Just completed my 50-mile commute to work. Noise all the way. Maybe not at the loudest level that it has been, but quite consistently there.

Last night, I thought it might be that the cam chain tensioner had gone, or was sticking, and that the noise was some sort of cam chain rattle. Possible? I would add that the exact source of the noise has been difficult to locate, but it has always seemed to be from the top end, rather than the bottom. Of course, I really have no idea. It could be coming from anywhere.

December might be a good month for new car shopping for me.

 

New car shopping already? Have you had any problems besides hearing a noise?

 

50-mile return commute complete. The noise now seems more permanent than intermittent.



Yeah, car shopping. I do a lot of driving for work. No car means no job. Furthermore, I have no reliable mechanic and I can't afford to get involved in a car problem that is 20% car and 80% technician-servce writer-service manager-dealer. In my area, it would take me two months just to get a dealership to admit that there is a noise. (I went through this with them when the clutch had a bad pilot bearing. "What noise?" --- "Let's listen to another Fit engine." --- "That's normal." --- "You must be hearing things." --- "Bye-bye, now. Have a nice day.")

'Doom, do you happen to know if the 2009 or later models have this noise?

 

So, I just picked up a religiously maintained 2007 Sport Auto from my good friend (I sold the car to him brand new) with 121K on it. The car runs and drives beautifully, but makes a very similar (if not identical) knocking noise WHEN THE ENGINE IS WARM...it does not seem to make it (Or at least I cannot hear it) during cold start, but is noticeable after a minute or so once the 'Cold Engine' indicator turns off and the idle settles down. My car has had tons of oil changes, the valves adjusted, plugs done, etc.

It does seem to go away if I rev the engine, but stays present at idle even after driving the car.

I've gone through this thread fairly thoroughly, is this something to worry about? Has it been confirmed that an engine failure is imminent? Any advice appreciated.

P.S. Last night I had our master technician go through the entire car, he even used a stethoscope-type tool to listen inside the engine; he said the noise is certainly noticeable but not crazy loud to him; noted that it sounds similar to a 'rod knock' as mentioned in this thread. Other than worn original shocks and the control arm bushings having some play, the car checked out A-OK.

 

@TMH42: Thanks for this post.

Re "our master technician": Do you work at a dealer?

 

I do, however we specialize in the higher-end and exotic cars. We do service everyday cars as well but our mechanics aren't Honda Master Techs.

We provide a brokering service which is how I originally sold this Fit when new.

 

I suppose what I'm mostly concerned with is whether this noise has become an actual, tangible issue for us Fit owners; it seems like there is a good amount of speculation but has anyone come to a conclusion?

Just want to know if I should be expecting big repair bills in the near future !

 

The loudest thing I hear through a stethoscope is from the EGR recirculation valve on the left side of the cylinder head as viewed from the front of the car... Also the fuel line at the plastic connector below the throttle body is very loud and and rhythmic sounding..... I have 2 of my mufflers and the exhaust control valve removed so it was difficult to hear anything without the stethoscope but these 2 places I picked up the most noise from are the same places I heard the same sounds from the other times I have used the stethoscope and posted what I heard related to this thread.... I hardly notice it even when I have my hearing aids at the most sensitive setting since increasing the boost to 10 PSI....

 

My thoughts as well... monitoring this thread... drum rolls... And the winner is....

 

tag. I call it my Honda Fit, Diesel Edition...because it sounds like a diesel engine to me.

 

^, haha nice!

 

1) So, are you saying that the noise is normal?

2) I don't understand how the EGR valve, or any valve, could make this kind of noise.

3) The noise I'm hearing is loud enough so that you can hear it standing next to the car with the hood closed. You don't need a stethoscope (although a stethoscope might help to pinpoint its source).

Perhaps ILoveMyHonda1984 (Joey) will turn up something when he gets into his engine.

 

I agree with the above, I can also hear mine knocking even from a distance away with the hood closed.

 

I may not have been hearing the nose that others have reported... The sound I was hearing had always been from the top of the engine.. It makes sense to me that the pressure change because of the injectors opening and closing would be amplified at the connector since it is a snap together device made of plastic holding 2 metal lines together.... It is hard for me to hear at all without the stethoscope because of the noise from the intake into the supercharger and open exhaust system... It is very loud when first started even with the hood closed.. There is no insulation on inside the hood that also has functional louvers installed on it.... I don't think I could get away with driving it as loud as it is if I wasn't an old man with disabled veteran licence plates....

 

^^Thanks, Coyote.


You say it's from the top of the engine and it might have to do with something at is made, in part, of plastic. This has been my intuition as well, since I ruled out the valves. I also thought it might be coming from the aft side (the exhaust side) of the engine. But I really have no idea.

Is it possible that this: "the connector since it is a snap together device made of plastic holding 2 metal lines together.... " is moving fast enough (As fast as the injectors? As fast as the pistons?) to be making the noise? It increases with increased throttle, right?

With all the mods on your engine, it is going to be hard to use your case to diagnose this thing, I think. Your engine could be making any number of noises that a stock engine would not.

 

I am not sure about the throttle speed affecting the sound for sure but I think I remember it doing so when the car was stock... The air/fuel ratio is richer at start up so that would increase the amount of fuel passing through the injectors compared to when the engine is at an idle when warm.... I am not ruling out the possibility that there could also be another source of similar sound from the crankcase like piston slap... I had gone all over the engine with the stethoscope before installing the supercharger because I was concerned with the rhythmic knocking sound. I heard nothing like the noise except at the fuel rail and fuel line with the connector being the loudest and most like it.

 

An update on my noise:

Being that I just bought the car about ten days ago, I had a chance to see if a longer drive would help with the noise. I did a 70 mile round trip and noticed that both after the first 35 miles and getting home the noise was significantly quieter than if I had just drove the car a mile to work.

In my parking garage I rolled down all of the windows and drove to see if I could hear the knocking while the car was in motion--it sounded perfectly fine.

The knock only surfaced when the car was idling, and it definitely seems to be coming from the bottom end of the motor; however it was definitely quieter than usual after a long drive.

 

Thanks, TMH.

Bottom end? Hmm. Not good, I think. But who knows? I can't get a clear idea of the problem, so my plan is to drive the sh*t out of the car and make the problem worse, maybe break the car. Then, maybe I'll be able to decipher the problem.

 

I guess I should say it could be heard more clearly if I stuck my head under the front bumper...it isn't necessarily coming from the bottom of the motor.

I look forward to following this thread to see what you discover.

 

I used to here all kinds of weird sounds on cars I drove but I was usually pretty buzzed at the time... A buddy of mine that bought a VW bus for his first car became so freaked out by the way his engine sounded he had it towed to my place and had the engine parts scattered all over the place.. I asked him why he was doing what he was doing and he told me. I cranked up my Beetle and he said his car was making the same noise as mine... He fired up another doob and began to reassemble his engine...