At my wit's end with starting issue. 2015 LX MT
 

I have a 2015 Fit LX manual transmission with key start ignition. In September of last year, I started having starting issues. I would turn the key, get a click out of the starter (no crank), take the key out, try again, and it would work. This went on for a few weeks and gradually got worse where it would only work after 3 or 4 tries. After some searching, I learned of some common issues with the starter. So I replaced the starter in October and it seemed to remedy the situation. 6 months later and it started happening again. Gradually got worse. Had to push start it a couple times when I got sick of dealing with they key. Came back to the forums and read about issues with the tiny battery. So I upgraded from the 151R to the larger 51R battery. That fixed the problem for another month. Now it's happening again.

What else should I check? Alternator? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Love this car, but this issue is driving me nuts.

Oh, I've also replaced the battery in the key fob and re-synced it to the vehicle.

Welcome. Starter failure and start switch failure is quite common on the pushbutton start models. But in the key start models, starter failure is almost unheard of unless you're over 150K.

I think your starting problem and the remedies you've tried have only unmasked the real problem - a bad voltage regulator, which can lead to dead batteries and starting issues.

If you have a multimeter and a helper, you can check it yourself:

https://axleaddict.com/auto-repair/A...rical%20system.

A poor ground can cause starting issues, see if car is been in an accident. Check G301 which is by headlight

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. Yeah, it's been very bizarre indeed. I did see on the forums all of the issues with the push-start models. Forgot to mention that the vehicle only has just over 80k miles. So everything I've read on here doesn't seem to exactly apply to my situation, but the replacement starter job was easy enough and I'm glad to have the bigger battery. One thing that will continue to perplex me is why changing the starter worked but only for 5-6 months if the underlying issue was the alternator all along.

I do have a multimeter and can get some help to take the troubleshooting steps you've shared. Thanks again for the suggestion. I'll give it a shot asap. It's currently been 105 degrees during the day here in TX, so it might be a while before I want to deal with it lol

Hey man, appreciate the reply. Carfax came back clean with no accidents reported. Wiring looks good with no corrosion detected.

I'm not sure what you mean by G301? Is that a relay or fuse I should check? What is that for?

Cheers.

Just going to add there may be ignition switch issues or corrosion somewhere in the connections. I find it odd that when you change something it seems to work then come back in time.

Had a starting issue with my 2015 EX MT this week. When i attempted to start the car it would just click once and not do anything. Turns out the rubber clutch stop was degraded and prevented the car from starting. Replaced this and car started up immediately.

I'm getting the same issue on a 2016 LX CVT. Passed the battery, alternator and starter checked at Autozone with their computer. It's not throwing any codes. An OBD scanner does not show any problems. Replaced the battery on the key fob. The car only has about 60,000 miles so I doubt it's the starter. It eventually starts strongly after multiple tries. I thought it might be heat related since it is getting to over 100 degrees here but I tried starting the car but it still has problems when it is cool outside.

I'm getting the same issue on my 2016 LX CVT. Key starter. It's completely random. Sometimes it starts instantly. Sometimes I have to turn the key many times to get it to start. I'm starting the troubleshooting process with the starter relays, but if anyone has solved this problem, I'd love to know what they did to fix it.

That's the problem. Almost all the reports on GK5 starting issues here concern the pushbutton start models. We don't have any fixes reported for the key start models.

On the key start models: If mileage is not excessive (>150K), it's fair to assume it's either the starter, a discharged battery, or an intermittent ground.

For the discharged battery, I'd want to rule out a bad voltage regulator using a multimeter as mentioned above. Another way would be to plug a device with a voltage meter into the OBDII port and see what kind of voltage you're getting in real time driving around as you increase electrical load. If you add devices (lights, a/c, etc.) while driving and the voltage sags, that's the problem.

It doesn't hurt to upgrade the battery from 151R to 51R, but it only buys you a little more CCA headroom, doesn't necessarily solve any starting issues.

Then we're left with the starter or a bad ground. Starters are fairly easy to replace, but tracing a bad ground is not.

If you ever solve the issue, please let us know so we can pass the word.

I can report back what worked to fix my problem. First I swapped in a new starter relay. That didn't work. I lived with the problem getting worse for a few more months until it was too bad to live with. I ended up ordering a replacement starter on Amazon. Replacing the starter completely fixed the problem. Watching a few videos on YouTube made the process relatively painless, though some of the clearances are pretty tight. So glad to no longer be living with the stress of wondering how many turns of the key it's going to take until the starter works. Note that this is the first component other than routine maintenance that I've had to replace on my 2016 LX model.