Fit GP1 Oil Level Drops

[vitz]

Experts

We got a GP1 (2012), 83000km clocked

- I noticed a drastic drop of engine oil level, I need to top up engine oil once to twice during the service interval. What is the problem?

I wanted to do a tuneup and replacement of plugs done from the Stafford assuming the problem would be solved. Since there are no service reservations available till 22nd Feb, I was compelled to take the vehicle to one of their dealer in Kurunegala. Before visiting the place today,  I got a confirmation on the availability of spark plugs with them, but after cleaning injectors and throttle body, they said that spark plugs are not available (typical irresponsible feed back from SL response) . We cleaned all 8 plugs and put them back.  Anyways, it allowed me to take a pic of the present status of the spark plugs (see below). One of the mechanic was saying that deposits on the plug could be due to sludge formation and this can be solved by cleaning the piston areas and changing piston rings. He was saying oil level drop is resulted by the sludge formation. I am not much sure about what he says?.

 We bought this car unregistered in 2013 (15000km clocked) and serviced timely. It is a daily long distance runner (160 km). Hard to believe a sludge formation. 

For first services in during first one and half years we had to use 10w-30 oil since 0W-20 was not available. Then we reverted to 0w-20, could this be a reason?. Do you think shifting to 10W-30 would solve the problem?

Edited February 18, 2017 by vitz

[gayanath]

On 11/6/2017 at 10:08 AM, GK_007 said:

My update after the engine flush. 'No' it hasn't helped. left with only one option now to go for the big repair.

Go through this new thread and which is also informative. 

 

[achi]

On 2/18/2017 at 10:58 PM, vitz said:

Experts

We got a GP1 (2012), 83000km clocked

- I noticed a drastic drop of engine oil level, I need to top up engine oil once to twice during the service interval. What is the problem?

I wanted to do a tuneup and replacement of plugs done from the Stafford assuming the problem would be solved. Since there are no service reservations available till 22nd Feb, I was compelled to take the vehicle to one of their dealer in Kurunegala. Before visiting the place today,  I got a confirmation on the availability of spark plugs with them, but after cleaning injectors and throttle body, they said that spark plugs are not available (typical irresponsible feed back from SL response) . We cleaned all 8 plugs and put them back.  Anyways, it allowed me to take a pic of the present status of the spark plugs (see below). One of the mechanic was saying that deposits on the plug could be due to sludge formation and this can be solved by cleaning the piston areas and changing piston rings. He was saying oil level drop is resulted by the sludge formation. I am not much sure about what he says?.

 We bought this car unregistered in 2013 (15000km clocked) and serviced timely. It is a daily long distance runner (160 km). Hard to believe a sludge formation. 

For first services in during first one and half years we had to use 10w-30 oil since 0W-20 was not available. Then we reverted to 0w-20, could this be a reason?. Do you think shifting to 10W-30 would solve the problem?

My GP 1also recomnded same by stafford ,Apprcite if you could guide me the precation to be taken ,Thanks ,

[Sam B]

Just after 5000km from the repair, I'm afraid the problem still seems to persist in my car. Yet the oil drop seems a little lower than it used to be. However, I didn't get any check engine warning lights or other error codes when I had the car inspected at Stafford when I got this oil burning issue the first time. I guess the only solution is to get the rings replaced. @vitz yours was resolved after cleaning, yeah? 

 

[GK_007]

Just after 5000km from the repair, I'm afraid the problem still seems to persist in my car. Yet the oil drop seems a little lower than it used to be. However, I didn't get any check engine warning lights or other error codes when I had the car inspected at Stafford when I got this oil burning issue the first time. I guess the only solution is to get the rings replaced.@vitz yours was resolved after cleaning, yeah? 
 

You did the cleaning option or flushing ?

[Sam B]

5 minutes ago, GK_007 said:

You did the cleaning option or flushing ?

Took it apart and cleaned. Cost me nearly 66k.

[GK_007]

Took it apart and cleaned. Cost me nearly 66k.

