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2018 GL1800/B Engine Ticking

21K views 25 replies 15 participants last post by  Ron Hill 
#1 ·
The bike has developed a ticking sound on the right side of the engine. Took it into the dealer. Service rep calls me later in the day. He says. "The engine needs a valve job. We generally recommend it at 60,000 miles. It will be about $950.00".

I explain that the engine has 6,000 miles not 60 (5898.5). The service rep sounded a bit shocked and said "then it should be covered under warranty".

A valve job at less than 6,000 miles?? On a Honda engine?? Thinking lemon law.
Deeply disappointed. If they can fix it, I'm getting rid of it.
Any thoughts?
 
#3 ·
I love my DCT tour. If it was my bike, and since it’s under warranty, I would have them fix whatever the problem is and keep it. Remember, nothing is perfect, even a gold wing. But, they are damn close!
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
I haven't heard from the dealer, they are closed Sunday and today. I am torn about keeping it or not. Another factor though; I'm one of those who can't ride it for an hour without severe butt trauma. Had the wingsoft mod which made it better. Still breaking it in. Will wait to see what the dealer says tomorrow. If its a valve adjustment, fine. But valve job... I'm concerned.


Spoke to the dealer service department. They tell me that the ticking is an internal problem. They don't know what the issue is, and they have to get into the engine to determine what the problem is. They say it "should" be covered under warranty. No other information at this time.

I have a 2001 Honda Accord with 218,440 miles. That engine has never, and is not now ticking.
 
#5 ·
While it is possible that the valves are out of spec, it certainly isn't likely at that point on the clock. However, yes that is why there is a manufacturer warranty on it. That being said, valve adjustments (at regular posted service intervals are typically not covered by warranty as they are a 'wear" item and require the owner pays maintenance costs just like any other regular maintenance items. But, that also being said, all manufacturers have a "goodwill" policy that should cover things like this. If you get unfavorable diagnostic results or the service manager doesn't have a good response regarding the problem, I'd certainly call American Honda Customer Service directly 1-866-784-1870 and get them in on it. (number is on page 231 in your owners manual I think)


Just so everyone knows (many long term members know this) Honda does visit this site often for information and owner feedback on issues just like this. Trust me, they want their ridership and owners happy in all ways possible and they use this and other sites as sounding boards and information gathering.

While nobody at American Honda knows me personally, there are a good number of people at Honda Canada's offices that do. Believe me when I tell you they are all very concerned about their reputations and customer satisfaction. As a dealer (no matter what side of the border) I am too; I ride what I sell and I take pride in that. But I'm also not afraid to ruffle a few feathers if I have to.
 
#7 ·
budoka.

Thank you so much for the information.
At this point, I'll leave it in the hands of the service reps.
See what they have to say.

Hopefully they fix it and I can get back on the road.


Got the bike back from the dealer yesterday. Three items to fix: 1) change tire (slow leak). 2) fix hill start light indicator. flashing off and on continuously. 3) engine tick.

1) Tire changed, all good.

2) Dealer unplugged and reseated the light. Light remained off driving home from the dealer. This morning took a ride. Light flashed continuously from start up to shut down at my destination. Start up to drive home, light off. Half way home began flashing and continued until I arrived at home. Not fixed.

3) During the four days it was at the dealer it was suggested it needed a valve job, then valve adjustment, then it was an internal tick and they had to open the engine. Finally they said that it was a normal sound of the engine. They said they listened to my engine, and the engine of a wing on their sales floor. They sounded the same.

When I left the dealer the engine was not ticking, and it wasn't ticking when I got it home. Today I took a three hour ride and no ticking. But I heard it before I took it into the dealer, and they heard it because they said it was coming from inside the engine.

Perhaps it is intermittent. I don't believe this is over. I'm going to record it if it happens again.
And, the blinking dash light is definitely not fixed.
 
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#10 ·
The hill start assist light coming on and off periodically is most likely due to the microswitches in the left handle bar. If you take them out, you will find that the contacts are open to the elements and visible through a hole right above the contacts. If you clean them and put a piece of tape over the opening, I think you have solved your problem.
 
#8 ·
I own a 2018 Goldwing Tour DCT and my son-in-law owns a 2018 Goldwing Tour. Both machines have a low volume noticeable ticking noise especially when started cold. My machine has 9,000 miles on it. It seems to be operating fine. Regarding your comparison of a Honda Accord to your Goldwing noise levels, the Accord's engine is buried in an engine compartment and even with the hood open it is still surrounded by lots of stuff so comparing it to a Goldwing engine pretty much out in the open is an unfair comparison. I have owned two other Honda models with the Unicam engine design, a 2005 CRF-450X and a 2009 CRF-450R. The 2005 X came from the factory with the intake and exhaust valve clearances reversed, Honda must have had some newbie build the engine that day. I adjusted the clearances correctly and the engine lit up in performance. Ether way there could have been some ticking coming from that engine but other engine noise like the exhaust could have masked it. The 2009 R engine was ridden for four years with two valve clearance checks which prompted a very minor exhaust valve adjustment. Again it was hard to tell if that engine ticked. I guess my point in all of this is that Honda has a lot of experience with the Unicam engine design and maybe because of the quiet nature of the Goldwing certain noises show up on it that wouldn't be noticeable on other Unicam models.

