded, with roughly 50% occupancy of the seats. I do note that the space between seats was too narrow - worse than the economy seats in AirAsia....

I got a number, and looks like i was 16th in line (for driver's license renewal). There were dedicated counters for other functions, so in actuality there were more people in line, but they would be routed to other counters and hence did not impact the waiting time.

Having not brought along any photo, fortunately they could scan my identification card (which was taken quite some time ago, luckily still looks like me). The cost of renewal is RM30 per year, up to a maximum of 5 years. Plus RM2 for the scanning. After confirming my address and paying, I dropped off the documents at Counter A to get it processed. This took less than 5 minutes, so all in all I was done by 9.30am. Renewal date is from today until my birthday 5 years from now (so I got some extra days free 😃 ).

I'm happy to say that the staff here is friendly (from the reception, to the counter, to the collection) and very fast / efficient! Definitely commendable and a good place to get JPJ-related things done if you are living close by.

Weather-worn rear diffuser on my Honda Civic FD2

Years of exposure to the elements, almost daily baking under the hot sun (it's practically a land of eternal summer here in Melaka) and lack of shaded parking has taken its toll on the paint job of my Honda Civic FD2. Unlike corrosion, which is the biggest problem faced by cars in four-season countries like Germany (due to the use of salt to melt the snow and ice on the roads during winter), here we basically have to deal with the slow destruction of paint and plastics due to the effects of sunlight.

My rear diffuser is in quite bad shape. While it's structurally intact, the paint, or rather the clear coating has started to delaminate and peel off in large patchy areas. I've taken a photo below and did some photo contrast enhancement so it shows up better, but otherwise this is what it looks like.

The diffuser is not made of metal, so rusting is not a concern. However, once the upper clear coat is gone I worry the UV light may start to cause the plastic (possibly PU, but I'm not sure) to become brittle and crack. Well, since I'm getting my front windscreen repaired (due to the recent mishap which you can read more about over here), I'll take the opportunity to have it repainted. Now comes the question, should I repaint the entire car or just the diffuser? Given that it's hard to get exactly the same shade each time for metallic paint, it will definitely look odd and contrasting to the rest of the car. Of course, a full paint job will cost much more and take much longer - something to consider this close to Chinese New Year. Hmm, decisions, decisions....😟

Shattered Front Windscreen on my Honda Civic FD2

It was a quiet, peaceful evening on Christmas Day. We were on our year-end family vacation to the Royal Belum National Park, Gerik (haha, some people hear I'm going to Greece, so I have to slow down and articulate whenever I mention this it). Pulling out of the Belum Rainforest Resort (a wonderful stay, more on this in a separate post), we headed towards the East side of Pulau Banding to look for some affordable dinner at the Jetty area just before the Temenggor Lake Bridge. No sooner than I cleared the Resort main guardhouse, unfortunately I heard a sharp "KRAK" sound in front.... 😱

I've heard it before - the sound of a stone hitting the windscreen. I believe it came from the oncoming 4x4, as there was no vehicle in front of my car. Though I was moving quite slow at the time, the stone had quite a bit of kinetic energy as the 4x4 sped past. I scanned my screen for signs of damage, but did not see anything. Somewhat relieved, we had our dinner and made it back to the resort uneventfully.

The next morning, my wife exclaimed as she noticed a crack line extending upwards from below the wiper on the driver side to middle of the windscreen. Hmm, looks like we weren't so lucky after all - what an unpleasant "Christmas Present".... 😓

It was a clean crack and thankfully, the glass did not shatter - the V-Kool tinting held things together. Well, nothing more I could do about it. We finished our holiday and made it back to Melaka the following day. Over the weekend, I noted that the crack line had grown longer, inching upwards to towards the top, and a secondary shorter crack had appeared. Will call up David, our trusty "car repair man" to get my poor Honda Civic FD2 fixed up - have to check if this is covered by the motor insurance policy. For the tinting, lessons learned - V-Kool is great, but tends to block signals (my gate remote and SmartTAG always seem to have problems transmitting out of the cabin). Anyway that tint layer was done more than 10 years ago, will check again what is the best option available these days. Any recommendations, anyone?

