The entire " What you DON'T like about your Fit" thread should get moved here

[sendler]

Here's my post. I hope some Honda Execs will read this forum to make a great car even better.
We all love our Fit but hope Honda will read this thread to make it even better for the next buyers. Changing cars will make nit picky things jump out at you at first but these first impressions are still valid for discussion of possible improvements.

1. The accelerator pedal counter force is way to soft. It makes the car feel jumpy and wastes gas. I have had to learn to wedge my foot against the tunnel while highway driving to help keep it steady on the gas and avoid fatigue in the muscles of my shin from actually holding some of the weight of my foot off of the gas pedal.

2. the sun visors don't swing over to cover any of the side window. They swing at an upward angle right up to the headliner. Morning sun on a commute to the south comes right in behind your sun glasses and makes it hard to see. The designer should have noticed this. I hope to mod the angle of the attachment slightly to get the visor to rotate across to the side glass where it belongs and will add tint.

3. The lock knobs don't poke your arm any more on the 09 but are little, round barrels located at the hinge point of the inside handle and are nearly impossible for first time passengers to find. Good thing for the standard programmable power locks. The simple addition of a tab would be much better.

4. The radio in the 09 looks cool but only sounds so so on cd. Luckily the aux in and the radio sound pretty acceptable for now. What do you do when it comes time to up grade or when the drive fails? At least they haven't completely followed the new Prius with a center arm rest that blends all the way up to the dash at the center mounted speedo. That arrangement would be enough to prevent me from buying the car. Don't continue further with the sloped center console controls!

5. The seat height is a little high but I may get out voted on this. Starting to get a bit van like. I doubled up on the mats with carpet and rubber to raise the floor slightly but this may be contributing to my problem with the gas pedal. I prefer the sportier, lower seating in the Civic as more comfortable and supportive but I needed the better fuel economy and the hatch of the Fit for my friend's dog. The tilt/ scope steering wheel saves the day and is one of the most cost effective ways for a designer to improve a car. Marketing is a compromise and many people rate the easier exit and higher sight line as priorities but for longer commutes, I am way more comfortable in my 01 Insight and wish the seat in the Fit was a bit lower.

6. The electric power steering turns down the assist too much at highway speeds which makes the car feel as if there is a slight bit of "sticktion" in the steering, making it a little more difficult to fight the corrections for cross winds and grooved pavement. Around town the steering is a breeze but it feels a bit stiff on the highway. A simple reprogramming of the control map could improve this in future models for no cost. It can't waste much gas to turn up the electric power steering can it?

[sendler]

Originally Posted by sendler

Here's my post. I hope some Honda Execs will read this forum to make a great car even better.
We all love our Fit but hope Honda will read this thread to make it even better for the next buyers. Changing cars will make nit picky things jump out at you at first but these first impressions are still valid for discussion of possible improvements.

1. The accelerator pedal counter force is way to soft. It makes the car feel jumpy and wastes gas. I have had to learn to wedge my foot against the tunnel while highway driving to help keep it steady on the gas and avoid fatigue in the muscles of my shin from actually holding some of the weight of my foot off of the gas pedal.

2. the sun visors don't swing over to cover any of the side window. They swing at an upward angle right up to the headliner. Morning sun on a commute to the south comes right in behind your sun glasses and makes it hard to see. The designer should have noticed this. I hope to mod the angle of the attachment slightly to get the visor to rotate across to the side glass where it belongs and will add tint.

3. The lock knobs don't poke your arm any more on the 09 but are little, round barrels located at the hinge point of the inside handle and are nearly impossible for first time passengers to find. Good thing for the standard programmable power locks. The simple addition of a tab would be much better.

4. The radio in the 09 looks cool but only sounds so so on cd. Luckily the aux in and the radio sound pretty acceptable for now. What do you do when it comes time to up grade or when the drive fails? At least they haven't completely followed the new Prius with a center arm rest that blends all the way up to the dash at the center mounted speedo. That arrangement would be enough to prevent me from buying the car. Don't continue further with the sloped center console controls!

5. The seat height is a little high but I may get out voted on this. Starting to get a bit van like. I doubled up on the mats with carpet and rubber to raise the floor slightly but this may be contributing to my problem with the gas pedal. I prefer the sportier, lower seating in the Civic as more comfortable and supportive but I needed the better fuel economy and the hatch of the Fit for my friend's dog. The tilt/ scope steering wheel saves the day and is one of the most cost effective ways for a designer to improve a car. Marketing is a compromise and many people rate the easier exit and higher sight line as priorities but for longer commutes, I am way more comfortable in my 01 Insight and wish the seat in the Fit was a bit lower.

