Have a 2009 Sport that has a grinding starter noise when cold (I live in the Chicago area).rest of day starts normally Battery tests good, checked water and bench charged it - same issue on cold mornings. Local repair shop said I probably needed a new battery and starter.
Was going to do the larger battery upgrade (either 15r or 26r) but mine is too tight a fit for either and I don't want to give up my plastic battery tray. Then I took a good look at my cables and terminal clamps - both are a bit loose even when clamp is fully tightened. So I cleaned and roughed up the batter terminals and clamps and installed these shims for a very tight fit now. So far the starter has not made a noise since the install so maybe a crappy cable connection was my main issue....

 

Sounds possible. Weak power to the starter (either weak battery or bad connection) are the cause of most starting issues, especially in colder temps.

 

Shims are not a bad idea. You could put some dielectric grease on there, as well. I don't know why Honda used battery clamps that are the wrong size for the battery terminals. In fact, the numerous battery complaints on Fits have aggravated a lot of customers. Honda really blew it on an issue that would have been so simple to get right.

 

The starter grinding noise when cold is a pretty common issue. Some ignore it and use it that way for years. Some replace the starter. I removed, disassembled, cleaned off the old sticky lube, re-lubed, reassembled and reinstalled. It has been a year or 2 without re-occurrence. The Bendix drive lube in the starter just gets sticky over time and it prevents it from retracting as quickly. The cold exacerbates the stickiness.

YMMV,
Mark

 

Mine is a '13. I never had any grinding. Maybe it's coming . . . .

 

Mine is starting to do this it has 270k miles u think i think i should clean mine lol

 

Your call. Mine is a 2010 and it started almost 2 years ago at 215,000. Hasn't done it since I cleaned it. I'd just rather not have extraneous noises and it wasn't that difficult IIRC. I'd rather keep the OEM starter even if it is old. It seems like someone else posted that they had taken theirs to a starter specialists and they said everything tested fine, so they just cleaned and lubed it. I didn't do any testing on mine, but was willing to gamble.
Mark

 

Can you recommend a how-to or YouTube on this? Thanks.

 

@Mister Coffee When I did mine, I just watched a few random starter YouTube videos to get an idea of what I was up against. I looked through my History to see what I had watched 2 years ago and ran across a way more detailed video that might interest you. It was made after I cleaned and lubed mine. For better or worse, I probably used white lithium grease. I obviously didn't go to this much effort (machining and replacing the bushing), but maybe I'll end up doing it later. I don't recall that extensive of disassembly either. For some reason, I think I watched one video that used Marvel Mystery oil and I may have used 3-in-1 oil. The link in his description is one of the same I watched to remove the starter from the car.

I would also say that you really have to enjoy doing this kind of stuff for most people to even attempt this type of project. I do enjoy this kind of stuff.

 

@zcargo Thanks, Z. I will have a look. That kind of job may be beyond my scope, but it's good to learn just to learn.