5 things that bother me about my Fit from least annoying to most annoying:

While a lot of cup holders, storage for other items is either limited or poorly designed. Give me an ash tray! Still the best place to keep change.

Why must the air conditioner be hard wired to come on when using the defroster?

The clutch feels like it came from the factory worn out. Engages at the very end of the release and in a very narrow range. The worst new clutch of any vehicle I have ever owned. After 8,000 miles, starting to get use to it.

The seats suck! Distances beyond 3 hours painful. My 2006 Scion XA had better seats.

Car does not have a neutral steering position. It is always wandering left or right. Dealer calls it tight steering. I absolutely hate it! Requires way too much concentration on straight roads. Interstate driving is taxing and tiring. Will probably get rid of my 2010 Fit before i have 10,000 miles on it, I hate the ride and steering that bad.

 

take it back and get a domestic.

 

you should have done your hw and an extended test drive. sux you dont like your fit, i love mine for everything it is and everything its not. quit complaining, if you dont like it sell it and get a cobalt, xb, etc what ever has sloppy on center steering and quick engaging clutch with soft supple sofa like seats. i bet there are alot of them out there. make sure you test drive it before you buy.

 

Gold star for JJIN. I have little sympathy people who bitch about things like this, which (except for the defrost/AC thing) are evident during a test drive. If I'm going to drop five figures on anything, I'm going to research it to death before putting my money down.

 

"While a lot of cup holders, storage for other items is either limited or poorly designed. Give me an ash tray! Still the best place to keep change."

Sheesh, in addition to 10 cup holders, you have TWO glove compartments and a storage bin under the rear seat. I keep my change in the bottom of one of the cupholders. Under a cofee cup if I'm afraid someone will see my quarters.

"Why must the air conditioner be hard wired to come on when using the defroster?"

I've only owned three other cars with AC, and IIRC, they were all like this. The AC comes on with the defroster so you will have DRY air blowing over the windows. Add some heat with the blend knob.

"The clutch feels like it came from the factory worn out. Engages at the very end of the release and in a very narrow range. The worst new clutch of any vehicle I have ever owned. After 8,000 miles, starting to get use to it."

I'll grant you this one, but it gets better with time and miles. After about 10,000 miles the clutch feels fine and I no longer even notice it.

"The seats suck! Distances beyond 3 hours painful. My 2006 Scion XA had better seats."

The seats are fine to me, but the headrests are too far forward for comfort. I live with it, but am still looking for a good solution.


"Car does not have a neutral steering position. It is always wandering left or right. Dealer calls it tight steering. I absolutely hate it! Requires way too much concentration on straight roads. Interstate driving is taxing and tiring. Will probably get rid of my 2010 Fit before i have 10,000 miles on it, I hate the ride and steering that bad."

One man's meat is another man's poison, as they say. I actually LIKE the nimble handling and quick steering. But then, I enjoy driving, and my other car is a motorcycle. There are any number of dull, boring cars out there, that have all the road feel tuned out of them and can be steered with one hand while you text, or whatever, with the other. Personally, I'm glad the Fit isn't one of them.

 

I appreciate the input, but I would feel remise if I did not respond to some of the harsh criticism.

This forum is post tell Honda -Got something to say to Honda? Good or bad? Say it here. This is what I did.

I did a lot of research and the general consensus by all the professional reviewers was that the Fit was the best car in this space. If I deserve any criticism here, it is relying on the professionals.

I did not say that their were not enough cup holders, just that the placement and design of the storage is ill conceived - a minor nuisance( I listed my annoyance in order of impotance with this being the least). Again, this is just some constructive criticism and would never be a deal breaker.

Extended test drive would never be allowed for three hours on the interstate, so I think it would be unfair for me to be expected to have any recognition that the seats are as uncomfortable as they are. For the record, they are to soft.

As far as the steering, again most of my driving is done in rural PA and the wandering habit is not noticeable. It is on longer trips and straight roads. Not something you will experience in a test drive. And before I get jump on all over again, maybe my Fit wanders a little bit more than most and maybe it is a valid concern. I too drive motorcycles and ATVs and the analogy is not relevant.

Thanks for listening. Hope I kept this civil. If I was looking for hostility, I would just watch our wonderful politicians!

Finally, I do not text and drive.

 

I agree with everything you have written buttersun. I've had my Fit since mid Dec., just over 800 mi. I have an auto so no clutch problems here. Thing is the Fit does so many things right that its hard to make the definitive judgement against it, unless one, or a few of those things are intolerable. The steering annoys me too. What some would call twitchy and nervous, others would call precise. I used to drive a '72 Ford van that you could turn the steering wheel a quarter of the way right or left with out any affect on the front wheels. Which steering do you think I prefer? I'm getting used to the precise steering. It forces you to pay attention to driving which is probably a good thing. A/C and defrost got you down? There's a relatively simple mod to disable it, just search the forum. Theres a change holder that fits into a cup recess that NAPA or Pep Boys carry. When one weighs these annoyances against, the 5star crash rating, genius seat configuration and
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...uto-issue.html
the scales tip back in the other direction.

 

So true. I occasionally pour at a winery tasting room, and I tell people that if a wine tastes good to them, it is good, and vice versa, regardless of what "experts" say. All the expert opinion in the world is meaningless if a car doesn't feel right to you. No car is perfect, and it's a matter of finding one with trade-offs that are acceptable to you.

Unfortunately with cars, a 24-hour experience is often necessary to get a true feel for a car. For others who are shopping -- ask if you can have a car overnight, or if you can rent one. If the dealer thinks you are a serious prospect, you may be surprised by the answer. Some brands are more willing to do this than others.

 

As much as manufacturers might wish it otherwise, it's not a "one size fits all" world out here.