6. The electric power steering turns down the assist too much at highway speeds which makes the car feel as if there is a slight bit of "sticktion" in the steering, making it a little more difficult to fight the corrections for cross winds and grooved pavement. Around town the steering is a breeze but it feels a bit stiff on the highway. A simple reprogramming of the control map could improve this in future models for no cost. It can't waste much gas to turn up the electric power steering can it?

.
7. The lowest speed of the fan is still too high. The lowest speed should be barely noticeable as on. The air distribution could be better without increasing the cost. I like the manual air distribution of Mercedes where the knob turns all of the way around, blending more or less of the three areas together, side vents, floor, and windshield, as needed. The center vents of the Mercedes are always connected to cooled or ambient air only, never heated and are always on. They only shut off by the vent control so that the floor, side glass, and windshield can be warm while the driver and passenger can have a little fresh cool air on their faces to breath and remain alert. An in car temp sensor wouldn't add that much cost to the production and is a huge improvement to any heating system. Well worth another $50.00 to the base price.

[Mela_SC]

I think the Fit desperately needs a 6th gear! It would get so much better mileage with an additional gear for Interstate driving.
Also, the top portion of the windshield should be tinted. Even with the sun visors down, the sun still comes through where the mirror is.

Height adjustable seats would also be great!
Also, a sunroof option, please!
Yeah, and a temperature gauge for the outside temp.

I'm talking about the 08 Fit, I'm not sure if they changed any of that in the 09's.

[JCrimson]

and we should also spell hear like this "here"

[dewthedew]

Originally Posted by JCrimson

and we should also spell hear like this "here"

lololol


Rear disc breaks!! i hate drum brakes.

[sendler]

Tried to change it but seems that hear is stuck here. It did accept the correction in my text but didn't update the thread title.

[braziers]

Originally Posted by dewthedew

lololol


Rear disc breaks!! i hate drum brakes.

i have them

[bitch-fit]

I want a mirror in my sun visor :x I don't want to have to buy that when it should come stock in a vehicle, esp if it's a newer model. I can't put on make up while my bf is driving !

[sendler]

Originally Posted by sendler

.
7. The lowest speed of the fan is still too high. The lowest speed should be barely noticeable as on. The air distribution could be better without increasing the cost. I like the manual air distribution of Mercedes where the knob turns all of the way around, blending more or less of the three areas together, side vents, floor, and windshield, as needed. The center vents of the Mercedes are always connected to cooled or ambient air only, never heated and are always on. They only shut off by the vent control so that the floor, side glass, and windshield can be warm while the driver and passenger can have a little fresh cool air on their faces to breath and remain alert. An in car temp sensor wouldn't add that much cost to the production and is a huge improvement to any heating system. Well worth another $50.00 to the base price.

8. The automatic shifter goes straight through D to D3 without needing to use the button. I would rather have it stop at D

[gimme]

changed hear to here

and for a repetitive suggestion...test drive a car before signing a contract?

[FITMugen]

I would like to have rear window and rear doors tinted glass.

[sendler]

Originally Posted by gimme

for a repetitive suggestion...test drive a car before signing a contract?

This is meant as constructive criticism, not sour grapes. I would hope that Honda would be a secure enough entity to be glad for the feedback.

[sendler]

Originally Posted by sendler

8. The automatic shifter goes straight through D to D3 without needing to use the button. I would rather have it stop at D

9. Sitting in the Fit at the laundrymat with my son at college on a rainy day listening to music with the key on and blower running 50% on and off of speed 2 in order to clear the glass so we can see when the dryers stop, why does the engine fan think it needs to run with the engine off and the AC button not depressed just because the blower is running. Also the daytime running lights stay on with the engine off but the big deal is the engine fan. It sucked the battery dry in less than an hour. The audio suddenly quit and I new I was in trouble. Sure enough when I tried to start the engine, all I got was the dreaded "clackity clack" sound of a dead battery. Luckily, after shutting the key off for half an hour, the surface charge came back enough to start the car, saving me the embarrassment of asking for a jump for my brand new Fit. Other cars have had AC refrigerant and engine temp controls for the electric fan for years, not to mention PWM speed control. Is this fan blaring the whole time I am driving 60mph down the highway in 10 fahrenheit weather? Very cave man and a waste of gas.