I had time for a good look at the engine compartment today, trying to figure out what parts were removed by Millennium Honda in Hempstead NY when they replaced my lms last week. There are no marks at all on the cowl, and even the dust dirt hasn’t been disturbed, and so I’m almost certain that it was not removed. The battery might have been removed, but it’s hard to tell for certain (my aftermarket stereo did not need to be re-adjusted as it might after the power has been disconnected). I can definitely see wrench marks on the bolts on the exhaust manifold, and fingerprints on the box on top of the engine that has ‘v-tec’ printed on it. Other than that, however, nothing visible with the hood open appears to have been worked on.

I’m pretty certain that the engine is noisier at idle. You can’t hear the noise from inside the car, but standing in front of the car the engine sounds like either a loud sewing machine or a quiet diesel, take your pick. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether this can lead to premature engine wear? I noticed a bit of a rough ideal (rpms slightly too low?) when I first got the car back, but this now seems to have gone away. In all other respects, the car runs just fine.

The invoice says “replaced broken lost motion spring.” I wonder whether that means I had been running on a broken spring that simply (and luckily) hadn’t worked its way loose, and for how long (the car has 50k on it). If so, those of you who are thinking of not having the repair done might want to keep this in mind.

 

It's odd that they would say they replaced one broken spring. The Honda service bulletin to the dealers says the recall is to replace all four springs on any Fit which has a rocker arm assembly manufactured on or before an exact production number in November 2009. Not to look for broken springs and replace only broken ones.

 

I'm guessing that they replaced all four, but mentioned the broken one so that the fact that it was broken is registered in the Honda database. It might be that Honda is curious about how many of these springs actually crack, and at what mileage. Or it might be that they can lean on whatever subcontractor shipped them faulty springs for additional compensation if many springs are in fact cracked.

 

Had recall done just over a week ago, but was out of town for a week, so today was the first I've inspected. No gaps, no broken clips (as far as I can tell), but the upper cowl piece and the right-side cap has a one-inch gap between them. No gap on the left side. I have no idea how the dealer thought they could get away with partially jamming these two pieces together. Guess I'm calling them tomorrow morning.

 

I posted in the other thread but to make it short...recall was done on my wife's Fit on the 23rd...I'm looking at it and I can't tell if any work was done at all?? Either they are really good at putting all the pieces back together without a mark or they didn't do the recall work at all...they did a bunch of other stuff and have paperwork for that but non for the recall...I find it hard to believe they would blow off the recall work and fake that they did it but nowadays I don't put anything by anyone

Will call tomorrow to verify they did the work...

 

Those seeing a slight idle issue need to keep in mind that if the battery has been disconnected the ECU needs to go through an idle learn procedure. Dealer should do this, however, driving it will set the idle parameters as well.

 

Brought mine in today and got it back. They replaced all the LMS springs. No major issues. There is the slight rough idle, but I assume its the ECM re-learning.

Only complaint is that there is oil residue all over the place in my engine bay. I like to keep it clean and theres oil on the radiator shroud, intake manifold, airbox, EGR valve and the front bumper trim. The tech who worked on it left a half-drank Coke bottle in my cup holder.

Also oddly enough when I picked the car up I found it had an extended crank.

Oh well, what can you do.

 

Let the service manager, not the person who answers the phone, know.

 

Originally Posted by 90 DGRZ
amidst all of these negative reviews, i have had a pleasant experience at Honda of Pasadena, for those of you in socal.

Dropped the car off at noon, told me they'd be done by 4. Sure enough, my beautiful service advisor calls me 10 minutes before 4 and tell me my car is ready for pick-up. i was at work so i told her i'd pick it up tomorrow - which worked in favor of the "wait 3 hours before operating car" which i'm guessing is for the liquid gasket to set in nice and good before seeing operating temperatures.

i didn't say a thing about everyone on the forums complaining about the cowl clips being broken - cuz if the noob tech working on my car can't take that shit off without breaking it, he can't - it's not like he's intentionally ripping and breaking every clip. plus, i took pictures pre-drop off and had no worries. dealers that say they find a shortcut by taking the battery out or do the work without removing the cowl is bullshitting you. taking the valve cover off without removing the cowl would be like doing the back side blind-don't be surprised if the back half of your valve cover is missing bolts.

so today i went in, and less than 5 minutes i was out. right away i popped the hood, and there was ONE tab that wasn't clipped in it's proper spot but i was able to fix that on the spot. every single clip was back in its place, the whole cowl lined up perfect without scratches and my wipers and washers worked. did a walk around to make sure no dents or scratches and i was out. car seems quieter at idle also - and the valve tap i had before was almost completely gone - noticed in the work order they had included a valve adjustment with the labor.

pleasant 5 star experience...you wouldn't expect any less from a dealer that's been awarded the president's award 3 years running i guess.