Ok, In that case it should have worked.
I suggest you talk to Stafford on this.

And it seems the issue is not with the ring design. But rather the pistons. Check the new thread on this.

[champikasam]

16 minutes ago, GK_007 said:

 

Ok, In that case it should have worked.
I suggest you talk to Stafford on this.

And it seems the issue is not with the ring design. But rather the pistons. Check the new thread on this.

 

I also did the engine disassembly and clean up by Stafford. But it did not fix this issue for me. Around 5000 KM after the repair I noticed that it was still burning oil (at a slower rate than earlier at this stage). Now i'm at 10,000 KM after the repair, and it's burning oil at nearly the same rate as before the repair.

It cost me nearly 66K for the repair, but it did not do any good. I actually filed a complaint to Stafford as they said this will stop the oil burn. They agreed to do the same procedure again without the labor cost. But since this is a design fault, disassembling and de-carbonizing the engine is just a temporary solution. The proper repair is to replace the pistons and the rings altogether with the re-designed ones. I checked with Stafford and they said this will cost around 1.6 lak ! (also they didn't have the parts at that time)

Others who did the same repair from Stafford, did it work out for you guys ?

 

[Sam B]

40 minutes ago, GK_007 said:

 

Ok, In that case it should have worked.
I suggest you talk to Stafford on this.

And it seems the issue is not with the ring design. But rather the pistons. Check the new thread on this.

 

I did. The problem is in the rings. 

"...... on the brake from mid-low speed running to just before stopping, the deposit (*) generated due to oil deterioration stays around the oil ring Then, clogging of the oil return hole....... "

 

 

[champikasam]

42 minutes ago, GK_007 said:

 

Ok, In that case it should have worked.
I suggest you talk to Stafford on this.

And it seems the issue is not with the ring design. But rather the pistons. Check the new thread on this.

 

The issue is with the oil ring design actually. The re-designed oil ring comes in 3 layers, so it cannot be fitted into the existing pistons. Therefore we have to replace the pistons altogether !

Another more cost effective solution is to drill the drain-back holes in piston ring grooves (check youtube videos). This needs to be done very carefully, and i don't know whether there are any garages here in SL that does this (or at least any places that we can trust with this type of work)

[Sam B]

4 minutes ago, champikasam said:

The issue is with the oil ring design actually. The re-designed oil ring comes in 3 layers, so it cannot be fitted into the existing pistons. Therefore we have to replace the pistons altogether !

Another more cost effective solution is to drill the drain-back holes in piston ring grooves (check youtube videos). This needs to be done very carefully, and i don't know whether there are any garages here in SL that does this (or at least any places that we can trust with this type of work)

That's delicate work. If the rings do not provide adequate back pressure the bearings and whatnot that need proper oil pressure will be toast.

[GK_007]

Got the following email from Honda, after reporting. Which I believe is true fact from their point of view.

"Thank you very much for your e-mail, and we’re sorry for the late reply.
While we appreciate your patronage on your car, we would like to inform you that we produce our vehicles for specific markets. Even though some parts may be used jointly by different specification models underlying construction, emission system, etc. may be very different. Because each country establishes its own certification testing standards, cars of a particular specification are tested only for those markets.

And if any vehicle of different specification is used, problems with parts availably, differences in construction, etc. can result in much aggravation and unnecessary delays for the customer. 

From the above reason, we don’t recommend car import because we are not able to provide with our best assist for customers and product warranty will be invalied for parallel import vehicles and therefore, extension of the warranty period will not be applied too.

Thank you very much again for you’re interesting with our products. We wish you can find the one with the performance you seek at your local dealer.

Sincerely yours,

Honda Motor Co., Ltd."

