When in 2009 did you buy your car? If it was late in 2008, 2k miles is ridiculously low mileage - I'm not surprised the battery is dying with it sitting around that much. If you purchased in December of '09, you've got a legitimate beef.

And for what it's worth, you definitely don't need to get a battery from the dealer. And you definitely don't need to get exactly the same battery size it came with . . . If it's a 12 volt battery that physically fits in the engine bay, it'll work. A larger capacity battery won't help you long term if you're not driving the car - but it will give you more of a buffer short term if your long trips are infrequent.

 

I got my car in July of 2006 and have yet to need to replace the battery.... My car has had to go weeks and sometimes over a month without being driven.... I periodically use a charger that continually changes the charge rate and breaks up the crud that forms on the plates.

 

Sibyl,
If you are still around and still having trouble I would suggest you get yourself a battery tender. A good one is about $60 and will help your batteries last longer esp if you leave it unattended. They come with a quick connect/disconnect which makes it easy to use. I use one for my bikes and they do buy your time by keeping the battery fully charged.

Yuasa used to be a very good battery infact I would once rate it the best. Had a used 1980 Toy Corrolla with the orig battery that lasted till about '87. Have a 1974 Honda Mini trail with a '99 battery that was working as of 2 years ago (have not checked recently). Bought my mom a 2001 Honda elite scooter in Dec 2000 and the Yuasa is still fine. Yet more recently I have see something going wrong with them. My dad bought a 3K Honda generater and the Yuasa went bad in 2 years. Same thing for one I bought about 2-1/2 years ago for a Yamaha bike. It was a deluxe version of the Yuasa in my moms scooter and just found out it is already bad. So they are having some kinda of Q/C issues. I asked my mechanic about this and he said he is getting the same kind of reports from other customers (though he said some still saying they are ok). So not sure what is wrong but it is not normal for Yuasa . Get the Battery Tendery..no you should'nt have to but It think it will make your batts last longer...good luck!

 

Just spoke with someone from Largo Honda in Florida City and they said that in order to get my battery replaced I have to bring the car in to get warranty work done..

I understand they want to check the car out blah whatever.. But I live almost four hours away from the dealership and wondered if there was any way I could just bring in the battery and drive up in my civic but apparently that's not a possibility..

Has anyone heard of any aftermarket batteries available yet?

 

As the originator of this thread, I figured it was time for an update...

In three months, my car will be 4 years old. Now that cold weather is descending upon my hometown, it is time again for a new battery. The first time it wouldn't start, it sat for two days and the temperatures got down to ... 55F. (?!?) I know, right? Those are some seriously Arctic conditions.

Thankful that I bought a portable jump starter two years prior, I hauled it out of the basement and got the car started. I drove it all week without issue.

The car sat again over the weekend and... time to get out the portable jump starter. Sigh.

My car's current draw while asleep is 60 milliamps. Honda assures me that this is within the range of "normal". Honda also assures me that it's my own stupid fault for not driving the car every single day of my life. I love how my dealership loves to blame me for the fact that they put a toy battery into my vehicle.

So, yeah, I gave Honda America a call and (calmly) let them know that I think their batteries are a bit underwhelming. I expect any vehicle I own to be able to sit outside in the freezing cold for a week without the battery self-destructing. I do go on vacation sometimes, you know. I explained that I was not the only Honda Fit owner who had this issue and hoped they would look into it.

(Thanks to everyone who suggested a battery tender... I wish I could use one. I park on the street. I do not have access to an electrical outlet. My car's 12V outlet isn't powered when the car is off, so a solar trickle charger also does me no good.)

I'm out of warranty, so this next battery won't be free. Since I'm paying out of pocket, I'm giving the finger to Honda OEM batteries and dropping an Optima Yellow Top (D51R) in. With it, I might be able to leave my car unattended for a whole weekend without needing to jump start my vehicle every Monday in the winter. I'm crossing my fingers!

 

My battery is the original and I have had the car since July2006 with no problems from anything, even the battery.... Years of owning motorcycles, boats, lawn equipment and a tractor has taught me to use a maintenance charger periodically on lead acid batteries on vehicles motorized toys and equipment that isn't used regularly.... I imagine that the batteries on everything I own will crap out now after my boasting so I had better start shopping for the best prices just in case.

 

I'd really love it if I could plug in a maintenance charger and run the cord out to where I park on the street. Unfortunately, somebody would probably just steal the charger and/or the cord.

Not everyone has a garage. Not everyone parks by their front door. I feel it's important that cars are capable of performing adequately when parked on a city street. After all, this is a very small car. It's perfect for fitting into those tiny curbside spaces. It's perfect for city driving.

