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Honda Fit Maintenance

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Comments

  • hungarian83hungarian83 Member Posts: 678
    I am guessing it is the Sport model with the larger wheels/tires. I don't have that problem on my base model, and I regularly turn the wheel all the way when driving around tight corners in parking lots, etc.

    Also, the 15" wheels in other markets have 185 tires, and not 195 like the US market. Maybe 10mm could be making a difference?
  • carfanatic007carfanatic007 Member Posts: 267
    I have a Fit Sport and when I turn the wheel all the way it doesn't rub. Just a very short turning radius, good for making Uturns, etc. Remember, they sell the 16 inch tires as an option so no reason the 15 inch would be too big.
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    Okay, maybe I'm describing it wrong. On other cars I've had when you turn the wheel all the way, the steering wheel locks with a clunk (metal to metal) feel. With my Fit, it feels like the steering wheel is hitting foam or a buffer is in between.
  • munchie1munchie1 Member Posts: 9
    When I first put the can in reverse and then in drive I hear the gas in the tank swishing around. Has anyone been hearing this?
  • cmkcmk Member Posts: 59
    Yes the solution is to turn your radio up.
  • chimaera2005chimaera2005 Member Posts: 5
    Yeah, since you are sitting on your gas tank, you pretty much don't have a choice. :D
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    Someone brought this up earlier but I haven't noticed or heard the swishing sound yet in the one month I've owned my Fit Sport.
  • hungarian83hungarian83 Member Posts: 678
    That's surprising!
    Next time you fill up for gasoline (the sound is much more pronounced on a full tank), go to a parking lot where you can safely make some quick stops and sharp turns, and you will definitely hear it.

    Either that, or the dealership installed the "platinum soundproofing package" for you. ;)
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    ... or it could be my ears going deaf. :P I did try to look out for this symptom and I'm usually good with noticing idiosyncrasies of cars but not this one.

    Other things I noticed so far with 3800 miles:
    -No rattles yet. :blush:
    -Sometimes, downshifting gears lets say from 4th to 3rd, the RPM jumps up so much that it feels like the transmission is slipping.
    -The engine's racy sound is more noticeable now.
    -I find the intermittent wipers to be useless. The speed never jives with the rain - either too slow or too fast. My old Hyundai Accent had variable intermittent wipers and it was perfect.
    -The wipers are leaving scratch-like marks. A few times already that I had to wipe the windshield with windex to make sure its not an actual scratch. It also leaves lines when it wipes. Could it be since the driver side wiper is so long that it doesn't have even pressure on the windshield?
    -I always avoid high ramps or those concrete parking slabs because of the low Sport bumper.
    -Car feels a little sluggish right now. The car doesn't feel as peppy or sprints as well when it was new. Wait... its still new. :confuse:
  • hungarian83hungarian83 Member Posts: 678
    "Could it be since the driver side wiper is so long that it doesn't have even pressure on the windshield?"

    To me the pressure seems fairly even since I haven't noticed any scratch-like marks or areas where it doesn't wipe. I have never had the luxury of variable intermittent wipers in my two previous cars, so I am not missing much there. :)

    The "racy" sound is more noticeable now, but I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary with the shifting in the transmission. It might be that you are getting used to the way the car runs?
  • havingafithavingafit Member Posts: 22
    Has anyone noticed a "squeaking" sound with the steering wheel? It's not obnoxious or anything...just never noticed this on previous cars.
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    We've been getting a lot of rain here in NYC the last 2 weeks so for my commute, I've had my wipers on at least 2 hours a day for the last week to get this symptom. Aren't you in sunny California? How often do you use wipers? When I was in Las Vegas, the rental agency thought I was weird when I complained they didn't have washer fluid in the rental car. :confuse:

    After trying hard to hear the swishing sound I finally did. I had to go to a quiet area, turn off everything and did abrupt stops and zig zag turns to hear a really really muffled swishing sound. Haha. It sounds like a water bed. :)
  • hungarian83hungarian83 Member Posts: 678
    I haven't used the windshield wipers in a significant rainstorm yet, but when I commute to work in the morning on the interstate 5, it goes along the coast. It is usually cloudy and sometimes there are spots with very heavy fog that leave mist on the windshield, and the wipers do an excellent job of keeping it clear. Of course, they are brand new. ;)
  • els2023els2023 Member Posts: 29
    Does anybody else feel nervous about winter with the terrible ground clearance on our Fit Sports?

