Car Care Tips for Rat Protection

Rats can reek havoc in your car if not prevented. Here are some tips.

Rats love dark, warm and musty spaces that they can hide themselves in while gorging on garbage and leftover food. Sadly, in India, strewn garbage is a big problem in most big cities and thus the rat menace is more than obvious. Even in the better part of town, rats have been known to cause havoc by hiding in cars and destroying electrical components. Parking in general is problematic to say the least and since most cars are parked near the footpath which is usually near a drain, cars are prime locations for rats to hide in. In the monsoon for instance, rats usually prefer a warmer and dryer spot as compared to a wet drain.

In almost all instances, rats will be found in the engine bay. Favorite hiding spots for rats in the engine bay include the areas behind the battery, under the engine cover, between the headlamps and the radiator, between the firewall and the engine block. Rats usually enter the engine bay jumping onto the axle or drive shafts and making their way deeper into the engine bay. Although the cabins of most modern cars are well insulated, there are spots like the fresh-air vent of the air conditioning system or the rubber grommets on the firewall, especially around the floor-mounted pedals that can let rats in.

Once inside a car, not only will the rat urinate or defecate everywhere, it also leaves a foul smell in the interior. If by chance a rat dies in the air conditioning system, the only way to get rid of the smell is to professionally get your car cleaned and your whole air conditioning system serviced thoroughly. Rats can also chew on upholstery and carpets ruining the interior look of your car.

Rats usually end up chewing things like hoses, belts, wires, bulb holders, rubber inserts, connecters and fasteners. If god forbid, a rat chewed through a key cables that connects your car to its ECU, the resulting costs could be in the thousands. Chewed though wires can also cause short circuits which could end up being potentially life threatening.

The best home remedies to counter a rat problem are naphthalene balls and raw tobacco. Buy a good amount of the cheapest or worst quality of chewing tobacco one can buy and sprinkle it generously in your engine bay. Before you do that though, thoroughly wash the engine bay at a service centre. You can also generously distribute naphthalene balls in your cars engine bay and boot as they too help keep rats away. Spraying the engine bay with phenyl too helps repel rats. If you park in a basement, make it a habit of completely disinfecting your parking spot once every two weeks to keep rats at bay.

If you do find remnants of a rat’s visit in your engine bay, things like morsels of food, stray bits of plastic or rat droppings, get the engine bay thoroughly washed if possible to remove traces of rat urine. In cases where none of the above works, the best thing you can do it change your car’s parking spot.

SOLITAIRE HONDA SHOWROOMS & SERVICE CENTERS, MUMBAI - will also perform overall health checks on your vehicle and if there is other work that needs attention or other parts that need changing they will communicate this with you in advance to make sure you are aware of what additional work is required and whether any further costs may be incurred.

TO BOOK HONDA CAR SERVICING IN MUMBAI CONTACT SOLITAIRE HONDA AT 022 67385555 OR EMAIL US AT INFO@SOLITAIREHONDA.COM

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Six Vehicle Warning Signs Your Nose Can Recognize

Most vehicles start out with a “new car smell,” but there are other specific odors that motorists should never ignore. Identifying these suspect smells early on can help car owners be car care aware and avoid the hassle and expense of an unexpected breakdown.

Unusual smells can be the sign of serious, and potentially costly, trouble for your vehicle. By acting quickly and making necessary repairs, you’ll be able to breathe easy knowing there is no harmful damage to your car.

The Solitaire Honda recommends a sniff test of your vehicle to identify any unusual smells, including the following six warning signs :

1. The smell of burnt rubber could be slipping drive belts or misplaced loose hoses that might be rubbing against rotating accessory drive pulleys. Do not reach in if the engine compartment is hot.
2. The smell of hot oil could mean that oil is leaking onto the exhaust system. To verify the leak, look for oil on the pavement or smoke coming from the engine area.
3. The smell of fuel is likely the sign of a fuel leak in some area of the vehicle such as a fuel injector line or the casino online fuel tank. Any smell of fuel can result in a possible fire hazard, so immediate attention should be given.
4. The sweet smell of syrup may be a sign that your car is leaking engine coolant from a leaky component related to the car’s cooling system. Do not open the radiator cap when it is hot.
5. The smell of burning carpet could be a sign of brake trouble and a safety hazard. Have your brakes checked right away, especially if this smell is happening during normal driving conditions.
6. The smell of rotten eggs is never a good one and, if you smell it coming from your vehicle, it could mean a problem with your catalytic converter not converting the hydrogen sulfide in the exhaust to sulfur dioxide properly. This smell can also be attributed to a poor running engine, causing the catalytic converter to become overloaded and fail due to meltdown.