I understand that coddling one's car by garaging it and plugging it into a battery maintainer will result in an exceptional battery life. What I don't understand is why my last car (1993 Nissan Sentra) could go two weeks without being driven and the factory battery didn't die for 7 years. My friend's car, a 1994 Saturn wagon, had its factory battery for 12 (!) years. We both parked outside in the freezing cold all winter. We both had to start our cars when it was 32F or below. We both left our cars in airport parking lots for a week or two. Those cars never left us stranded.

Who on earth designed the Fit such that it needs extreme coddling when every other car I've ever owned or driven did not? That's all I want to know. I wanted a reliable commuter car and what I got was a hunk of junk that destroys batteries at the rate of one every two years.

 

Hi Sibyl, I remember you from way back when you posted on this same thread.... I can't think of any way that I wouldn't be very pissed off if I had the same thing going on with my car that you have with yours.... The thing with the lo-jack and remote starter is the source that drains the battery, as I am aware that you and also the dealer knows and it wasn't right for them to have been installed in your car since it is creating undue problems and related stress.... There have been times in my life when the same situation would have surely happened when my ride at the time was outdoors.... This should not be happening and even though it isn't happening to me I am getting pissed off....It sucks being an empathetic person when you can do nothing to help out another human being that has been treated unjustly.

 

Dealer replaced my 2009 Fit battery yesterday. Kept running down. Hope this one lasts more than 19 months.

Jerry
09 Fit Sport, Auto

 

Ouch. I hope you're not due for a battery every two years like I have been!

Texas Coyote: Thanks for your kind words of support! You don't have to fret on my account. I'm going to put an Optima Yellow Top into the Fit this weekend and see if my luck changes. I'm hoping it will. If it does, I'll post back in a couple years.

 

Update: Installed an Optima Yellow Top (D51R) into my 2007 Honda Fit on Thursday.

The Yellow Top managed to squeeze in there. One of the narrow sides of the battery tray had to be removed. The original battery wires fit on the posts and the original battery clamp held it in place. There's about one-sixteenth of an inch of clearance on the right and left sides of the battery (the 51R is wider than the stock 151R, but the other dimensions are essentially the same).

I've been checking the voltage of the battery every morning and every night to keep an eye on it. So far, so good.

 

My 2007 Fit battery has finally bitten the dust. Paying $150 for an iffy battery because Honda is the only one providing it is something I'd rather not do, so will *any* 51r group battery work as long as the posts are in the right place?

 

They should all have about the same dimensions, though I'd double check before buying.

The Optima Yellow Top 51R I bought set me back about $180 and these were its specs:

Length: 9 5/16 in
Width: 5 1/16in
Height: 8 15/16 in
CA: 575
CCA: 450
Top terminals (reversed)

It just barely squeezed in there, so definitely take a tape measure to any battery you want to buy!

 

Thanks! Went out and grabbed a battery from Autozone today, and like yours, it fit in there with next to nothing to spare. Obviously I had to remove the old battery casing and the tray it sat on, but the new one is in there securely and not going anywhere. Doesn't appear like it's going to wiggle or bounce.

 

Great!

I chose to modify the battery tray by cutting off the right-hand side (near the fuse box) just for the little extra stability it might give to the bottom of the battery. Removing it is another option others have chosen and seems to work perfectly well.

Like you, I found that the existing clamp fit nice and snug and the battery doesn't wiggle.

We should both take pictures and post them so that other Fit owners know they have options. (Except those poor owners of 2009 and later Fits... I think they have slightly less space in the battery area and can't fit a 51R in there.)

 

So what model optima yellow top is best fit in the fit 08?

 

Just curious if it looks like the intake will contact the 51R when the engine moves. One or two others mentioned having this problem.

 

Bought my car July 2006. I still have the original battery. I have left my car parked outside for 1 month without start up in Michigan winter weather, the car started right up. I don't know why some Fit's have this problem and some don't, maybe Honda changed battery suppliers during the manufacturing of the GD3. Maybe later GD3 models have a different battery maker.

 

This is a potential serious problem and a good reason NOT to install the larger battery.

 

No, no it is not a serious problem stop spreading bad information. There is nothing wrong with a larger battery if it fits.

There are also apparently two different styles of battery, white cases and black cases. The white cases seem to make up the majority of those having issues on the stock battery, and if you are going to spend the money you might as well get one with a high reserve and pro-rated as long as possible.

You said this in the other thread with no supporting statements or detail, it doesn't even sound like you've done it. You just assumed it would make contact and go "bang, bang bang" based on a couple poorly lit photos.

Better bet that someone whos done it would've mentioned that as a fitment issue by now.

Even then, lets say the engine rocks enough laterally (even though the roll front to back is more significant) to make the plastic intake box brush up against the battery which is strapped to a tray.. so what?

How does that constitute a serious problem? Some batteries sit in large cradles where they rock around for their whole service life. If it fits, its fine.