PS - this facility is lowered car friendly. the service bay is ground level.



really bro?? i mention the dealer in the first sentence.

 

your lucky to get this done, LMS springs are on backorder for the FIT now.

 

That might not be so bad, if it turns out that the dealer techs use up the existing inventory of new springs and repair kits learning how to do the work correctly.

I'm still hacked that my local dealer told me that they are supposed to inspect the LMS springs for wear or cracks, and then replace those that are worn or cracked. Idiots. The next dealer is an hour's drive......

My 2009 (bought in June 2009 so definitely subject to spring replacement) is low mileage so far so I have no qualms about waiting. But not patiently.

 

2009 Cash for Clunkers Fit.
Had the work done, & assumed everything was GTG.
Several broken clips, & I'd already given the dealer all good on the phone call.
Today the service manager calls to thank me for my answers on the call.
I mentioned the problem, & he's ordering a new piece. Will call me back
when it's in.

Thanks to OP for bringing this up!

 

I'm writing a letter to American Honda and mentioning this thread. It's ridic that so many people, across the country, are having the similar problems with the techs effing up.

 

That's a good idea. I did notice that when I took my car in that there were two other people with fits that had the exact same problem. I would call that no coincidence.

 

^^^I agree^^^ Could prove helpful for them to see some group feedback on their service techs. Send them the link.

 

i'm thinking of calling honda and asking them is they realize some dealers are doing the recall without removing the cowl, and having success with it. my car doesn't have a spot on it, inside or out and sounds and feels exactly like it did before the recall.

for all i know, they aren't lifting the hood either. lol.

 

I think that's a good idea...as long as you'd also make some reference to the real guts of the work....ie those cars who need the LMS springs replaced. A fair number of the cars recalled do not have the LMS springs replaced, because their rocker arm assemblies were made after that particular date in November 2009.

It would be easy to see the top of the rocker arm assembly, and its date of manufacture, without removing the cowl. To go ahead and loosen all the rocker adjusters, remove the assembly bolts in sequence and only 2 turns at a time, etc etc etc would be tougher. Getting the rocker clearances adjusted (feeler gauges, wrench, screwdriver) looks like it could be done but it's tight and would be tempting for a large-bodied tech to skip.

So the "win win" in my opinion would be if they could avoid these relatively cosmetic issues but focus on doing a better job on the actual engine work. This thread is fairly loaded with instances of obvious screwups on the valve clearances.

geo

 

While it's easy to blame the service techs and the dealers for these issues, I am equally displeased with Honda Corporation. Honda forces the emphasis on how quickly the job is done, versus doing the job at the highest level of quality. Honda has also designed a car that requires removing the cowl for semi-routine engine work (spark plugs, valvetrain, etc.), but clearly didn't put any design effort into making the cowl robust or easy to remove and reinstall. For example, wouldn't it be cool if the whole cowl assembly hinged upward like the hood does?

Also, just a quick update since I originally started this thread: The dealer is going to replace cowls and endcaps on both of our Fits. That's three part numbers per Fit (cowl assembly, left endcap, right endcap). The dealer called to update me a couple of days ago that they obtained all the parts for one Fit, but only two of three for the second Fit and are waiting for the third part. This might be an indication that their distribution network is already running out of cowl related parts. That's just pure speculation on my part.

 

Before i took my car in for recall i noticed that it sounded noisy when i had the hood up to check washer fluid....after the recall (they told my that they look at date/codes to see if it needs to be done) the car is much smoother on the road and on the highway, vavoom!
Going out at break to look at the cowls will report back.

 

FYI my dealership has changed it's service manager six months ago and i notice the difference. but $35 for a cabin filter? bah!