I have an 09 Sport with the automatic transmission. I noticed a chain type clank or grind coming from the transmission or engine. This usually happens when I take off from a stop and go between 1st and 2nd gear. Sometimes it happens between 2nd and 3rd. I usually notice it when I am making a left turn after stopping for a red light it can happen between 1 and 2nd. I will accelerate from 1st and since I have to turn I ease of the gas for the turn, it will make that noise and then I get on the gas again to come out of the turn it goes away.

I have 51k miles on the fit. Can it be the chain from the engine or some transmission component? I was wondering if anyone has encountered this problem. Thanks

 

Going to be hard to over the internet, but I'd suggest just change the ATF fluid and/or oil change first.

Z-1 is not that good (search for other posts), gettting some fresh DW-1 (or other higher quality ATF of your choice) might be a good maintenance move even if it doesn't fix your problem.

 

Well .. it sounds like transmission.. going from 2nd to third. i can make it grind when i leave the house going up a hill. it makes a grinding noise for about 1 second then changes into 3rd. I dont know much about cars but it seems like when im riding low rpms, going uphill most time, but also flat...it stuggles to catch 3rd, grinds some, then catches... i have not had my transmission serviced yet. its at 39,000k and is an 09 base automatic. if you find out whats going on reply... ill do the same

 

in my opinion....dont just start throwing money at it in hopes that its something simple i.e. new tranny fluid. go get a professional diagnosis whether it be the dealer or your trusted mechanic of choice.

good luck...keep us updated

 

i.e. spend $100-150 for a non-refundable diagnostic when $15 in transmission fluid *might* fix it.

 

in all honesty do you really think that a "chain" or "grinding" sound can be fixed with new transmission fluid? instead of wasting time and possibly damaging a component even more why not bring it to the professionals?

 

^ try the tranny fluid. its simple and cheap. remmeber honda has a new fluid now. dw-1? or something like that replaced the old z1.

 

You have a point there, chances are it might not fix. But the "why not" is because professionals cost an arm and a leg. If you found a mechanic that gives you free or inexpensive diagnosis, count yourself lucky.

That being said, perhaps this can be checked out by Honda as a Powertrain warranty item for free...

 

I do def. see your point.

 

At 51k miles and being an 09 I would assume this car is still covered under the powertrain warranty so whatever you do, make sure you notify the dealer before your warranty is up.

 

If you changed the ransmission fluid and it still did not fix the issue. Then you take the car to a dealer. If there was something wrong with the transmission, you wasted your money for the transmission fluid since the dealer had to take transmission apart. The dealer will not put your new fluid back. If it is under warranty, it should be fine. Otherwise, you have to pay for transmission repair plus 2 x transmission fluid. Just my 2 cents.

 

But on the flip side, the dealer insists you need tranny fluid change and charges you $115 for that before they dig into it further. Then by chance that that happens to fix your problem or at least mask it for some time before the problem comes back. Then you just paid perhaps $100 of labor for a job you could've done yourself for $15 of fluid.

So on one side, you lost $15.
On the other side, you lost $100.

What if the fluid only cost $0.50? The relative low cost of the fluid and DIY labor versus the extremely high prices of dealer rip-offs makes a difference.

 

I'm at 75k and have had the transmission fluid changed twice by Honda. There's some extra transmission warranty thing the dealer offered at some point, only requirement was these flushes. Great piece of mind. Runs like a top.

 

I'm having this exact same issue with mine. I have an '09 Fit Sport auto as well, and I've been hearing this noise since around this time last year. I took it back to the dealership for the second time today to have them look at the noise but they couldn't regenerate the noise on their own either time (of course). So I just got back from taking the mechanic for a drive to try and duplicate the noise myself, but had no luck. The mechanic told me he thinks it might be the axle, so they're keeping my car overnight and he's going to look at it some more tomorrow (got a nice '10 Accord rental). I'll keep you updated on what they say the issue might be.