From this experience, first a reminder - do not follow / tail-gate vehicles, especially if the roads are rocky, and you know, those trucks which carry rocks and a lot of loose stuff. Even without the risk of hitting some flying object, you could find yourself rear-ending the vehicle in front in event of sudden braking. As for the risk of shrapnel coming from oncoming vehicles, I can't really think of any evasive maneuvers - the road was only a single lane in each direction, and the oncoming vehicle was speeding. However, what I can say is that you need to be prepared for such unexpected events and not get a shock and lose control of your vehicle. That's actually much easier said than done, so my advice is:-

(Stock footage taken from the internet)

• Keep both hands on the steering wheel. Except when changing gears. Since 99% of cars these days are automatics, there's no excuse for not doing so. In the event you get a shock, with both hands it is less likely to jerk the wheel in one direction. If you need to use one hand for something (legal, like changing the radio and not talking on the cellphone), do so when the coast is clear (ie, no cars close by, going in a straight line). If needed, slow down or stop by the side of the road.
• Don't have a death-grip on your steering wheel. You just need to hold it to keep the car pointed in the right direction. Again, if you clench until your knuckles are white, you may jerk the wheel if you get a shock and lose control of the car in the process.
• Slow down - sudden steering changes at high speeds equals instability, more so if you are driving a RWD or something with high COG (Center Of Gravity) like a truck or SUV.
• If you see a large, fast vehicle approaching from the front, try to keep to the far side of the road (if there is only a single lane, do your best and watch out for motorcycles coming from behind).
• Lastly, if you are driving on rocky roads, don't drive so fast. Not only do you risk skidding if you roll over rocks or stones, but your tires may pick up and toss stone and damage someone's vehicle (like mine!).

Come to think of it, there is a high risk of getting hit by flying stuff from speeding vehicles, so try to avoid being exposed out in the open on highways (pity the police guys who selflessly man the speed camera, aren't they happy now they are replaced by AES? 😅).

(Pic taken from somewhere on the internet - hope owner doesn't mind)

Sitting down in the living room thinking to myself out loud, with all the automotive innovation these days, rather than work on something far-fetched and unrealistic like a flying car (really, see here), hopefully some engineer can design a working force field generator (like the one in Star Wars), which would be off most of the time (to save power, maximize fuel economy, of course), but when needed can be turned on. Oh, would be nice if it were programmable, so I could "divert all power to forward deflector shields" in situations like the above. Far-fetched you say? Maybe, but at least more practical than a flying car. Who knows? Innovation and inventions begin with a though, and problem looking for a solution - space flight and moon landings were science fiction once....

Side note : since I was think out aloud, my son asked me why not enlarge it to form a planetary shield, in case of incoming asteroids and meteors? Haha, even wilder imagination than me - that's my boy! 😂

Well, to all readers out there, hope 2019 was a good year for you and that 2020 will be even better. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Hati-hati di Jalan Raya!

DIY fixing the Gear Shift Boot Cover on my Toyota Prado [FIXED]

Toyota is know for their high reliability and my Toyota Prado Land Cruiser has proven to be no exception to this rule. Of course, being a 22 year old car, some bits and pieces are bound to show signs of age (either that or the previous owner(s) did not have car care as their top priority). One such example was the gear shift boot cover, or rather the plastic clasps that held it in place.

Unfortunately, only 2 of these clasps remained intact, both on the left side of the hole. This was not enough to hold the gear shift boot cover in place, leaving it awkwardly in place, as you can see below:

Gear shift boot cover barely keeping the dust and other stuff from falling in....

I suppose that I could always super-glue the cover permanently in place, but I decided to keep it easily removable in case I chance upon a suitable replacement part somewhere in the used car market. Which I could not find up to now, in spite of searching online. Short of buying a half-cut, if anyone knows where I can get some parts, do contact me with the details.