I agree about the busy steering, which I attribute to a combination of short wheelbase and relatively tall side profile, which makes the car more influenced by crosswinds and road surfaces than some others. If I were a habitual freeway driver, it might be more of an issue, and I might have considered another car. I'll admit, my '96 Plymouth Neon was a more comfortable freeway car.

Back in the day, I can recall car dealers letting my Dad try a car he was interested in for a day or two. I remember Dad trying a '57 Ford Fairlane (it broke down on the way to Grandma's, as I remember) and a '57 T'bird for a weekend. Back then, the salesman used to bring cars to our house and ASK my Dad to "try it for a couple of days and see how you like it". I guess times may have been tough back then, too. Or maybe just simpler.

 

it would be really convenient for sales people to come by with a car to try for a couple of days. i doubt itll happen because of all the people now are so corrupt in their minds and will run off to mexico to sell the damn thing. things were much simpler in the 50's i guess, honest hard working people who actually had good ethics on things.

as for the fit having busy steering, its true. ive grown accustomed to it because my previous cars didnt really have spongy soft steering. its also a fact that all cars dont come in all size fits all. im 6'1 and the fit has somewhat of an awkward sitting/driving position, its not that bad though. i guess its the love of the car, once you fall in love, you learn to love all of it, even its flaws.

 

I don't know if maybe my old car had 'busy' steering too, but I don't find it annoying at all. In fact my old 97 chevy had a few inches right or left in the steering wheel that had no effect on the wheels going straight (unlike the Fit), but I drive on the highway all the time in my Fit one-handed with my elbow on the armrest and she's straight as an arrow with very little effort to keep her there. For the first few weeks it took me a while to find that 'sweet spot' but now I know where it is; it's a point where the car is heading straight and unless the road is full of bumps/potholes to a ridiculous degree, it's just a matter of holding the wheel still, which doesn't take much effort.

But if you're looking for a car whose wheel snaps back to center without you having to put it there so that you don't have to pay much attention at all to steering, then yeah this probably isn't that car. But I do swear you can find that sweet center spot if you try. I find also that if you don't focus so much on the tiny movements that really aren't moving you so far from center, it's a much more relaxing drive. Sometimes the problem can be less of the car's fault than the excessive amount of focus from the driver. But that's just human nature; we tend to zero in on what we don't like.

 

Don't get a Colbolt they just recalled them for steering problems at low speeds.

Cat :x

 

Yup same here. Toyota will fix that for you.
Honda actually tunes their suspension for a more active feel of the road, which I love.

Driving toyota's is boring you feel tuned out from the road. Honda is more of a drivers car, toyota more of a touring (think old lincoln's) car.

As for the clutch, it is one of the lightest, smoothest i've EVER driven. It did take a little getting use to, but EVERYTIME you switch to a new car/clutch you will have to get use to it again, so that is kind of moot.

Anyway good luck selling the fit and going back to toyota, hope you don't wind up with one of those stuck gas pedals one day.

 

All I can say is that I wish I had a manual to complain about and/or get used to

Good luck with your next car, its out there, you just gotta find it!

 

"While a lot of cup holders, storage for other items is either limited or poorly designed. Give me an ash tray! Still the best place to keep change."
I'm not gonna flame you or be sarcastic because you don't like the Fit, but I will tell you where I put my change and that's in the center console armrest. Great place to put your change if you want to invest the money in a armrest console. Whatever you decide good luck.

 

OP: all your gripes could have been noticed during a test drive. looks like you bought a car you dont like. your fault

 

dont say this! the whole stuck gas pedal thing is bs. lots of people faking it to get paid

 

So true. My Fit is really fun to drive. Lots of driver input. I love it. In fact all the Hondas I've owned are like that. Oh well, to each their own. People just need to really learn to drive and not just steer the damn thing.

Telling Honda to change what they've been doing right for eons is way too funny.

Nuff said.

 

FYI, if the A/C issue is really that big of a deal to you, there's a fix on this forum which prevents it from activating. You can still turn it on with the defrost by pushing the button. Search around.

As far as the wandering issue, you could take it to an alignment shop and ask for more toe in. This may/may not help.

Caster, Camber, Toe


Best of luck to you, sorry you've apparently wasted a great deal of money.

 

I think it valid that anyone can discover things about a vehicle positive and negative after time and ownership.

Defaulting to 'You should of discovered all this during a Test Drive" isn't really fair. Most dealership "test drives" are superficial, you are not really encouraged or allowed to do much of anything.

I've had my Fit for just over a year. I still love it. But it isn't perfect. I agree with some of the complaints of the OP.

Interestingly, my BIGGEST complaint the OP did not even mention, and that is the incredibly CHEAP carpet. Which even with careful handling and floormats is already wearing away.

Some of the OP's complaints can be fixed. As far as a place to put change? This won't work for everyone, but I have the Honda Center Armrest and I found that when you lift it up, there is a space...about small cup holder size. I have lined it with one of those cheap rubbery pop can insulators, designed to be put on an alluminum can. I just pushed it in the space. Now when I get change? It's super convienent to just throw it in that space, with the rest down it is not visible, with the lining it is quiet. And when it get's full I just pull it out and empty it into my bank.

Overall? After a year of ownership, I'm happy with The Fit. There is much more to like than dislike.

It's still amazingly well designed IMO. I recently rented a Dodge Charger, a much more expensive vehicle. The lack of storage was ridiculous. The interior and Dash IMO boring and vacant, and while more powerful, I found the vehicle far less fun to drive.

If cheap carpeting, AC that turns on automatically in defrost, and deciding where to put my change are the biggest problems I have....I'm putting that in the mild annoyance file..