Here is another video:

 

From those 2 videos you definitely don't have the knock I've got.

 

FINAL UPDATE

Okay guys, got the car back from my local Honda Dealer after leaving it with them for a day.

The diagnosis is as follows:

"The knocking sound that can be heard on idle once warm is a characteristic of the free floating gudgeon(wrist) pin design, this is considered a normal operating noise"

I was given the option to pursue it further by requesting that a official service tech from Honda comes out to inspect the noise with me or to take the service tech's advice.

Given the nature of my work it's very difficult for me to be without my car as it's my daily so I'm not too keen on running through hoops with the dealers again.

 

By jingo the gudgeon pin was my next guess. My Borgward had exactly the same wrist design; I had to periodically bathe her in premium unleaded to keep her from knocking.


(Don't blame you for obsessing, hope this isn't your final post.)

 

This time another video from a better angle.

note that when the radiator fan comes on, the knock is still apparent. If I was to rev the engine any higher, the knock cannot be heard.

From here onwards, I'll keep trying to track it down. In my opinion I doubt the techs went very far at all with the diagnosis. To write it off as a normal operating noise is a bit weak, given that the other Fit's we compared it to didnt have the noise.

Anyhow, next on the list to check are.

- Exhaust manifold (check for knocks against heat shield)
- Check for loose spark plugs (highly unlikely)
- Cylinder isolation whilst running to see if its internal

 

fuck that floating pin excuse. Honda uses the same design in most of its motors, from the extreme economy to the performance motors.

Knocking is not normal. I beat the crap out of my car and mine is whisper quiet in comparison to yours, after my valve adjustment.

Tell that dealership they need to do a more thorough investigation.

Its probably louder after warming up due to thinner oil and cold thick oil does insulate some noises.


If this were my car, I would ask the dealership to give a loaner car, and have them spend all the time they need to fix the noise.


This noise is NOT normal, this noise is NOT acceptable to drive with.



This nosie, however, must still occur after verifying everything is tightened properly, brackets, heatshields, motormounts, etc...


No sense in allowing the motor to potentially grenade just outside of warranty.

 

That is messed up. That does not sound good. Personally I would leave it to have Honda Tech look at it. Call Honda directly and start a case that you want it fixed under warranty. That sound sounds exactly like my mothers 2013 Elantra. Her car makes the same ticking but when cold. That sound is the hydraulic lifters they use. Common with there engines the dealer said. Personally it sounds more to do with something in the valve train. Not sure but the lost motion assemblies could be causing the noise. Not sure what noise they make when they are bad. I believe Honda had a recall awhile back for those things. Keep us informed because I am curious as hell!

 

So I called up the dealer to arrange for a Honda rep to come out, but with no luck.

Upon checking their procedures I was told that Honda will only come out for new cars under factory warranty. In my case, mine was a used car with a dealer warranty which didn't meet the criteria.

I'm going to call Honda directly on Monday to lodge a formal complaint. Mainly because when I picked up the car on the last occasion I was promised I could raise it with honda if I chose to.

The last video I took was the clearest because the car was jacked up and must have been idling for around 25mins whilst I was scoping around to find a noise. Listening to it further I'm starting to think that it potentially could be in the exhaust system, maybe the collector.

Think about it, only happens when car is completely warm and idling. A loose or cracked exhaust could cause it, also the engine vibrates the most when idling as well.

Which explains why when the engine is revved and under load the knock is not present as the engine is not pitching/vibrating around compared to idle.

Sound Far fetched? All the symptoms match, Plus it was the one area I didn't scope as I didn't want to put my head next to a hot exhaust.

Also I don't recall ever hearing of a fit that has had a engine failure so tI take a little comfort in that.

 

Collector? Is that down-under for manifold?

The Fit's exhaust manifold is internal in the head. There's a single down pipe. If this were compromised you'd hear it during acceleration. Different noise entirely.

 

Lol no it's not down under speak. I was going to say manifold but I knew the GE's are integrated, so collector came to mind or as you say down pipe.

Thinking it could be a loose shield. For eg see this

 

I think the tech pointed in the right direction (connecting rod knock) but whether it's normal and benign I don't know.

The car has 28k miles and close to 5 years. What's the Honda warranty down there (here its 60k 5 years powertrain)?

If it's still under factory warranty, I'd cut out the used car dealer that sold you the car and work with a Honda service dept and Honda regional customer service.

If it's out of factory warranty I'd ask the used car dealer if they'd be interested in buying it back. I think they'll fleece you in the process so figure out how much before hand you're willing to lose on it.

