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Hope this helps.
The first is: When it's on the "face/feet" setting, on maximum air flow #4, I get Very Minimal a/c. Within five minutes of having it on this setting, on a NJ hot humid day, I'd be covered in perspiration and gasping for air. On "face" only, it's quite acceptable, although not as cold as my 2002 Ford Focus was. On "face/feet", it "sounds" like it should be a wind tunnel in the car, but sadly, no.
Another problem is when it's on just "face", on the lowest air flow setting #1, it frequently emits a chemically smell. I took it to the dealer and told them about the problems and they said they couldn't get it to happen and everything checked out fine (according to them).
And my Fit also cycles every 6-8 seconds and if you're standing outside...it's pretty loud.
I'm most interested in problems one and two - anyone else have these problems?
Thanks!
I was on my way to the flea market yesterday and turned a corner when the loudest noise I've ever heard a car make happened. It was like something blew up and screamed at the same time. I pulled to the curb, turned off the ignition and the AC. Took a few minutes to get my shaking under control. Turned the car on (thank God it started) but didn't try the A/C. Opened the windows and drove 15 minutes to the Honda Dealer. I walked in MAJORLY upset since they had originally dismissed my complaint that there were problems with the unit. They said to calm down and go have a seat and they'd have the shuttle drive me home when it comes back in. So, a day later, I still have no car. They did call and said some part of the A/C did explode...so...all you other Fit owners who are experiencing problems...get ready - a bigger problem may be right around the corner.
I have had the car in three separate times for this problem and have been advised that the compressor shuts down if the gas pedal is pressed over 20% from a start. The dealers solution to the problem is to stay under 20% from all starts. This is not practical and would have every car around you honk at you because your going so slow. The dealer has taken the company line that the vehicle is performing as designed. Since when is it acceptable for the AC unit to blow hot air on occupants at any point in time? It appears Honda is taking the "Cram Down" approach and expects customers to accept this obvious design flaw.
My expectation is what I would call the standard norm. Once the AC is turned on you expect it to blow cold air, uninterrupted, meaning not intermittently blow hot air on occupants. How can Honda deviate so far from the accepted norm of what everyone's expectation of AC is and cram their flaw down customer's throats? How can Honda advise customers "the car is performing as designed and expect the customer to accept that?
The Honda Accord they rented me does not blow hot air on me after I accelerate from a stop. Yet the Assistant Service Manager told me it does. I have driven the Accord a few days and I can tell you it does not blow hot air on you from a stop. I wonder why Honda choose not to put this ingenious idea in their 2009 Accord model.
Please advise if you are having the same problem and/or any solution. The problem is there is not a solution yet. There is a service bulletin on the issue but it only advised the service department to advise customers "the vehicle is performing as designed". That does not fix the problem, it only further aggravates customers and gives Honda a bad name.
An additional issue is that the 2009 Fit shocks me every time I get out of the car and close the door. Once again, Honda choose not to fix the problem rather issue a technical service bulletin which advises customers why this is happening and what type of clothing to wear. Once again, my 2009 Honda Accord rental does not shock me when I get out of the car and close the door.
I guess Honda believes the people with these defective 2009 Fits are small enough that they can effectively ignore the problem and not worry about it. I don't have much faith in the Lemon Law and don't want to spent huge amounts of time pursuing it. Does anyone out there have any answers?
I think it is a pathetic approach Honda is taking towards their customers and it is leaving a bad taste in my mouth about owning a Honda. If there are any prospective Honda Fit buyers out there please pay attention to these issues. Does anyone have any ideas how to get more publicity on the issue? Maybe Honda would address the issue if it appeared in the automotive headlines or front page headlines.
rjbates@adelphia.net
I purchased a 2009 Honda Fit Sport approximately one year ago. I live in CA (Central Valley) and have noticed the AC compressor shuts off from a start and blows hot air on the occupants until it reaches a certain RPM level and the compressor turns back on. Living in the Central Valley it is not uncommon to have summer days of 105 degrees plus. The AC in the Fit is weak to begin with and usually has to be run on maximum to cool the vehicle to a minimal or normal level. The dealer was well aware of the problem and told me the car is designed to turn off the air conditioner compressor from a start if 20% or more throttle is used, the compressor will come back on when the engine reaches a certain RPM.
