valve adjustment on a honda accord.

YouTube - Honda Accord Valve Adjustment

geo, thanks for the reply. That metallic tapping noise may be more faint in real life but it's clearly there. Any thoughts on the decrease in gas milaeage?

I am going to make an appointment to go back to the dealer. If the tech says it's a normal sound, I will ask him to start up a demo fit to listen to.

Good idea to listen to one that you know is normal.....will calibrate your ear.

Assuming your route and speed and tire pressures are all pretty much the same, mileage can also vary because of different gasoline. Wintertime gasoline, for example, is less dense than summertime. Regulations and driveability requirements mean more light components (butane/etc) in the winter so gasoline is less dense. Fewer pounds per gallon translates to less mpg. Different manufacturers also blend to slightly different recipes depending on what refining units exist at their refineries. There is also some swapping of components around between manufacturers if, for example, somebody has a refinery unit down but still has to make their volume commitments. Ethanol content is another variable....generally the more ethanol, the lower the mileage. What's posted at the pump on ethanol content is only a max, not actual.

geo

Thanks again, geo. I appreciate the info. I noticed the drop off in mileage right after the recall work and the weather has only been getting warmer.

Problems with recall service
 

I took my Fit in a few days ago for the recall service. As I was driving home afterward I noticed the right windshield wiper (on the right side if you're sitting inside the car) was vibrating vigorously. When I got home, I opened up the hood and saw that three cowl clips were broken off, rendering the cowl unstable. (This, I presume, is why the wiper blade was vibrating). Also, I haven't seen anyone mention this yet on here, but before I took the car in there was no space between where the cowl meets the windshield (it was almost like it was sealed with something, or perhaps had a rubber strip), but now there's about a 1/4 inch gap between them. Grrrr.....

Well, I called up the dealer and told him there were several broken clips. He claimed that the technician "didn't remember" breaking any. I brought the car back up there and showed him and the technician, and they agreed to replace the cowl without any argument. That part was nice. But, today I was supposed to go back to the dealer to have the cowl put on, but the dealer is saying that the cowl is on "national backorder," and they don't have any idea when it's going to come in. Does this sound believable?

UPDATE (4/14/11): The cowl came in on 4/11, so it didn't take that long despite being on 'national backorder.' I had it put on yesterday at the same dealer that broke it, and unfortunately this simple fix was not without problems. I noticed once I got home and started poking around under the hood that one of the cowl clips was smooshed under the cowl itself. Others have remarked about this in their posts, and, like them, I was able to fix it by pulling the clip out from under the cowl and positioning it properly. Also, the right end cap (the black, round plastic piece that secures the cowl to each side of the car; there are pictures in others' posts) was about to fall off; I had to reposition it and insert if firmly. These were all minor, easily fixable issues, although they do display the huge inattention to detail shown by the technicians at my dealership. The biggest problem, however, was that the plastic pieces that attach to the lower sides of the windshield were not secure AT ALL; I could just lightly pull on them and they detached. It was also unsightly, as the pieces looked like they were just sort of loosely fitting into their grooves. So, I took the car back up to the dealer (be aware this is now the FOURTH time I have been up to the dealer in this whole recall process) and they seemed a bit flummoxed. The service rep, who is a really nice, professional guy, and was a lifesaver in this whole nasty process, pulled an '11 Fit right next to mine to try to see how these pieces were attached to the new Fit. Well, it turns out that when Honda sends these side pieces to the dealer, they assume that the dealer has and knows how to install the proper clips. (Silly Honda, thinking its technicians know how to install its equipment . . .) Well, the dealer didn't install any securing clips; they just put the plastic pieces in the pre-made grooves on the car and didn't secure it to anything. So, they installed the extra clips in 5 minutes and now all is secure. I hope that now, finally!, this whole business is over with. Luckily I'm not having any weird engine noise--yet.

Based on the number of damaged cowls showing up, I'll bet Honda never realized the cowl would ever be a problem. Supply could very well be in demand. With shipping out of Japan being down it could take a while.

Wow. I had an appt for this work tomorrow, but after reading esp that the cowls are on national back order, I'm pulling out and waiting until they at least have cowls in supply.

FWIW, my car has always done this and it is a documented 'character' of the Fit. So even after they repair/replace the cowl, this may still be there.

Interesting the cowl is now back-ordered, I definitely believe it with the number that is being reported across the country. Krimson might be on to something, wait as long as possible to do this repair, maybe Honda will figure out how to carefully replace the cowl without wreaking havoc on the tabs.

My Fit also does the passenger-side wiper vibrating, i'd definitely consider it normal.

hmmm... mine doesn't.

Might want to get that checked out then, sounds like something's wrong! :P

I haven't noticed if ours still vibrates but it def did before the recall work.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...er-rattle.html

There's some sort of resonance that happens with the engine and the arm when idling. Try blipping your throttle and you'll see it smooth out. I kind of wonder if it only happens to manuals though, anyone with an auto see the vibration?

Yep, mine's an auto.

LOL. To me, it seems the reverse...my manual doesn't do it, but my parents' auto and other autos I've seen do. It's simple...Honda's automatic cars vibrate at idle, hence the wiper vibration.

Mine is a auto and it vibrates. After an oil change it doesn't seem like it vibrated as much but I think it's normal. If I hear rattles, then that'll be a different story and it'll need some attention by then.

I'd say don't wait just because of the Cowl. "HONDA" is going to figure out something on this as it is related to the specific Techs that work on the car. maybe a notice will go out that says pay extra attention when removing the cowl... but not likely. by now, the techs have all broken a clip or two on cars that have already been in for service and have likely past their "oops" stage. My techs were good about it with no broken clips so I'm guessing there won't be any issues tomorrow either.

~SB

I'd also rather have a broken cowl than a broken engine. People are putting off replacing a potentially bad internal engine component because they're worried about not being able to immediately replace an external plastic piece that may not even get broken anyway.

not all dealers remove the cowl.
so ask them.

I had mine done this morning. The service manager stated they do not need to remove the cowl... But I checked before pulling out of the dealer. There was a minor gap in the cowl, but the mechanic "fixed" it by wiggling the gap and it snapped to closed.. No gap and no problem :-) I actually can now hear more aggressive engine sound when accelerating.