    Has anyone had any trouble with the front ground clearance yet?

    How about engine noise and lack of power, is it getting intolerable to anyone?
  • sfinstersfinster Member Posts: 17
    What *is* the ground clearance of the Sport? Everyplace I look says it's unpublished. (I suppose I could go outside with a ruler, but it's dark out...)

    I guess I hope I don't end up using my car as a snowplow! Mostly if the roads aren't clear I stay home.
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    Deja Vu

    Trolling?
  • dewaltdakotadewaltdakota Member Posts: 364
    I was thinking the same thing... ;)
  • mtngalmtngal Member Posts: 1,911
    We haven't had any problems with the windshield wipers, either. We have had occasion to use the intermittent level and it's OK. It's better than the last new car I bought - that one had 170 miles on it when I bought it (the dealer I bought it from had to do a dealer trade to get it, and the dealership was about 150 miles away). The wipers were all dried out and I had to replace them right after I got it. Wasn't totally surprised because the dealership it came from was in the middle of the desert.
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    Car feels a little sluggish right now. The car doesn't feel as peppy or sprints as well when it was new. Wait... its still new.

    Turned off the A/C today and the car sprints again. I wonder why the A/C is bogging down the engine now. When I bought the car, I felt the A/C had no effect on the engine's torque response. Hmmm....
  • shneorshneor Member Posts: 66
    I have about 1800 miles on my Base Manual. It feels like the AC has no effect, but when I check the tachometer, it looks like it adds about 100 rpm.
  • els2023els2023 Member Posts: 29
    Please let us know what happens with this and what your dealer service dept says about the AC now killing your performance.
  • sfinstersfinster Member Posts: 17
    Hmm. Same ground clearance as my old Toyota Sienna. No, I'm not worried about Midwest winters at all.
  • sfinstersfinster Member Posts: 17
    You might just have debris stuck to your wiper. The next time you're at a gas station cleaning your windshield, take a damp paper towel and run it along the wiper blade. You don't need a lot of pressure; just a gentle pinch between your thumb and finger. I'm always amazed at how black the paper towel is afterwards!
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    Please let us know what happens with this and what your dealer service dept says about the AC now killing your performance.

    With all the new cars I've owned, I think this is just a normal progression. The car won't be as quiet, won't be as peppy and the a/c will make its presence felt.

    Actually, first time I washed the car today and found that my right rear tire was only at 10psi and a nail stuck to it. :sick: I'm sure this made the sluggishness more apparent. Brought it back up to 32psi and its a little better but still not the same as when it was new new.

    Also while washing the car, I found the plastic guards inside the wheel well facing the headlights were both popped out of place. I got scared at first thinking that the car might have been at a body shop but I think its because the lower part of the plastic is very flimsy.
  • els2023els2023 Member Posts: 29
    Please let us know what happens with this and what your dealer service dept says about the AC now killing your performance.

    With all the new cars I've owned, I think this is just a normal progression. The car won't be as quiet, won't be as peppy and the a/c will make its presence felt.

    I don't see how this can be normal "progression" after probably a couple thousand miles. Maybe if you were nearing 100K miles.
  • carfanatic007carfanatic007 Member Posts: 267
    I have over 2,000 miles. No loss of power, no squeaks, no rattles, nothing. Your car is still new, not even really broken in yet.
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    To clarify, I know there is nothing wrong with my car. However, I do know that the car right now does not feel/drive the same when it was new. The engine is a little racier, the idle variates at warmup (feels like going over waves - this just started 2 days ago), going over bumps is not as buffered and even the new car smell is gone. :P I did already put in 4030+ miles and the oil life is down to 50%. Who knows? When I change the oil and get the rear tire plugged, it might feel "new" again.
  • mtngalmtngal Member Posts: 1,911
    My Fit is now down to 15% oil life and last night I went to my usual Jiffy Lube for a quicky oil change (I know there will be people saying this is a bad idea, but I've done the same thing with several different vehicles, including a Nissan Hardbody sold with 290,000 miles, a Toyota Tacoma with 188,000 miles and a Jeep Wrangler with 135,000 miles on it. The Hardbody - dead tranny but good motor - was the only one not in perfect running condition. I'd say I've had good luck doing this). However, they didn't have the book showing what type of oil filter would fit it. Looks like I'll have to figure out how to get to a Honda dealership to get it done pretty soon (sigh).
  • reddroverrreddroverr Member Posts: 509
    are you saying that you are going to take it to a honda dealership and go against the manual guidelines for break-in oil change? I'll be interested to see what they say.
  • fitman548fitman548 Member Posts: 172
    I read the manual last night, and didn't recall any specific text that said "don't change the oil until the indicator hits 0% the first time"

