2013 Honda Fit with 300,000 km, not miles.

During a snowstorm a couple weeks ago I got slightly stuck and then afterwards the car went into limp mode, wouldn't go over 35 km/h and the engine light was flashing.

Brought to mechanic who said the car ran fine but there were PCM issues, I need to bring to dealership. They did not want to get involved and did not check anything further because they say it's a PCM issue. Codes 61-11 and 83-11 were found. (Important to note that the ABS light has been on for a year, this is not new) Mechanic said that the tires spinning caused it to go into limp mode and we should be fine to drive it now.

This was not true as the car has been mostly in limp mode with check engine light flashing ever since. If we turn off the engine it will often start again and drive normally for a short while but then goes into limp mode with the engine light flashing.

After some research, PCM issues are quite rare in Hondas so it leads us to believe there are other issues that need to be addressed first.

These are the things we have researched to try But have not been done yet:

-replace spark plugs and torque to 20 (This generation of fit blows out the spark plugs, this already happened to us and a helicoil is installed.)

-ignition coils checked / replaced

-This car has had battery issues ever since we've bought it, with full battery replacement being done every year or two. Husband is going to try to look into this more on Friday before we bring it to mechanic, see if there is a drain somewhere.

-check wiring. Does not seem to be any issues but we will get the mechanic to check it further

-Valve adjustment

Is there anything else we should try / investigate?

Also what order would you try these things in? We are bringing the car to a different mechanic next week.

Hours and hours of research have told me that sometimes it's the spark plugs or the ignition coil, sometimes it can be a voltage issue, and sometimes you can switch/fix all these things and it still doesn't solve anything.

Apparently this is a fairly common problem in the second generation of Honda Fit But there is no defined fix. I love my Honda Fit but we are a low-income family and This sounds like it could get very expensive fast. Potentially leaving me with no car and still needing to buy another one.

 

Are you still on the OE battery size? If you live where it's cold, a bigger battery would be nicer. But probably not your problem.

Other will surely ask you what brand of coil packs did you use. Hitachi is OE and should be used. People using other brands have had problems.

 

As far as I know we used whatever battery was recommended from Canadian Tire where we purchased it. I'm not sure if perhaps we should go bigger, Good to know! We have had consistent problems with the battery since we got it. I don't think it occurred to my husband or myself that we should upgrade to a bigger battery.

Coil pack, pardon my ignorance I know nothing about mechanics lol That's an ignition coil?

 

Just based on some reading about the codes you indicated, my first suspicion would be charging system or battery, especially as you mention a history of 12v battery issues. In this case, my first thought is snow storm/winter = cold = more stress on a known problematic charging system.

Did the mechanic check your 12v battery? Under load? Did they checking the alternator? I would make sure those check out before jumping to something more involved or expensive.

In the bigger picture, your 12v battery replacement history suggests that you either have an underlying charging system problem or your driving patterns are very hard on the small battery in the Fit. Your location means you have a lot of cold winter weather (hard on batteries). Do you also do a lot of short trips (hard on batteries)? The cheap fix is the get a battery tender to help keep your 12v topped up, assuming your parking situation allows it.

All the spark plug/coil/valve-related repairs you indicated probably need to be checked on a 300K km/180K mile car, but unless you blew another spark plug out while over-revving the engine when stuck, I don't see why they would happen right this moment.

I'm not sure about your mechanic's hypothesis that spinning the tires will make a car go into limp mode. If so, every high school boy's vehicle would constantly be in limp mode.

 

Yes, coil pack is ignition coil.

As for the bigger battery, it involves some modifications to do it.

Drew suggested a good thing above if you do a lot of short trips or don't drive the car often: the battery tender.