Hey there,

I could really use some help diagnosing an issue with my 2008 Honda Fit! To start, here is a quick video of it making the noise:


It does this pretty much every cold start. It doesn't start making this noise until I put it into Drive or Reverse. The times it doesn't do it right away, I'll drive for a bit and then when I have to brake, that's when it'll do it. The car shakes quite a bit while it's doing it, and I will sometimes smell gas. It usually lasts around 10-15 seconds, and then runs perfectly fine afterwards!

I've replaced the spark plugs, coil packs, serpentine belt and tensioner pulley so far, and no luck. I took it to the mechanic yesterday and he couldn't figure it out either, he tried resetting the ECU and doing the Idle Learn Procedure, but it still did the noise this morning.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

my vote is lose belt

 

yep. I vote loose belt also. Also, the GD doesn’t have a tensioner, it has a simple idler pulley. The accessory drive belt tension must be set manually.

 

Thanks for the replies!

So when you say "loose belt," do you mean the serpentine belt / drive belt? Because I just had that replaced a month ago, along with the idler pulley (sorry I said tensioner pulley, my invoice only says "new drive belt pulley," so I wasn't sure the exact name of pulley)

Did my mechanic make a mistake then and not install the serpentine belt tight enough?

 

He may use an aftermarket belt with a smooth back.
Use genuine Honda belt with textured back side (this is an antisqueal feature "build" in to the belt)!
Had same issue on 2004 Accord with Gates belt

 

I had and still have that squeal. It's not nearly that long, just a quick 2-3 second sound, and it's fine. I just changed my belt, idler pulley, AC compressor, and alternator. I purchased a Napa belt and it was smooth on the back. I'll have to give a genuine Honda belt a try.

 

100% your accessory belt. You can tighten it a bit for now to get rid of that chirp. Eventually you'll need a new belt.

 

accessory belt = serpentine belt right? sorry I'm still learning all the different car parts. The thing is though, the serpentine belt is brand new! Or do you think it's like doctor J said, the mechanic probably used an aftermarket belt with a smooth back, and that's what's causing the chirping noise?

Also, recently realized something. If I have the fans turned off, it does not do the chirping noise on cold starts! Does that further point towards a serpentine belt issue?

Thanks everyone, appreciate it!

 

The word "serpentine" and "accessory" tend to be used interchangeably these days when referring to belts, so don't worry about that- there's only one belt in your car so any belt you see is "the" belt. If it's a brand new belt, it probably just needs to be tightened up a bit.

Whether you have the fans on or off could definitely impact the chirping noise, as the alternator will work a bit harder for every item you turn on. Furthermore, if you have the mode selector set to "defrost" or have the AC button on, your AC compressor will also click on, adding another source of resistance to the belt.

 

Hey just wanted to update this thread, in case someone else has a similar issue and stumbles upon this thread.

So even after replacing spark plugs, coil packs, the belt and pulley, and then even going back again to get the belt tightened (as most of you recommended) my car still kept making this noise and shaking on cold starts. So for the last year I kind of just accepted that this was the way my car is now and just dealt with it. I eventually realized if I let my car warm up for five minutes or so, it wouldn't do it, so wasn't too big a deal.

Well last week I took my car in to have the valve clearance inspected and adjusted. The mechanic said they were some of the tightest valves he's ever seen lol. Since getting the valves adjusted a week ago, I haven't had this issue once, I can literally start my car and put it into Drive right away on a cold start, no warm up needed!