    Can someone point me to a page number???
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    What is your odomoter reading at 15%? Over here in NY, Honda only charges $24.95 for an oil change for the Fit. The lady even asked me if I had a coupon for additional savings. Haha.
  • jethadenjethaden Member Posts: 36
    You could order a Honda filter (or more) from College Hills Honda or equivalent. I did this when I ordered the floor mats. They even included the drain plug washer in their standard kit (or maybe Honda sells it that way). Price was something like $6 or $7.
  • mtngalmtngal Member Posts: 1,911
    Someone asked (and I forgot to answer) what the mileage was on the odo when I was at 15%. Answer is around 6500. The Fit went over 9,000 today and is down to 5%, so we went to a Honda dealer in Vegas (happened to be there this weekend) and got an oil change for $19.99! Maybe I'll just come here for all my oil changes from now on (though isn't a 300 mile one way trip to get an oil change a bit much?).
  • carfanatic007carfanatic007 Member Posts: 267
    Your putting on some serious mileage.
  • fit_nessfit_ness Member Posts: 58
    Funny. I said I was a couple thousand miles away from my Fit in the post above yours and I'm in Vegas, too. I'll keep my eye out for a high mileage Fit that knows the mountains.
  • mtngalmtngal Member Posts: 1,911
    LOL! You'll have to be quick, though - we're heading back to SoCal this morning.

    I don't drive in the dark much (my other half does), so I'm mostly familiar with the well-lit radio, and HVAC controls. Are the cruise controls on the steering wheel lit? They have raised bumps so you can find them without looking down, but I don't know that they are lit.

    As far as mileage goes, our last daily driver vehicle had over 50,000 miles on it the first year we owned it. I don't know if we'll put quite that many miles on the Fit, since our last daily driver (which we still own) was a Wrangler. A Fit Sport just can't go some of the places I've taken the Wrangler, and it will also probably stay home when we get the occasional big snowstorm. For some reason, I don't like messing with chains and snow shovels at 4 in the morning.
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    You took the words right out of my mouth! I just cannot fanthom putting on that much mileage at that rate! Is there enough time in the day left to eat and go potty?! :blush: :P
  • sfinstersfinster Member Posts: 17
    There is an intermittent rattle in the back of my Fit. It sounds like it's coming from the rear passenger side.

    Theory 1: There are two access panels on the passenger side of the cargo area that don't fit particularly well. I bought some little foam "dots" and used them to pad the openings. It *seemed* like that fixed it, but then the rattle came back.

    Theory 2: The plastic liner on the hatch comes down to two points on the sides, and they're not particulary attached to the metal door at all. More foam dots. Again, for a while it seemed like the rattle was gone, but no such luck. My husband refused to ride in the car for a road trip; the rattle was so bad in the first two blocks that we turned around and took our lower-mpg car instead.

    Theory 3: The center rear seatbelt retracts into the ceiling. There are two metal pieces that slide into slots for storage. They don't seem to stay particularly well, though, and I'm wondering if the plastic on the lower clip is rattling against the car ceiling. I also noticed that there is a bracket around the belt where it goes into the car ceiling, and this swivels around very easily. Is it supposed to? Would you mind running out to your garage and checking for me? :)

    Thanks.
  • mtngalmtngal Member Posts: 1,911
    I'll see what you are talking about in the morning - it's too dark to see much right now.

