Hey all!

I am a Honda enthusiast and just joined the Fit family, with my 2018 Fit Sport MT. My other cars are a 1991 Honda Prelude 4WS Si and a 1997 Honda Prelude base MT. The Preludes are survivors and I am gradually getting them back to their former glory; the Fit is my new daily. It has been an excellent buy, I am only about 100 miles into it, but am completely satisfied by the: traditional Honda gearbox, cabin, and Honda interface. It is a great little car and I am so glad I didn't go with the Civic... the visibility alone was a huge factor.

A quick question, is some carbon on the muffler tip common for these cars during the break-in period? I am not overly concerned, I know that new cars have looser ring settings, in general, and new parts need to seat... but just curious.

My weekend project is to paint the exhaust and undercoat the body/ suspension - the Mid-West is a destroyer of cars... so I am going to take steps to prevent death by rust and give it some sweet red accents (+5kW, for other Mighty Mod fans!).

Eager to join the community and learn more about these cars.

 

Congrats and welcome! You'll find all things Fit on this board and a lot of opinion. To answer your question, you are correct -- a little burn-in is no big deal when it's new. Just break it in gently as recommended and your car will be fine.

And kudos on the driving an MT ... a vanishing breed, jedis of the driving world!

 

Ok, seemed fine... But appreciate the support. Eager to get into it.

 

I believe the Fit's muffler is stainless steel and guaranteed for life. It still might rust though.

 

Quick tip: Brake cleaner works well to remove that carbon build up from your muffler tip. I spray a generous amount on a couple of paper towels and wipe the inside of the exhaust tip whenever I wash my car.

 

I know that the piston ring clearances and blow-by standards have loosened since the 90's (my other cars), to reduce internal friction and give better gas mileage. That said, I am not excited by the carbon deposits... my 1997 has bad valve seals and I get to clean her dirty bumper every fill up, so I am probably overly sensitive . Ironically, my 1991 prelude doesn't burn virtually anything; the B21A1 was the first to use the FRM sleeves, which were notorious for wearing out rings and blowing oil like a mofo.

Thanks for the feedback all! I love the GK, it is the perfect daily for a car enthusiast.

 

When new my 2015 fit would burn about half quart every 6000 miles. Now at 81k miles, it burns half quart every 1000 miles. So no more oil changes for me. Just top off from now on ... with filter change once / year.

 

Holy shit! That is awful... dealer denies that is an issue?

 

Actually, I don't think it's as bad as it seems. But I just traded the car in ... for another fit ... this time CVT. I love this car. 3 years down the road ... another trade in waiting to happen. xD

 

The oil is thinner, but wow... I do think that is a lot. My Mazda never lost a drop between changes, so I might have just been spoiled.
If that is normal, I'll just buy a bumper rag and carry a qt with me.

 

I am not sure if that was a problem with my particular engine ... or if it's normal, but I felt it was kind of normal since my used oil lab analyses came back with great results. Good thing I am obsessive with checking the oil level.

I read about engines that consume literally no oil between oil changes, and that has to do with piston design. It's more labor to manufacture pistons designs like that so it seems Honda chose the cheaper more simple design ... while knowing there will be a certain amount of oil consumption.

My 2000 corolla never ate a drop of oil, while all my other jap cars would consume varying amounts between changes.

I really believe that 0w20 is too thin for this engine, and I actually think it reduces engine life. I had started to hear knocking noises at cold starts below -10 degrees celsius (below 14 Fhrt). Engine literally sounded like a small diesel tractor so I always waited a few minutes for warm-up before the drive. But after warm-up, the engine would run just fine. I can't believe I did not think of switching to 5w30 earlier. So I switched to 5w30 on my trade-in fit, and the engine is quieter .. and sounds healthier too. Just my 2 cents. Some say it will void warranty to switch to something a little thicker.... but not that my dealer would ever find out.

Take for instance certain BMW cars where 40 weight oil is required by the manual. If you run that in really cold temps, you will for sure run into premature engine wear. This has been proven through lived experience where owners tore down low mileage engines with significant scoring and obvious visual damage. So should a dealer deny warranty in that case, if, say, a 20 weight oil would be used during cold winter months?

At the end of the day ... like I say ... each to his own.

 

Also, notice that my oil consumption went up very very gradually. So at the beginning ... no need for a back-up qt and rag. Also, I do a lot of city driving... lots of 3000+rpm shifts and occasional redline.

But keep an eye on the oil level to assess how your car does. I was overall happy with how this engine turned out actually. I think Honda did a great job with the design of their earth dreams line-up. So keep on motoring ... nothing to be too worried about.