acceleration problem
 

Hi fellow Fit Freaks! I have a 2007 Honda Fit, manual drive, sport model. It is not accelerating properly. Before I take it into my local repair shop (I use Sears Auto Center), I wanted to run this by you all to see what you thought it might be. When accelerating, no matter what gear, the acceleration isn't smooth. It feels like the car is in too low of a gear, but that is not the case. It is a jerky motion, not smooth at all. I've tried accelerating very modestly, and also tried accelerating very quickly, with no change in the jerky acceleration motion. I've also had a friend drive it, and she had the same experience, that it felt like the car was in too low of a gear. It seems to me like it could accelerate faster than it is, but maybe I'm just pushing my little car too much.

So, thoughts?? I thought maybe it's a spark plug issue?

Many thanks!!

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...d-anyones.html

And if it isn't coil packs, how many miles do you have? Have you done a valve adjustment?

Thanks for the link! That definitely helps. I have 165k miles. Not sure about the valve adjustment. I found the DIY for spark plug changing. https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...l15a-vtec.html I'll run by Autozone (or the counterpart) and see if they think it's something I could do myself. I've never done any sort of repairs on my car, but I'd like to start learning! I'm pretty handy around the house, so maybe I can figure this out (with a little help). Thanks again for the link!

Coil packs are expensive. It will run you around $200 at least to replace all 4. They are dirt simple to pull though, and have to come off to swap the plugs. Pickup one of these to super simplify install/removal of plugs: If you get plugs, MAKE SURE they are gaped to that 0.44" spec.

Also, you can swap to a Denso IK-22 plug and premium fuel for an extra 2-3whp :D

BUT, If you are at 156K and have not had a valve adjustment, my money is on that. The exhaust valves will be tight, intake MIGHT be a little loose. Spark plugs are a general maintenance item and should for sure be inspected around this mileage...But my $ is on the valves needing a re fresh.

A good shop should quote you 3.5-4 hours of labor and a gasket or 2 to do the job. Doing it yourself is an exercise in patience and a back ache bending over the front of the car for 4-6 hours depending on how mechanically inclined you are :rotfl:

Thanks for your input on the valves. Maybe I'll get my guys at Sears to take a look and see what they recommend.

New coils, plugs, wires and a valve job are a logical maintenance item at 100k miles. Yes, all that together is expensive. If it means you get to 160k miles instead of 140k, though, it's paid for itself. If you think none of it has been done and you intend to keep the car for a while, I think it'll be money well spent.

FYI: The Fit uses Coil packs, which are direct coil on plug so no wires needed :D

Still I 100% agree. The Fit I know with 270K on the clock has had 2 valve adj and 1 set of coil packs so far :thumbups:

My partner says that she doesn't like breaking seals on gaskets until its really needed, because sometimes the valve doesn't go on back correctly and can cause other problems. A she thinks we would just replace the coil packs. Thoughts?

Valves seal/unseal themselves thousands of times per minute while the engine is running. And the rubber gaskets on the intake runners/manifold are easily replaceable with new ones. If you're worried about the seal, just make sure the mating surfaces are clean and buy new gaskets, they're not very expensive. I simply cleaned my old gaskets and reused them because they looked fine, no visible deterioration. No leaks/problems so far, and it's been like 40k miles.

Here's a fairly objective breakdown:

Your car is due for a valve adjustment and spark plugs - both should be done at ~100k miles. And by your described symptoms on acceleration, it probably needs new coilpacks as well.

It's up to you which of these 3 things you want to address.

Good news! I changed the spark plugs and that took care of the problem! No more jerky acceleration. Yay! And it was super easy to do. Thanks again for your suggestions! Oh, btw, I realized I only have 120k miles on the car, not 165k. That's my other car :D . We decided to start by fixing the cheapest thing first, then go on to the coil packs if that didn't work. I'm glad it was the cheaper fix! But it's good to know about the coil pack problem, for future reference.