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Note: I edited this post and its title a few hours after posting it. Its initial title was "Best way to deal with crumby service". The answer to the question posed in the new title is "reread."


I should probably post this on the Honda PCX forum, but I much prefer the MV forum and trust its users. Anyway, I finally took my 2022 Honda PCX in for service. Luckily, I had purchased the extended warranty, so the forks seals that were replaced were covered! However, the valve adjustment and oil change cost over $450. I know this is steep, but i've done my fair share of wrenching out of desperation/lack-of-alternatives, so I thought it would be nice to have a dealer do the work for once. Of course, I assumed the best. After I got the bike back, it seemed to have lost a little bit of top end speed. I figured that was probably the norm given the valve adjustment. Today, about two weeks after getting it back, I decided to check the oil just to make sure everything was still good (i.e. no leaks). Of course, the reservoir is way overfilled. I took a dry picture of the dipstick and then another picture after I put it in the engine. It's hard to tell from my crappy picture, but the oil level is at least a centimeter above the full level after it's been removed. I checked it in my garage, which I know is flat. Anyway, how should I go about dealing with this? It's upsetting, given the price I paid and my belief that the job would be done correctly at the dealer. I'm not necessarily known for my even temper…. So all of you professional mechanics out there - let me know how you would expect a customer to act in this situation. What should I expect from the dealer?
Dry dipstick
Dry dipstick
Overfilled level
Overfilled level
⚠️ Last edited by theschuman on UTC; edited 2 times
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Veni, Vidi, Posti
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Are you starting the engine, let it warm up, then checking the oil level?
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One centimeter = 0.390" approximately. Better to have a little over than under.

OPPS misplaced the decimal. 🤢

OFG
⚠️ Last edited by Oldfatguy on UTC; edited 1 time
@adri avatar
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@adri avatar
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Not a mechanic but something I've learned over the years is some bikes need to have oil measured very differently from others. Some want my dip stick in all the way, others want it only part way in. Some want you to measure after X minutes after the bike turning off, others want different circumstances.

I've made the mistake of assuming they were all the same in the past. If you can get a copy of something official from Honda (owners manual or service manual) you can make sure you're doing it to Honda's spec rather than to your own spec.

Then, you can also take advantage of having looked up the info to reference it, should you need to escalate to the dealer.

Good luck.
⚠️ Last edited by adri on UTC; edited 1 time
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Oldfatguy wrote:
One centimeter = 0.039" approximately. Better to have a little over than under.

OFG
Pretty sure that's not a centimeter… I knew I should have avoided metric when I posted this!
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Oldfatguy wrote:
One centimeter = 0.039" approximately. Better to have a little over than under.
I don't know about a PCX, but in the case of a modern Vespa, a bit overfilled is not better than a bit underfilled. Vespas have a propensity to blow oil into the air filter when over filled. (and 1 centimeter actually equals 0.39 inches)
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adri wrote:
I've made the mistake of assuming they were all the same in the past. If you can get a copy of something official from Honda (owners manual or service manual) you can make sure you're doing it to Honda's spec rather than to your own spec.

Then, you can also take advantage of having looked up the info to reference it, should you need to escalate to the dealer.

Good luck.
I have the service manual, and I did my part re: the oil checking procedure (see pic below). I'm not sure the dealer did their part re: the "Engine Oil Change" as seen below.
2021-2022 Honda PCX Service Manual Lubrication procedures
2021-2022 Honda PCX Service Manual Lubrication procedures
A better pic of the dipstick as checked per the procedure outlined in the service manual.
A better pic of the dipstick as checked per the procedure outlined in the service manual.
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Facepalm emoticon My bad - yet another error in my life. See the part of the service manual that says "but do not screw it in"?!? You need to follow that direction when checking the oil. The lessons 1. Don't jump to conclusions 2. Rereading is valuable.
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theschuman wrote:
Facepalm emoticon My bad - yet another error in my life. See the part of the service manual that says "but do not screw it in"?!? You need to follow that direction when checking the oil. The lessons 1. Don't jump to conclusions 2. Rereading is valuable.
It happens. That's why I asked if you followed the Honda way of let it warm up, and then checking. All Hondas, as far as I know, don't have you screw the dipstick in to check the oil level. But back to your original statement of the $450 for the valve adjustment and oil change. To adjust the valves, almost all the plastic panels need to come off the scoot from about where you rest your feet to the tail light. The first time I did this it took almost 2 hours. You read that right. This was a clients scoot and I did not want to break any tabs. Add another hour to put it all back together. I can now do the take off in about half the time, but still have to plan about an 1 1/2 hours just for the removal and reassembly. Then another half hour to do the actual valve work. I really like Hondas, but don't know why they did not build the scoots with an access door like the Yamaha S-Max. Saves all the time of panel removal and replace.
@adri avatar
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Atypical Canadian
2009 Vespa S50(LX150 motor swap), 2006 Vespa GTS250ie
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Atypical Canadian
@adri avatar
2009 Vespa S50(LX150 motor swap), 2006 Vespa GTS250ie
Joined: UTC
Posts: 2319
Location: Toronto, Canada
UTC quote
adri wrote:
Not a mechanic but something I've learned over the years is some bikes need to have oil measured very differently from others. Some want my dip stick in all the way, others want it only part way in. Some want you to measure after X minutes after the bike turning off, others want different circumstances.

I've made the mistake of assuming they were all the same in the past.
Looks like you made the mistake I tried to warn you about, but I was too slow (or you were too fast) and you didn't see my edit

Glad you got it sorted out and the dealer did what they were paid to do. All's well that ends well.
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