Repair trans/mount trouble in a senior Honda Fit?

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Oct 27, 2022
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Hello all - I’m the 15-year owner of a 2007 Fit Sport (original engine & auto trans, 338,000 miles). I’m starting to sometimes hear a clunk when I’m parked (on level ground) and shift into reverse; also (less often) when shifting into drive, and occasionally during up/downshifts between 1st & 2nd. The noise is less frequent/loud when first driving, more noticeable after the car is hot. Last winter (Northeast U.S.), the trouble practically stopped altogether.

With the car’s age & high miles, I’m hoping to delay/avoid gambling on major repair work. Seeing some posts suggesting motor mounts might be the cause, I checked the engine while shifting. Going into reverse from park, the engine does pivot toward the front of the car (as if rotating around the axle line) - shifting back into park, it adjusts to its original position. The opposite happens shifting into drive; the engine pivots toward the rear of the car; righting itself when back in park. Regarding the trans, my service records show fluid drain/fill changes, but I don’t think any were machine “power flushes”. I changed the fluid at 331K, hoping this would help, with no change. Though noisier these days, the engine’s showing no performance trouble or burning oil; the car’s in good shape otherwise.

I’d like to keep the car as a backup/in-town driver as long as possible, but realize the engine & trans have well outlived typical service lives. I’m leery of making a costly trans repair, only to have the engine fail after that. I’d appreciate your advice; regarding what a shop should check/try before recommending a trans rebuild/replace, and how much you’d invest to repair an old (but still zippy) Fit like mine.

Thanks for reading,
Greg
 
Could also be a CV joint.

Your engine will rock in its mounts "a little" anyway. Define a little? Hard doing.

Aftermarket mounts are generally trash, and if you do one its firmness might make your others clunk. But if it were my beater that's still what I'd do. It's worth doing because as the motor flops around it tugs at whatever makes your exhaust pipe flexible up front, which is getting arthritic from rust and use.
 
Honda automatics have always been a little noisy when going from park into any gear or back again because of there design. Though when you are driving it shouldnt make any wierd clunks by design which leads me to believe its something other than the transmission. The first to second gear shift has a decent amount of torque applied to get the car moving which may cause the engine to move around more than shifting in higher gears. So motor mounts and cv axles ect seem like a good choice for observation.
 
My wife owns a '13 Fit Sport, around 23k miles (little old lady from Pasadena driving). I hear nothing in fwd or rev from it. Yeah, probably a mount or two. The '13 Fit parts/labor says this:

Parts InformationOEM Part #Price
Engine Mount
Side Mount50822TK6901$171.00
Trans Mount
Manual Trans50850TK6912$370.73
Auto Trans50850TK6981$370.73
Labor InformationSkill LevelMfg. WarrantyStandard
Engine Mount
Replace
All MountsB0.02.1
Torque ArmB0.30.4
Side Mount
EngineB0.91.2
TransmissionB1.01.4

so not that expensive. Your '07 probably uses different parts, for the '07-'08 model years only.
You might have problems finding other parts as it gets older (the transmission mount, 50820-SLN-A81, is already listed as discontinued).
May want to consider selling that and going into an '09-13 Fit which has a 5 year width of sales.
 
I’m starting to sometimes hear a clunk when I’m parked (on level ground) and shift into reverse; also (less often) when shifting into drive, and occasionally during up/downshifts between 1st & 2nd.
At 300k, the car doesn't owe you anything. Keep driving it until something breaks and then sell/scrap it if it needs major work. Could go another 100,000 miles like that.
 
Could also be a CV joint.

Your engine will rock in its mounts "a little" anyway. Define a little? Hard doing.

Aftermarket mounts are generally trash, and if you do one its firmness might make your others clunk. But if it were my beater that's still what I'd do. It's worth doing because as the motor flops around it tugs at whatever makes your exhaust pipe flexible up front, which is getting arthritic from rust and use.
Thanks eljefino - yes, tough to specify details, and this is all new to me... thanks for the tip about aftermarket parts. Reading other replies here about parts availability, I may have no choice but aftermarket.
 
My wife owns a '13 Fit Sport, around 23k miles (little old lady from Pasadena driving). I hear nothing in fwd or rev from it. Yeah, probably a mount or two. The '13 Fit parts/labor says this:

Parts InformationOEM Part #Price
Engine Mount
Side Mount50822TK6901$171.00
Trans Mount
Manual Trans50850TK6912$370.73
Auto Trans50850TK6981$370.73
Labor InformationSkill LevelMfg. WarrantyStandard
Engine Mount
Replace
All MountsB0.02.1
Torque ArmB0.30.4
Side Mount
EngineB0.91.2
TransmissionB1.01.4

so not that expensive. Your '07 probably uses different parts, for the '07-'08 model years only.
You might have problems finding other parts as it gets older (the transmission mount, 50820-SLN-A81, is already listed as discontinued).
May want to consider selling that and going into an '09-13 Fit which has a 5 year width of sales.
Thanks for this info, spackard!
 
Agree - even aftermarket mounts would prolong the life of other parts if the oem mount is allowing too much travel. the biggest potential risk with them is reduced damping characteristics across the rev range, e.g., vibration at idle. That said, if you aren’t especially particular about that, I’d give it a go. On some hondas, fancy dual-mode liquid-filled mounts are used which can definitely wear out over time. Our mdx had one and it did exactly as you described until replaced. Dealer only charged 263$ for parts and labor on their flagship (at the time) suv, which I felt was pretty reasonable considering the complexity of the oem part.

my in laws had a Buick Lucerne with the same symptoms.
 
Agree - even aftermarket mounts would prolong the life of other parts if the oem mount is allowing too much travel. the biggest potential risk with them is reduced damping characteristics across the rev range, e.g., vibration at idle. That said, if you aren’t especially particular about that, I’d give it a go. On some hondas, fancy dual-mode liquid-filled mounts are used which can definitely wear out over time. Our mdx had one and it did exactly as you described until replaced. Dealer only charged 263$ for parts and labor on their flagship (at the time) suv, which I felt was pretty reasonable considering the complexity of the oem part.

my in laws had a Buick Lucerne with the same symptoms.
Thanks for the advice, meep!
 
Just throwing this out for those that are thinking of doing engine/trans mounts in Hondas. I know that some of them (like the Legend) have mount tightening sequences that need to be followed in order to minimize noise/vibration and extend mount life. Consult your service manual.
 
Just throwing this out for those that are thinking of doing engine/trans mounts in Hondas. I know that some of them (like the Legend) have mount tightening sequences that need to be followed in order to minimize noise/vibration and extend mount life. Consult your service manual.
Thanks for the tip, Paulo!
 
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