My Fit loss power in the expressway. The last time it happened (it's happened more than once), I was on cruise control and going at 65mph. The stretch of expressway was on an incline and I could hear the transmission struggle a little to keep up with the speed. Then it changed gears and suddenly the engine just lost power. I tried to press on the gas but it wouldn't respond. The engine light was flashing. At this point I had to pull over since I was losing speed rapidly going up the incline.

I turned the engine off and back on again and everything is fine. I'm going to take it to the dealership but my brother said they won't know what's wrong with it because when I turned it off it reset and they won't be able to read the code.

Any advice for this noob would be appreciated.

 

the car will maintain diagnostic trouble codes (dtc) even if you shut off your car. there appears to be 2 sets of codes.... ones that you can read with a typical obd2 scanner, then another set of codes only the dealer can pull.

someone can chime in more on the latter.

 

Whoa, sounds like your Fit went into "limp" mode as they refer to it here. Maybe your rev limiter kicked in... Just a guess... I haven't experienced it but I remember reading some of the guys here posting about it. Big Mike (Perrenoud Fit) had it happen to his. Can't find his post but you could probably send him a PM or maybe others will chime in.

Here's a thread that might be worth your while:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...stutter-6.html

BTW, something I've made a habit of is always turn off cruise control on uphills. Just me. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

Appreciate the advice guys.

 

Hmm, strange. Are you running any sort of aftermarket parts or electronics on your car or are you completely stock? (Just trying to gather a little info before giving my 2 cents.)

 

Hootie, other than the K&N filter, I'm completely stock. But the problem has always been there since I've owned the car (3 years), and the K&N was put in just last year.

 

Ok, this a bit of a shot in the dark BUT worth a try. Unlock your Fit and let the vehicle set for a good 10 minutes or longer so that the PCM has plently of time to shut down and not kick another Check Engine Light after doing this. After that time has passed disconnect the connector for your accelerator pedal (push/wiggle down first, hit the release clip, wiggle and pull up) then reconnect it.

The reason I mention this is that it kinda sounds like an issue I had a while back with my GD. Mind you, I don't know for sure since I don't know what code was tripped.

Basically in my situation, my cruise control was active and I momentarily added throttle to speed up as I changed lanes. The car did not accelerate, turned the CEL on and engaged limp mode while I was coasting to a red light. I still could get the car going but whenever when wide open throttle the car would just creep along... so I stopped pulled the code with my scanner(don't remember, must look at my old post) which was basically a connectivity code regarding the throttle's circuit, promptly removed my electronic throttle body controller, cleared the code, and started the car. No limp mode and had full control of the throttle's input once again.

Now; in my case the code was kicked because the voltage for my throttle input fell below the threshold of 0.2 volts for .3 seconds or more (along those lines). This will clear itself once the PCM sees that vehicle another key cycle (turn car off, start back up once) and that the voltage is above that preset limit for that amount of time.

Edit: But of course if it is possible snag the Diagnostic Trouble Code that set the Check Engine Light off. This will help in diagnosing/isolating the possible issues.

 

Check engine light coming on means there's a problem that you should look into when it's convenient. [b]Flashing[\b] check engine light means something is very wrong, possibly engine damaging and you should get it checked immediately.

The codes are stored until you disconnect the battery. They'll give a good idea of either what's wrong or where to look take it somewhere.

 

Well my car is at the shop and they can't find anything wrong. I'm letting them keep it overnight so they can check one more thing in the morning.

malraux, the engine light doesn't stay on. it's back off when i restart the car.

 

It sounds like bad gas. Hopefully its not the BP recall but your symptoms sound like it. Also it could be phase separation that happens this time of year. Can you borrow a scanner like scan gauge or ultra gauge? It would record the CEL code even if its not present in the ecu.

 

Here you go Blassty, found the old thread (Big Mike's) for your reference:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...ve-happen.html

Keep us posted. Hope everything works out.

 

Thanks Subie! +rep to you.

Update on my car. I got a call from the shop. They said they found a bad coil pack and are replacing it. I let them keep it overnight. One of the techs drove it home, connected to a computer and found that it misfires consistently. I hope that's the only issue. I'd like to test to see if it happens anymore but it's hard to recreate because it seems to go into limp mode randomly.

 

The only thing odd about that is that the computer didn't store a code, as I understand it, misfire codes should be retrievable across turning the car off as long as the battery is connected.

That said, a bad coil would explain the symptoms, and is pretty easy for the shop to diagnose.

 

Coil packs seem to be the hot topic now.

Here's another archive reference for you: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...tml#post706027

I just posted the same on the thread here: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...cks-again.html

Hope everything works out.

 

Do new codes overwrite old ones? Or does it store X number of codes before it starts to overwrite the older ones?

Subie: Ha I just noticed that. Crazy.

 

Any updates Blassty? Did replacing the coil pack(s) do it?

 

It seems to be fixed, but I can't be 100% certain. I drove the car in similar conditions as before to try to replicate the issue but nothing happens.

The technician's notes are as follows:

Test drove with tester hooked up and notice #3 cylinder misfiring at idle with a/c on, possibly related to customer complaint of power loss. Swapped #1 & #3 coil packs and now #1 is misfiring at idle with a/c on, also misfired without a/c on. Swapped coils back to original positions and replaced #3 with new coil. Test drove and no misfires now, with or without a/c on.

 

Sounds like you're good to go. Thanks. Just curious, was this your first ever coil pack replacement? What's your mileage?

 

Yep, my first ever coil pack replacement. My car's mileage is at 29k. I have to wonder how long it has been since that #3 coil pack has been bad. If it is the main reason my car goes into limp mode, then it has been bad since the car has been a year old, or roughly 13k+.

 

Very possible... So did warranty cover that? Electrical issues can do strange stuff and easily overlooked when intermittent. And being a procrastinator (I am one) doesn't help. Good luck! Now you have 1st-hand experience of limp mode...