I have a 2007 Honda Fit. Up until now it's been maintenance free, but I just recently moved to Michigan (from California) and it is the coldest the Fit has seen. Starting around Thanksgiving I noticed the idle being a little funny- when at a stop light every few seconds I would feel a "bump" on the break pedal. I believe this was the engine kicking in harder, although it didn't register as having higher RPMs on the tachometer.

This continued about the same, where it would happen every few seconds at a light. A couple weeks later I was driving on the highway (which, living close to school, I don't do often) and the throttle seemed odd as well. At constant speeds the engine would kick in a little harder and then stop. While doing around 70 mph per hour, the check engine light started blinking. I slowed down and it went off.

The next day I took it to the dealer. They couldn't confirm any problems, but thought there might be water in the gas tank (condensed from the rapid temperature drop during one of the snow storms here). However, they sampled the fuel and didn't find any water. I should probably mention I also went through two gas tanks between when the problem started happening, and when I took it to the dealer.

The dealer also tested the ethanol content in the fuel, to see if it was a bad batch. However, that looked fine as well. They checked the engine ignition coils and also couldn't find anything wrong. The mechanic did note the engine hesitating, but couldn't find the cause. They also noted that there were misfires into two cylinders, but they couldn't reproduce it. They still believed it could be water in the fuel tank, and said fill up and add some HEET.

I left the dealer and promptly filled up the tank. On the way to the gas station, the engine was running very bad - very rough idle while at lights. The gas tank had around a gallon or two at this time. This was at nighttime and around 10 F out. After filling up and adding the HEET, the engine performance did not improve that night. In fact, on the way home, the engine completely stalled while stopped at a light. None of the temperature lights were on, and the engine should have been warmed up sufficiently.

The next morning the engine seemed to be almost completely better, although I only drived it a couple miles to school and back.. but very little roughness in the idle. Over the past few days it's been mostly the same, although I've noticed a little bit of the brake peddle "bumping" while at a light.

Tonight I took it out a little farther down to Target. Initially it seemed ok, but then became worse, with lots of stuttering while at a light. This seems to be worse whenever the air conditioner is on (e.g. when the defrosters/defoggers are on as well), and possible a little worse when I don't have the climate control set to warm air. When I rolled down the window I could hear the engine "clicking" in and out every couple seconds.

Any ideas what this should be, and recommendations if I should take it to a dealer or independent shop?

I've searched this forum a bit and found references to replacing the coils (even if they don't show as bad), getting valves checked, etc... but those seem fairly costly with no guarantees.

Keep in mind that:

• Rough idles, especially when the engine is warm
• Has completely stalled out at intersection
• Idle is worse with air conditioner on
• Doesn't seem to have rough idle problems when fast idle is on. (e.g. when it's been sitting overnight)
• Misfires were recorded at highway speeds once, but mechanic was unable to reproduce it
• Engine has inconsistant power sometimes at highway speeds
• Gas tank has been filled a couple times now, and water remover added, with no improvement
• Fuel in tank sampled for water and no water found

This car has about 70,000 miles on it. Thanks for reading.

 

My first guess was water in the tank, especially after moving from Cali.

My second thought: Vacuum leak.

 

maybe check the spark plugs? you mentioned they checked the ignition coils and they could be fine, but the spark plugs could be bad.

that's all i got so far, since it seems to be starting up fine. maybe clogged fuel injectors, but i think that is unlikely.

good luck with your car

 

70k miles huh? You should seriously consider sucking it up and just replacing the coil packs, plugs and perform a valve lash adjustment if you intend to keep the Fit for more than 100k.

In the unlikely event that doesn't take care of it, I would say maybe you have a dying o2 sensor, small vacuum leak, clogged injectors or a loose electrical lead somewhere..

Do you recall which cylinders were showing misfire or what CEL/DTC you were getting?

Have you tried resetting the ECU?

 

Nice idea...but probably a lot more would be needed and not a simple bolt in. TCM, wiring, logic, possibly frame parts, mounts and linkages would most likely need to be changed/upgraded.

 

Yeah, 70k. I bought the car used at 40k a couple years back.

Misfires in cylinders 1 and 2. I didn't see the codes myself, just heard from the dealer's mechanic.

 

I would do a major tune up, what I dont understand there is no codes and when you put a load on the motor the ecu is to respond by adding fuel so it would run better. I would replace the fuel filter and reset the ecu and go from there. The higher ethanol would clean the tank,lines and plug the injectors, and fuel filter so thats why it doesn't richen up and run better under load.

 

That is an excellent point, didn't even occur to me when I was typing that up last night..

Check the fuel filter! That would be a cheap easy fix if it is the culprit.

 

This is a common problem with the fit. The coil packs have been known to go bad. This started happening to mine about 3 months ago. Mine is an 07 with 85k on it. Instead of spending the $80 for a new coil pack i went ahead and bought new spark plugs and put them in. Also, a friend had told me that condensation could be getting into the coil pack and causing this so I put di-electric grease on the rubber end of the coil pack before reinstalling them. It did the job. Been driving it ever since and have yet to have the same problem. Almost 5k since i replaced them. The plugs I removed also did not look the best.

 

So it ended up being the coil packs- one of the coil packs had a hairline crack on it and moisture was causing a problem. The dealer wasn't able to diagnose it after two attempts, but an independent place near me did quickly. The mechanic said he took a water bottle and sprayed the engine and instantly it started misfiring constantly.

