Hello,

let me start off with I love my fit. Its a tough car as alot of you already know. I drive alot: 09 SSM with just about 72.5k on it. All of it in NYC and Northern NJ, so its rough roads. So far I've replaced:

Fluids:
brake fluid (put in DOT4, honda dealership not feeling that but it has a high heat tolerance),

antifreeze at 50k and 71k (at 50k i threw in something other than Honda's antifreeze then read an article explaining the chemical makup or european vs asian antifreezes and changed it back to Honda)

ATF at 50k and today after this post (I now realize a drain and fill will not remove all of old fluid, at most 2 qts so I will drain and fill 2 qt every 25k to keep the amount of old fluid in there to a min)

1 set of brakes (thinking of a 2nd set soon)

2 sets of tires (stocks were trash so I ditched them at 30k for Kumhos, now I replaced the front set of kumhos with Falken Ziex 912)

4 ignition coils and a MAF sensor (long story there but if you search around you can find it....a warning story for all of you about MAF sensors there)

MAD BULBS for the headlight foglight etc (bought HID's to help with that )

my front wheel bearings (drivers side was starting to fail, replaced the front set and believe this was due to a mistake I made in going to an RS Strauss...lesson learned, ask a shop if they have a machine press BEFORE you let them take off your wheels. If those studs snap and you're already on the lift, prepare for HAMMERTIME! which will drastically reduce the life of your bearings, ABS sensors etc....

ABS Sensors (which replacing my wheel bearings we noticed one of the housing was broken, mechanic couldnt take it out in one piece.



While she is a PITA, I still love my fit and put alot of time, energy, and $ into her. My girl is trying to get me to trade it in for a Kia Soul ! or a Kizashi (which I am really feeling!) but its so much easier to tough it out with the fit, which really suits my driving style out there (nimble). Plus I doubt the other cars have an awesome forum like this one...

SO NOW FOR THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE CAR:

1) ABS lights are on and will be on until I get my sensor replacements from Bernardi. I usually dont panic stop so I dont notice the difference.

2) car has some bump steer and really feels the road. Not sure if its the tires or the bad bumps in NYC but its a pain when your coming to a stop and the steering wheel wants to move to 10 or 2 o clock because of some bumps. I'm about to replace the ATF and will check my tie rods while I'm there. if anyone can direct me to specific areas that would be appreciated.

3) random CEL!!! so I got one a few weeks ago and the car was in limp mode!! so I went to autozone and the code was saying cylinder 1 lean (guessing it means lean air rich in fuel) So I checked the air intake and saw it was ok. I took out the KN filter put in the OEM one , disconnected the battery and it went away.

until 2 days ago.....this time there was no limp mode but the engine was lacking power and didnt want to rev higher than 3k (i bring her to 4k alot, hence frequent ATF fluid changes). oo late to go to autozone so I went home disconnected the battery, checked the fuel car (random but I read it somewhere online) waited 30 minutes and the light is gone. I drove her hard yesterday and can say she improved as the day went on but am waiting for it and have no explanation for it.

Somehow I think this all goes back to the big recall for the vtec rocker springs. Possible reasons for a "cylinder 1 lean"

-maf sensor or ignition issue
-fuel system issue
-vacuum leak

Thats it for now, gotta get started on the car but feel free to advise me on any of the problems I'm having now or comment on anything I've shared.

I find this is a great site but has recently started to lack threads that share ownership experiences, good DIY (DIY red H badges....really?) projects that involve regular maintenance to help us avoid the Stealership.

If you read this far: thanks!

Later,

David

 

So I think I am getting to the bottom of the random CEL light....

prior to my second CEL I remember having my car on while parked waiting for someone when my engine started a faint whistle. it didnt change pitch when I pressed the gas. My girl came out and we drove off and it disappeared.

Yesterday after changing out the ATF, I warmed the car up to shift it around and while waiting the whistle was back. It takes awhile for it start about 2 minutes or so but it is coming from the left side of the engine.

When I have the time I will take the airbox out completely and check the breather tubes. while I'm at it I'll check the pcv (cant hurt).

 

cant say for sure, but with my intake if i idle for like 20 min without any throttle imput i get a cel

 

Does anyone know the symptoms of a rich or lean mixture and what exactly the error code means when it say "cylinder 1 lean"? Lean of air/rich with fuel ?

 

It usually means lean fuel. Example: if something is running "rich" that means more fuel, so naturally, running "lean" should mean less fuel. What causes the CEL is when the computer can't reach the optimum air/fuel ratio. What could cause that could be several individual things or a combination, unfortunately...

 

Could it be related to the whistling sound?

 

Keep OEM filter in till you figure this out.

Do you remember the code #??

 

P0171- fuel system too lean bank 1 (cylinder number 1 denotes bank 1)

Probable causes:

1) Large vacuum leak
2)Fuel system concern
3)Ignition system concern
4) MAF sensor faulty
5) HO2/AF ratio sensor fault

All in all: WTF!!!!


I had the maf sensor replaced with the ignition coils and plugs a while back when the maf sensor died.

Can anyone help me with this with some direction. Let me know if any of my plans sound good:


1) If I can find cylinder 1 (left side,right side?) I could replace the ignition coil and see if that helps.

My maf sensor looks clean but I don't know how to test it...any care to share how to test it?

Not sure how to test the fuel system ( maybe fuel filter?) So I threw in some gumout. Any other suggestions?

Vacuum leak: I want to take apart the intake area to see if any vacuum tubes or intake tubes are shot. Not sure what else to look for. But there is a whistle coming from the engine side where it connects to the intake but its very high pitch. Could a bad sensor make a sound? If not the only way a high pitch whistle occurs is when air is escaping from somewhere.

