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Since I got my red BEAT in December 2022, I have very precise with oil changes.
When I lived in a small, remote Island in the Setouchi, I found a gas station that would accept my "pressing advice" (be careful with this be careful with that" and every oil change went more or less without any major oil spills.

I know I was a pain in the ass, but in the end we became friend with the person in charge (who also drives as a professional level) and I have to say he always did a great job.
Perhaps a basic job, cleaning any drops, making sure the drain plug was clean before reattaching it, always using a toque wrench, always changing the gasket, always lubricating the oil filter's gasket... always being careful not to spill... too much oil when refilling. (perhaps he spilled a bit only the first and second time, but nothing major...) in all it was a very good an inexpensive service that allowed me to have my oil changes every 3000 km with peace of mind,

As I recently moved to Yokohama, I wanted to find a new place where to bring the car for an oil change, a reliable mechanic who could do this kind of job.
I found one with excellent reviews, and after contacting this place, and explaining about the oil filling process, that "has to be done slowly, otherwise it will spill" I got reassured that that was no problem. It costed 4 times more thatn in Omishima (the island where I was living), but "what the hell" this is the city right? And this is also a very well reviewed mechanic!

Log story short, I visited the shop, and was strongly welcomed to have a seat inside. I usually stayed with the mechanic during an oil change, but I didn't want to insult anyone... but I kept watching through the window.

The Beat was jacked up from the back and the oil was drained. Apparently they didn't want to use the lift...
I wondered, shouldn't the car be jacked down while draining the oil? Whatever, I tried to preten to sip the barley tea..
After about 30 minutes, I saw the mechanic handling filling the oil. I saw no care with that, but I hoped he was lucky enough...until the shit show of brake clean and wipe started. He spend about 20 minutes spraying all around the top and trying to clean up the "excess oil"...

I felt uneasy, but well, "these are professionals", I thought.

Finally when I got to pay, the mechanic came to apologize saying that "unfortunately he spilled "little bit oil".
I smiled saying "I understand, it happens"

Of course there is an enormous language barrier (sorry ladies and gentlemen, my Japanese is limited to the very essential formalities)... but when I went home I decide to get under the car and look down.
That was my time to use brake cleaner and clean the oil pan, engine bay, drive shaft, oil filter, drain plug... I promise, it was dry as a bone before...perhaps still a bit dirty but dry. and now some oil is still coming down.

I wonder if this is what I should expect.

Should I only go to a Honda dealer? Does anyone knows anyone in Yokohama or around able to deal with Beats?

I felt very sad, Is this shit really necessary? I felt like I was back to Italy or Finland where no one trusts mechanics...

Sorry for bitching about this, I hope I am just an isolated case and just need some comfort...

Have a dry ride,

C,

Q1. コールドスタートプロテクションについて良いと思ったポイントは？
回答：This product claims to prevent metal-to-metal contact, providing enough protection when the engine isn't at operating temperatures.
Q2. コールドスタートプロテクションについて推した方がイイポイントは？
回答：The protective "film" seem to stay on metal surfaces even if the engine isn't regularly operated.

この記事は みんカラ：モニターキャンペーン【コールドスタートプロテクション】 について書いています。


※質問項目を変更、削除した場合、応募が無効となる可能性があります。

Hi there!

Well, this is the first time I am trying to write something regarding self-maintenance, so I hope this will makes sense and hopefully it may be useful for someone. I succeeded (hope so, at least) to complete this relatively simple task thanks to the many contributors on this blog, so all the credits should go to them! Thank you!

Since I got this Beat, the cooling system has worked flawlessly, despite the old age, nevertheless, I have always been concerned about its age and whether it has been maintained properly during. the years. Therefore, I decided to check it our myself. I know there are many qualified mechanics out there, but in this remote island, it is hard to find anyone willing to do this job, and they all have their rules (I cannot choose the type of coolant, cleaning products or procedure), so I try to play my game on my own risk.

I wanted to perform a radiator flush, change the coolant into a propylene glycol, and make sure the job would be done the way I thought was correct. But now I cut the BS and go straight to the process.

