I’m picking between a 2013 and 2018. I can’t stand how loud the 2013 is. I’ve read a lot over the past few days about this topic. 2018+ apparently come from the factory much quieter.
Is it possible through sound treatments in the doors, wheels wells, and under carpet to get a 2013 as quiet as a 2018? I read the 2018+ has acoustic glass but I don’t know how big of an effect that has.

Save me from my Prius! I want to Fit in! 😂

 

Search Dynamat or Acoustic dampening. Lots of people have done it. It’s expensive and will add weight to your car, but people seem to like it.

Here are some threads:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...cld-tiles.html

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...ing-doors.html

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...ng-gk-fit.html

maybe decide what’s the largest portion of noise on your car and target that first. Is it road noise? Wind noise? NVH?

 

Of course there are alternatives to dynamat too. I plan on starting with the hatch area in the tire well to gauge if I wanna lift the carpet and keep going. My '17 is pretty quiet but I wanna hear how some dynamat changes things. It's worth a shot.

 

The revision of the 3rd gen includes thicker front glass windshield, a bit more sound deadening in the cabin area and I believe a revised steering wheel shaft (?). I've never heard the new revision. When my '16 windshield needed replacement I thought about upgrading to the newer one but it seems only Honda sells it and it's close to $1k CDN versus $300 for aftermarket but thinner.

Before I did my sound deadening (originally for audio but later on, my sanity as sometimes I drive cross country) I could not hear my Yakima roof rack. Now I can. Interestingly, most of the interior noise seems to come from the front as sound deadening didn't do that much for the rear trunk.

You can check out my link to get some pics and details. I took apart the entire interior except the dashboard (which I really wanted to do). It was worth it to be able to have a normal phone call or conversation with a someone in the car. The audio system sounds way nicer too.

 

I hate to say this, but your other option is to buy something other than a Honda. All other brands are quieter. Even our 2020 Accord is stupid loud inside for a family sedan. My truck on 34" offroad tires has less road noise.

Not that we don't like our Honda's. They are just loud. My experience with sound deadening (I've done a few cars to the extreme) is that it only does so much. A car engineered to be quiet from the beginning will always be more quiet than any amount of sound deadening. Things like metal thickness, glass thickness, and overall design/shape are more important than sound deadening materials.

Also, take the '18 being quieter with a grain of salt. EVERY redesign Honda says that the new model is quieter. The GE is supposed to be quieter than the GD. The 2012+ GE is supposedly quieter than the 2011 and back. The GK was supposed to be quieter than the GE. Reality...I can't really tell a difference going all they way from our GD to the 2018 GK we test drove. Fit's are just noisy inside compared to most other vehicles.

 

That is exactly it GAFIT! We've all sat in luxury vehicles (BMW, Porsche.....) that will always be quieter than our econoboxes and sound deadening will not replace sound reduction that is engineered in.

Even my parents crappy Mercedes B200 was way quieter than my currently deadened Fit.

 

Yeah, and you really don't even have to go to a luxury brand. Your average Ford or GM is quieter than a Honda. There's a reason why a Fusion weighs 300-400 lbs more than our Accord. The Fusion simply has that much more metal, glass, and insulation materials.

Lighter weight equals better performing and better fuel economy, but also equals more noise and less overall comfort.

If my goal was to have a quiet commute, I would simply not buy any Honda. My wife's previous vehicle was a VW Golf. Same dimensions as a Fit, but 500 lbs heavier. It was also darn near silent. No road noise or wind noise. Considerably quieter than even our new Accord.

 

The Fit doesn't seem noisy to me,....but then again I've been abusing my hearing since the late '60's with playing guitar and music

 

The quietest Fit is the one that's not running. Shop the junkyards.


Kidding aside, the engines are noisy, but I notice that lots of cars are noisy now, from Mercedes-Benz all the way down to Fiat 500. Don't know if it has to do with direct injection, or the way they're designing the valve trains now, or what.

Aside from engine noise, road noise doesn't bother me. Sorry.

 

I don't mind engine noise one bit. Road and wind noise are a different story. Those show signs of poor engineering and/or spec'ing materials that are too thin.

It's when you set the cruise for 8+ hours at a time that a quiet vehicle becomes much appreciated. We do several road trips each year and the wife has a 45 min long 70mph commute each way to work. That's when a quiet car is a good thing to have. The Fit was and still is Honda's idea of a "city" car. That's why it's geared the way it is and the size it is. Quiet on the Interstate...it is NOT.

 

@GAFIT: Duly noted. But if thinner is lighter, and lighter is faster . . . .

 

Bingo-bango!
Exactly why I got rid of our IS350. Once you tune out all the noise, your left with a boring appliance - despite having 306hp on tap!

That's why I insist on only using our Fit for city-use.
It's lots of fun to be buzzing around downtown Vancouver blipping thru the gears
But on the open road (road trips, ski trips etc.) I always rent a mid size car i.e. Jetta or larger!