Hello Fittmeisters,
Long time reader, first time poster.

Brand new 2012 Fit Sport Auto. purchased in late March.

The car ran great, zippy as ever until it started to drive sluggishly as if if the tire was flat or inferior. It took more gassing to get it to accelerate and it was driving as if it was dragging and the wheels felt much more wobbly. These symptoms got worse and worse until I took it to the shop: the Diagnostic test showed no problems. The mechanic said car was absolutely fine and that's how Fits drive. The mechanic did notice that my tire's pressures were not even so he evened them out and sent me home. All was well again: after the tire pressures were evened, the car was driving like a charm and was back to normal. I was a VERY happy camper....

3 weeks later and the car is now sluggish again and almost as bad as before. I am constantly checking for a flat but visibly see nothing. I am taking the car back to the shop but am not expecting them to find anything wrong once again. This is obvious a tire issue.
Should I have them check anything other than the pressure? Is there any tire issue that the Honda diagnostic test can be missing?
Any ideas? I know this car and diagnostic test or no diagnostic test, it's driving way worse than when I brought it and after they added pressure just a few weeks ago and it was back to new. A few short weeks later I'm back to square one. Something's up.

Any advice? Please help. I'm tired of checking for flats every hour

Thanks

 

Have you checked air pressure since the problem came back? Since dealer adding air got rid of the problem temporarily that is the first no brainer thing to try. After that I would have all your wheels re-balanced. If problem still there back to the dealer.

_

 

any sounds or is it just the feel? pay extra attention to when turning for any sounds or vibrations. If there aren't any that rules out alot....

when you say wobbly does it happen under certain situations, like when on a bad patch or road with some crowning? or on the highway on a particularly windy day? I had a bolt in my tire that gave me a horrible wobble, but could be clearly heard..

lastly get yourself an air pump and digital pressure gauge for the car (harborfreight.com) and keep it in the trunk. Monitor your own pressures DAILY (in the morning before driving off) to see if its dropping and if so how quickly.

I have a small leak in a relatively new tire that requires topping off monthly. I wont replace it since its 80% new. I've been meaning to take it to a tire shop so they can check the plug.

It the pressure isnt the culprit then you can rule out the tires....its a process but eventually you'll be more atuned to your car and know your way around it to the point where a Mechanic telling you "thats just how they drive" without him having driven one for more than a few hrs will reek of the BS he's trying to hand you!

Good Luck!

 

Thanks.

Took it in: No problems but were diagnosed but they have reset the pressure again for me at my request. They haven't told me what the pressure was before they reset it but are insinuating that there was very little difference. I havent picked it up to drive the car yet but I really want to avoid going repeatedly just to make my car drive normally again. This is definitely not a real solution.

Can a small diffrerence in tire pressure air make a huge improvement in drivability?

 

Definitely keep a log of tire pressures yourself, if you aren't already. But I seriously doubt that's the problem. In fact, if you have a new Fit, your Tire Pressure Monitoring System should tell you if your tire pressure is too low - and it will light up BEFORE you lose so much air that you experience the kind of problem you're having. I had mine go off when down 20% (from 30 to 24) and found I had a screw in the tire causing a slow leak. I did not notice a problem driving nor was it noticeably flat when the TPMS lit up.

When you say you have to gas it more to get it going, as if it was dragging the wheels, do you see the RPM climb commensurately with your pressing down on the gas pedal, or are you pressing on the gas pedal and seeing a feeble or slow rise in RPM?

If the former, have them check for stuck brake caliper, an emergency brake that is not releasing, etc. Your guess might be right - you might be literally dragging the wheels along.

If the latter, then it sounds more like a problem with fuel/air/spark/compression, most likely either fuel or air. The term "throttle position sensor" comes to mind, but maybe I listen to NPR's Car Talk too much. Their scanner tool should have been able to find a problem with most of these items if it was present.