Regarding your hill start gremlin, I am no expert on this sort of thing, but I would ask the dealer to look at the sensor that determines whether the bike is level or on an incline. More than likely there are more than one inputs into the hill start feature that require either "or" and/or "and" logic inputs to function correctly. A diagnostic check with a laptop could pinpoint the problem if they haven't done that already. Good luck on this because these complicated computer software and instrumentation problems are often the most frustrating problems of all.
 
#11 ·
Started the Goldwing up yesterday. Engine light on. Tried to reset the code with a no throttle start and warm up. Engine light will not go off and the engine is ticking. I recorded it this time. At 6000 miles the service me told me it was an internal problem with the engine, then two days later I'm told it is the "normal" sound of the engine. Now it is 7000 miles and... This is not normal, and it is not fixed.

The hill start light intermittently blinks on and off while driving the bike. Service told me that was fixed too. Nope.
TPMS flashes when tires are inflated to the Honda manual recommended psi. That was not fixed or adjusted either.

So disappointed. I thought my last bike would be a trouble free Honda Goldwing. In fact, my last bike is a lemon.
 
#13 ·
I bought an '18 DA in Feb 18, and chose to replace it with another '18 DA due to external damage in Apr 19. On the first bike, I had the very noticeable "ticking" on the right side. At the first oil change at 4000 miles, my dealer's maintenance director listened to it (in a cursory manner) said it was "normal" and chose to ignore it. The replacement bike has had no "ticking" whatsoever and I now have 12,000 miles on it. Sadly, I know this does not help you, but I certainly wonder about an ongoing issue that not being addressed.
 
#14 ·
The "unicam" engine makes more noise than the old GL engine, nature of the beast. My 1800 also is louder mechanically than my 1500 was, no hydraulic valve train. Ride it like you stole it.
 
#15 ·
I appreciate the comments.

This isn't the normal sound of the engine. I have a recording of the ticking but this forum does not allow uploading the .M4A codec. If I could upload it I think you would agree it is not normal. An acquaintance I made on the forum got together with me, and we listened to his engine and mine. Mine was not ticking at the time and both of our engines sounded the same. Both 2018's with manual trans. When it ticks it is very obvious.

I've opened a ticket with Honda customer service and I'm getting it into the service department again. We'll see what they have to say.
I'll update the forum with their conclusion / solution.




This is what my engine sounds like when it is ticking. The ticking starts at 3:15 in the video. My ticking is not quite as loud.

 
#18 ·
The bike has developed a ticking sound on the right side of the engine. Took it into the dealer. Service rep calls me later in the day. He says. "The engine needs a valve job. We generally recommend it at 60,000 miles. It will be about $950.00".

I explain that the engine has 6,000 miles not 60 (5898.5). The service rep sounded a bit shocked and said "then it should be covered under warranty".

A valve job at less than 6,000 miles?? On a Honda engine?? Thinking lemon law.
Deeply disappointed. If they can fix it, I'm getting rid of it.
Any thoughts?
The right side of my 2018 goldwing makes a ticking sound to

The hill start assist light coming on and off periodically is most likely due to the microswitches in the left handle bar. If you take them out, you will find that the contacts are open to the elements and visible through a hole right above the contacts. If you clean them and put a piece of tape over the opening, I think you have solved your problem.
hill start problems their is a spring that,s broke that cause the problem with light and for the hill start to work properly
 
#24 ·
Hey PC – What did Honda decide about your engine noise ? I think you're right to be concerned about a 6k mile valve job diagnosis. Then to be told the noise is from something internal, then normal and now gone. Did the dealership replace the engine oil with a thicker grade during their troubleshooting efforts ?

I’ve help with all levels of maintenance on many of the late model GW’s in our riding group and the only thing you might compare the sound to (if it turns out to be truly a minor issue) - is the need for the valve adjustment checked ? Several of the shim and bucket bikes we get together and work on are not only well past their warranty period but pushing 100 - 130k miles. Normally only a couple have needed a shim or two replaced to bring their valve adjust back into specs.

The Goldwings are known for a long trouble free life. The new ones come with a warranty for a reason, you should use it while your bike is still covered rather than have something progressively get worse a couple years from now.....

Good Luck - Michael
 
#25 ·
Pcwins, did you ever find out what the problem was?

I guess we'll never know!
 
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