I have had the car in three separate times for this problem and have been advised by the service department that the compressor shuts down if the gas pedal is pressed over 20% from a start. The dealer’s solution to the problem is for the driver to stay under 20% throttle on all starts. This is not practical and would have every car around you honk at you because you’re moving so slow or obstructing traffic. The dealer has taken the company line that the vehicle is performing as designed. That is a true statement, the vehicle is performing as designed but the vehicle has a serious design flaw that they apparently acknowledge but will not fix. Since when is it acceptable for the AC unit to blow hot air on occupants at any point in time? It appears Honda is taking the "Cram Down" approach and expects customers to accept this obvious design flaw. I have never heard of any car which blows hot air on occupants at any point in time. How can Honda deviate so far from the accepted norm / standard of what air conditioning is and think or tell customers it is acceptable?
My expectation is what I would call the standard norm. Once the AC is turned on you expect it to blow cold air, uninterrupted cold air, meaning not intermittently blow hot air on occupants from a stop at 20% or more throttle. How can Honda deviate so far from the accepted norm of what everyone's expectation of AC is and cram their design flaw down customer's throats? How can Honda advise customers "the car is performing as designed and expect the customer to accept that? True, the car is in fact performing as designed but the car has a serious design flaw. Had Honda disclosed their design flaw to me before I purchased the car I would not have bought it. Come to think of it, I cannot think of anyone who would want or accept an air-conditioning unit that intermittently blows hot air on you from each and every stop where 20% or more throttle is used.
The 2009 Honda Accord they rented for me does not blow hot air on me after I accelerate from a stop. Yet the Assistant Service Manager told me it does. I have driven the Accord a few days and I can tell you it does not blow hot air on you from a stop. I wonder why Honda chooses not to put this ingenious Honda Fit idea in their 2009 Accord model or use it for advertising such as: “cutting edge technology, Honda Fit blows hot air on occupants when air conditioner is on”. Perhaps I should try turning on the heater when I want cold air and turning on the air conditioner when I want hot air. I am surprised the dealer has not suggested trying to rotate the tires at every stop to get the air conditioner to work properly. The dealer retreats to the company line that “the vehicle is performing as designed” even though they admit the car is designed to shut off the air conditioner compressor if 20% or more throttle is used from a start. If the compressor is shut off it cannot produce cold air. If it gets the air from outside if the recirculation feature is not on it takes the ambient air (temperature) and blows it on the occupants of the vehicle. If it is 110 degrees outside, the car will blow 110 degree air on you when the compressor is shut off.
Please advise if you are having the same problem and/or any solution. The problem is there is not a solution yet. There is a service bulletin on the issue but it only advised the service department to advise customers "the vehicle is performing as designed". That does not fix the problem; it only further aggravates customers and gives Honda a bad name. It would be nice if Honda would step up to the plate and take ownership of the problem and proceed with the appropriate corrective action instead of advising dealers to inform customers that the vehicle is performing as designed when in fact it has a serious design flaw.
I’m not an auto mechanic but as a lay person my guess is that Honda designed the Fit to be too “Green”. The current engine in the 2009 Honda Fit Sport is not large enough to meet the demands / loads placed on it. I would also assume that Honda is familiar enough with the issue that the decision to have the compressor turn off during 20% or more throttle from a stop is the “best choice” from their alternatives. It makes me wonder what the alternatives are. I would assume that the Fit simply cannot run the current air conditioning unit on maximum full time. If my assumptions are in fact true what more do you need to constitute a Lemon vehicle? The air conditioning does not work as compared to every other car in America. I assume that the air conditioning is not a problem in the 2009 Honda Accord as I have experienced simply because the Accord has a larger engine and is able to meet all demands / loads placed on it with ease.
An additional issue is that the 2009 Fit shocks me every time I get out of the car and close the door. Once again, Honda chooses not to fix the problem rather issue a technical service bulletin which advises customers why this is happening and what type of clothing to wear to avoid the problem (which in my case did not work and is not a fix). Once again, my 2009 Honda Accord rental does not shock me when I get out of the car and close the door.
I guess Honda believes the people with these defective 2009 Fits are small enough that they can effectively ignore the problem and not worry about it. I don't have much faith in the Lemon Law and don't want to spent huge amounts of time pursuing it. Does anyone out there have any answers?
I think it is a pathetic approach Honda is taking towards their customers and it is leaving a bad taste in my mouth about owning a Honda. If there are any prospective Honda Fit buyers out there please pay attention to these issues. Does anyone have any ideas how to get more publicity on the issue? Maybe Honda would address the issue if it appeared in the automotive headlines or front page headlines.
