Transmission fluid leaking from driver-side axle bushing (front of car) where the drive axle exits the transmission. My local mechanic, who I trust, diagnosed this, but they don't do transmissions. Would the transmission actually need taken out/apart to change the bushing? How much would this cost?

The two front drive shafts were replaced by him as part of the recall after one broke while I was driving the car. Honda re-imbursed me. Is the drive shaft and drive axle the same part? Would this bushing have been replaced (or not) as part of the recall? He says the transmission has to be removed to change this bushing.

I really don't want to buy a new(er) car right now if this is repairable for a reasonable amount. I'm unable to do the work myself.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Model year, country, trim, transmission?

Axle usually means something (fixed or spinning) that spans the width of the vehicle. Honda calls the Fit's rear suspension cross-beam-structure an axle.

In Honda-ese, a "drive shaft" is a shaft that connects the transmission to a wheel, and has a CV joint (constant-velocity, a flex-joint) at each end. The CV joints and shaft between them let the wheel move (steering and suspension movement) relative to the transmission.
A half-shaft also connects the transmission to a wheel, but does not have CV joints.

Mechanical power from the engine goes through the transmission to give you different gears. At the back of the transmission, that mechanical power then hits a device called the differential, which splits the power two ways for the two front wheels. Because the transmission isn't centered side-to-side in the engine bay, the right wheel is much further away from the differential than the left wheel. Many previous Hondas (think Civics) just have one long drive shaft and one short drive shaft.
For engineering reasons (something about the CV joint angles), keeping the drive shafts the same length is advantageous. Solution? Use equal-length drive shafts, and fill in the empty space with a solid shaft, the half-shaft. So on the left side of your Fit, a drive shaft plugs into the differential (transmission) on one end and the hub (wheel) on the other. On the right side of your Fit, the half-shaft plugs into the differential and sticks straight across the engine bay behind the engine. The other end of the half-shaft is supported by a bearing in a bracket that bolts to the back of the engine. From there, the right drive shaft plugs onto the end of the half-shaft and extends down to the wheel.

There's no bushings involved. Maybe he's talking about oil seals?

 

U.S. model, 2007 Fit Sport, automatic transmission. Ok, so I guess it's the drive shaft. It was part of this recall
https://hondanews.com/en-US/honda-co...-shaft-recalls
The leak is at the front of the car and it's definitely transmission fluid, not oil. Both left and right drive shafts were replaced after one broke while driving (hadn't received the recall notice yet).
I have to keep topping up the transmission fluid, and there's some on my driveway. No oil leaks, doesn't leak or burn any.
I'll check with him again, he did say "bushing", but if there isn't a bushing, ......

 

There's bushings where the *rear axle* attaches to the body. Was he talking about a different issue?

Depending on what part of the drive shaft broke, it could have damaged the oil seal in a non-obvious way.
There's an oil seal on each side of the differential - one where the driver's side drive shaft plugs in, and one where the half-shaft plugs in. The seal is pressed into the transmission casing, preventing oil from escaping between the transmission casing and the spinning drive shaft. The seals are typically removed and installed from the outside of the transmission, so there shouldn't be a need to remove or disassemble the trans. The mechanic would need to remove the drive shafts and half shaft, then pry each of the old seals out. Tap in the new seals (preferably with an appropriate seal driver tool), then reinstall the half shaft and drive shafts.

For any DIY noobs reading, removing the drive shafts requires removing the large spindle nut at the outboard end of each drive shaft, at the center of the hubs. You will also need to pop out the lower ball joint to get enough space between the knuckle/hub and transmission to remove the end of the drive shaft from the hub.

 

Talked with my mechanic again. It's more than just the transmission fluid leak, he says the transmission is throwing codes that indicate the transmission is failing. So I'm looking at rebuild or replacement of the transmission. I'm going to start another thread on that, now that I know.

 

Which codes?

 

The "mechanic" is talking her to buy transmission
The wires from the shift solenoids and temperature sensor are going to the 8 pin connector located at the transmission side facing the radiator; this plug is prone to leaks, and it leaks around the pins due to wire insulation shrinking inside of epoxy potting. Could be one item to check. Also low fluid level causes slippage and related codes