Starter replacement
 

My 2015 Fit EX (push button, CVT, 52K miles) had starter problems, like others described elsewhere they began a month or two earlier as just requiring a 2nd button push, then gradually worsening to 3 - 5 pushes, followed by not starting for 5 minutes, then 20 minutes. Finally it wouldn't start at all.

Tried jump starting - no difference.
Battery voltage was 12.4V (no load.)
Confirmed the brake lights went on when the brake was pressed.
Hammering the starter during starting worked - which convinced me the starter needed replacing.

To diagnose/replace the starter, I referred to these helpful links:
2nd generation starter replacement by @zenkimr_S
Replaced the starter today by @rossftn

Here are the rough steps I followed which did not involve removing the intake manifold or dipstick (as might be recommended for earlier generations.)

Sorry for no photos, the above links had better photos than any that I could take.

1. Raise the car on jack stands, apply parking brake
2. Remove negative battery terminal
3. Remove the dirt cover
4. To improve access to the starter:

• From above the car, removed 10mm nut on top left corner of wire harness which allowed me to move it a bit, but it still gets in the way.
• Removed the alternator wire
• Then from under the car, removed a bracket attached to the alternator (10mm) and removed the attached cable from that bracket
• Removed the oil filter (only a 1/3 qt or so came out)
• Removed the coolant tank (10mm I think, from the top)
• From under the car, there's an inch diameter radiator hose which gets in the way, but I didn't remove it.

5. 17mm bolt on the bottom of the starter is accessed from underneath the car, from the driver's side. Removed it with a 1/2" drive 18" breaker bar and it was VERY difficult. I sprayed PB Blaster and let it soak for an hour while I let off frustration.

6. 14mm bolt on the top of the starter was also VERY difficult to remove. Wire harness is in the way, makes it nearly impossible to see, and a PITA just to get the socket on the bolt. I bought a 12 point socket which helped. Accessing it from the top, a smaller 8" ratchet pushed with a crowbar finally released it. It might also be possible to access from the bottom.

7. After removing both bolts from the starter, but before removing the starter completely, remove two electrical connections:

• Rubber cover, access from the top: remove the cover to the side, unscrew 12mm nut with a universal joint and extension
• Electrical plug, access from the bottom: pull starter out of the transmission, position it so press the tab on the electrical plug with long (12") pliers while pulling the plug out

8. Remove the starter from behind the radiator hose. I had to push the hose a bit to fit it through. Don't drop the starter on your face!

9. I bench tested the old and new starters:

• negative jumper cable between negative battery terminal and metal part of starter body
• positive jumper cable between positive battery terminal and larger starter terminal (the one connected to the car with a 12mm nut)
• alligator clip + wire hooked to the smaller starter terminal. Take the other end of that wire and touch the positive jumper cable - starter should pop out and spin (my old starter only popped out, and would only spin if the starter was bumped by a hammer.)

10. Installing the new starter is much easier than removal. Reverse all of the above steps and don't forget to reattach all of the electrical connections you may have undone.

The removal process probably took me about 6 hours - yes, I am very slow. Removing the two starter bolts was a HUGE pain. It might have been faster if I did remove the intake manifold or other things to get more space to the upper bolt. The lower bolt was easier to access but more difficult to remove. (I seriously wondered if I was turning the wrong way and/or the bolt was reverse threaded!)

I used an Ultima starter from O' Reilly's, $277 + $30 core charge. The online price for the Honda version was around $100 more than that, and the local Honda dealer price was nearly $100 on top of that.
EDIT: after 3 months, I had problems with grinding during startup and decided to spend the $350 for the Honda starter.

Thank you for this, we just had the start button replaced on my fiancee's 2015 and they said it'd be another $600 to replace the starter (which had originally taken 1-2 tries to get started before the button went bad). I decided to hold off on them doing the work and a few months later it's not 3-5 pushes to start so I'll be replacing the starter myself and this is very helpful!!

