Hey guys. I have a 2015 Honda Fit. About a month ago, I hit this massive pothole. The hole looked a good one foot deep. Ever since then, Ive been hearing a kind of humming sound, or the best way I can explain it is the sound of like two pieces of sand paper rubbing together. Sometimes its very faint, other times its been pretty loud, but I believe it depends on the surface of the road im on. Itll start once I hit about 60 on the freeway, then itll stick around on normal roads. Along with the sound, the gas pedal vibrates, sometimes a little, sometimes you can really feel it. You can feel the steering wheel vibrate as well, but very faintly. I took it to the dealership where I bought it, I still have a limited warranrty on it. I told them I believe the noise was coming from the tire I had hit in the pothole, but they found no issues. Now Im thinking it might be something underneath the car, underneath the engine area. Im not car savvy in the least. I dont know much about cars other than fixing a flat. Any ideas would be appreciated that way I can go back to the dealership and tell them what I believe could be going on with the car. Thanks.
I heard a sound just like that after whacking a big pothole once. I’d damaged the wheel bearings.
I’ll bet lunch you damaged yours too.
Do not tell them what you think it is, just tell them you hit a pothole and describe the noise. Ask them what it is. Or go to an independent shop because this is collision damage and not covered by your warranty.
A second opinion from another dealership or a good independent mechanic would be a good idea. My wild guess is that you have a damaged wheel bearing, which could be dangerous. I’d also have the wheel and tire checked again for damage (although it’s probably not the wheel itself with the symptoms you describe).
By the way, the warranty doesn’t really matter here, as this is the result of an impact.
My money is on the bearings… but the suggestion to also have the wheel and tire checked for damage is an excellent one. A bent rim (I bent mine) and/or a damaged tire (mine was damaged) could be dangerous too. Either could result in a catastrophic failure at speed.
I had to get a new tire. The tire had a huge welt sticking out. And to be honest, the pothole accident actually happened many months ago, like during the summer. The noise started up and then it seemed to go away, but it came back about a week or so ago
It’s a bearing. I’d bet on it.
In order to squeeze a tiny bit more mileage out of cars, manufacturers now are using double row ball bearings instead of the old tapered roller bearings. They have less rolling resistance, but any 1st year engineering student will tell you that they have much less actual contact area and are more susceptible to impact damage.
So if its most likely the bearing, i probably will be costly to have it fixed and replaced. What would be better, going to the dealership or going to a mechanic?
I had to replace both front wheel bearings on my old VW Rabbit. It started making a growling noise, worse the faster I’d go. It sounded and felt like when you drive on a road with a very rough surface, like where all the smooth cement has been worn away and you are riding on the part of the cement with rocks embedded in it.
I took it to an inde shop and it didn’t cost that much to replace both front wheel bearings. Maybe $250. This was quite a few years ago though. I’d guess maybe $600-$700 today.
You have already been to the dealer and they did not find the problem. Go to a well respected mechanic, tell them what you did and let them determine what is wrong. Just don’t say you need a wheel bearing. Whatever they charge will be less than the damage you do if you crash.
A reputable independently owned and operated shop is generally my choice.
However, since the dealer already told you they couldn’t find anything wrong, they’re probably not motivated to fix it. Have an independent shop check the bearing. It’s easy to do, Generally, with the car up on a lift, a mechanic can feel roughness in a bad bearing. Sometimes the weight of the wheel can act as a damper and it can be more easily felt turning the hub by hand with the wheel off.
The warranty won’t cover road damage anyway. It’ll only cover problems the cause of which were already in the car when you took delivery.
Tire pressure light came on even though tires are inflated properly
A neighbor and friend just brought his 2012 Civic in for the same problem. He was told by the dealer that Honda has been having a problem with the TPMS system and the problem was fixed. He didn’t have any specifics. You might want to check with your dealer for repair under your warranty. You might also want to ask them specifically if there is a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) for this problem.
With a brand new cars it’s always good to use the dealer anyway, because if you try to correct a problem yourself you may invalidate the warranty for any related problems in the future. Besides, that’s why you paid for the warranty. 
I took it in before with the same problem with the light. The guys said just to reset it and that’s it. The guys over there are no help at all. Unless there is a problem that’s not under the warranty, it seems they really dont care to fix big issues
Sorry to hear that. Since it’s happened again, and it’s a mandatory safety system, file a complain “up the ladder” IAW the process described in the paperwork that came your manual for elevating a complaint. Be sure to state that it’s a mandatory safety system. Also file a complaint of it as a chronic failure to the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA), and state in your letter to Honda that you’ve done so.
If this IS a chronic problem, and since you can’t pass a safety inspection this way, you can also look into your state’s “lemon law”, in case you need it. It might fall under the statute.
If NHTSA gets enough complaints about this problem, they might mandate a recall by Honda, although IMHO that would be a very unlikely longshot.
Thanks for the info man. Im gonna take it to a local tire shop here and ask them if they could tell me if there is a problem with the bearings, then go from there
TPMS system is unrelated to the bearings.
And as I mentioned, having another shop try to fix it just might void the warranty for any other work necessary on the TPMS system. You might just end up with a TPMS warning light that nobody can clear and have absolved Honda of responsibility for trying. If your state requires a safety inspection, you’d be screwed… you couldn’t get another sticker and Honda could turn you away for this problem.
I strongly recommend you use your warranty for this and pursue it up the complaint chain IAW the paperwork that came with the car.
What if a bad bearing is making the wheel come loose? Would that set off the tpms? Sorry for all the questions. Unfortunately I’m very under educated when it comes to cars
No, it won’t.
I urge you to not take it to a shop and tell them what might be wrong. Only describe the symptoms as clearly as possible. And I cannot emphasize strongly enough that you need to be working with Honda on this and not with an independent shop. It’s a brand new vehicle with a warranty and an apparently chronic problem. Keep copies of all the paperwork, and keep pushing them to fix it permanently.
Cool man. Thank you