Here in NZ everything seems ridiculously overpriced compared to the US. Spark plugs included. I see the 1.5liter fit calls for iridium spark plugs (ngk izfr6k13)...are there any "standard" alternatives that could fit/ work in the fit? It's a cheap car with heaps of kms on it. I dont feel like dumping 120$ into it for 4 spark plugs...
Cheers!

 

Wow 120 for 4 plugs? They are like $8 to $10 US each here.. Occasionally on sale for like $25 for 4.. Its such a small box wonder if you could order them from here (US )or would customs ding you?

 

If that $120 for spark plugs includes the labour to install them, then be smart and take that deal ASAP before the mechanic realizes what they are getting themselves into. Get the quote in writing and pay upfront if you can.
The spark plugs on Honda Fits/Jazz are a royal pain in the b*tt to change.

I've read that others have used non-iridium spark plugs without any concerns, however be advised these will not last too long. Those guys would change them after 50-75 K km.
The iridium plugs are rated to last at least 160 K km, while some people have pushed them past 200 K km.

Given that it's such an annoyance to change them, you'd be better off to pay extra for the iridium ones. Unless you truly don't expect the car to last that long...

 

Plug changes are insanely easy on the GD. I've done a GE as well. They are super easy, but you have to add the time required to remove and re-install the cowling. I'm sure you could get to them without cowl removal, but it sure is easy once it's off of the car.

I'd guestimate 30 minutes to do a GD and 2 hours to do a GE

I've owned v6 and v8 powered front drive cars. Trust me, there are many cars that are much harder than any 4 cylinder Honda. Try changing plugs on 4th gen Camaro/Firebird's. Those are a pain!

 

nope, that 120$ was just for the parts!
I've changed the plugs on both the JDM 1.3L and 1.5L engines and it was a straight forward enough process. The rear 4 on the 1.3L are a bit tricky to access, but nothing too difficult.

On my 1.5L Fit, I ended up using the BKR6E-11 the standard NGK plugs that are recommended on the 1.3L. Seems to be going alright for a while now without any issues. The car already has nearly 300k km on it, so not really expecting it to last another 160k kms anyhow.

 

4 iridium spark plugs for 114 dollars in Mauritius. If we buy spareparts from Japan for example, the shipping can cost double the amount of the sparepart.

 

My 09 Honda Fit just reached 109,000 miles recently. The check engine light came on about a month ago, then went off. Came back on the other day and had the engine misfire twice within 10 minutes to where I had to pull over on the side of the road and restart my car. Once things were seemingly fine I started driving to work where I did not make it but 5 minutes down the road before the spark plug blew, leaving my car disabled on the side of a busy road. According to my mechanic when the spark plug blew it tore a hole in my Coil Pack and left the threads shredded beyond the point of repair. Now that I did some research and found this post the only warning sign that I had prior was the strong smell of gasoline that would happen on occasion. I had no idea what was causing this and no sooner it became an issue it was gone again. I had my dad look into this and he was too baffled. I wish I did some deeper research in relation to this issue. My mechanic suggested that I contact Honda as he has never seen anything like this before. He said worst case scenario I am looking at about 6 grand to repair the cylinder, new spark plug, new coil pack and labor, when my car is not worth but $3500 at best. I will be calling Honda (seemingly wasting my time) later this afternoon to see what can be done if anything.

 

Sorry that you didn't do more research. This is an EXTREMELY common failure on GD and GE Fit's. Going over 100k miles without a plug change is like playing with fire. I recommend that everyone check their plugs at least every 60k miles.

Once you learn to listen for the signs, you can hear when the plug gets loose and catch them in time. There is often a gasoline odor that becomes apparent as well.

Not sure why your potential repair costs are so high though. Search around to see what a complete used motor costs. These cars are very easy to work on. Maybe cheaper to swap in a whole new motor.

 

Is he doing a K-Swap for that price. Get another quote.

 

To the OP. Have you tried to order plugs off Rockauto.com? I'd try that and see if they'd ship them. If not, do you have someone in the States who could receive them and mail them on to you???? Good luck! (And checking their site, it seems they do ship to New Zealand.)

 

I received a call back from the mechanic. Beat case scenario quoted at $425 I will receive a new coil pack, 4 new spark plugs, attempted rethreading as well as labor. If they cannot rethread the spark plug then we will take it from there.

 

I don't know about things like this but can't they weld an "insert" (for lack of a better word) at that plug hole and then, rethread??

 

That’s going to be my next question. I’m pretty sure they can do that to ensure they can rethread it. However from what I am reading it might not hold for a long period of time.

 

Again, don't know a tinker poop about this but I've heard that a "Heliarc" weld is very strong. Anyone else here shed any actual knowledge on this subject?

 

I’m going to inquire if this can be an option if the rethreading cannot be done.

 

I got a set of NGK plugs recently for a great price from nzairfilter.co.nz. The plugs seem to be the genuine article.

 

Just acquired 11 Fit 123.5k miles. Prior DIY owner changed plugs at 121k torqued to 15ftlbs. (Read about loose plug issue online prior to purchase so I asked and got his torque value)

Did a valve adjustment today (likely first time since new) and cylinder 1-2 exhaust were most out of spec. Coincidentally, cylinder 1-2 plugs were considerably looser than 3-4. Maybe 1 complete turn before reaching 10ftlbs. Wonder if there is a correlation?

Cylinder # intake 1 intake 2 exhaust 1 exhaust 2 (Spec intake = .006-.007 in exhaust = .010-.012 in)

1 .008 .008 .015 .011
2 .008 .008 .012 .009
3 .008 .008 .010 .011
4. .008 .008 .010 .008 (not sure this reading is correctly recorded in my chicken scratch paper)

I set intake to .006 and exhaust to .011.

Plugs were pulled, threads cleaned (looks like had anti-seize), clean the plug seat best I could with a tooth brush+carb cleaner. coil boots all clean and same grey color. Installed dry (but maybe some anti-seize already on head threads? didn't have borescope handy) and torqued to 20ftlbs. Will check in few K miles.

Engine didn't sound terrible prior to valve adjust but definiately runs smoother after. I wonder if valve timing vibrations could be the cause for loosening the plugs.

 

There does seem to be some kind of correlation. I know that the loose exhaust valves cause the valve seat and guide to wear. Also seems to soot, for a lack of better words, the plug more.

Or, maybe, it's just that some cars don't get proper maintenance and some do?