Good morning, Good evening

My name is Charles, and I recently purchased a brand new 2016 Honda Fit EX w/ CVT. So far I am enjoying the car. Lots of storage space, high MPG, small and nimble, easy maintanence, cheap parts and its a honda so the aftermarket is large.

So the sound its making is intermitent. When the noise appears, I notice it gets louder when I step on the brake pedal at a dead stop with the car in park and is on, idling. The car also makes the same sound, but fainter when just idiling when my foot is not on the brake pedal.

The RPM needle doesn't jump or flutter when the noise appears, but I do notice a vibration along with the noise that goes up and down with the noise as well.

My MPG, operation of the car in general does not seem to be affected by the intermitent noise and vibration. But Im concerned that this might be a PREMATURE failure showing itself. I did set up an appointment with the Dealership Service department I bought the car with. But I'd like to see if anyone else experienced what I'm experiencing before I go to the dealership. Any input would be great. Thank you.

 

is that your a/c compressor turning on/off? if so then dat's normal.

 

It'd help if you had a recording or at least describe the noise?

 

No the A/C is off when the noice/vibration comes on.


When its most noticable (to me) it would not be as audible as the normal engine noise, but its in the background. The best I could describe it as is... a low howl/hum...

I'd record it, but I dont think a Camera would pick up the noise. And I dont have a high quality mic or anything. Ill try to record something today when I go home.

 

Not convinced it's the tranny; could it be a brake caliper hanging up? They can make some mighty strange noises if they don't release fully.

 

It wouldn't explain the Vibration I'm getting with depressing and releasing the brake pedal at idle... keep in mind the car is brand new and only has 2500 miles onit..

 

Maybe check the brake booster as well?

 

Yup, I hear you, but the fact that it's happening the same time as brake application and release makes me suspect brakes and not tranny. Just because it only has 2500 mi. doesn't mean stuff can't happen. If you do get it checked out at the dealer, report back...inquiring minds want to know.

 

Hmm okay, well I got the appointment setup early morning this coming monday... Ill try and get a recording of the noise in the cabin before the appointment...

 

Update.

I just got home from work. I started the car, no noise. BUT, when i put it into drive the noise appeared for 1.5 or so seconds and then disappeared. So i decided to go through all the gears to see if I can make the noise audible. It made the noise in all gears but only the first 1.5 seconds of me putting it into the gears. Also, while in traffic and in Drive, ill slowly creep and i can hear the noise as well. Its most noticeable the first seconds of engagement then after that its not noticeable.

I looked into CVTs more and I'm reading there are 3 main parts. A primary pulley, secondary pulley and a belt type connecting the two. I'm reading the primary pulley usually has a clutch pack that helps engage and disengage the primary pulley from the drive shaft of the engine. Anyone here wanna hope in their '15+ GK5 and see if they hear any kind of noise when going through the gears?

Also, would a transmission flush, not just a 3.5 quart drain and fill, but a full 6 quart flush, sound like something that would help this issue?

 

The car is too new for such a thing. See what the dealer says. I'll listen tomorrow, but I've heard nothing untoward in my 2 year old EX.

 

I ask about the transmission fluid because I was going to replace the fluid with some AMSoil Synthetic CVT fluid prior to me hearing this noise. Im gonna have to hold off on that till i get this sorted out... I even followed the Honda recommendation for a 'proper break in'... the 600 mile no hard stops or hard accelerations and keeping it below 3000 rpm. Hopefully its nothing major or a simple fix... Not pleased with Honda currently because of this noise.

 

Its probably your brake rotors starting to warp. '15 cars warped theirs after 5-10K miles

 

i hope this all works out for you. keep us posted.

i honestly dont trust this cvt, mine is still quite jerky while accelerating from a stop. even after the recall re-program.

 

I just read what the recall was for the transmission. It said it was for the drive pulley. Which is the pulley connected to the engine drive shaft... My car makes a noise everytime i put it into gear and it engages... maybe my car is part of the recall... i have to wait till monday... Ill keep updating if anything changes before I get to the dealer on Monday.

 

Update: Havent gone to the dealer yet...but the noise I'm hearing is definitly during engagement of reverse and drive. During the first 3 or so seconds of engagement the noise sorta raises in volume, but then quites down once in gear but the noise is still there just not as loud as during engagement. I'm wondering if this noise is just how the CVT is on the Fit at this point... I plan on hopping into 3 dealer Fits to see if I can replicate the noise on some Dealer Lot fits... If this is just how it is, then I have no issue with it. I just dont want this to be a premature sign of failure and Ill have to replace it in 50k miles or less with my own cash. I want it recorded at a Honda Dealership I went in barely a month of owning it with weird noises from the transmission...

 

Update: I took my car to the Dealer where I bought it. Had one of the Honda techs hop in and drive it around. We went through the all the gears. I mentioned the engagement noise. He said everything sounded and felt normal. I took it to another dealer, and the tech said the same thing, everything sounds normal. I'm going to listen and watch to see if the noise I'm hearing gets any louder, I dont think it will since it hasn't since I've noticed the noise. I guess CVT's are just noisy transmissions lol. If anyone could, just sit in your car at a cold start and first put it into reverse, see if there is any noise during the first 3 seconds of engagement and then put it into drive and wait 3 seconds as well. If this is a normal thing, there should be a squeak/low hum during engagement. It's very subtle, I'm not looking for a LOUD noise, but something that blends in with the engine valve tick/engine noise as well.


As a friendly reminder: The Honda Tech mentioned how Honda doesn't care a lot about the Engine oil so long as its 0w-20 and up to Honda Minimum Requirement Oil Ratings, but he emphasized Honda is very picky with their Brake and Transmission fluid. He also mentioned flushing out a transmission is highly not recommended and a Drain and fill would be the best to go about replacing transmission fluid. I've got 7 quarts of AMSoil CVT fluid that i will put into the transmission after I do the first service on the transmission, which I plan on doing at about 10-15k miles. I'm hopping the AMSoil will help quite the transmission. I used Royal Purple for engine oil and it runs so much smoother than whatever honda put in there originally for engine oil.

Anyone have any opinions if I should further pursue the noise I'm hearing or just take two honda techs words on it and just assume everything is okay. Should I also replace the transmission fluid with AMSoil since I already have it? I understand the risks with the warranty. Opinions would be great, thanks.

 

Did as requested and I didn't hear anything unusual. No sound changes after 3 seconds either.

As for changing the trans fluid, I don't have an opinion one way or another. Others here can give you the pros and cons, if any.

 

I have a '16 LX / CVT and as above, I don't hear any weird noises in mine.

I'd keep an ear on your situation to see if it gets any worse. You most definitely would want to take it in for a re-check anytime before the 3 yr/36K warranty expires, because after that, the repair would probably be on you instead of Honda.

I'd also keep any documentation from the Honda techs saying that nothing was wrong starting with your first visit at xxxx miles, so you've got a paper trail leading back if you need it in case the whole thing falls apart at 37K and Honda says out of warranty, you're out of luck. Documentation of the first notice of abnormal noise would go a long way in settling your case with Honda should it lead to arbitration.

 

Thank you.

I will, I'm going to take it in again on my next day off and just get documentation like you said, showing I came in with a complaint. Thanks for the input, and will update once I get documentation. Ill try and hop into some 16' fits too to see if I can get the noise to happen.