View Full Version : Service Question - How hard to they drive the cars??
Hi All,
Just had my manual Euro go in for its 1st service today, and I decided to reset my trip comp's just to see how far they drove the car as part of the service (Had a previous bad experience with another car maunfacturer).
Anyway, when I got into the car after the service, it wasnt the car distance that shocked me, but the fuel usage. They only travalled about 4k's, but the trip comp read 23l per 100kms !!!.
Now I havent driven it too hard because its only done 1000km, but I have put the boot in a few times and never seen an avg consumption over 12-13l/100k. Does anyone know what they do to a car as part of the road checks that would mean they would see the kind of consumption figures ?.
Hahah I think maybe I need to check the tread on the tires too to see if there's any left. Any ideas on whether this is 'normal' ?
Cheers
ECU-MAN
16-10-2006, 11:13 PM
I used to drive the pants off them.
one of the checks on the pre delivery was "Engine Performance", my favourite
honda_boy_3000
16-10-2006, 11:14 PM
thrash the crap out of them!!!! trust me!!! i do it!
Hahaha something tells me that they always give the test drives to the 17yo's who only just got their license and dont know how to drive.
I guess I want to know if any other Euro drivers out there, have ever seen this kind of fuel usage after a service. lol I mean I'd expect it from a spin on a track somewhere, but not in a busy area of Brissie.
I'm picturing some young kid doing 100 down the freeway in 2nd gear :(
honda_boy_3000
16-10-2006, 11:27 PM
hey man iam 21 and i still give it sh#t, thats what we are told in tec training
ECU-MAN
16-10-2006, 11:27 PM
Im Sure its all good dude,
you have to make sure the thing can rev to its designated red line and thats about it.
they might of given it a bit of stick for 5 or so min,
your car can take it. :)
Hahahh what else do they teach you there... and what exactly are they teaching you by giving it sh#t ?
jamchen
17-10-2006, 12:04 AM
can't it be just that they idle the car for a long time maybe?
Rice_4_life
17-10-2006, 12:55 AM
bring it a proper dealership if ur afraid of kiddies driving ur cars. the place i work only allows 25yr old + to test drive cars. but hey gotta test if the vtec work eh? :P
STTICH
17-10-2006, 01:36 AM
can't it be just that they idle the car for a long time maybe?
tat said :thumbsup:
or it may b just because u've just reset the trip comp, i notice wth the fuel usage, once the trip comp is reset, the fuel figure tend to b higher at the ealier stage and slowly dropping down throughout usage of ur tank of fuel.
keep in mind that the fuel usage meter is just an indicator..may not necessary b correct. from experience i find it not very accurate, in a jazz tat is. :)
Slow96GSR
17-10-2006, 07:22 AM
We idle them at 5k rpm for hours, then we take them out in to the street and race them, then we do other things like probes up the tail pipe. Lol!! Just kidding!
Most shops will let them idle to make sure it runs right and check timing and stuff, also lets it warm up in shop. Then once it's warmed up they might drive it to check new parts. If you had brakes done they will use those to test them, new tranny or drive train parts they test those. As far as gas they might fill you up and they might not. You can always ask. We don't as most of our customers get told what we do so they aren't surprised.
LOL yeah ive also noticed that the avg fuel use is high when the trip comp's just been reset, and it might not be the most accurate thing in the world... but 23l/100km's !!! ??? hahah over 4k's of driving ?
I had visions of the movie "Ferris Beulers Day Off," when the car park dudes take the dad's Ferrari for a spin around the block a few times. Hahahha
And as for testing the VTEC.... lol I'm sure that might be part of the test, but someone should have told the guy that the Euro has more than gears 1 and 2 :) lol
aaronng
17-10-2006, 08:59 AM
23L/100km, sounds like a run up to redline. They do need to test that the engine is not going to die on you. As long as the engine is warmed up, it's alright.
Mr_will
17-10-2006, 09:33 AM
different people will tell you different things in regard to whether it is better to baby your car when running it in, or to drive it like you stole it.
as aarong said as long as its warmed up it should be fine. you could always queery the fuel consumption reading, and if the service manager doesnt offer you a satisfactory explanation, look further into it.
on a similar note i was driving through newcastle today, past a smash repair place in broadmeadow, a young panelbeater pulled out of the driveway in a primed r32, and revved the living shit out of it, fishtailing around a corner and back in the other side of the workshop. i would never take my car there, ever.
i think youre a lot less likely to have your car abused at a dealership, because they have a strong reputation to uphold.
xtercii
17-10-2006, 01:48 PM
All dealers perform burn outs on their customer’s car just to make sure everything is alright and strong, and the burn out usually goes for half an hour to a 45 min session.
EuroAccord13
17-10-2006, 02:00 PM
I once caught one of those apprentice mechanics at the dealership flooring the shits out of the car..I don't think they need to do burnouts and leave skid marks to make sure my car is tight..... THEY DON'T GIVE A DAMM!!!!