When you smell any peculiar odor, you should not ignore it. Instead bring your vehicle to a Solitaire Honda car service centre for to get an informed opinion on the nature of the odor.

TO BOOK HONDA CAR SERVICING IN MUMBAI CONTACT SOLITAIRE HONDA AT 022 67385555 OR EMAIL US AT INFO@SOLITAIREHONDA.COM

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4th Generation premium sedan Honda City clocks 2 lakh sales in India

The 4th Generation Honda City has crossed the 2 lakh sales milestone in a record time of 32 months in India thus becoming the fastest selling mid-size sedan in the country. Maintaining a strong sales momentum since its launch in January 2014, the 4th Generation Honda City cumulatively registered sales of 200,098 units by the end of August 2016.

First introduced in India in January 1998, the Honda City is the most popular premium sedan in the country and has cumulatively brought joy to over 6.3 lakh customers.

Talking about the success of the Honda City in India,Mr. Yoichiro Ueno, President & CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd “The Honda City is a much loved brand in India and has been the most crucial part of Honda’s success in the country by cumulatively bringing in more than 6.3 lakh customers to the Honda family. Continuously re-inventing itself, each generation of the Honda City has brought in new technologies and offered new value to enthrall the customers, becoming benchmark for quality and trust. We are extremely proud of reaching the new milestone of 2 lakh sales of the current generation of City and are confident that it will continue to put up a strong performance in future too. We would like to thank our customers for their love and faith in the Honda City as we celebrate this success.”

The Honda City has been a leader in Quality, being ranked No.1 in the JD Power Initial Quality Study for the 14th time during its presence in the Indian market. Product quality, matched by excellent after-sales service at the dealerships, has generated strong positive word of mouth for Honda.

The 4th Generation City embodies the best of Honda’s technologies, including the advanced transmission system – CVT – mated with an i-VTEC petrol engine and the highly fuel efficient i-DTEC diesel engine. These engine technologies offer a fine balance of performance and fuel economy. The new generation CVT of the Honda City has set new benchmark in Automatic Transmission cars by delivering higher fuel efficiency than manual transmission. The car’s sporty exterior styling and premium, spacious interiors have been well appreciated by Honda’s discerning customers. The City comes with a host of Honda’s active and passive safety technologies, including ABS with EBD, SRS airbags and Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body shell.

TO BOOK HONDA CITY CAR SERVICING IN MUMBAI CONTACT SOLITAIRE HONDA AT 022 67385555 OR EMAIL US AT INFO@SOLITAIREHONDA.COM

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Tips For Safe Night Driving On Highways

There are two kinds of drivers out there – one set prefers driving when the sun is up and the other comes out only when the sun has well & truly retired for the day. While it does indeed involve a greater quotient of risk, following a few tips on safe night driving on highways should make things easier if you belong to the latter club.

Let’s start with the vehicle being driven. The lights are the most important accessory when driving in the night. This is as true for hatchbacks as it is for larger SUV’s. So make sure that each and every light element, from the headlights and the driving lamps, the tail-lamps and the stop-lamps – everything must be in proper working order.

The above holds true in the case of the brakes and for India, the horn as well. Good brakes can often mean the difference in a situation where the oncoming vehicle’s overtaking manoeuvre has gone bad, for example. The horn too can be used as a deterrent for those who tend to ignore the flashing headlights. The general guideline for tips on safe night driving on highways is that the vehicle being used must be maintained to a higher level of reliability than one that is used to drive along during daytime.

The single major cause for road accidents in the night is driver fatigue. A well-rested driver not only drives safer but also arrives at the destination reasonably fresher. Pulling a double-shift on the eve of a long-weekend trip is not the right way to get that employee of the month award and neither is it the best way to get behind the wheel.

Tempting as it may, a heavy meal will only make one drowsy. So keep those biryanis and other delicacies for when you have reached your destination. Best to stick to light meals on the trip if you are driving.

the trip if you are driving. When in doubt, give way to the vehicle on the other side. There’s no room for bravery displays when driving in the night. Keep those adventurous overtaking manoeuvres for when the light comes out. The thumb rule is that if you can’t see, don’t go. Lastly, in India, the rules are usually dispensed with on the road. So hatchbacks or SUVs if you are behind the wheel then keep the safety-first rule in mind at all times when you drive.

TO BOOK HONDA CAR SERVICING IN MUMBAI CONTACT SOLITAIRE HONDA AT 022 67385555 OR EMAIL US AT INFO@SOLITAIREHONDA.COM

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