This is based on the norms for used car transactions here. I don't know if you have more recourse there.

 

Ok, you should try this before making the decision to get rid of it. What the dealer is trying to say is its carbon,oxidation causing sticking. You need to add a non aggressive oil additive like Rislone Engine Treatment Concentrate (p/n 4102) | Products | Bar's Leaks & Rislone - Premium Automotive Chemicals or Arch oil makes one too. AR2300 nano engine cleaner removes all deposits for a more powerful and energy saving engine - Archoil then change the oil using a high moly oil and it should get rid of that problem. I would continue to use 95 octane or higher and give it 3000 miles.

 

And dab some Marvel Mystery Oil behind each ear.

 

You make fun but you obviously never used it in the oil or fuel. I know the Rislone works.

 

I tried it once in my 65 Chevy when I was 17 and waited for a miracle. Afterward I felt rather foolish.

The stuff has been around since 1923.

Modern oils and fuels need no additives. Don't waste your money.

 

It worked in a 78 Z28 that had a bad lifter all of a sudden. My point is, It wont hurt and can help since it will remove the deposits. Honda recommends oil with Moly for short which most oils has none. Moly stay suspended until needed and is not the cause. I guess your 65 had other issues that you blamed on fuel when it was the oil?

 

no no, I dumped some in both the fuel and oil. Its problem was it had noisy lifters and 110k miles. When I sold it, it still had noisy lifters and 160K miles.

I only paid $400 for it and sold it for $800 so I guess I was doing something right.

MMO is oil, mineral spirits, lard, aromatics (mostly oil of wintergreen). I wouldn't dump any of this stuff in my car's crankcase or gas-tank. Even when I was 17 I realized it was snake-oil.

 

Ok I am just trying to figure you out. I have never used MMO in the oil but I have in the fuel and I have had no adverse problems but had good results. I remember regular gas being 89 octane with lead. 87 octane has not change much since it came out in 74 but compression ratios have gone up to the era of the late 60s. Granted the tech is better now and they finally figured it out but the reason premium is not recommend is because of volume of cars vs supply and nothing to do with requirements.

 

Yes, it is. And they have. They'll have it figured out even more with direct injection in the next generation of Hondas. It's no longer 1969.

I think you meant "volume of cars available (supply) vs demand." If I'm interpreting your statement correctly, what you're saying is: to compete in the economy car class, Honda is hiding performance gains possible using more expensive higher octane rated fuels that their cars are designed to use.

While I can imagine a car manufacturer doing this (it's a stretch), I can't imagine oil companies, consumer protection organizations, car enthusiast magazines and websites, government agencies, and the general public going along with the gag. It's too easy to prove car manufacturers are lying about their cars' performance metrics. If Honda published two sets of metrics, one with 87, and one with 93octane, showing improved mpg and/or HP-torque I think it would enhance their sales. The fact they don't gives weight to the argument there are no gains to be realized.

The few gear heads on this site that have claims of greater performance with higher octane, have also modified their cars. Even so, these claims without resorting to forced induction are in the range of 3 to 5% power increases with no improvement in mpg.

(To the OP, sorry for the sidebar, you have a legitimate concern, but not one that will be resolved through snake-oil popular on this side of the pond.)

 

Steve I wont change your mind but there is a increase of 1-2 HP at peak HP but that is not where the benefit of premium shines. Its the low end torque through out the rpm that adds about 10/20 percent more HP and torque about the same as the better fuel mpg. 87 octane is the lowest octane and even the government knows that after 5 degrees of retard the power and mpg drop off tremendously. Even with 93 octane you still have knock as DSM pointed out but its still within the engine design of the 5 degrees. We are not even discussing Octane requirement increase. BTW regular gas will be going up in octane because of the demand for better mpg. All high volume cars sold in the US and now the world must run on regular unleaded and I am not saying these cars wont but in the quest for mpg the octane has to go up.

Cars in the 70s ran rich and when unleaded came out it had 10 percent ethanol which leaned it out and cars got better mpg. Now the ecu and sensors tune as you drive and the best power and mpg happens at MBT timing but the ecu will also add fuel when the timing gets to retarded to stop the knock and it will go as rich as 11.5 to 1 compared to 14.2 for E10 premium which is a savings of about 25 percent.

To the OP Rislone is not snake oil and neither is MMO and it depends on how you use it. Both have been around longer than anyone on this forum and would not be in business if they did not work.