Would You Buy Another Mk4

[Expatman]

I wonder if anyone from Honda monitors this forum? If so they must quickly pick up on items that arouse sufficient interest among their customers for them to bother to post about those items. There have been many different posts about non adjustable passenger seat height and non auto dipping mirrors. You might like to hope that Honda would take these views on-board and do something about them in future model years updates. Or am I being too hopeful?

[Kremmen]

There is a Honda person, based in Bracknell, who posts here from time to time.

Whether he is in a position to pass on requests I don't know.

[TiJazz]

I don’t get the mirrors thing (that’s what the camera and guidance system is for) but the seat would be nice.

[ColinS]

I would also question why they fit the "blind spot" warning to the EX but not to the Crosstar.  That is a really handy safety device and not at all intrusive.

[TiJazz]

Recertification required due to higher ride height or something?

[Kremmen]

I'll be hopefully giving a Crosstar the once over in a couple of weeks whilst my Civic is in for servicing.

One thing that I now wonder is that  with car sales being the worst for 3 decades is now the right time to buy or would I get one that's been standing around in a field.

I need to find out what changes the MY21 will have and wait a few months for one of them.

[TiJazz]

Stock is widely available, but not hanging around for silly long amounts of time. My one had turned up at the dealer as stock the day before I bought it - I test drove it with the plastic wraps over the wheels etc.

Last summer’s cars (in general, not specific to Honda) had problems with low 12v batteries on delivery - there were lots of cars that had been sat in the docks since March - but cars are moving through docks and dealer networks pretty normally right now so it shouldn’t be an issue

[John Ratsey]

Last summer’s cars (in general, not specific to Honda) had problems with low 12v batteries on delivery - there were lots of cars that had been sat in the docks since March.

That must include my Crosstar which was ex-stock in July 2020. The car has been unused during the lockdowns and the 12V battery appears to self-discharge surprisingly quickly and drops to about 11.8V after 2 weeks. I'm therefore giving it top-up charges to try and keep it healthy. An unhealthy 12V battery won't stop the vehicle from starting as it only acts as an intermediatery between the HV battery (which holds its charge very well) and the 12V accessories.

[MRCLICKCLICK]

I found much the same - I know give it a short run to local shops once a week. I did find that if it is very low the display, radio didn't come on for a while - so the internal sensors are working fine - although it did catch me out first time!!

[TiJazz]

The ZS EV I bought last summer had a knackered 12v too (the HV doesn’t charge it when not moving 🙄), but the Jazz i got in December is fine.

[richardfrost]

What ever you do, don't try and jump start a normal car from your 12v in a hybrid. It is technically possible but they are very weedy batteries and if you don't know what you're doing, you could connect to the high voltage side. In my RAV4, bizarrely, the 12v battery is in the boot.

[TiJazz]

HV terminals are bright orange right?

[Jocko]

From all the cars I have seen, they are orange, but there should be no way you can accidentally connect to, or even touch with a thin screwdriver, any part of the HV system, without substantial disassembly.

[Kremmen]

My Civic is booked in for service next week.

The ploy was to view and test drive a Crosstar whilst waiting.

Got an email yesterday that the showroom is closed and test drives will not be available till restrictions ease. So I won't be able to view one properly.

That's that then for a few months.

[TiJazz]

Pretty sure some franchises are still doing test drive by appointment. People are, by and large, still buying and selling tons of cars every day. Certainly this is true in the leasing world.

No doubt the franchises who just packed up and went home (to milk furlough?  ) will be crying about “external factors” when they go out of business in the near future...