I reported to the manager but it seems like they will only acknowledge and do jackshit about it....
I'm sure they have to give it a little bit of stick to make sure all's well, but 23l/100k over a 4k distance might be stretching the freindship a little :) A 'run up to redline' is not going to reach those figures over that distance.
Anyways, its not a big deal, I was just curious. I'm going to have to try and achieve the same figures myself this weekend to see just how hard you have to drive the car to get the magic 23 number.
Anyone with a Euro care to share the highest fuel consumption acheived over a few k's?. Can anyone beat my dealers 23 ? hahah
aaronng
17-10-2006, 03:15 PM
I'm sure they have to give it a little bit of stick to make sure all's well, but 23l/100k over a 4k distance might be stretching the freindship a little :) A 'run up to redline' is not going to reach those figures over that distance.
Anyways, its not a big deal, I was just curious. I'm going to have to try and achieve the same figures myself this weekend to see just how hard you have to drive the car to get the magic 23 number.
Anyone with a Euro care to share the highest fuel consumption acheived over a few k's?. Can anyone beat my dealers 23 ? hahah
Yes it will exceed 23L/100km. I did 27L/100km for a total distance of 147km. That's how I estimated that 23L/100km was a few runs to redline.
destrukshn
17-10-2006, 03:17 PM
Yes it will exceed 23L/100km. I did 27L/100km for a total distance of 147km. That's how I estimated that 23L/100km was a few runs to redline.
dw arron, your car is gonna get a reallly good run in next week
=)
harharhar
lol.
aaronng
17-10-2006, 03:21 PM
dw arron, your car is gonna get a reallly good run in next week
=)
harharhar
lol.
LOLOLOL... As long as you warm it up to 80ºC before giving it a run and fix my loud valve tappets. ;)
destrukshn
17-10-2006, 03:28 PM
dw, when it's cold, i'd sit in one spot and rev to 5500rpm until it hits 80 degrees, then i'd thrash it. lol.
i'll just use thicker oil, might take the noise away.
lol.
Hahahah who would be silly enough to lend their Euro to someone with the tag 'Destruckshn' :)
I say dont wait till it hits 80 degrees... I mean its under warranty, so whats the worst that can happen LOL.
Yeah they definately run it up to red line - the RSM has a peak RPM figure stored in memory. Before I went for service I reset the log. After the service I saw the peak RPM was 7350 so that is pretty much fuel cut on my car.
aaronng
17-10-2006, 04:21 PM
dw, when it's cold, i'd sit in one spot and rev to 5500rpm until it hits 80 degrees, then i'd thrash it. lol.
i'll just use thicker oil, might take the noise away.
lol.
Nah, it's not oil related because I've used 40 weight oil as well. I reckon it is the injectors.
aaronng
17-10-2006, 04:23 PM
Yeah they definately run it up to red line - the RSM has a peak RPM figure stored in memory. Before I went for service I reset the log. After the service I saw the peak RPM was 7350 so that is pretty much fuel cut on my car.
LOL caught in the act.
I wonder.... will they cover a new engine if they blow it up while testing? Or will they blame it on the mods? Hehe
aimre
17-10-2006, 10:22 PM
Change fuel cut off on your aftermarket ECU, wont that suprise them
aaronng
18-10-2006, 12:19 AM
Change fuel cut off on your aftermarket ECU, wont that suprise them
Limit to 3000rpm ftw!
czy_sol87
18-10-2006, 01:16 AM
Limit to 3000rpm ftw!
then they'll charge u to try and find out why its only reving out to 3k lol
HondaTechy
23-10-2006, 08:21 PM
Dont you think the car was running while they serviced it to warm it up change the oil and then warm it up again to check all the levels are at the right marks? probably explaians it,i generaly let it run for at least 10 mins to check the cooling fans cut in running at the correct temp.that will burn fuel just sitting there running without not making any kms.
Huh ? Of course the car was running at stages during the service, but if your Euro can use up 23l/100k's at idle then there's some serious issues there! LOL
I just had a call from the Service Manager who was getting back to me re. my query. Here is a list of his responses.
At first he tried to tell me that new cars often give bad fuel consumption readings in the first 1000k's or so. Well this may be right but I've not had a problem with the trip computer since I got the car and avg about 10l/100k's. Its funny that it was only high since I got it back from the Service Centre and that I reset the computer just before I dropped the car off, and looked at it as soon as I got back in it after the Service LOL 23l/km's :D
He told me that there is no need to 'rev' the cars hard during services any more to check things out because they use electronic diagnostics. So his theory was that it must have been the diagnostic gear that messed with the trip computer to give a high reading falsely.!!! Now I didnt come down in the last shower and I told him that that sounded like a bunch of BS (politely of course).
I suggested that someone must have driven the car damn hard for a short period of time and he dismissed this theory because 'it would result in the termination of the person involved'. But of course he couldnt gaurantee that it didnt happen.