[hondaclub]

I am another victim of this issue, these were the symptoms;

• Oil level started to drop
• A/c gradually reduced during running
• tappet nice when slowing down to 20kmp/h
• high vibration during cold startup
• oil spill around spark plug rings.
• engine warning
• scanner show misfire on the first cylinder

I went through extensive research and spoke to stafford and as usual no help since i did not buy the car from the company. but they actually know the issue and the initial suggestion was to do the piston ring clean up (cost is around 60k) and they are still not sure if thats the right option as the supervisor says it works for some car and doesn't work for some and for those they recommend to change the rings and piston (cost is around 180k) since the new rings wont fit the existing piston. went back to my usual garage (he has been maintaining all my cars for the last 10 years) and he is aware of the issue and some cars they have done the injector clean up and gone as it was enough for them. I decided to do the big repair by changing the piston and rings as i never wanted to take a chance by cleaning up. Got 4 pistons and the ring sets from Tech Motors (who bring down honda genuine parts but you should go with someone who knows to validate just to make sure you are not given A grade Thailand manufactures). the entire kit including gasket cost me 81k with a discount since my garage guy knows them well. its a three day process (quite complicated than we think since you have to remove) as you need to remove the head uni and do the clean up and then fix the piston rings to the new piston and attach to the existing rod. My mechanic suggested to do the machine push for connecting the rod to piston as it is will give the perfect finishing, you have to take the old piston and the new one (without rings) to D*MO lanka at bluemendal road and they will use the machine and press the new piston to the existing rode which was a perfect job and the cost for that is Rs. 2400. So after three days i got the car back with new piston installed and suggested to use 0w20 oil since the piston is still new and it should have more silkness. The mechanic charged me 40k for the entire work including oil and the total cost was (81+2400+37=120400). engine is very smooth now and a/c is much better and i could feel no vibration when reaching beyond 2000 RPM. I will keep updating and if you guys have plans to fix the issue i would suggest to do it once without taking chances as Stafford is not always sure about their recommendations. below is the picture of existing piston.

 

[noddy]

I also had the oil burning issue at 54K the Stafford guys said the had done about 75K in japan. now the car has done 72K.

they changed the rings and it was 60 for the repair Mr Guruge of staffords did the repair and now its ok. 

they said the FIT and the insights have the same engine and both have the problems. 1330 CC  

 

 

 

 

 

[G_Man]

Well I have a GP1 2013, now I have clocked exactly 60K, about couple of months back I noticed the oil level drop. And then I refilled oil and ran for more than a month. 

Last week I had the check engine light lit up and vehicle went Limp Mode. Immediately I checked with a scanner and it said Cylinder 3 was failing. The local mechanic suggested to replace plugs and do an engine tune up. Then I took it to Stafford Motors Raththanapitiya. 

The service advisor immediately suggested that this is a know issue. And they need to replace pistons, rings and some other stuff. The estimate was 160K. Luckily they had stocks with them. I asked them to proceed with the repair. It was a three day work.

Finally I got the vehicle and I feel it's reborn, drive is extremely smooth.

They advised me to use 10w 30 oil and not to rev the engine much during initial 1000KMs.

I hope I have done what's required.

For those who consider buying a GP1. I would say.

• It's a great car to drive, you can enjoy every bit of it.
• Not very economical in city my one did 10Km/L, but out side the city it easily does 25Km/L
• Until this repair came up I have only done a  gear oil change as a costly maintenance.
• Suspension is bit to the stiff side but generally a comfortable vehicle.

Good luck.

[Hyaenidae]

56 minutes ago, G_Man said:

 

For those who consider buying a GP1. I would say.

Don't.

• It's a great car to drive, you can enjoy every bit of it.
• Not very economical in city my one did 10Km/L, but out side the city it easily does 25Km/L
• Until this repair came up I have only done a  gear oil change as a costly maintenance.
• Suspension is bit to the stiff side but generally a comfortable vehicle.

 

 

I was half expecting to see you saying this  ?

[matroska]

1 hour ago, Hyaenidae said:

I was half expecting to see you saying this  ?

Well I beg to differ - have you had a bad experience with one @Hyaenidae ?

