Hey all,

I am looking at possibly going from an 08 fit to a 15 or 16. The issue is that it seems a lot of them are having fuel rail issues and carbon buildup in the valves due to direct injection. I have a friend who has one and it drives amazing. Anyone have higher mileage ones or ones that have had these issues for input. I've considered buying a low mileage 2nd gen, but I love all the 3rd Gen features. Thanks in advance!

God bless,

​​​​​​Ross

 

From what I understand, alot of other direct injection cars suffer from the carbon buildup issue as well. All of my friends with turbo bmw n54/n55 engines, know about this all too well. I recently discovered, my lexus ct200h (3rd gen prius engine inside) also has some carbon related issues

(read here, if interested = https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ct-...l#post10122132)


I say go for it, get the 3rd gen. Its something we all just learn to live with/accept. Fingers crossed.... 1 day someone will come up with a rad solution to combat the carbon build up

 

There are several threads on this, do a search and see. It's a concern but not a major worry. What I get from the posts is to use Top Tier gas or maybe higher octane and drive the car hard once in a while to get all the juices flowing. Myself, I do Top Tier fillups about 75% of the time and have no qualms about the driving hard part.

 

90k miles here on manual EX.



I've got an earlier 15, so only 2 issues so far. The brake rotors warped around 50k miles, but cheap to replace. And my key fob decides not to work at times (just have to strike it and it works again).

 

We have a 2016 with almost 70K miles. No problems with engine operation. We have no reason to go look at valves or tear anything apart looking for a problem. Thousands and thousands of these things are sold world wide with no major complaints. Most owners have no idea what a carbon on the valve problem even is.

We do out best to stay away from "TOP TIER" (10% craponol diluted) fuel due to it's lower energy and mileage. Fuel used should make no difference in carbon build up since fuel is not introduced into the engine until past the valves and when the valves are closed.

 

Our '15 has about 58,000 miles on it, everything seems well with it. Bought it CPO with maybe 40,000 on it, iirc, and, having read about various problems folks had with early GKs, am wondering if the previous owner had gotten that stuff addressed and decided he/she was over it and traded it in. Only "problems" with ours is the weird "stumble" around 2200 rpm, seemingly more apparent in 2nd gear with the manual, but a common thing, it seems....and the occasional horrible sound on cold start on a cold day, although ours only did it once over this past winter, can live with that. Added a heavier shifter knob, Progress RSB, Tanabe Medallion axleback, drop in KnN filters and a "ram air duct" from fellow forum member tougemonster here...the car has been super reliable so far and fun enough to make me smile when I drive it - doesn't feel like an appliance. As far as gas, I use "top tier" because that's all we have around here, not that I've ever used off-brand gas in any of my cars. As far as carbon build-up on the valves, time will tell. Have considered a catch-can between the PCV valve and intake, but perhaps shall wait until warranty expires. And would love to delete the clutch delay valve, but that's another story. We love our '15.....have always entertained the idea of getting a FIT since they first hit our shores

 

Top Tier has nothing to do with ethanol. It's a standard for the cleaning additives in fuel - valves incidentally aren't the only place where carbon can build up. Premium fuel often contains no ethanol but still meets the Top Tier standard. Most of the stations in my area are Top Tier rated but don't put ethanol in their premium fuel.

 

There’s a drawback to direct injection, though. In a typical fuel injection model, the air/fuel mixture passes over the intake valves, keeping them clean and operating smoothly. In a direct injection engine, the detergent-laden fuel doesn’t pass over the valves at all, only air.

What I gather here is detergent does not reduce carbon build up in direct injection intake valves.

 

seriously? a stock GK? hummm..