blown plug - need new motor
 

I have a 2009 Fit MT which has now blown out a spark plug at 110,000 km.
We were on the highway when this happened, so we pulled over and towed the vehicle to the dealer.
So far the dealer determined the threads were done on the head, so they did a helicoil and when they tested, the cylinder had no pressure.
So based on that, they say I need to replace the motor... :eek3:

I talked to Honda Canada, and they are in contact with the dealership. Their engineers will investigate, and they will give me options once their report is in...
Right now I am in a sit and wait situation.
As is, the current quote is $3400 +tax for the motor replacement.

Depending what Honda says, I will have to decided what I want to do...

What are your thoughts on the matter?

Where is the pressure leaking from?

Valves? rings? I'm sure they don't even know.

$3400 +tx for a replacement engine is about 2 times too expensive I think.

A used engine should cost around $800-$1000 MAX. Add to this a day of labour and new oil/coolant, you should be around $2000 taxes included.

Call these guys:
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-engines-and-...ationFlag=true

Out of curiosity, let me first ask...had you changed the plugs? I believe they were due at 100k kilometers. Our manual says every 60k miles, so I believe that transfers to 100k kilometers.

A friend had this same thing happen on his '09 (that he has not maintained well), but we were able to thread a new plug in without needing a helicoil.

I can't think of ANY reason why you would have ZERO cylinder pressure other than they didn't install the helicoil properly and it's not sealed.

Hey Enzo. Sorry to hear your bad luck. Was that Waterloo or Kitchener Honda you took car to?

I have always dealt with Bob Giles at Kitchener Honda.

I take it in when the maintenance minder tells me to... that being said, we were at 20% so I am sure the spark plug replacement would have been mentioned at my next visit.

Not sure why there is low pressure. I think they said there was only 30-40psi... I am sure the engineers will explore the why of that as well.

To answer the other question, its at Kitchener. Always dealt with them and they always provide excellent service. I am not upset with them over this... I understand the dealership can only do so much. Just hoping Honda Canada can help out some.

Carotman, thanks for that link. Will check them out, see what they have available.

I have found Kitchener Honda to be reasonable too. Good luck on the repair. You must drop by once you are up and running again.

so a quick update:

Honda came back with no promises of any help...
they want a root cause investigation before they will decide to help or not... that translates into another 4 hours of labor to see why the spark plug blew out and why the cylinder walls are scored... once that is done, then they will decide whether or not to help...

So I either just replace the motor, on my dime, or I take a gamble, spend on 4 hours of labor and hope the answers lead to some help from Honda. The downside is I possibly end up paying for a new motor, plus the extra diagnostic time.
I need to talk to the service manager on monday to see what he has to say... I only spoke with the Honda rep and she is not technical, so not much help there...

Needless to say, this is super frustrating at the moment, and stressful... I never expected this car's motor to give up before the car itself.

Still not sure which way I am leaning on this... $4k is a lot on a repair

If you can find a good engine for even around $1200 and spend $800-1000 in labor (maybe? I dunno) then paying half as much as a "new Honda" engine seems like a good bargain. If it was me, I'd forego "investigation" and just do a used motor swap. But it would also depend on price of used motor, time to get it, and the shop's labor quote to put it in. But, you should also get the "old" motor back. Maybe you can part it out or get scrap price for it at a local junkyard or metal recycler for a few bucks back.

Service manager said the same thing... I found a mechanic who will do it for me, and found a used '13 motor with only 40k km (25k mi).
Should be done this week sometime... at least 50% cheaper or more depending how things go.

Good luck with the swap. Hope all goes well.

Final update:

New motor installed.
Mechanic changed fluids, said the oil that came out was super clean, so it looks like a good motor.
Drove home last night and it ran smooth.
So far no issues and everything is back to the way it should be.

Excellent. You will have to drop by sometime and show me.

Did the mechanic crack open the old one to see what all failed?

I thought about this later, but no I didnt ask him to, and he had better things to do :)

He just scrapped the block and head.
I kept the belt tensioner, coil packs, injectors and intake manifold, and the EGR valve.

The new motor is super smooth.
2 things I noticed off the bat: Motor starts up way quicker, and I used to get shudder sometimes starting out in 1st. My guess is losing power in one cylinder really affects start up and take off.

glad you came out with a new motor. made me wonder if you could've just gone with a new head? o well, too late now! safe travels :)

The dealership had done a borescope inspection and determined the cylinder walls were scuffed up, causing the loss of pressure... My guess is getting a new head, and getting it installed would have costed near as much as replacing with a used motor... especially getting the work done at Honda.
In the end I was lucky to be pointed to this mechanic who has a shop at home and does work on the side.
Overall, Kitchener Honda did what they could, did not push me one way or the other and gave me honest advice.
Honda Canada, on the other hand, really did not help in any way. I was quite disappointed in their method... Had they just flat out said no help would be available, I would have accepted that, despite having 110K km and the car having had an expired (by 14 mos) Honda Plus warranty which had covered the motor to 200k. BUT, they suggested a full teardown to see what exactly caused the damage... I felt it very much like a sneaky way to get me to drop the case...
In any case, the warranty is up on this Fit, and it probably wont see a Honda dealer ever again... I have found a local mechanic who has now worked on my Odyssey, and fell confident he will treat the Fit properly.

Blown engine
 

I had to change motor after ot blew out 155000k
I was at close to $2000 ( only 21k on motor )
When I bought car had to take back to Kia who said cylinder 3 spark plug was loose -
I had a scanner so I told them either a coil or spark plug loose
They were mouthy and who knows if they did somthing
Always used synthetic oil
Changed to new plugs at 120000
so i paid 10g for car and less than 2 years later motor blows
Yeaa
I was PISSED
Honda Fit took a Shit

The 2nd Gen manual reads that we'll see a Code 4 Maintenance Minder indication for plugs and valve adjustment, but like most other notifications, mileage isn't specified. Our FIT has 82,000 Miles on it now. Should I wait for the Maintenance Minder or change the plugs now? Our plug tightness has been good so far and I'm kinda reluctant to mess with them before I have to.

Every number I've seen quoted is 100k. I'm at 87k on mine and still going strong. Looking to replace my plugs and coils here in a month or so, waiting on my coils to get here from Rock auto. Speaking of which they are the getting place for coils, $35 compared to nearly 70 at advance, auto zone, napa ect.

Thanks Red 05. My '06 Nissan Frontier takes the same coil packs as our Fit and when I recently replaced one on the Nissan, I found the same pricing as you did. It's like the auto parts retailers have everything priced as if all parts are urgently needed for an emergency repair.