1. First of all, I decided to jack the car up from the front. I used an hydraulic jack, with the help a standard jack to lift it a little from a side (Low down downsides).
I put a pan under the drain and opened the draining valve. The fluid started to drain and relatively clean green liquid came out.
(According to my knowledge it was 3 years old and had a shot of some "coolant restorer" last year.)
Then I lowered the car and put it horizontal, and jacked it up from the back. I let physics doing the job. I quickly started the engine to activate the water pump and get some extra coolant out. To help the fluid to come out, I also opened the radiator and reservoir tank. I did that after opening the drain valve to avoid merciless spilling, however, it came out powerfully.

2.Once empty, I closed the draining valve and started to add some "holts radiator flush" and distilled water. After adding about 4 liters of water I went to check the reservoir tank in the back and noticed it was full! So I lowered the car, once again horizontal and filled with water till it got full. I started the engine with the heater full blast, and let some residual air come out.
After about 15 minutes I closed the caps and had a 120 km ride. I also got stuck in the Golden Week's traffic, and had the radiator fan activating a few times. I kept the heater on all the time, thanking Beats for being convertible cars. The temperature gauge never passed the middle mark, so I think everything was working properly.

3. Once I got home, a few hours later, I started the rinsing process.
I was expecting scum, rust and debris to come out, but in all not much showed up.
I want to think that the cooling system had had proper maintenance, rather than blaming the cheap "radiator flush" product. I mean... I've seen pictures online of radiator flush removing tons of filth from radiators, if there was a lot, some should have come out, right?

4. This was the most time and brain consuming job. All I did for about 3 hours was to jack up the car back and forth, fill and empty the system with distilled water (I did it 3 times in total) until I got a mostly clean water, which I collected and put in the distilled water 20L container and will dispose to the recycling facility. This is time consuming, because had to let the car idle for about 20 minutes between a rinse and another, get it warm (always with the heater full blast) and hope everything went well.
After the last rinse, when the rising water looked clear, when still jacked up from the back, I turned on the engine for about 30 seconds to activate the water pump and get rid (hopefully) of the last drops of water.

5. Time to fill with coolant, I first added a small amount (about half bottle) or a "Kure Radiator System Over 50000km".... Just for piece of mind, to fill, if there any cracks in the system and protect the radiator and cooling system. This i Just placebo, I presume.
The coolant I choose is a long life propylene glycol from Kemitech (PG55 HQ). I wanted to use a non toxic type, and also my chemist colleague agreed that it may be more stable than ethylene glycol. Only time can tell.

After bleeding most air (and about a day work), and removing some excess, the job was done. I want to think it was properly done, but as I am just an amateur, something may have been done incorrectly, so please after your read this, take it as an idea, not just as the "right way to do it".

Final remarks:

This is a relatively simple process that takes both time and concentration. I guess that there is a small space for mistakes (minor leaks while filling, sometimes forgetting to close the drain valve... I did that for the last refill... as someone came to say hi! and I lost track of the process), but it can be done even if you are not a professional, with the risks involved in the process, of course.

Was it cheaper than taking it to a dealer? I do not believe so, but I used the products I wanted and leant something from it.
Above all, my consideration goes to professionals who have to do this many times. This is not a piece of cake, and it makes you tired. So, thank you, all passionate mechanics doing this with commitment, The price you ask is well worth it!

Finally, the result seems to be good. The car didn't show signs of overheating, the heater works well, and I feel - if things keep this way- that my cooling system is in good shape and I can drive long distances with piece of mind, hopefully also in summer.

I am looking forward, to change the transmission oil by myself, too.
At some point I will have to change the brake pads and ideally the brake fluid. I was thinking if a DOT 5.1 may work in this car. Anyone tried?

Anyway, if you read this all the way, thank you for your patience, I hope it can help some of you to get an idea on this.

Have a nice day,

C.

Hello everybody,

I just decided to register here, to say hello to all of you, Beat drivers!

When you are driving a Beat, you don't get to see a Honda Beat every other corner, but when you cross one, a nice greeting, hand waving, or a smile will be offered to you.

I am a sort of alien in your beautiful country, but I felt very comfortable with this tradition. Actually it felt natural to say "HI!".

With this post, I just wanted to do so, to all of you.

On my way back to Ehime pref. from Yokohama, I was gently passed and waved by another red Beat. Sorry, I was slow to wave back, but well, you were too fast :D :D.

So, hello to you all!

I will try to post something about my car sometimes, maybe something useful may come out, yet again I thank you all for the extremely valuable information you often post, even if I need to read in translation, I always find something interesting and useful.

What to say, let's "keep the beat!".

Warm greetings,

-C.