Hey guys.

In 2018 I bought a new 2018 Honda Fit EX.
About a year after I bought it it started to randomly make a vibrating/buzzing/rattling sound on the left side of the car near the middle/back. It would do it randomly depending on what roads I was driving on (for instance it didn't do it on the highway).

Fast forward to now and it makes this sound every second I drive. It drives me crazy. I have to drown it out with the radio. I have not been able to pin point where it's coming from.

It's no louder or softer if I have the sunroof open or not. Same goes for opening and closing all the other windows in the car. Nothing changes the sound window-wise.

One interesting thing to note is when I'm driving, if I take my left hand and push up on the roof of the car (the left side) the noise stops completely until I let go. All it tells me is that something somewhere is vibrating against something else and creating this horrible noise.

I've had other people drive my car while I chill in the back seat trying to investigate the sound, where it's coming from, putting my ear to everything, and I can't pinpoint the damn thing.

I've taken my car to be looked at twice and both times the mechanics acted like they couldn't hear it and shrugged me off. Me and everyone else hears it.

I'm at my wits end and I'm this close to getting rid of the car. I can't stand this irritating sound, it's made me hate driving my car.

EDIT: Here's the sound:

 

might be worth a shot to take the trim pieces off the left side and see if you can find something. those are relatively easy to get on and off. if no luck there, maybe try taking off the headliner. but ive heard thats much more difficult, havent tried it myself

 

I've had this suggested to me but I'm scared to break something. Unless I can find a video or a step by step video how to do it. It's almost like the sound might be the sunroof, like deep inside the roof of the car, where the sunroof goes when you open it, like a bar in there or something is hitting something. I can't prove it though and it's impossible to try and look with a flash light.

 

there's plenty of tutorials out there

https://lmgtfy.com/?q=2018+honda+fit+trim+removal

trim removal is fairly easy. get a set of trim removal tools, they are cheap and make the process easier and less likely to break something. then its just a matter of gently prying pieces off and popping them off.

 

Since the car is still under warranty I wouldn't try anything drastic. The service techs couldn't find the noise you were complaining about have you tried recording the noise with your phone and present it to them? So, at least they are on record that the noise exists?

 

When you say you push up on the roof with your left hand, do you mean the headliner from inside the car?

I wonder if the sound is coming from inside your roof - ill-fitting pieces of trim and/or headliner - rather than anything external.

It's possible that installing some dampening material in the headliner might take care of this. Have to pinpoint the spot first. Using a decibel meter app on your phone might help localize the sound to a specific area rather than a swath. Pushing up on different points along the headliner while the car is in motion might help determine the location as well. Once you find the rattle/squeak point, you can go after it.

Hate to see you get rid of the vehicle over an internal noise, but I understand how maddening these are, like you get sensitized to the frequency of the squeak or rattle and can't stand to hear it anymore.

 

My car is NOT under warranty any more.

Yes I've recorded it, but then they claim they don't hear that in the car LOL YEAH OKAY. They just don't want to tear the car apart to find it.

If I had to guess what it was, I'd say it's a bar in the roof where the sunroof slides into when it's open and the bar is vibrating against something. Just a guess. It could be a pillar too.

 

Yes, the headliner. I can remove that myself? :O

If I had to guess what it was, I'd say it's a bar in the roof where the sunroof slides into when it's open and the bar is vibrating against something. Just a guess. It could be a pillar too.

 

I get occasion buzzing from the passenger side sunvisor clip. I just unhook it and rehook it and it goes away until next time.

 

Sunroof? That makes this issue more complex. Moving parts in there that could very well be the source of the rattle.

If it were me: I'd remove as much headliner as necessary to get at the approximate rattle point. Then open and close the sunroof until you can precisely locate the rattle point from the inside.

Once you find it, stick some deadening material - foam, rubber, putty, whatever - into the space where the rattle is occurring. Make sure it doesn't impede on the sunroof opening & closing.

 

Is there a way to remove the headliner? It's just one big piece.

 

Of course there's a way to remove and replace a headliner. It's a part on your car just like anything else.

You'll need those trim tools first. Do not attempt this with a screwdriver or some such, you'll just wind up hacking up your interior.

You'll need to pull as much headliner back as necessary. Access to the headliner is by removing what anchors it. To get at the front part of the headliner, you'll need to remove the visors and front grab handles. I haven't done this on mine, but if any of those screws are recessed, they probably have little plastic covers. You'll need the trim tools to pop off the covers, then you can remove the screws. Once you get everything off, you should be able to pull down or at least peel back enough headliner to get access to the rattle point.

 

I think this should be left to a pro headliner guy.

 

I think I saw your post on reddit.

The other guys have good advice. Just in case too, take a peek at the rain-gutter trim pieces (two long strips of black plastic) on the outside roof. Sometimes a car wash dislodges a clip or two which can cause rattling. My fit was CPE floor model, it had one side loose and had to be squeezed back in when I first got it.

Best of luck my dude!

 

does sound like something removing the head liner would reveal , possibly if you could find where the wiring harness for the sunroof comes
down ( has to be in one of the pillars , left side it sounds like ) and give it a tug , to see if the sound changes at all . also , isn't there some sort of
socket up there so you pop in a hand crank in case your sunroof motor fails ? my SI had something like that . possibly the mechanism up there is dislodged .
good luck , removing the headliner must be a bear of a job , i think you'd have to move all the side panel out of the way first , but , the car's still new and if you like it ,
well it's worth fixing , probably doesn't involve any expense other than your labor

 

I looked, nothing seems out of place. My next step is looking under my headliner.

 

Yeah the other guys are probably right.

I hope the gods of car interiors look favourably on you, and that your headliner clips never break and were forged in heart of a volcano. GL

 

yes , and may voices in your head stay cheerful and may you stay forever young !

 

On the flip side, you could do a mod and remove the entire roof. You will have the first Fit convertible.

 

all knobs to the right