I was a  skeptical buyer 3 years ago  since it was available for the same price as a whored out Toyota from the early 2000's - 3 years later 60,000 km on the clock I've had 3 trouble free years apart from doing the regular maintenance at agents. It handles well and still retains the original genes from the original Fit and still feels like a car  whereas the GP5 turned more into a robot. Compared to the massive repairs you might run into on a more modern hybrid the pseudo-hybrid GP1 handles performs and feels more like a good old Japanese car from about 10 years ago . I've heard this issue mentioned few times on A/L and while talking with a service advisor at Sta#####  but most of the folk I know who own the same model have not yet run into the issue.  

 

Oh and BTW - its quite thirsty you wouldn't believe it's a hybrid   

Edited May 31, 2018 by matroska

[Hyaenidae]

1 minute ago, matroska said:

Well I beg to differ - have you had a bad experience with one @Hyaenidae ?

2

No, no, I've never owned one, it's just that when I saw "for those who consider buying a GP1" I thought I'll find "don't" next, 'cause I wouldn't be happy if I had to shell out 160k at just 60k kms 'cause of a factory fault  

[matroska]

1 hour ago, Hyaenidae said:

No, no, I've never owned one, it's just that when I saw "for those who consider buying a GP1" I thought I'll find "don't" next, 'cause I wouldn't be happy if I had to shell out 160k at just 60k kms 'cause of a factory fault  

yeah well that's the thing with grey imports : DCT issues on Vezel/Grace/Fit  would cost about twice as much i hear  ...same happened in the past  to the folks who had to shelve out for the CVT premature failures on 2007 Axios  with time it seems the repair costs increase  

[vitz]

4 hours ago, matroska said:

Well I beg to differ - have you had a bad experience with one @Hyaenidae ?

I was a  skeptical buyer 3 years ago  since it was available for the same price as a whored out Toyota from the early 2000's - 3 years later 60,000 km on the clock I've had 3 trouble free years apart from doing the regular maintenance at agents. It handles well and still retains the original genes from the original Fit and still feels like a car  whereas the GP5 turned more into a robot. Compared to the massive repairs you might run into on a more modern hybrid the pseudo-hybrid GP1 handles performs and feels more like a good old Japanese car from about 10 years ago . I've heard this issue mentioned few times on A/L and while talking with a service advisor at Sta#####  but most of the folk I know who own the same model have not yet run into the issue.  

 

Oh and BTW - its quite thirsty you wouldn't believe it's a hybrid   

I do agree with Matroska......Though my one also gave the generic problem, this is the best vehicle I have ever driven . 

[Hyaenidae]

3 hours ago, matroska said:

yeah well that's the thing with grey imports 

So let's take Honda's advice and "find the one with the performance you seek at your local dealer"  

[hrm]

4 hours ago, matroska said:

yeah well that's the thing with grey imports : DCT issues on Vezel/Grace/Fit  would cost about twice as much i hear  ...same happened in the past  to the folks who had to shelve out for the CVT premature failures on 2007 Axios  with time it seems the repair costs increase  

Good thing with CVTs is that now you get repair kits to repair the box instead of replacement. Still it's gonna cost about 50-60K though.

[ramishkad]

9 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

No, no, I've never owned one, it's just that when I saw "for those who consider buying a GP1" I thought I'll find "don't" next, 'cause I wouldn't be happy if I had to shell out 160k at just 60k kms 'cause of a factory fault  

But isn't this a bad way to profile an issue?  You read couple of posts online about a problem on a particular vehicle model, and then declare it's a failed product without any sort of verification and discourage anyone from buying it. Couple of people may have had it, the service adviser may have said it's a known issue, but who knows what the probability of the issue surfacing is, or what factors contribute to it?

In my honest opinion, most of the horror stories about certain models of vehicles in the SL car market are made up in this way by people who have NO first hand experience of using the said vehicle. It mutates the truth as it spreads and I absolutely hate that trend of spreading rumors without solid, verifiable fact.

