@ the OP:

1) How many total miles on the car?

2) I gather that this is a new noise and has not been present from the time you bought the car. Is the noise constant or intermittent?

3) Is there any vibration associated with the noise?

 

Those are great questions! I will add...

1) If the car has over 60,000 miles it needs the adjustment
2) If the noise has been present the whole time, you are hearing the injectors or exhaust through the manifold. The injectors make enought noise to fool some people into thinking it's valve noise
3) If there is vibration, your valves are either way out of adjustment or you have a more serious internal problem (assuming the vibration isn't caused by a bad coil or fouled spark plug)

 

Again, I agree.

On the subject of Another Problem: 2007-08 GD owners have reported power train noise that has not yet been fully diagnosed. Some have suggested that the noise is due to piston slap. Be that as it may, I have not been able to find any fitfreak.com references to 2009-12 GE cars having this problem.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...ml#post1055026

@ the OP: I'm going to say that the noise that you are hearing is a reciprocating, back-and-forth noise, rather than a rotational noise. That is why you suspect the valves or the injectors. Am I right?

 

My 09 Base AT is around 43k and never has any tap noise (either from the valves or others). My strategy has always been change oil and filter every 4k regardless what the MM tells me since oil and filter are very inexpensive comparing all the benefit of new oil in the system will bring.

 

1) It's good that you change your oil. I change mine, too. But let's not get hung up on it. Oil is not going to solve a mechanical problem.

2) Let's be clear about noise. Valves make noise. Injectors make noise. Older engines make noise where newer ones did not. Properly adjusted valves will make more noise than valves that are too tight. So, you need to know what noise you are talking about. It may take a little time to figure this stuff out.

3) Stay on the case. We'll help you.

 

you should check if the Lost Motion Spring (LMS) recall applies to your fit. if it does, that includes a valve adjustment

 

i got a stethascope, instead of it having a diafram, it has a needle on the end of it, its used for determining where a noise is coming from on a car, my fit sounds just like any other ge8, checked at a dealer with some newones, and i have heard other member's ge8s on the forum. with this magical stethascope i placed it on the intake mani, small slight "tapping" noise, then the intake runner- same result, so i placed it on the valve cover, the noise sounded muffled. i then placed the stethascope on the head, i head 2 kinds of tapping noise, one was quite and in the background but one was louder and more of a "clicking/ tapping" noise. worried i might have some valve train problem i started sticking the stethascope on everything, to my surprise i touched the injector with the stethascope.... thats the noise EVERYONE HEARS!!! its our injectors! they are little noisey mofos, i have looked into it and rsx injectors are an option but i have also noticed that bosch makes replacement injectors, i wonder if they sound any different. but can we put the lifter noise myth to rest? its our injectors, i have heard it first hand!

 

^^Whenever I use a stethoscope and listen to the various components of my engine, they always sounds the same — they sound like the injectors. But I have not gotten under the car with it running to check the block/crank.