Her car also has under 60k miles. Crazy that a starter could go bad so quickly... :(

The the starter uses brass bushings for the armature shaft instead of ball bearings, soft brushes and beryllium free copper for the solenoid contacts...

Do the remanufactured starters upgrade these parts to longer-lasting?

sorry for going off topic, but i am looking for information on car jacking up ..

for people with limited funds, anyone have any recommendation on how to jack up the car without power-tools ?

Jack stands under the subframe after you jack the car up with the spare tire jack.

ORRRR the oil change ramps work great too. No matter what, don't lay under the car without it properly supported (jack by itself is NOT safe) and the parking brake engaged.

Just wanted to chime in that this forum has been useful for many things already on my 2015 Fit. I found this and a few other threads about starters going bad and needing replacement.

I bought the DB Electrical remanufactured starter from Amazon:
Did the job this morning in about 2.5hrs. It wasn't as bad as sounds on the previous gen models. I just disconnected battery (obviously), removed the flexible intake snorkel bend at the top of engine bay, removed the 10mm bolt and coolant overflow tank in between the radiator fans, removed 10mm bolt holding the wiring harness plastic junction box thing that is fastened to the front of the engine just above the starter, used single flexible socket joint with 14mm socket along with long extension to get the top starter bolt from the top of engine bay, flexible socket joint with 12mm socket to get top starter electrical connection under the rubber boot from top of engine, removed belly pan to get to front/side electrical connector on starter from bottom of car, and then, the biggest pain, the 17mm bottom starter bolt I used penetrating oil, curse words, and finally a long torque wrench to get that bolt off. I did not remove the oil filter or anything else. Luckily these cars aren't too old, and the radiator hoses and such are still pliable, as the bottom radiator hose was certainly a bit in the way but was able to work around it.

Other than that, pretty straightforward. Thanks again, forum!

The one I replaced lasted maybe 2 months so I'm wondering whats blowing the starter in the first place.

Starter troubles
 

Ugh seems like I'm having this starter issue too and my car only has 44k miles. Turn the key and the engine won't crank. Was wondering why you didn't replace the part under warranty? Were you just not wanting to be bothered with possibility of another install job? I'm picking up a starter from Autozone, the Duralast brand, and heard it's similar to the Ultima. Wondering if I should just pony up for the oem starter, but don't have much confidence there either with mine failing so soon.

Thanks.

40 miles need new starter
 

I checked mine and it is a bad starter. I also wonder what make this starter to fail. Mine is a 2015 lx with 40 miles.
i bought a fit because I heard it was a good reliable car but I don't see it any reliable. Not sure if it is this model GK of what.
I bought a remanufactured starter at AutoZone Duralast brand for 100 dollars and 50 more without the starter turn on. It has one year warranty so that sold me. If I bought a brand new it doesn't come with warranty from honda. If I bought a used one from the yonke it only has 15 days guarantee.

So reading all your comments it is not a diy job for a non mechanical incline guy. I brake and loose everything so I will sent it to a guy that does the job. I think he quote me 40 dollars for the job. So not that bad.

Sounds like some good information there, luffyfit.

The fact that the old starter worked when struck with a hammer suggests that it could possibly re repaired, and repaired rather simply and cheaply. Possibly just by simply adding some lubrication, Or by cleaning away accumulated gunk. Or replacing a worn bushing. If it uses a solenoid to throw out the flywheel engaging gear, I wonder if a solenoid can be purchased, without having to purchase a whole starter. It has occurred to me that an entire aftermarket starter might cost less than an OEM solenoid. Maybe an aftermarket solenoid.

I wouldn't be surprised if an aftermarket starter from AutoZone, even a "rebuilt" one, works out ok. $100 plus a $50 core charge doesn't sound too bad. Is that the price in the Saltillo area? Autozone charges different prices at different locations. What price was the junky asking for a used starter?

In Asheville NC US, AutoZone is asking $299 USD for a Duralast Remanufactured Starter DL5375S with a limited lifetime warrantee.