I recently bought a 2016 Honda Fit with 113k+ miles from a dealer. The dealer was selling the car as is. I took the car for a pre-purchase inspection at a nearby auto repair shop. The tech there said he heard a valvetrain noise in the engine and I may need to do valve adjustment. They don't do valve adjustment. So, they could not give me any quote. Anyway, I decided to buy the car as the price was quite low and the car didn't have any major issues. As this is a dealer vehicle, I don't have service records.

A few days ago, I took the car to a Honda Dealership for a diagnostic (Diagnostic cost $160, will be adjusted if I repair). As anticipated, the service advisor told me that I need to a valve adjustment. Now, the issue is the price quote and other things she said I need to have done:
1. Valve Adjustment- $609
2. Fuel/Air Induction Cleaning Service- $212
3. *Spark Plugs Replacement- $309
4. **Ethanol Defender Treatment - $32 (said not necessary, so took that off)
She said she will make it $1000 even ($840 after the diagnostic fee adjustment). I said I want to do these repairs 3/4 months later. I left the dealership for the day.

Yesterday, I got a call from a sales/marketing personnel and she offered me 15% off for the services. I asked her to email me the new quote. She said the service advisor will send that. Now, this is the new quote:
1. Valve Adjustment- $611
2. Fuel/Air Induction Cleaning Service- $212
3. **Ethanol Defender Treatment - $32 (Adding here again even though on the previous day she said it's not necessary!)
The total cost after the 15% discount will be $738. Now, the new thing she is saying is that I may need to replace the "Timing chain tensioner" if the tech detects tensioner tick after opening the valve cover gasket (additional $255)!

Now, I am really confused and concerned with the following issues:
a) They did diagnostic test for $160, Aren't they supposed to take the valve cover gasket off and detect all the issues at that time? "Timing chain tensioner" issue should be detected then, right?
b) In the first quote there was *Spark Plugs Replacement- $309. However, in the second quote, it's missing. What does that mean? Do I not need to replace that? Did the service advisor add that unnecessarily herself to rip me off? Or, it's a mistake in the second quote?
c) Do I really need to have Fuel/Air Induction Cleaning Service done?
d) Is the price reasonable? $611 for valve adjustment! Even after 15% discount it's $520! Isn't it too high?

I am not an expert. I can't really figure out how to deal with this or other honda dealerships. Please suggest how should I proceed. Thanks!

 

Welcome. Let's get a few things out of the way first.

The problem areas in the GK5 series are: fuel injector/rail system; starter/start switch (on pushbutton start models); VTC actuator (engine makes a grinding noise on cold startup); door, hatch and sunroof leaks; and a fuel pump recall on later models. Valve lash adjustments are way down on the list.

I commend you for getting a prepurchase inspection, but I'm not convinced your issue - if there is one - has anything to do with what the dealership suggested. From reading everything about the recommended service, I recommend you ditch that dealer pronto and find a different Honda dealer or a reputable independent shop.

I'm not against valve lash adjustment, but it sounds like that dealer is trying to soak you with stuff you don't need, so that's why I recommend that you stay away.

In the meantime: Run Top Tier gas whenever possible. This engine is extremely susceptible to carbon buildup - we've seen severe cases in as little as 10K miles. Top Tier gas mitigates the carbon buildup risk.

 

I had to laugh when I saw "Ethanol Defender Treatment". I'm guessing that's just a can of some overpriced nonsense they have on the shelf which gets tossed into the gas tank and does absolutely nothing.

The valve adjustment makes sense only because you're at 113K miles. However I would check around to other Honda dealerships for a price comparison. Might get it a bit cheaper elsewhere. But I would only look at Honda dealerships for this.

Spark plug replacement? Tough one because you don't know if the previous owner ever replaced them. If the engine is running fine now it doesn't seem like a pressing issue but you could get a price on this elsewhere as well. I believe the plugs are rated for about 100K. If the previous owner ever replaced them then you could skip this, assuming he put the proper NGK iridium plugs in. Does anyone know if a Honda dealership can/will look up the VIN number to see any work previously done on a car at any Honda dealership?

 

Checking the valve clearance on Hondas is definitely a good idea every ~100k. I'm not sure why they don't do it, you'd only need to remove the valve cover and the only tools you'd need are some basic wrenches, a screwdriver, and some feeler gauges. It's a pretty simple and straightforward job, any mechanic should be able to do it.

 

what skylineftw said is right OP, you can do this job yourself with basic hand tools and some time. if you google it theres a video up on youtube for our exact 3rd gen fits and the guy does a greeeeaaat job breaking it all down while he's doing it. it's definitely not the easiest repair but its really nothing crazy or difficult its just kind of tedious. my car is coming up on 70k miles but with the tune i'm putting on it i want to make sure the valves are lashed correctly for high rpms so i'll be doing it myself this summer

 

My wife's 2006 Pilot started throwing a code, don't remember what it was, but looking around online it seemed like it was pointing at a valve adjustment. We took it do a dealer here (Salt Lake City, UT) and they got it done for right around $400. That was probably 2018/19, so maybe prices have gone up since then, but it seems like it shouldn't cost that much more for the same service on a smaller Fit motor.

I have a 2019 Fit EX that's getting up close to 50k.. so I've got a while before mine needs it.

 

Thanks a lot for your insights and thoughts, everyone! You guys are amazing! You probably saved me hundreds of dollars!

 

Only reason it's that expensive on Pilots (or should be) is because taking the rear valve cover off is a pain. Front is much easier, but no reason not to do both.

With Fits, only one valve cover.