First step was to unscrew the gear knobs, which was quite easy (luckily they were not screwed in too tightly or jammed in place). This was so I could remove the central console plastic as well as the gear shift boot cover:

Note the different sizes of threads - no risk of accidentally swapping the two knobs

With that done, it was a simple matter of carefully pulling the entire central console piece upwards. As you can see, no screws, plastic rivets or breakable pins, but 4 metal push-pins that I didn't have to worry about breaking:

As you can see, the two remaining clasps were quite small, and now to hold the gear shift boot cover in place on the other sides I stacked 4 layers of double sided tape (cut in half to form short thin strips in order to match the height, before pasting a strip of tape across the corners. I left the cover tape on as there was no point in leaving the under side sticky:

With that done, I carefully replaced the entire assembly, snapping snugly back in place and screwed the two gear knobs back on, taking care not to over-tighten them:

And that is what it's supposed to look like!

All in all, around 20 minutes spent - not a permanent / ultimate fix for my Toyota Prado gear shift boot cover, but rather a MacGyver solution which I hope will last (given the probability of finding replacement parts is quite low). Will leave it for a few days to see if it will hold....

Malfunctioning Digital Fuel Gauge on my Honda Civic FD2

One of the innovative and futuristic features of the Honda Civic FD series was the 2 tier dashboard. Notably, the traditional speedometer dial gauge was replaced by a digital display aligned to the center of the steering wheel, sitting right in front of the driver. Of course, when this first came out, there was an instant love-it or hate-it reaction.

While it bore a close resemblance to the digital speedometer found in KITT of the Knight Rider frame, a slow refresh rate of ~1 second initially drew criticism that the display was not in "real-time". To most of us, this was OK, as one did not need to know the exact speed of the car at any given time while accelerating or braking, unless trying to test for 0-100 times. Then again, most speedometers weren't accurate at high speeds anyway, usually erring on the side of caution (actual speed being lower than displayed speed).

The display is capable of 3 full digits, meaning a theoretical maximum speed display of 999. In actuality, the left most character can display a "2" (enough evidence available on the internet, don't need to ask me how I found out), so speeds of >200kph are attainable. Unless, of course, you have a stock FD2R, with a built-in limiter of ~180kph.

To the left and right of the display are the temperature and fuel gauges respectively. The temperature is shown in little squares, with the normal operating temperature of my car being around 9 squares. Somehow, i feel this is better than the light / no light display found in some cars like the Toyota Vios (2nd Gen), where you either see no light (meaning all is fine) or you see the light (meaning it's too late). On the right side is the fuel gauge, which is made up of a total of 20 squares, plus a low fuel orange light that comes on roughly when the last 2 squares are reached.

Don't trust your eyes, less risk your tank running dry....

Now the reason I'm writing this post is not to explain this digital upper instrument cluster in detail, but rather to highlight some minor issue which cropped up recently. Being a ~12 year old car, I'm not too surprised when my dear FD2 starts to show signs of age. Specifically here, the fuel gauge has started to malfunction intermittently (as you can see above), that is:-

• Display back-light is sometimes dimmed, as can be seen in the photo where the F and E are somewhat dimmer than the H and C on the left side temperature gauge
• Fuel display squares can be "inverted", or all fully + partially on (something like the photo)

Not sure when was this first time this happened, but it was fairly recent and not a one-off event. This tends to happen at any random time, and can suddenly revert back to normal at any time too. No co-relation to time of day or temperature of the car. Searching on the internet, looks like the entire module is replaceable, but not sure how much it would be the cost. Have to find out during the next service run to GS Tay Honda Muar, which is probably another 9 months or so away, given my current mileage and typical daily drive distance. As this will probably cost quite a bit and is not really life-threatening (odometer is still working, so I roughly know when to refuel), if it costs too much I may decide to just live with it.

Other possibilities include 2nd hand (if can find), either stock FD2 (not sure if common part with FD1) or perhaps from an FD2R (might be compatible). But the FD2R back-light is red, and has a matching lower tier as well, so a red/blue hybrid just doesn't work, IMHO. Check back here for updates (after nine months or so). Anyone else out there ever face a similar issue in your own FD1/FD2/FD2R? In the meantime, if anyone has any parts to let go, and you are in the vicinity of Melaka, do let me know.