I have documentation i.e. email with dealer acknowledging the problem and advising that there is not a fix to the problem, my registration documenting my Fit ownership, rental car (Honda Accord) registration, etc. documenting my rental, etc.. I would appreciate some
Soooo, does anyone know of an after market place where I can get a full length cargo mat from the back of the front seat to the rear hatch?
Many thanks.
My car is still under warranty so I am not going to make a repair to it other than what the Honda Dealership makes.
I provided a link to a thread on another forum--and the first post in that thread specifically states that the fix is not a factory or dealer fix, and that the originator (not me) disclaims any damage that you might do to your system by implementing it. Maybe you didn't read that part?
In addition to the originator's disclaimer, I also pointed out that it was not a factory fix--and that you should "exhaust all warranty-related options first."
Forgive me for trying to help. You may rest assured it will not happen again.
Once again: I offered a fix that I had seen on another website (www.fitfreak.net). You claimed not to be able to find it. I then sent you a direct link to the discussion on that website, on the assumption that since you had asked for a fix and hadn't gotten one from Honda, you might find the information useful. Of course you were certainly free to disregard it if you did not think it was appropriate for your situation--which both I and the originator of that fix made clear.
I gather that you have chosen not to perform this modification because it would void your warranty. That's fine. But don't come back here and [non-permissible content removed] at me because the help I offered wasn't what you had in mind.
Over and out. Happy trolling.
Honda sometimes tries to outsmart drivers. For example, the compressor automatically runs when you set the airflow to "defog." Even when you press the A/C button to turn it off, the car overrides your intention and keeps the compressor on.
I prefer to have more choices, rather than have the car decide for me.
I'm actually surprised anyone would actually buy a car with an AC that didn't satisfy them. If I lived in really hot places that would be the first thing I tried out in a test drive. It would be pretty obvious right from the start that the compressor shuts off under high RPMs. At least with the good resale value you can get a pretty good price for selling your Fit if it's really that bad.
Agreed that it is a nickel-and-dime thing to avoid the cargo cover. Having said that, this is one area where Honda went backwards, IMHO.
I had the 2008 Honda Fit (no longer have it), for which I bought Honda's cargo cover, which was a retractable design. When not needed, the cargo cover could be easily taken out and stowed or left retracted.
I had the dealer install the cargo cover into the 2009 Fit that I bought recently, but was surprised to see that the slick retractable design has been replaced with a cover that is permanently affixed to the rear. It looks good but is a lot less functional than the prior 2008 design, IMHO.
The 2009/2010 is a big leap over the 2008 design in several ways but the cargo cover design is definitely an area where they went backwards.
I've found that letting the windows down for 30 seconds gives the A/C all the headstart it needs to cool the car off, on even the hottest (100-105F) days. Have you checked outlet temps with an A/C thermometer? With the recirc on, you should be able to get a deltaT (outside temp minus outlet temp) of at least 40 degrees--if it's not, then the system is not "functioning as designed."
One thing that's been noted ad nauseam on fitfreak.net is that the condenser on these cars hangs unprotected behind the open lower section of the bumper, where it can easily be damaged by road debris. A brief visual inspection should make such damage obvious, though.
I have a 2007 Honda FIT 75K miles and live and work in Riverside County, Ca (Inland Empire). It really gets hot here in the summer but no humidity. At about 70K miles it started blowing hot air when I would come to a stop. Here’s how I fixed this. First, we all know Hondas have weak AC’s compared to domestic vehicles. I have owned four, all have had weak ACs. BUT, here's an important way to improve the FIT and probably all other car’s AC performance. The AC condenser on the FIT is unprotected and sets very low to the ground. It picks up all the rocks and junk off the roads, especially freeways. This severely clogs/blocks the condenser channels and bends the fins of the condenser. Then, air is restricted and does not remove the heat off the condenser. So, if you have any miles at all on your FIT check your condenser. You'll notice the damage already. Your AC performance is being adversally affected by this. Spend several hours straightening out the fins as best you can and cleaning out all the small rocks, etc from the condenser channels using a thin firm wire or wiper blade steel strip. Then, spray water thru the condenser to remove all particles.
Next measure the condenser, cut a piece of aluminum window screen to the measurements and paint it black. Do not use the fiberglass type screen. The aluminum type is firmer and will stop stones B4 they get to the condenser. Make sure you fasten the screen down, especially the bottom.