Good luck and keep us updated,
cspan

PS one more idea - By any chance are you driving off in D3 instead of D? I know in my wife's Accord it is super easy to shift from P or R right down past D to D3. That would cause very sluggish acceleration until you got up to 25+ mph. Problems with shift linkage could be involved too, but it seems nearly as unlikely on a new car as problems with compression.

 

Thanks for the support and feedback
No sounds or vibrations, but I feel increased fishtailing when turning more than I have. I always feel when the road is tilted or crowned but now it's quite intense. I literally feel the "drop". They say that the suspension is fine.

I drive 85 miles a day, 5 day a week and am quite attuned to the car already. despite what the dealers say, I know that there is a significant decrease in performance and it is not hugging the road like it was. Checking for a flat is highly unnatural. I just have to make the dealers see that.

 

No, but it definitely seems like a tire issue if the problem went away after they filled them up. I think you need to check the pressures yourself and see what's going on. Actually get a gauge and check. Does your TPMS light come on at all? I wouldn't think a flat tire would effect your driveability until it was very low (low enough to turn the TPMS light on).

I lol'd at screenname. I work in PA, maybe if this continues you can drop by on my lunch or something.

 

This sounds potentially dangerous. Do you have another Honda dealer where you live? Even if no, I'd take it to an independent shop for inspection if you're getting the "they all do that" from your main dealer.

Do you know anyone else with a Fit where you live? Maybe you could borrow their car briefly to see if they really "all do that." Perhaps invite them to drive yours around the block, see if they notice anything. That is, if they're not too afraid to try, and you have good insurance.

 

Buy a pressure gauge and air compressor. Check weekly. Consider replacing the tires early for better rubber; the OE tires are pretty miserable.

 

I agree with Steve

When I started feeling like my fit was losing some "performance" I upgraded the rubber to 205 55- 16 then I added a progress rear sway bar....the rear held way better around turns afterwards and the car felt more planted

later on when it was time to replace my suspension (got kinda mushy at 80k) I put in swift springs and since then the fit has been great (rides hard though, you have to avoid potholes and taking bumps at speed)

If its the ride that is the issue then consider those upgrades.

 

Excellent username.

 

^^^THIS^^^

Ding ding ding! It was the parking brake. It was all the way down, but for some reason it wasn't fully released. - hence the drag and the tire drama. My wheels were still spinninng but were definitely "challenged". It was never detected when they ran the diagnostic tests.

Thanks Cpan,
All that "Car Talk" must be working. Keep listening to NPR!

Thanks to everyone in the forum and to my new Fitt community. The site is awesome and the insider expertise I gain on here on here is priceless.

 

It's good to know they found your problem. But I would also try to verify that the sticking parking brake didn't do any damage to the rear brakes. A sticking brake can cause a lot of heat. That could damage the wheel cylinders inside the drum. It could also warp the drum.

Checking the wheel cylinders requires removing the brake drum and checking the wheel cylinders for leaks. You might not be able to do that yourself, but it would be a good thing to have inspected (unless you trust that the dealer who found the stuck brake has already checked).

You can do your own check for warped drums. Just get the car up to a moderate speed, maybe 30 MPH and gently apply the parking brake until the car starts to slow down. The braking should be smooth. If you get a pulsation or vibration, the drums might be warped. Note - your brake lights won't come on, so do this test on an empty road.

I had a badly stuck parking brake on an old Astro Van and cooked a wheel cylinder and warped a drum, so it can definitely happen.

 

Wow, I feel so lucky. Do you know how long waited for my Car Talk listening to actually pay off in diagnosing a problem? Of course you don't. But I can tell you for sure, it goes back to the early 90s at least.

It will be interesting to see if the fix and any potential damage is covered under warranty. Seems to me that either someone mis-adjusted your parking brake after you bought the car, or it fell out of adjustment on its own. In either case I don't see how it could be normal wear & tear, or your fault.

I hope you enjoy your Fit and this forum for many years to come!

 

Off topic, but the username "Fitt Romney" made me LOL!

 

Wait a min! Is he one of Mitt's sons? The one with the frizzy hair that looks like Larry? This can't be Mitt as I believe he and his wife drive a couple of Cadillac.