Hello,
I have a Honda 2009 Fit Sport model that I bought last January. I can't remember exactly if this happened before but lately my blue "engine is cold" sign with the C letter turns on when I start the car and it disappears in less than a minute after I start driving. The first time I noticed it was actually when it was cold outside so I thought may be that is why but it keeps turning on even though it is super hot these days. This is all around the same time when I have noticed a hissing sound coming from the front. It is a hissing sound that happens when I press the gas and stops when I stop pressing. Again I am not sure if I am being paranoid or making this hissing sound up as I wasn't aware of it before. I wonder if there is a liquid missing or something. What do u think?

 

I am reading that it is 59°F in SF right now. I think that's cold to your engine. Light'll go right out after a minute. It's above 80 here, and if I start it now, the cold light will be on. Don't know about the hissing sound. Pop the hood and listen while someone else presses the gas. Or...have your shop check it out.

We got our Fit Sport in January, too. Hope you're having fun with yours.

Cheers.

 

EVERY engine when started that has been off for more than 4 hrs will have a "C"

go easy on the engine while it's cold. there's a beaten subject on "who lets their car warm up," but i personally just let the car idle until that C goes off.

 

Yeah mine is on quite often when I would not expect it as well, it's no biggie.

 

Drive it normally with the C light on. Don't stomp it, or rev the hell out of it.

When the light goes off, drive it like a honda.

 

"cold" is a relative term. In this case, it means that the coolant and/or exhaust isn't up to operating temperature yet. On modern engines, that typically means that the engine is running in "open loop" mode, meaning that it is choosing the fuel/air mixture and other engine parameters from a fixed table, usually based on RPM. After the engine is warmed up, it goes into "closed loop" (aka feedback) mode, so that it adjusts the fuel/air mixture, etc. based on feedback from engine sensors like O2 sensors, MAP sensors, etc. (depends on the car design). In "cold" mode, the car probably runs slightly less efficiently and generates slightly more pollutants than in feedback mode.

In some designs, the system may switch from closed loop to open loop under certain conditions, such as full-throttle acceleration, which may require a richer fuel mixture.

I have no info on the specifics of the Fit engine.

 

The cold engine light stays on until the engine reaches the temperature around 120-130F.

It bases on engine temperature and nothing else.

 

It's 125*F to be exact (according to Scanguage II).

 

The hissing noise when you are on the gas is probably just induction noise, air being drawn into the intake. Mine does it too.

Saves getting an aftermarket filter. You have the noise already.

The temp thing is normal. It should go off after a few minutes. If you have a leak and the engine starts overheating from loss of coolant, the blue light will probably come on while you are driving rather than the red one. Stop and check.

When you have a proper temperature gauge (so rare now in small cars) and the same thing happens, the temp gauge will suddenly drop to nothing rather than showing an overheat condition.

 

the c light will always come on when the engine is cold, honda put that since they got rid of the temp gauge...as long as it doesnt stay on after the vehicle is warmed up your good to go

 

As others said the cold engine light will come on when the coolant is below 55c (130F) to indicate casual driving time. If the light stays on more than a minute or two you may have an air pocket ariound the coolant temp sensor. That will also cause your engine computer to call for additional fuel.

 

The engine cold light on is normal when you first start the car and goes off after the car has reached its normal temp. The fit has that cause it has no temp gauge. Also the hissing noise I get too. There was a thread on it and it says either from the intake or the a/c condenser also normal.

 

thanks for all the replies ladies/gentlemen!

 

I get the cold blue indicator at startup even on a warm day with the AC on. Engine idle RPM is also higher, maybe 1300 versus 650. In Socal it remains on only a few minutes.

 

damn I was going to tell you that the cold indicator stays on until 125 degrees but of course someone beat me to it.

Typical operating temperature for my Fit is 168-172. With anything between 165-175 being normal depending on load, outside temp etc. It irks me that there is only 'hot' and 'cold' in this car instead of a range. My civic had a lot of trouble with the cooling system and I knew right away when something was off from the slightest rise in the temperature gauge. I could pull over before there was any real trouble or damage to the system.
One of the reasons I got the scangauge. Not that it should be an issue for many years to come.

 

Do you find the scangauge useful?