All in all I think its pretty funny and wasnt making a big deal of it.. just something to keep in mind next time you get your pride and joy serviced :)
destrukshn
31-10-2006, 12:08 PM
tell him, if it's reading is that off, fix it then.
just to piss em off.
lol.
Hahahh oh but it must have been 'temporarily off' ie. when they had the car. HAHAHA :D
My experiances with it (99.95%) of the distance the car has travelled, its been fine. Like he said, it must have been the diagnostic equipment that caused it to give false readings while they had the car ! ;)
destrukshn
31-10-2006, 12:16 PM
if it was that, tell them to do it again, and let me see.
lol.
just keep on poundin em until you are happy.
that's what i'd be doin.
lol.
aaronng
31-10-2006, 12:39 PM
Huh ? Of course the car was running at stages during the service, but if your Euro can use up 23l/100k's at idle then there's some serious issues there! LOL
Why don't you reset your fuel consumption meter and let your car idle for 20 minutes. I'm sure your average fuel consumption will read around 50 to inifinity L /100km. Your car is not moving, of course idling will have a higher fuel consumption than when driving it hard to redline all the time.
Ahh good theory there aaron I might just have to try that, but I'm not sure the trip meter adds the time when you're stationary?
I mean if thats the case then the display with the real-time fuel consumption ie. those bars that go up and down as the car is rev'd, would aways shoot up to maximum everytime you stop at the lights and I dont recall seeing it do that... could be wrong though. :)
aaronng
31-10-2006, 02:00 PM
I don't have the fuel consumption meter as my car is an 04. But on BMWs and the IS200, the fuel consumption needle goes to maximum when I'm stopped at the lights.
kleung
31-10-2006, 03:47 PM
Aaronng is spot on. While you are idling, the car is still consuming fuel, and the trip computer is calculating this. The average fuel consumption reading will go up quite quickly.
To illustrate this, let's say you used 5 litres to travel 50km (which gives a reading of 10l/100km), then sat there for ages idling in the service centre, and that used (say) 5 litres, suddenly your fuel consumption would be 10 litre to travel 50km, which would give a reading of 20l/100km.
HondaTechy
31-10-2006, 04:04 PM
[QUOTE=Kiwi]Huh ? Of course the car was running at stages during the service, but if your Euro can use up 23l/100k's at idle then there's some serious issues there! LOL
see i was right it calculates fuel consumption compared to distance tralved if the car was running 10 mins useng fuel then only travel a short distance it would show high readings at least the service manger would have explaned that to you.must have been a shit dealer.
Speeder
31-10-2006, 04:08 PM
This is the reason why I don't take my car to the dealers. I see too many people in overalls, leaving dealerships thrashing new/customers cars. I take it to my mates workshop, and the thing is they will take you along for the ride if they suspect something may be wrong with the car. Yeah fair enough they have to drive the car hard to find out whats wrong with it, but at least you can be in the passenger seat. And even if I'm not in the car, I'd trust my mate over someone I have never met, seen or spoken to before. You just don't know what they will do to your car, plus you should know if there is something wrong with your car, since you own it and drive it more frequently then the mechanics.
Spicey
31-10-2006, 04:27 PM
I was a mechanic and am now a manager of a service department. I used to give new and used cars a hard time but never customers cars! I would drive them like my own car or under the conditions needed to reproduce a fault but never thrash them or give them a hiding!!!
Sometimes a car needs to be revved or put under heavy loads to test things out, moreso than most owners would ever do to their car! but never to the point of doing damage to the vehicle!
I personally think that your instruments were reset to get rid of the service light or something (do Euros have these???) and was placed under load after that when the fuel consumption gauge was at its most sensitive!? I bet you noticed the gauge dropping fairly quick after you left the dealership!?
Thats one thing about doing all you own services on your cars/bikes, you know everything that goes on:p
silver_screen
31-10-2006, 05:01 PM
ok im a mechanic and i work for holden..this whole thing aboiut thrashin customers cars might be true and might not be for some.. they might have a reason and some may not.. i always test drive a customers car first... otherwise other problems which customers dont think r problems may arise.. for instance.. brake shudder... the amount of commodores ive roadtested b4 servicing and findin they have brake shudder is amazing.. and the funny thing is that customers think its normal.. they think its just the ABS unit... idiots.. now to get brake shudder on most occasions u need to put a bit of heat into the discs... a quick thrash and big braking r the fastest ways of doin it.. just make sure u dont cook the pads or discs lol.. another reason is that yes u do have to test car on road performance and this includes acceleration as well as braking and handling.. most cars will perform similar to each other.. the ones that really stand out have things wrong with them. that way when u get back to the hoist u know u gotta check a few things out to make sure they are 100% and if not.. then they gotta be reported and so forth.. I have seen some boys from the workshop that dont test drive theyre cars unless it happens to be a "V8" or HSV product... this is irresposible... only drivin the car coz it happens to be more powerful than our other products?? thats just giving the thing a thrashin for no reason.. that is WRONG.. i only do these tests also if the car has above 60k in which most problems start to arise :)
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