ok, I know this has been talked about, but I never did see a fix, I had my 07 Fit Sport (33K) back to the dealer 2nd time, for this, they supposedly took the air out of the cooling system..same problem exists..they say they need it for more than the 3 1/2 hours it was there...here is something I just noticed as well as the sound..the heat "feels wet" and also "smells wet, a musty smell... I'm not a mechanic but maybe there is some type of dehumidifier that is not working..HELP..I still love this little sucker...great car..thanks
Chuck

 

chuck, i had the same sound coming from inside the dash and the coolant was in fact low. Not by much (maby 3 cups or so) but after filling it the sound went away. I didn't have the musty smell though. cold be a coolant leek possibly from the heater core.

Bill

 

Provide some details, and you might have a chance of getting a good answer - when does the sound happen? What conditions? Engine on or off? Driving or parked? In gear or out? Accelerating or coasting? Heat or A/C? Fresh or recirc? Engine cold or warmed up?

And just to cover all bases - it's not the gas sloshing around in the tank that we all hear (after parking and turning off the engine), right?

 

AFAIK, there's no intentional humidifier in a car. Unintentional ones come from coolant leaks or accumulation of water in the ducting. I had a heater core go bad in an old S10 Blazer. It turned my interior into a coolant rainforest.

Is the smell just musty or does it smell like coolant? If it's just musty, it's probably water that's collected in your ductwork around the AC core. You need to find the drain and unclog it. I don't know where it is on these cars but I had this issue with an RX-7. The water actually got high enough for the fan to hit it. When I unclogged the drain, the water that came out was disgusting. Horrible to think I had been breathing the stuff.

This usually happens on older cars where dust and dirt collect over time to clog the drain. Sometimes leaves can cause it to happen quicker. My Saab AC core drain is open to leaves and can clog sometimes because it's under a vent in the hood. Are you parking under a tree on a regular basis?

 

Bump! I have this same issue. I will look into filling up the coolant. It only happens about 20% of the time immediately after starting the car when I'm driving through my apartment complex parking lot. Happens with A/C on as well as off. Seems to happen immediately upon stepping on the gas and go away fairly quickly as everything gets moving and the motor heats up. I almost always have the air set to cycle outside air. I haven't noticed a particular moisture level or smell or anything with the A/C but sometimes when it's on I hear sucking noises, etc. I have assumed this was normal. 24,000 miles on the car, haven't serviced anything yet except oil and tire rotations.

 

This happens on my Fit.
As a mechanic, I know its nothing to worry about. If in my 9000kms it is an airlock (no way) I will eat my boots.
This happens on many different cars, nothing to worry about.

 

There is a drain from the heat exchanger area to the engine bay. If this fills up you will get a sloshing sound and a mildewy smell. Had it on an old Legend. Took off the hose and gently poked a screwdriver in there. You'll get all kinds of yuckiness pouring out of there. You then might want to use some ozium sprayed at the vent intake at the base of the windshield to disinfect it and kill some of the algaes and molds.

 

Honda has a Service bulletin out for this complaint. We have done it to several cars at work and they have never come back with the same problem. All you need to do is bleed the cooling system. Some times you have to do it a couple of times.

 

Thanks for the heads up! I'm gonna call my dealer in the morning and see if I can have this done under warranty.

 

thanks everyone for suggestions and support..LBV18Civic..you were right on, problem is ..they bled it last 2 times I was there, this time they did it and also replaced the the hose from the radiator to the overflow reservoir...they said that there was a small hole in the hose and it kept sucking air in...makes sense to me..and the hose IS new...sounds great now, no more ocean noises..and btw, I have 33,900 miles on it, 07 Sport..NO CHARGE..and I had a free loaner for 2 days...happy boy now..thanks

 

Glad I could help and your car got fixed.

 

I had this happen when I bought my '07 used last November. I took it in several times but they couldn't find the problem. The last time I took it in, the manager looked at it, he found the problem, there is a small hose on the cap inside the overflow reservoir, it had come off and was in the bottom of the reservoir. No one had seen it before, because the reservoir was full of coolant and the hose was in the bottom. This left a vent for air to get into the coolant system. Since they put that hose back on, no more swooshing sounds behind the dash. Try looking into that, may help.

 

^^ Nice info!!!

 

Just in case anyone else is trying to solve this problem, I can confirm that the coolant being low is what was causing that sound in our 08 Fit. In my case, I found that the reservoir cap was completely loose (not even threaded on one turn) and that the coolant was low.

It wasn't that hard to deal with and the sound immediately went away. I'm not one to give advice about fixing anything on your car, but this isn't that hard to do and might save someone a headache. Pick up some coolant from your Honda dealer and just make sure you see coolant at the bottom of the filler neck (where the radiator cap comes off - don't do that when the car has been running), and that the reservior tank is filled between the high and low marks. After that, make sure everything is capped and tightened. For me, the water sounds behind the dash board immediately went away.

I'm sure others could explain it better, but this worked for me.

 

Thank God for this forum cause I'm having the same issue..I'll check the coolant levels tomorrow and see if that's the problem I have also.

 

The service bulletin for this can be found here:

http://arrc.epnet.com/autoasp/data.asp?sid=82351352&uid=spl.main.autorefctr&type =pdf&ff=090000\088339.pdf&btitle=2007%20HONDA%20FI T&yr=2007

If it requires you to log in use the following:

Username: spl
Password: ebsco

 

OMG i have the same problem!

My fit isn't covered under warranty anymore according to the dealership... hope I can do this myself... i'm in no ways mechanically inclined. anyone wanna help me with some pix? +rep to u if u do!

 

Our key is the 'wet' feeling to the a/c output and the 'sloshing' sound.
The first thing we would look for is the a/c drain being fully open and the catch pan not collecting water even if the drain was open. We've had that on other cars but haven't seen it on a fit.. If the a/c is running hard on a hot and humid day you should see considerable water draining on the ground.
Find the drain hose and clean it gently from below with a plastic rooto-rooter. If you pull the drain hose you'll have a dickens of a time getting back on.
good luck.

 

add coolant.

 

Got it, Service Bulleting: Gurgle from behind or under the dashboard

Thanks JaySmith, you're the man!

For those who can't find it, once loggen on with the info JaySmith provided..click on auto repair reference center, input your car's info, select service bulletins and recalls, then click the one that says: Heating, A/C, Ventilation, Defogger..

Note: It says to use only Honda/Long Life Antifreeze Collant Type2, but I'm guessing any antifreeze would do right??