Next, put a high grade heat reflecting limo tint on the rear window and rear door glasses. I have had a lighter tint on my front door windows for 2 years. So far the cops have not bothered me. Finally, put the same high grade limo tint from the rear on to the TOP of your windshield on the inside. Some state laws allow 12" but check your state laws for legality. In all cases, I think a certain amount is legal.
Always place a fold out type sun blocker up aginst the insie of the windshield when parked.
When 1st starting out, crack the rear windows to exhaust the hot air rapidally.
I did all these things to my FIT and it really helped improve the AC efficiency. It is now very confortable, even when the temp iis >100 degrees. This should for you as well. Good luck.
rr
Does your car have floor mats? Check to see if the floor mat is weighing down the accelerator.
Does anyone have advice on replacing the seatbelts?
Are they unique to the 2009 Fit, or could I salvage them from another year (or even a Civic)?
Any chance I could replace them myself, or will it require special labor?
Thanks for any help! And if anyone is looking for a small, sweet German shepherd I know one that needs a home... (just kidding).
Our mistake for not taking the car on a longer test drive. Don't even *dream* of buying this car unless you drive it for at least an hour & good luck to you if you have to contact Hinda USA. They lost us for life as customers. Now sitting in our garage: a Toyota. We were idiots for switching in the first place--ten years previous of Toyota ownership and never a problem greater than a flat tire.
Too many people have been seduced by the Fit's cool exterior design. Again, drive this thing a lot before you think of buying it. I've been tracking complaints, and people as tall as 6'4" and as short as 5' have found the Fit like sitting in a plastic conference chair on a marble floor. (We are 5"6" and 5'5'' so this 'small car' doesn't necessarily fit short people.)
Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so, were you able to get it fixed to your satisfaction?
It's definitely not in line with the interior quality I've seen in my other four Hondas!
Took it to the dealer..well sir: everything checks out ok..nothing we can do untill it breaks or developes a problem that we can find!! BULL/S...!!
A/C is fine around town..short trips..BUT..Go on a trip & see what happens..the blower motor slows down to NOTHING..can barely feel it!..I Turned The A/C off at the dash to let it re-cycle for 30 seconds..little to NO good!
The Car Is TINTED to the Maximum Tint..Color is tidewater blue..
It Would seem to me as an outsider looking in..All Honda has to do is.. change the value codes in the computer of the vehicle!!
My sister in-law in jax.fla has the2009 fit sport with NO a/c problems..So the moral of the story? BUYER BEWARE!! If The dealer wont let you borrow or test drive the car for a minimum 2 hours....DON't BUY IT!!!!!
American Honda Will Bend Over Backwards To Accomodate You! I'm On Vacation In Fla. And I STUMBLED Upon Autoway Honda In Clearwater Fla. Have Your Dealer Call Chuck At 1-888-532-9181..His Tech Found The Problem Straight Away..My 09 Fit Had A Bad A/C Expansion Block..In Other Words The A/C Worked Fine Around Town On Short Trips..BUT..As Soon As You Hit The Hwy On A Trip..The A/C Would FREEZE Up & All But Quit About 1 1/2-2 Hours Into The Trip!!
So, All This Other BULL Is Just That..So Much B/S!! Make Sure That You Deal With The Most EXPERIENCED Service Dept You Can Find, Leave The Car There Untill They Find The Problem! :shades:
Clearwater Fla
The problem you might encounter with A/C expansion block! Part BACK-ORDERED!!
Had to wait 3 days for part to come in..Normally a 2 hour repair job..
I raised much HELL With American Honda for not keeping the necessary parts at the Dealers!
Good luck with your repair job! :shades:
Please take very seriously the comments about seating position. I quite literally cannot drive the car anymore -- it is torture. At first, it may just seem like you have to get used to the position, but this is not so. The more you dirve it, the worse it gets. Indeed the comments about needing physical therapy are not exaggerations--and I am NOT prone to such ailments.
And the clutch is a joke. I have driven nothing but stick-shift car or the past 40 years, and this is THE worst cluth I have ever driven. Honda "service" -- pathetic -- claims that since they can't fix it, they do not consider it a problem. Whether my clutch happens to be a bad one, or whether all (2007) are like this, I don't know, but in any event Honda refused to do anything about it.
I should add that I have always driven small cars (beginning with a 1963 bug...), so my issue is not one of any characteristic related to small cars. The problem, as I see it, is that the pedals are much too CLOSE, and too HIGH.
A minor issue, but adding to the sense of being contorted, is the placement of the gas tank directly under the front seats.