I decided to just replace all four since this seems to be a common problem with 2007 Fits and coil packs. The mechanic is replacing all of the spark plugs too (he originally diagnosed it as a spark plug issue, so everything back there is opened up anyway). Turning out to be $$$ (roughly $350 for one coil pack + spark plugs + finding the problem, and $90 each per additional coil pack) but I think it would have been a lot cheaper if the ECU had been throwing codes in the first place. The engine was audibly misfiring yet the ECU didn't detect it.

 

And word of advice: Don't using NAPA recommended aftermarket coils. Apparently those are completely out of spec for the engine (the engine pretty much shut down over 2500 RPM). Meanwhile the ECU said everything was fine.

 

Adjust your valves. It'll fix the problem.

 

I will start by stating that intermittent electrical failures on a vehicle are one the most difficult problems to pin down, even if you run it up on a dyno and thru the computer. The CEL may or may not exactly pin point the issue and in many cases don’t.
Here’s my experience with the “stuttering” problem. At 117K miles my car started stuttering immediately after filling up at my regular gas station. I immediately went to the parts house and purchased a Lucas gas additive. I ran about 100 miles but with no improvement. Then, after reading all the blogs on this site, I saw that the majority of solutions seemed to be coil(s) replacement. From that, I purchased a new coil from the dealer.
I started by changing out the #1 coil, then ran the car but got no improvement. Then, I changed coils #2 and then #3 with the same new coil I had purchased, still no improvement. Before I changed out the #4 coil, I pulled the 1st three original coils and carefully removed both seals in all of them. I applied a very thin coating of dielectric grease inside the top seal housing, on the entire outer post and on the 1st inside 1/4 “ of the end that goes on the plug but NOT on the metal cap that fits over the top of the plug. Then, I put the new coil into #4 and went out for a test drive, under load. The car ran perfectly! So, to prove coil #4 was defective, I put the old #4 coil back in and took the car out again. Surprisingly, the car ran perfectly now even with all the original coils back in the car. I even ran it up near the red line in the lower gears on the road and it ran flawlessly. So, either the original coils(s) defect has corrected or it has intermittent failure which may reveal itself again or by applying the dielectric grease to #1 - #3, I have fixed the defect which was in one of coils #1- #3. My guess is the dielectric grease fixed the problem. Why? Because when spark increases it seeks the path of least resistance. If the original dielectric grease n the spark post (if any) has degraded, the spark will bypass and ground out to the block, usually intermittent or under load. This was so true of the high performance cars of the 70’s and early 80’s. So, I would recommend before investing in new coils, at least try the dielectric grease on the old coils, run them up and see what happens. Permatex 67 VR dielectric grease is just one of many.
Back to the new coil…. I noticed a difference in the physical characteristics of the new one. It has what appears to be a small vent hole in the housing which protrudes out slightly. Looking at the brand name they are the same, Hitachi. The 1st set of numbers are the same, CM11-110. However, the 2nd row of numbers are entirely different, 6802C on the old coil, 11823F on the new coil. I am going to try and find out what these mean. If Hitachi has put an engineering change into the new coil when they knew the original one was defective, this is a problem they should have revealed.
These original coil misfirings can cause serious injury, even death, to drivers who are depending on them to move the car forward, especially in critical instances, i.e. passing on a two lane road into on-coming traffic.
I will keep you updated on what my findings are as they occur.
Finally, if you need help finding/pulling out the coils, PM and leave me your name and phone #. I’ll RSVP.

 

Engine appears to have more stuttering with increasing load. Did the dealer perform an OBD II check. You should. An OBD II checker costs about $50 but is needed this car market. And:
1. Have the coils & plugs been replaced? Spark plug wires?
2. valve clearances set?
3. run a fuel injection cleaner thru the gas at least once? lately? dirty injectors will do exactly as your symptoms indicate.

No engine has zero maintance. You should have done thiose at 50k miles.
The manual is only a rough guideline, not a bible.
good luck.
PD beware of eome high priced cleaning by a dealer. Won't be any better than a couple of tanks of non-alciohol injector from wallyworld fo $1.50 each.

 

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Valves, valves, Valves (I use .007/.011 intake/exhaust

It's a 2.5 hr job, 3 BLs, and a few four letter words (only cause the manifold has to come off to yank the valve cover.


The Fit will run as good as new, especially if you put new coils/plugs at same time!

 

You have to take the manifold off ?

 

top part runs over valve cover. Not really diffcult, just a little time consuming.

 

Just had the same problem a day before a 1000 km roadtrip, but thanks to these forums I was able to find a Honda Dealer on the way, and they swapped two coil packs ($100 each), charged me $70 for labor, and were done in 45 minutes. The good thing about doing this at the honda dealer is that they are very familiar with the problem and should have the coil packs in stock. That was pretty nice considering I made it to the ferry with only five minutes before they closed for the day!

They said not to bother with changing all four coil packs at the same time, which is a relief because they are $100 each. He also mentioned that the spark plugs last until about 160K. My 2007 Fit had 90K at the time.

Anyways, thanks a bunch guys. I love this forum.

 

Here is how I solved a very similar problem last week on a 2007 Honda Fit. the third coil was bad from the factory. This was an aftermarket BWD replacement without weep hole.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...rans-192k.html