This explains exactly when and how mine makes the grinding noise. Seems to happen only when my rpm dips below 1700 rpm after shifting up to 2nd or 3rd. And it happens much more often on uphills and when exiting out of a turn.

 

any luck in figuring out what it is? this sounds just like what i've been dealing with on my '10 fit sport AT. it now has 17,600 mi and the noise started at 6,500 mi. i've taken it to the dealership a dozen times and have even duplicated it with a senior tech during a ride along and he said "finding that would be like finding a needle in a haystack". i created a claim with honda usa and they didn't help me at all. the problem is these monkeys aren't mechanics... they're "technicians" which is fancy talk for morons who rely on a diagnostic machine to tell them if there is a problem. but what if... if... there isn't a sensor monitoring whats wrong... the ecu won't get a problematic read and generate a code. i had the stop motion springs replaced under warranty and i asked them to check the plugs while they were at it because they'd be able to easily access them... they told me they checked if they were tight.

its almost like the transmission shifts too early and the noise is like the car stuttering in too high of a gear and then it kicks it back down to a lower gear... but the sound it makes seems much more mechanical. is it engine, transmission or something else entirely?

would changing out the AT fluid really fix something like this?

i've noticed that if you put it into sport and just let it shift on its own, the car shifts at higher rpm's and it doesn't make the sound. so i think there is a real relationship with the rpms being low and the gear being "too high" because of the fuel efficiency shifting programming.

i'm starting to hate my car because of this damn noise.

 

I'm having the exact problem with my '09 AT at about 45k. I notice it more when the car first starts, and even more so when it is cold. I took it into the dealer and got it to make the noise (exiting a left turn), and the tech heard it, but they were not able to identify the problem. Keep us posted, and I will let you know if I ever find the problem with mine. Have you ever gotten it to happen when shifting in sport mode? I am curious if that would make a difference, but I haven't been able to do it.

Just to be sure, this is a quick (1 second, perhaps) grinding noise that I swear is coming from under my left foot when my RPMs are low. It happens mostly between or after shifts.

 

kingjames-

Sounds to me like it's the same thing. I have gotten it to do it in sport mode, but only when I'm doing the shifting. I haven't been able to get it to do it when it is in sport and I just let it shift from the very beginning; it holds the rpms higher before it shifts. I think I do notice it more when it's cold and I definitely notice it out of corners or up shallow inclines; that's when it shifts somewhat prematurely at low rpms and then it makes the sound and kicks it back down to a lower gear. I mostly notice it from 2nd to 3rd shifts when at 19 mph, the rpms are usually at about 1100 I think.

This whole thing sucks, but I'm glad that I'm not crazy and that there are other fit owners with the same problem. Let's hope one of us gets this problem diagnosed/fixed and please share with all of us what they find and how to get Honda to fix ours too!

 

honda auto trannies are not known to be the best...hopefully the fit's auto trannies are not as bad as the last gen preludes or acura CLs.

 

Bingo. A Fluid change does not sound like a fix for this, unless you are simply low on fluid.

 

I had a 2003 Accord. It seems there was a lot of issues with the auto tranny on that according to boards I visited. Mostly related to solenoids. I never had a problem with my tranny till I hit 220K. It just crapped out at that point. I went on boards about that car and read about a lot of people that had trannys replaced well before 100k. Many of them decided to get the new tranny flushed much more often. Those that did seemed to have problems again. The place I went to to get my used tranny said NEVER flush these trannies. There was too much pressure used in the flushing process. I am with them. Regular fluid changes are good, every 30K, but flushing is not a good thing to do.

I also heard from a mechanic many years ago that if you wait a long time to do a fluid change you can clog some of the finer opening and the filter in a tranny. He said all the fresh stuff in the new fluid got all the varnishes and stuff off the metal at one time and overwhelmed the filter.

He suggested if you were changing fluid late to do this:
1. Drain one quart and add one new quart.
2. Drive a week and repeat step one.. Do this for about 6 weeks. This way the filter does not get overwhelmed. Makes sense to me.