VTC Actuator Cold start noise
 

Any body else getting a loud cranking noise during a cold start?

Powertrain warranty?
Take it to the dealer.

There's a whole thread over here: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...ase-issue.html

Been getting these noises before my first oil change. Dealer "could not replicate" so I left things as is. 47k miles later and no issues whatsoever. I've heard of others having the VTC replaced, with noises only coming back a while later. Toyota has issues like these with some Matrixes and Corollas from the past. I would not break a sweat over it.

Nearly 50K miles and mine still does it occasionally. Mostly when it's cooler/cold, but sometimes when it's warm ambient temps, too.

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(OP: if you are still around): It is the bendix gear inside your starter failing. It is a VERY common issue with the Denso starters in the Vibe/Matrix/Corolla. Mine tended to only do it when it started getting cold out. Once the summer came, it stopped grinding or did so only occasionally. Once the following winter came (a year later), it began to get worse, so I replaced the starter. I now live in a warm weather climate, and my new (refurbished) starter began to make the noise 3 years after it was installed. I know it won't become critical for some time to come. Nonetheless, yes, the noise you hear is as if you turned your key to start the car, not knowing the car was already running. The grind sounds just about the same.

2015-2016 Fit VTC Actuator and Timing Chain Honda Goodwill Replacement
 

If anybody is experiencing an issue with the VTC actuator and are over warranty coverage, like me (85,000 miles), then I highly recommend having your car evaluated by the dealer to this concern. They quoted me around $1200 to replace it, but cost went up to over $1800 after they found out the timing chain was stretched (I don't know how the chain stretched, but I want to blame the actuator). Afterwards, I complained directly to American Honda telling the customer representative in a sincere manner that I can understand that it's my fault if this specific part failed, but Honda updated the part number to a completely different number. I referred him to the service bulletin 16-088. I even brought up that many individuals online were experiencing the same issue of the engine making the rattling noise.

In all honesty, my family only buy Honda's and this is the first Honda that I've experienced such a major issue. He confirmed this by checking service records of all my vehicles, and gave me a deal on covering majority of the cost. He did notice that I don't bring in my vehicles unless it's for a alignment but I told him that I'm a car enthusiast and do basic maintenance at home. I had to pay a total of $581.89.

I just wanted to update you all to see if this will help you.

Nice that you got help from Honda on this. Your calm demeanor & homework on the problem surely help your cause.

Good for you! Honda has been all over the place as far as out-of-warranty issues (GK starter failure is one of them), so it's encouraging that they gave your situation some consideration.

was it the noise you were getting to fixed? cause i’ve read it comes back. i don’t plan on fixing mine.

It was the noise that was fixed. Honda updated the VTC actuator to a newer part back in February of 2017.

Well, for people who got it replaced before the new version was available, yeah, pretty good bet it will come back.

I'm afraid most people will find that the noise will return when the mornings get cold again, only to find out it was the bendix gear in their starter all along and not the timing gear actuator.

Well, if it IS the starter, then BOTH of the starters I've had in my car make the same noise. Replacing the starter (for a different issue) made no difference.

Over what period of time did you replace the Denso starter and have the noise come back again, and was it with another Denso starter? I replaced my OEM Denso starter in my Vibe 3 years ago. I now live in a warm and dry climate all year long. I recently had 2 or 3 incidents of the bendix gear grinding. I don't know what the issue is with these Denso starters, but it is very common in those cars that have them. I had the Denso starter go bad in my Fit and I replaced it with a rebuilt one from Pep Boys due to the lifetime warranty. While there are some documented issues with the timing gear actuators in Honda and Toyota engines, I've done enough research to know that dealerships are replacing them willy-nilly and not taking the time to understand the noise reported by owners and after doing a pretty invasive procedure, not solving the problem. I know this first hand since my local GM dealer replaced my actuator (at their cost) with no result at all. It seems to me that a failing timing gear actuator would make the grinding noise all the time, not just intermittently during cold/humid mornings.

It's definitely not all the time.
Hondas VTC actuator noise only lasts for about a second or two at startup, approximately the length of time it takes to build oil pressure and feed it into the cam gear.

That's about the same time the starter will make its noise if it makes noise.

The sounds are similar but different. They happen at approximately the same time, during engine startup. Many techs probably haven't heard a starter noise so they may not know it can happen, but many of us get to hear VTC rattle on other engines frequently.
(I read about the 3rd gen starter noise here in this forum long before I actually got to hear one in person)

Honda has a TSB about the VTC noise so that's likely the go-to repair for many ---especially when the dealer tech can't duplicate your noise to verify it.
There is no tsb for starter noises.

Glad to hear Honda at least did the right thing for one customer......thinking on the "noise," my car only did it one time over the past winter. Did it several times the year before....go figure...although we did have a pretty mild winter here in east TN this past one. Glad they took care of ya, OP, hope the fix lasts.

u have to leave the car over night. mine only makes the rattle once in the am.