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Comments
I'm glad we took it to the dealer so quickly because the next day a tiny part ofthe crack had opened a miniscule bit and 2 separate windshield repair shops that I showed it to thought that that indicated an impact point, and neither thought it was a stress crack. In forty years of car ownership I have never had this happen before, but it seems as if with this model it could likely happen again. Otherwise love the car.
This forum was invaluable in helping things along - bravo!!!
I'm still debating whether to bite the bullet and pay or try my dealership first. In any case, I'm going to call Honda corporate (1-800-999-1009) to register the complaint.
I think the stress fracture is a common cause and is dangerous to consumers. Message #9 suggest the complaint can be direct to NHTSA; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
http://www.nhtsa.gov
I am going to call dealer for a remedy tomorrow. Wish I do not have to pay for the manufacturer defects for my 2009 Fit. Other than this problem, I love my Fit.
How did I feel the first time I found a parking lot ding on my door? Wanted to extremely hit some one.
Thus I always try to find parallel parking spaces. Note of advise on this part. Do not squeeze it in between huge cars...yes ding on the bumper.
Also you might not like the front fender being so low. It cannot go up or down an inclined roads easily, you basically have to slowly crawl.
I'm working with a friend that had her 08 Fit developed a crack similar to what everyone is describing. This happened before she took it in for the first oil change. The dealership here in Omaha did their pen test and said it was a rock chip impact that occurred near the passenger side wiper arm. Unusual place for a rock chip to occur. How did you make out on your claim? Which dealership did you go thru? Unfortunately, my friend, middle aged female did not raised he-- like I would have and now, windshield still not repaired is going to cost many hundreds to fix. How can Honda America claim to not know what is going on here? How can one contend the pen test as not accurate diagnosis for these stress cracks? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Took the car back to the dealer the next day (Fladeboe Honda, Irvine, CA), they did the pen check, no arguments, they took pictures of the crack to send to Honda, ordered the new windshield, called me after a few days once the windshield was in, scheduled the appointment with the glass guy that does the replacement, then we took the car back for the work, and everything covered under warranty. They did say they hadn't seen this before on a Fit, but that the Pilot had a problem in the past, as others mention here.
So no problems getting it replaced, but it's pretty worrying that this happens so easily and I'm concerned it might happen again. I think I'll make a complaint to NHTSA as someone above suggests.
I took my car in today. I had to wait 45 minutes for a supervisor to inspect my car. After an hour of waiting I was approached by an agent not the supervisor and was told that a small nick was found in the middle of two of the cracks . We asked that they show this to us.
The supervisor came out and poked the "nick" with his pen several times, possibly making the '"nick" worst and bigger. He started off by saying that Honda is very careful and takes pride in their parts and that they would not pay for it. I started to think that the car should had been inspected in front of me to make sure that Honda didnt create the "nick" themselves, too late for that.
The next step would be for a Honda rep. to inspect it. I asked them to set up an appointment. They couldnt tell me when but they promised to call.
In the meantime I will look into taking my car to a Glass Specialist and get a second opinion.
THIS SUCKS
I had take my car in for a Recall already, I love this car but im starting to think it was a bad choice. I should have bought a Scion!
... When I returned from work, lo and behold, it had a 10 inch crack that stemmed from the very bottom center of the windshield (underneath the wipers). The crack goes straight up from the edge for about 4 inches and then curves around in a crescent shape. After careful inspection, I am certain that it is some kind of stress fracture because there is absolutely no point of impact or missing glass along the entire length of the crack.
I'm no design engineer but I'm pretty confident that it is a Honda design/manufacturing defect and and will fight to make sure they make good on it. As one poster stated before...It seems that the frame around the window could be expanding beyond its flex specs and placing undue pressure on an already thin/weak window to begin with. Hot/cold contrasting temperatures would simply contribute to an already inherent weakness in design. I also suspect the installation and/or the sheer size of the window could also be another contributing factor in the designs vulnerability.
The break point in the windshield seems to be a common denominator in all these supporting posts therefore I don't think its some freak random coincidence. Honda may need to go back to the drawing board on their windshield/frame design. I smell a recall in the future but only if we all act and make it known. I will call Honda corporation and see what they say and do. All of us with this same problem need to register this complaint with the Honda Corporation. We need to band together on this issue or suffer the losses. I at least want a warranty replacement.
Coincidentally, just this morning -- May again? Something to do with the weather? -- I went out to my parked car to find a new crack -- this time starting dead center at the bottom edge of the windshield going behind the wipers in a straight line upward. I swear I could draw a perfect line from where the crack in 2009 occurred at the top to where this one occurs at the bottom. By the end of the day, the crack has created the same hook shape that others have described.
I called Honda America and heard the same story: "we've never heard of this problem." I told them that many other people have reported it -- how can they tell me they have never heard of it? I asked for a manager to escalate my call to and was told that I could not talk to someone else and that I would have to go to the dealership. For the record, a pen test today would prove that there is no nick.
I am very frustrated with Honda's lack of attention to this potential safety issue. The cost of the replacement windshield certainly doesn't seem worth the lost satisfaction of so many Honda customers who will think hard about buying another Honda vehicle.
I told them not to do their [non-permissible content removed] pen test ( though I didnt use the word "[non-permissible content removed]" to them) unless I was present so I could watch and monitor the test like a hawk.
I know I had no dip in the crack because I inspected it myself. Even one of their managers said "it looks like a stress crack to me"
They distracted me by asking me to talk to the service manager and when I turned my head back to look at my car, someone was jabbing their pen into the crack...after I told them not to do it!!! I immediately told them to stop and they did but it was too late...."Oh sir, sorry but this is not covered because you and have a tiny dip in the crack according to our pen test" so I was fuming mad so I said..."Well since I'm not covered let me show you how easily one could make a dip in the crack with that pen" and I deliberately made another one to prove my point and believe me guys when I say that it does not take much pressure on that pen to do it.
I think its the dealers tricks of the trade to get away with not covering a crack that was clearly a stress crack before they ran their little test that saves them hundreds. I ended spending a few hundred at Safelite Auto Glass. These dudes gave me a great price and did quality replacement work. I also added windshield coverage to my auto policy for the future. I am very disappointed with the Honda Corporation and refuse to do any work at a Honda dealership from now on. I would rather find a good mechanic and pay out of pocket. I just dont trust the service at dealers and it always way over priced anyway. In addition to that, they always seem to find a way to not cover what is supposed to be covered. At least thats been my experience maybe somebody else has better things to report but I doubt too many will step forward for that.
I have a coupon from dealer to balance all 4 wheels, rotate tires and inspect brakes. While doing this, will the mechanic notice if anything is wrong with the frame? Maybe I have to have them do an alignment to find this out. Thanks!
p.s. I talked to a dealership locally and the service person told me to bring it in and that she will look at the crack and this thread. I am going there tomorrow (saturday). I will post what ever happens.