I brought my 2009 Fit Sport, which I've had for a couple of weeks now, in to the local Honda Dealerfor the Lost Motion Spring recall work. I took pictures under the hood before I dropped off the car, and took a video of the engine running (so I could capture the sound of the engine pre-recall).

Before I leave the dealership, I want to check the car over to make sure everything was done right.

Based on your experiences, I have this list of things to check before I drive the car off the lot...

1. Check cowling damage (clips, scratches, etc.)
2. Check windshield wipers for proper funtioning and alignment.
3. Check plastic trim at base of windshield for "abuse" (scratches,e tc.)
4. Check plastic push-fastener loss.
5. Check to make sure rubber hood bumpers are not lost.
6. Check for obvious fluid leakage.

Anything else?

 

Well, I just got a call from the Dealership. They had their "top mechanic" work on it and it is done. It took only 2 hours...? I will go to examine the work and pick up the car later this afternoon. The service manager said my Fit was one of the ones that had to have the work done (based on the date on the Rocker Assembly).

I will update this thread after I get the car to give a report. Also, I see there is a poll for feedback on the recall work which I will reply to.

Cheers!

 

Besides what you listed, valve lash is a concern. If it is too noisy it's an indication the valves need better adjustment (these would have been adjusted as part of the recall). This is pretty subjective though and most people didn't pay attention before the recall so any noise after the recall seems too much. FWIW mine seemed a bit less noisy after I got it back but returned to "normal" after a couple weeks.

 

Ya, I read comments about the value adjustment and folks noticing a change in the sound of the engine after the recall. Since I've only owned the car a couple of weeks, I am not very familiar with the "normal" sound of the car. That's why I recorded the sound of the engine running before the recall work was done. When I get it home tonight, I'll record the sound of it again and compare...

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Try to compare at the same engine temperature as some expansion will occur as it warms up lessening valve lash and associated valve-train noise.

And Fits' valves are pretty noisy compared with other 4cyl cars I've had.

 

That's the plan. I did not take any temperature readings, but I took the audio recording after I got home from my afternoon commute and the car sat for 20 minutes. I plan on duplicating the same scenario to get the comparison recording this afternoon. Not exact science, but it should be good enough to indicate a problem if there is one.

 

UPDATE: I picked up my Fit after the LMS recall work was done. According to the paperwork, it took the technician 1 hour to do the work (I was originally told it was a 3 hour job...). I can see no evidence that the work was even done! The cowling was fine, no scratches on the trim, windshield washers set exactly as they were, all bumpers/fasteners in place, no fluids leaking...

I took another audio recording of the engine running, and it sounds exactly the same. No louder, no softer.

I'll continue to track my MPG and note any changes.

 

Part of the work involves letting the engine sit/cool down first, so if you were in/out in 1 hour, I'd be worried. Actual work might be an hour? Again the valve adjustment does get forgotten sometimes.

I think I waited about 3-4 hours total.

 

+1
If he was finished in 2 hours then it is guaranteeed the work was not done properly (if done at all). At minimum there is 30 minutes or more of post valve inspection work i.e. reassemble, clean, complete work order, drive out of bay. This would leave only 1-1/2 hours or less for the car to cool down. IMO this not enough time to ensure proper valve lash has been set as engine temp is still too hot.

_

 

Hmmm. The car sat about 1 1/2 hours before the tech started the work.

Any suggestions on how I can tell if further works (adjustment) needs to be done? I took audio recordings before and after. Shouldn't I be able to hear if there is a problem?

 

Maximum of 1-1/2 hours, probably closer to 1 hour in actual. From my Scan Gage I've never seen water temp go anywhere close to 100 degrees in an hour. Closer to 120-140 from memory. However water temp is not engine temp either, maybe retains heat longer??

Not always. Quiet valves are usually tight valves. Better to hear a little valve train noise than none.

_

 

Here is the recording of my Fit after the recall was done...

After Recall Work.MOV - YouTube

For reference, here is the recording BEFORE the recall work was done...

Before Recall Work.MOV - YouTube

Does it sound ok?

 

Sounds the same to my ears. My LMS recall was done before I bought the car, was the car cold or fully warmed up when you recorded this video? I ask because I might be able to record mine and I wanted to recreate using the same conditions.

 

Sounds the same to me, too. I am questioning if they even did the work (although I hate to do that...).

I recorded both videos under approximately the same conditions; 20 minutes after returning home from a 40 minute commute to work.

The vehicle was fully warmed up.

 

There is going to be a difference between the actual time the customer must wait for the car and the time Honda allows the dealerships to charge them for the work. The engine needs to cool off first, and then the silicone gasket material requires a curing time, too. If you have any concerns that they may not have actually done the work, look closely for signs that any underhood dust/dirt film has been disturbed where components bolt together. As one example, the backside of the cam cover where it joins the head is not likely a place you'd keep clean yourself but would certainly have to be wiped clean by a tech removing it and replacing it.

geo

 

I can see obvious evidence they worked on the car (finger prints on the valve cover and the hoses connected to the back). What it looks like is they did not remove the cowling, wipers, etc. Can they do this work without removing these parts?

Some folks here question them being able to do the work properly in an hour, and that the engine would have cooled enough (I dropped off the car at 6:45 a.m., they were done with the work at 9:00 a.m.). I will be calling Honda Customer Service this morning to discuss this with them. I have a 100,000 mile extended warranty on the car, but if this work was not done properly, and I have a problem down the road (say, after the 100,000 miles), that would not be good!

 

Yes, it can be done without removing the cowl/etc which avoids the numerous breakage issues which have been reported. However, that technique requires moving more things over toward the battery area so may or may not save a lot of time. 2 hr 15 min does not seem possible, frankly, because just the cooldown time and the silicone cure time together wouldn't leave any working time.

However.....the LMS recall work can happen in two ways depending on the date of manufacture of the rocker/bridge assembly. If the date on the bridge casting is after 11/20/09 they do not replace the LMS. Which means the valve clearances are never loosened, the rocker assembly is never removed from the head and disassembled, the valve clearances don't need to be reset, and a lot of time is saved.

So you might ask them if they found an "okay" date on the rocker bridge assembly, or if they actually replaced the LMS.

geo

 

oops.....went back and read your original post....if they said the date on the casting required them to actually replace the LMS then I'm verrrrry skeptical.

geo

 

They said my car was affected by the recall and that they replaced the 4 lost motion springs.

They also told me the mechanics don't start their work until 8:00 a.m. I received the call at 9:00 a.m. that the car was done and ready to pick up. That means if it took 1 hour to do the recall work, the car had only 1 hour, maybe 15 minutes to cool...

 

UPDATE: I spoke to Honda Customer Service about this issue (the amount of time - or lack thereof - it took the Honda Technician at the Dealership to do the LMS recall work).

The rep read the Technical Work sheet, that the technicians are to follow, and he said there is no mention of having to the let the car cool. Also, no mention of how long it should take to do the work. Honda's response was, and I am quoting, "We trust our technicians and if you have any trouble down the road, you have a 60,000 mile powertrain warranty to cover any problems".

I did ask them to record in their records that I had this concern about the work done.