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I brought my son's Fit to the Honda dealer this morning to find out why the engine is clicking. It cost about $400 for them to tell me what was wrong. Adding that to the repair bill results in over $2,700 - timing chain, variable valve timing control, etc. In many cases, if you have the work done after having the diagnosis done, they don't charge for that. Not Honda. He was willing to add new brakes, coolant, and brake fluid, but I declined. This probably won't be done till Monday, so my son will be using my car for work. The car has 100,660 miles on it.
And they didn't have donuts for the customers!
Last edited by SilverEX15; Oct 10, 2025 at 11:36 AM.
Which part do you hate?
1) Does the car need those repairs? Do you have a competing (lower) estimate from an independent mechanic or can you do the work yourself for only the cost of the parts? If so, that would definitely be frustrating.
2) The cost of the diagnosis and the fact that it wasn't free? You noted that they were willing to do additional work (which at typical parts and labor rates would almost certainly cost >$400) so you may have in effect been offered the diagnosis for free if you had agreed to the full service.
3) No donuts? I can't disagree with you here. Donuts are great. Free donuts are greater.
Which part do you hate?
1) Does the car need those repairs? Do you have a competing (lower) estimate from an independent mechanic or can you do the work yourself for only the cost of the parts? If so, that would definitely be frustrating.
2) The cost of the diagnosis and the fact that it wasn't free? You noted that they were willing to do additional work (which at typical parts and labor rates would almost certainly cost >$400) so you may have in effect been offered the diagnosis for free if you had agreed to the full service.
3) No donuts? I can't disagree with you here. Donuts are great. Free donuts are greater.
The independent mechanic didn't want to do the work. Maybe he couldn't get the parts from Honda, or he didn't want to spend that much time on it (about six hours).
When I've gotten estimates in the past, they were either free, reasonably priced, or waived if I had them do the work. Did it cost them $400 to find out that the timing chain was loose? That is a know problem with these cars, so they knew the problem as soon as they heard it. A total of $2700 is ridiculous, although I wasn't shocked. That's why I wanted to avoid the dealer.
As for the optional repairs, they would have cost over a thousand more.
OK, let me make sure I'm understanding what's happening here.
I mentioned in a different thread the possibility of a bad VTC actuator. Looks like that was replaced.
When the actuator goes, it can loosen the timing chain to the point you need a new one. Looks like the timing chain was replaced as well.
The bad VTC actuator is a known problem. No idea if there is a service bulletin on it yet, but one would hope the dealer would have followed recommendations if there were one.
At $2700 in repairs, you're awfully close to just dropping in another engine.
So have you tried contacting Honda corporate on this? Before the work was done would have been better - more leverage for you - but there is a possibility they can goodwill you something after the fact.
When the actuator goes, it can loosen the timing chain to the point you need a new one.
Is that from snap-force at startup stretching the chain? I can't think of any other way the VTC issue could damage the chain.
I've been under the impression that the chain, tensioner, guides, etc. get replaced on a while-I'm-here basis. Getting in to work on the VTC actuator (part of the cam gear) involves removing the cam chain, which really means all the same work as timing chain service, maybe plus a few bolts that actually hold the tensioner and guides to the block.
Originally Posted by bargainguy
So have you tried contacting Honda corporate on this? Before the work was done would have been better - more leverage for you - but there is a possibility they can goodwill you something after the fact.
It sounds to me like all they've done so far is diagnostics, and $400 just to look at it is nuts. Though, insane pricing seems to be the Honda way these days. It used to be just the parts.
The diagnostic fee to look at my in warranty Ridgeline's magic seat was 140. I didn't pay any as it's in warranty for the repair. I can see if they're having to do more diagnostic that it would cost more. That was probably an hourly fee.
Is that from snap-force at startup stretching the chain? I can't think of any other way the VTC issue could damage the chain.
I've been under the impression that the chain, tensioner, guides, etc. get replaced on a while-I'm-here basis. Getting in to work on the VTC actuator (part of the cam gear) involves removing the cam chain, which really means all the same work as timing chain service, maybe plus a few bolts that actually hold the tensioner and guides to the block.
The problem with the VTC actuator is twofold: loss of oil pressure and locking pin play. Here's a thorough description:
As well as the service invoice (74,500 miles under extended warranty) which apparently totaled $1230 for parts and labor:
Originally Posted by FITEsq
Note only one chain guide (out of twothree) is included - no chain or tensioner.
Originally Posted by Drew21
No donuts? I can't disagree with you here. Donuts are great. Free donuts are greater.
Seriously. Consolation coffee and donuts won't fix the financial impact, but they sure will soften the blow. That seems like the kind of nickel-and-dime decision made by somebody with no compassion or business sense. If you give them a cup of coffee in one hand and a donut in the other, they don't have any fingers free to research better pricing on their phone or tap out angry reviews.
As well as the service invoice (74,500 miles under extended warranty) which apparently totaled $1230 for parts and labor:
Note only one chain guide (out of two) is included - no chain or tensioner.
Seriously. Consolation coffee and donuts won't fix the financial impact, but they sure will soften the blow. That seems like the kind of nickel-and-dime decision made by somebody with no compassion or business sense. If you give them a cup of coffee in one hand and a donut in the other, they don't have any fingers free to research better pricing on their phone or tap out angry reviews.
Thanks for that. I'll print them and bring them to the dealer. I'm sure he already has his explanation ready.
As for the donuts, they used to have them, and the Ford and Nissan dealers still do. Still, $30/day for donuts adds up to more than $9,000 over the course of a year. They would have to charge their customers unusually high prices for service if they supplied donuts. Of course, the service and parts departments had boxes of Dunkin Donuts, but that's different. 🙄
The diagnostic fee to look at my in warranty Ridgeline's magic seat was 140. I didn't pay any as it's in warranty for the repair. I can see if they're having to do more diagnostic that it would cost more. That was probably an hourly fee.
You just got your Ridgeline. What's going on with those seats?
The dealer said I can pick the car up Monday morning. It's finished, but, "The tech wants to make sure the sealant holds." 😂 Maybe, someday, a company will invent a silicone that actually works. Such a finicky product! 😊
Someone on the forum sent me the Honda Service Bulletin about this repair. It lists the Honda Sealant. "One tube does ten cars." Does anyone think the service department is going to divide the cost of the sealant among ten customers? 🤣 Each one will pay the highly inflated price for a half ounce of silicone.
You just got your Ridgeline. What's going on with those seats?
I know it was so annoying. I started moving things into the Ridgeline and when I went to put stuff under the passenger side, the rear seat wouldn't lock in the upward position. The driver side locked fine. So I brought it in and it took them about 2 hours to diagnose and fix it. They said the cable in the latch mechanism was stuck. They fixed that and lubed it up. Seems to work well now.
You just need to change out the spring. When I did the job myself over the summer, the cam sprocket's teeth are in pristine condition and the pin has no play in it. But no Honda dealer is going to just change the spring for you by opening up the actuator's cover, four T30 torx screws. The OEM actuator's spring has very low tension and over time it loosens up, you end up griding the chain on the plastic guides back and forth for a second at almost every cold start, this is what leads to chain and guide issues. I used the higher tension spring from spring-start and it fixed the issue.
I couldn't find this thread, so I posted the invoice, etc., in a new thread.
The price on the left is from the dealer's invoice - what I actually paid. The price on the right is what's available online, mostly from Honda Parts Now. That info was in the original file, but it didn't translate well to this site.
Last edited by SilverEX15; Oct 14, 2025 at 01:46 PM.
Reason: Omission