 

 

[Hyaenidae]

3 hours ago, ramishkad said:

But isn't this a bad way to profile an issue?  You read couple of posts online about a problem on a particular vehicle model, and then declare it's a failed product without any sort of verification and discourage anyone from buying it. Couple of people may have had it, the service adviser may have said it's a known issue, but who knows what the probability of the issue surfacing is, or what factors contribute to it?

 

I never "declared" anything here, did I ?

And I certainly didn't discourage anyone from buying anything too, so I don't know what are you on about

But anyways, Honda has issued a recall addressing the issue so it IS a factory fault, no need to have "first hand experience" to call it what it is

http://www.honda.co.jp/recall/auto/other/170120.html

So there, you have your "verification" and "the factors contribute to it". It's a manufacturer's design fault.

Edited May 31, 2018 by Hyaenidae

[ramishkad]

3 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

So there, you have your "verification" and "the factors contribute to it". It's a manufacturer's design fault.

Hi,

I didn't know this was a factory defect. It's my bad for not reading the thread from the beginning. Sorry about the confusion.

 

[PR_CAR]

 

On 5/31/2018 at 12:40 PM, G_Man said:

Well I have a GP1 2013, now I have clocked exactly 60K, about couple of months back I noticed the oil level drop. And then I refilled oil and ran for more than a month. 

Last week I had the check engine light lit up and vehicle went Limp Mode. Immediately I checked with a scanner and it said Cylinder 3 was failing. The local mechanic suggested to replace plugs and do an engine tune up. Then I took it to Stafford Motors Raththanapitiya. 

The service advisor immediately suggested that this is a know issue. And they need to replace pistons, rings and some other stuff. The estimate was 160K. Luckily they had stocks with them. I asked them to proceed with the repair. It was a three day work.

Finally I got the vehicle and I feel it's reborn, drive is extremely smooth.

They advised me to use 10w 30 oil and not to rev the engine much during initial 1000KMs.

I hope I have done what's required.

For those who consider buying a GP1. I would say.

• It's a great car to drive, you can enjoy every bit of it.
• Not very economical in city my one did 10Km/L, but out side the city it easily does 25Km/L
• Until this repair came up I have only done a  gear oil change as a costly maintenance.
• Suspension is bit to the stiff side but generally a comfortable vehicle.

Good luck.

Hi All,

I owned Honda Fit Gp1(Manufacture year - 2013). Now My ODO meter reading - 78000km. My driving pattern is short distance (40 km daily) and some long distance trips regularly (Kandy-Colomb-Kandy).

I also got similar problem that @G_Man faced. when my ODO meter clocked to 63000k I got engine check light with VSA Warning and had to transport vehicle in tor truck to local garage ( because there was no agents near that area ). after inspection they said that there is a misfire in three pistons.  after they suggest to to engine tuneup and replace all 8 spark plugs. ( because I carry vehicle there was no other problems ) then I did as they suggest. 

But engine oil burning issue did not resolved. last week I got same problem and at that time ODO Meter reading was 78100km. this time I carry vehicle to Stafford Ratthanapitiya. and spark plug looks like this.

On 4/3/2017 at 7:41 PM, Sam B said:

Took the car to Stafford. And this is the state of one of the plugs.

They say that the rings have shrunk (ring බදලා ) making a gap between the rings and liner. Apparently they've come across a few similar cases.

@Rumesh88 What's your opinion regarding this? 

They said that this is a common problem that GP1 has and need to replace pistons set and do engine overhaul to resolve issue. cost said to be around 180k.  @G_Man after repair can you give me your status about vehicle please and it will be really helpful for me..

1. What is the best solution for this and how about Stafford in Raththanapitiya.. ? is there someone specialized about this problem.. ? 

2. Is this solution is permanent. ( If anyone did that repair have you faced same problem again..? )

3. What about cost ( 180k ) is this the actual price.?

4. Is it worth to do this repair and keep GP1. will it face same problem or related engine problem again. because I can not afford more repairs like this.

any information related this is very helpful..