Any ideas would really be appreciated. As you can see this is one of those problems where if I take it to a shop they without narrowing it down they will continually throw parts at it, each time the disconnected battery would clear the code for a week or so then I have to go back.

Thanks again,

Btw my ps3t kicked the YLOD last night! My weekend is looking quite ass....

 

Whistling to me says vacuum leak, which would do that. Vacuum leak means more air getting in which means the air fuel ratio is going to be off. Try and narrow down the sound via a garden hose stethoscope.

 

Thanks for the garden hose idea...hope it helps. Car doesn't feel bad, its acceleration is a bit off but would driving it like this (lean) hurt the engine over....

 

Throttle body issue I'm thinking. Can't recall the issues you've had w/ the MAF, but 'cleaning' them is a tricky/questionable quest. 'bout as far a I can take it.

keep us posted

 

So garden hose steth inconclusive: sound didn't travel well enough. But I took out the cowl, wiper motor, shield and was about the remove the airbox (small screw on clamp was impossible to remove) when I turned the engine over to get a better look at all the hoses in action:

All in all I don't believe its the hoses. The sound seems to taper off and come back in time but seems to be coming from closer to the engine.

Not sure what to look for in the throttle body or anywhere at this point.

While I was in their I removed an extra ground I threw into the car awhile back. Looked like crap (rusting) and probably was snake oil anyway.

Unless I or someone on the boards has an epiphany I think I'll clean up all these bits (amazing how filthy it gets under the cowl) and start to put em all back in there.

Until I get my money up to go to honda (dreading that one), can driving lean hurt my coils or engine?

Krims: thanks for the advice and direction. Not sure what I can check on the throttle body.

 

So i went to 2carpros.com, posted the question, and made a donation to ensure quick response.


seems like they agree it might be a vacuum leak though the expert asked me to check fuel pressure which I think is a great idea.

off to autozone I go to get a gauge though I have no idea where to fuel rail is to connect it. Can anyone show me or tell me where it would connect to?

thanks!

 

I'll venture a guess that the fuel pressure is most likely okay, on many cars you can test w/ a gauge off the fuel rail. On the Fit you need a special hook-up that a Honda dealer would have.

I'm seeing the following suggestions.

Check for vacuum leaks at these parts:
● PCV valve
● PCV hose
● EVAP canister purge valve
● Throttle body
● Intake manifold
● Brake booster
● Brake booster hose
● Intake air duct

However, I would pay close attention to the filter cover/throttle body connection.

The MAF connector and the MAF/IAT sensors are located in the cover. Care needs to be taken NOT to damage them. Look at the inside and the sensors. Any debris obvious? If so carefully try to remove it manually *NOT* touching the sensors. They are very delicate and easily fudged up. Avoid spraying anything on them, air included. My feeling is they're okay.

I believe the cover friction fits into the throttle body. Be sure there's no 'leak' there. I was surpised to see this when I recently replaced the air filter in my FIT. A good location for vacuum leak to crop up.

 

latest update:

dealership recommends replacing the upper intake gasket to a tune of $1070 as well as a valve adjustment (did the recall at 60k)

do it myself?

 

ok...I went to Harbor Freight, picked up a few tools for the ol toolbox then got started on pinpointing the sound.

here is the youtube video showing the area:

fit final.3gp - YouTube

I'm guessing this is Bank1 right?

can I just tighten any screws around here? Also looking at the area I notice two holes (one either side) just outside of the intake manifold tubes on either side, am I missing screws here?!?!? (the car, not my mind

anyways pressing on the intake manifold adjusts the sound so I would like to try tightening it but what lbs should I set the torque wrench to....dont want to ruin anything here.

Any advice would be very appreciated...thanks!

 

If you're seeing that the manifold might be loose, tighten all the bolts and see what it does. Spec says 17ft#, snug em firmly tight.

If you're seeing missing bolt holes this could be the problem. Ever had the manifold off??

 

before you go random wrenching onto manifold bolts let me help you.

my fit currently has ~73k miles on it and recently (4 months ago?) my cel has been coming on more frequently.

what is the problem you ask? simple, faulty gas cap seal. i've been meaning to change the damn thing out but i procrastinate. next time your cel comes on i bet 4 out of 5 times its a loose gas cap (or not proper sealing seal).

for example, i would gas up and tighten the cap till 3 click, 5 click and ill drive off. about 20-30 miles later cel would come on and i would lose power. i stop and remove gas cap and re-tighten, 30-40 miles later and several engine on, off and cel disappears and all is normal.

bank 1 is only lean due to the lack of pressure in gas tank. our gas tanks have an in tank pressure regulator. that is the reason the gas cap is so important for sealing off and leaks.

just to let you know, my cel comes on twice a month on average just because of the stupid rubber seal on the gas cap cant seal properly!

as for the whistling noise, i have no clue what or why that is. i think i should really get the LMS recall service done on my fit but, i dont really trust anyone to touch my car but myself. the diesel like idle has gotten louder i think...

 

so home depot was a pain in the ass.....but I found a flange hex bolt after tearing through the entire aisle.

didnt torque it til the wrench click but will recheck tomorrow. Doing it with a cold engine will ensure the proper tightness and I can hear the whistle better in the mornings.


I will say there has been a drastic improvement in my ultragauge numbers. I already brought the long term from 21 to 10 and after several hrs of driving the numbers are way more stable.

I have no clue why I would have been missing a screw there, but the area looked clean so apparently it was either removed or popped off....either way I am at a loss and glad I went this route rather than having honda pop of my manifold and replace gaskets.

until now I taken my car to one dealership for major repair (metro Honda of Jersey City, where I bought it)

Dont think I'll be going there again.....

 

Good news!

Recheck all the manifold bolts to torque. Use a criss-cross pattern.

With the fuel trim coming into proper range I would say you got it. No CEL I'm guessing.