FYI: 2007 GD Honda Fit 1.5L Base model Auto

So on Halloween my wife ran over a rivet and blew out the sidewall of her driver's side rear tire causing an instnat full pressure failure. She rolled maybe 1,000 feet to pull into a gas station parking lot on the flat. After I came and replaced the flat with the donut, she went to turn the car on and the battery was dead. Popped the hood (Bonnet for those of you in the UK) and saw that there was some white corrosive build up around both terminals. Didn't d/c the wires, just rubbed off as much as I could with the jumper cables and was able to get the engine to turn over.

On the way back to the house, both the ABS and Brake warning lights stayed illuminated on the dashboard. We thought it had to do with the uneven braking distribution because of the donut diameter, but after we replaced both rear tires with new ones, the lights continue to remain illuminated.

We don't have the $70 to take it into the honda dealership for them to just evaluate the problem, let alone the $200+ it's probably going to cost for any repair. So we're hoping there might be a DIY fix for this.

One service manager hinted that it might be a damaged ABS sensor that needs to be replaced. I found a brand new one on eBay that says that it fits both an accord or a fit. Anyone know if these parts may be the same ones? I know some parts are interchangeable between models.

How difficult is it to do the replacement? If you have experience with this repair, please if you could describe it step by step and/or with photos, for my benefit and others with a similar issue.

Anyone think that it could be something else? Would love to hear some ideas.

 

It may be the ABS sensor, but it may also be something rather more serious (damaged brake line, perhaps) or more trivial (ABS sensor is OK but its connector got unplugged, for example). At the very least, take a good look around the wheel in question to see if anything's obviously amiss—this will probably involve taking the wheel off to see things clearly—and definitely check the level of the brake fluid in the reservoir.

If nobody here can give you information on replacing the sensor (if that's what's needed), you probably can find that info in a Haynes or Chilton manual. Many public libraries have these, at least for semi-popular vehicles, and probably any library could get one via inter-library loan if you don't care to purchase one.

For brake work, there's no reason you need to bring the car to a Honda dealer. Any (reputable) independent mechanic could just as well do the necessary work, and probably charge somewhat less. The Fit's brake technology is not esoteric or specialized.

 

As Drew mentioned check the brake fluid. Take the wheel off and look for any fluid leaks. If there is get it repaired and don't drive it other than to a mechanic.

If the ABS wire is broke it is not a big deal other than ABS does not work. It can be ignored. I had one replaced on my GE. It is pricey. $250 range.

 

You might want to see if removing the ground wire on the battery will reset the switches and turn off the CEL when it is reconnected... You'll need to re enter the code for the sound system if you do this or it won't work.

 

The CEL is not on, just the Brake and ABS warning light. Though I did disconnect the battery cables to clean off the terminals.

I just checked and there is no fluid leaking and the Master Cylinder is full of fluid.

I have to crawl all the way under the car to get to the other end of the wire to check that connection, but the one attached to the hub/drum seems to be in solid connection condition.

DrewE - I've never seen a Haynes Manual for the Fit. I loved them for my chevy and GMC trucks, but can't find any around for the fit.

 

Well if there are no leaks and the brakes work fine you are likely safe to drive it. Looks like an ABS failure. I was reading through my GE repair manual and you pretty much have to have the system scanned to read the codes. Maybe take it to Autozone or similar place for a free scan?

Oh is parking brake off?

 

A little bit of searching revealed that there is indeed no Haynes manual for the Fit, rather to my surprise.

There is apparently an electronic-only Chilton's manual, but it's only available via a limited-time subscription sort of a deal, which looked awfully expensive compared to a paper manual that only needs to be bought once. I guess they're getting greedy.

Those manuals are useful, indeed, but they also seemed to have a knack for leaving out some of the bits of information that I really wanted to know—like where the last screw was hidden that held on the piece of trim that covers the part I need to replace, or whether it's even a screw or just a very strong spring clip. Instead, it's invariably something like "to remove, take out all the screws and detach the spring clips by pulling firmly".