    However, one of the first places I would be visiting is my dealer - the car is still warranty, and the dealer should be able to fix it.
  • getnfittywiditgetnfittywidit Member Posts: 50
    Have had my Fit for 2 weeks, it has 440 miles on it. Today I heard a weird very light scraping noise coming from under the right side front wheel. Goes away when I hit the break. This has me a tad worried to say the least. Seriously...the car is so low and I had on a skirt, so I wasn't able to look under to see what the heck was going on without literally getting down on my knees. Will do that in the morning in daylight. It sounds internal...not an obvious piece of debris caught under the car or anything. Anyone else heard such a weird sound?
  • dewaltdakotadewaltdakota Member Posts: 364
    My Fit hasn't done that yet, but my Honda Civics have been known to get a few rocks inside the brake dust shield area, that would make a weird scraping noise, until the rocks came out (whether by the dealer's hand, or by pure luck while driving).

    With all of the rain we've had this past week, it wouldn't surprise me if you had some water carry a few small stones, or some gravel up in there. Try swinging by Pearson Honda's service area, and ask them.
  • getnfittywiditgetnfittywidit Member Posts: 50
    that's exactly what it was. Bent brake shield is what they said. The two lane road in front of my office had uneven pavement this week. I think while switching from one lane to another I must have scraped the bottom of the car and somehow bent the brake dust shield??? They bent it back into place for me...no charge. They said they see a lot of that on the Civics. Because they are so low to the ground, I'm wondering? Anyways...I'm good to go. Replacing it would not have been under warrenty...so they bent it back. I hope it stays bent back.
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    Someone asked (and I forgot to answer) what the mileage was on the odo when I was at 15%. Answer is around 6500.

    That was probably me. My Fit reminded me its at 15% when it was only around 5500 miles. I got my oil change this morning from the dealer for $26.45. It had 6043 miles (still at 15%) when I brought it in. Thanks.
  • edvisoredvisor Member Posts: 4
    My Fit developed a high-pitch noise at the top-center of the windshield during highway speeds. It's especially loud when I'm on a bridge or it's a windy day. Has anyone else had this issue?
  • dewaltdakotadewaltdakota Member Posts: 364
    There was a TSB for wind noise in the area you mention that should have been taken care of at the port. I would take it to the dealership, and mention the TSB as part of your complaint. The fix involves a tube of sealant and the molding at the top center of the windshield.
  • edvisoredvisor Member Posts: 4
    I made an appointment to have the problem checked out. The Honda service rep I spoke to doesn't know about a TSB for the windshield noise problem that I am having on my Fit.

    But it seems that this problem happens on other Honda vehicles as well. A Google searched turned up a bunch of threads about the same issue happening on other Honda vehicles as well (Especially on the Ridgeline).

    I'll post on the outcome of the service visit soon...
  • edvisoredvisor Member Posts: 4
    I found the TSB. Here is the link...

    Honda Fit - Wind Noise TSB - PDF

    I can now take the TSB with me to the Honda Service Department and save time.
  • fitman548fitman548 Member Posts: 172
    "On another note, Anyone else having problems with the lower pannels on the fit sport always hitting the road on driveway turnins and speed bumps?"

    I hit the underside of the front end while backing out of my friend's driveway too fast. The bumper popped out on the drivers side about a half inch...right at the the wheel well. The plastic hole broke that held the bumper on there...probably by design, as a shock absorber for collisions. I loosened the screw on the underside of the wheel well and put the tab back around the screw, and re-tightened it. Seems ok.
  • SylviaSylvia Member Posts: 1,636
    Honda Fit Noise - wind, rattles
  • kagedudekagedude Member Posts: 407
    Ok, I wonder if its connected but after I took my Honda Fit Sport 5spd for an oil change and warranty work on the A/C switch (its almost 2 weeks and still waiting for the part, just called the dealer and the part is on backorder), I started noticing a whirring sound mostly when I first get in the car. It turns out its the power lock switch. When I engage the lock, it has this whirring sound for about 2 sec. Once I flip the switch back and forth, it disappears. It will do it again after a while.

    Anyone have this quirk too and is it something to be concerned about?

    To the HOST, can you bring back the "problems and solutions" category? These micromanaged subdirectories are too much. You seriously can't categorize each detailed issue or subject. Thanks.
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