Demerit Points System (Kejara) goes online in Malaysia

Photo from TheSTAR online (http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/11/16/parliament-contract-aes/).

Significant news for all drivers in Malaysia. Some say good, some say not, depending on what kind of road user you are. From 15 April 2017, the Kejara Demerit Points System goes online nationwide, and ushers in a new era of traffic law enforcement. Ultimately, aimed at increasing road safety by taking action (by means of suspension and even revoking the driving license) of frequent traffic offenders.

Now, for those new to the topic (or need a refresher), Kejara is short for KEsalahan JAlan RAya (or traffic offences, in English). Under this Demerit Point System, each driver will be "awarded" points for each traffic offense under the Road Transport Act 1987. For the initial phase, the main focus will be on (but not limited to) speeding and running through red lights. More will be added in due course. 23 in total, to be exact, planned by the end of the year.

A quick search on the JPJ website reveals the following information on how various offenses are "scored":

6 points for drivers of cargo-carrying vehicles (lorries, vans, etc.) and buses. 4 points for drivers of all other vehicle types.

For drivers of cargo-carrying vehicles : exceeding speed limit by 1~25kph = 4 points, 25~40kph = 5 points, above 40kph = 6 points
For drivers of all other vehicle types : exceeding speed limit by 1~25kph = 2 points, 25~40kph = 3 points, above 40kph = 4 points

Looks like the emphasis on compliance is higher on drivers of buses, lorries and other cargo-carrying vehicles.

Playing a big role in this will undoubtedly be the AES (Automated Enforcement System) network of cameras scattered throughout the country, as well as those traffic light cameras at most intersections. Ah well, since we are in to acronyms, the integrated system of AES and Kejara is known as AWAS (Automated AWAreness Safety System).

Upon racking up a total of 20 points, a warning will be issued to the said driver. Subsequently, upon reaching the next 20 points (40 points cumulatively), the driver's license will be temporarily suspended for 6 - 12 months. The driver will have the option of undergoing a "rehabilitation course" in order to reduce the duration of the suspension. I'm not able to find any details on such courses (duration / cost) for now, though the system just started, so it's not likely anyone will have to seriously consider this option yet....

The other option is to avoid being awarded additional points for 12 months, which will result in a 50% reduction in points. 

Since the automated system will rely on vehicle identification, if you are not the driver of the car (example, your teenager is driving the family car bought under your name), then you have 30 days to clarify the matter with JPJ.

The process flow chart : guilty or not guilty

The second and third set of 20 points will also result in a suspension, though it's not clear what the min-max duration. There are 2 conflicting sets of information from the http://www.jpj.gov.my website. One thing consistent, though, is that the 3rd suspension within a period of 5 years will result in the driver's license being revoked. If you are still on probation (driving with a "P" sticker), the 1st 20 points will be sufficient to get your license revoked. Once revoked, you can only re-apply for a new license after 12 months from the date of revocation. Here's an infomercial taken from the JPJ website:

Of course, better not to test the limits in the table above....

An example on how to lose your driving license under the Kejara Demerit Points System

Points are award and effective upon paying the compound or summons in court. If, say, the driver does not settle the speeding ticket (which is quite commonplace based on what the general impression all this while), JPJ will blacklist the driver's license and block renewal of road tax / license.

Stock image from Pixelbay

You can check online if you have any outstanding summons : http://www.jpj.gov.my/pertanyaan-saman-notis or are on the blacklist : http://www.jpj.gov.my/pertanyaan-senarai-hitam ( note these are http and not https sites )

You can read about it more on the JPJ page : http://www.jpj.gov.my/sistem-kejara or write to them for clarification at kejara@jpj.gov.my

Well, there you have it. Of course, it's quite natural human behavior to be resistant to change, but taking a step back and looking at the big picture, the end-in-mind is to make the roads safe for everyone by keeping errant and bad drivers off the road. Regardless, do not drive safely only because you fear the law, but because it is the right thing to do. Feel free to drop your comments or experiences with the new system (hopefully none) in the comments below.


Disclaimer : All information contained in this post is as per what I've found on the JPJ website. Do check there for latest updates, in case there are any changes from time to time. Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law....