Hello everyone. I recently purchased a second hand '07 Honda Jazz and need some maintenance advice as the previous owner would not answer my txt/calls.

I just need to know where the fluids are located. From my previous car I know that for an A/T I just need to look after 3 things: transmission fluid, brake fluid, and power steering. Where are these located on my car? Is there anything else I need to look out for?

Also if anyone can provide a link to the service manual that would be very helpful. The online version does not have any diagrams and I am having trouble following it.

 

The owner's manual should detail where the fluids are located and how to go about checking them. I assume you're also keeping tabs on the basic engine stuff like oil and coolant; these are far more likely to need topping up than the others.

The newer models have electric power steering, so have no power steering fluid to worry about. I think that probably includes the '07 Jazz, but I'm not positive on that.

On the cars I've owned, I've never ever had to do anything to the power steering system (even for non-electric ones), and I've only had ATF be low when I got a hole in a transmission pan. Low brake fluid generally indicates either a leak in the system or pads that are worn and should be checked for replacement. The brake light on the dashboard also should come on if the brake fluid is low (the same light as for the parking/emergency brake).

 

Drew: thanks for the response. I wish I had the manual but the guy who sold me the car gave me nothing but the key. Not even a spare. Quite frustrating having to go through all this trouble just to figure things out.

I agree about ATF being important. My last car, a Honda Civic, suffered a burnt out transmission because I did not realize it was leaking ATF fluid.

I may have to take this to a dealer and spend more than I want to just to figure things out.

 

Google and ye shall find (with a tiny bit of effort...)

http://www.wedophones.com/Manuals/Ho...(unlinked).pdf

 

Thank you DrewE. I am downloading it now. I actually found another copy online as well,

https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/...7/AA0707OM.pdf

 

Hi. Congrats on the new car. I also purchased an 07 in November and the first thing I did was get my coolant flushed since it was on the low side anyway. My mechanic charged me 40$ to do it (I provided the fluid).

I did drain the tranny fluid and replace with Honda MTF. I was slightly disappointed that it didn't greatly improve shifting; it helped but wasn't amazing. If I had to do it again I'd probably use amsoil synchromesh that many have used with excellent results. Two quarts will probably run you around 20$. Remember you will need 4 jack stands to do a MTF change since the car needs to be level. I also find its a 2 man job; I tried doing it on my own but it's hard if not impossible to pour in the new fluid while keeping an eye under the car to watch for overfilling so I convinced my dad to help me out. Thanks dad!

Both of these maintenances can be done for under 50$ in fluids and are key to protecting the transmission. They only need to be done every 50k+ miles (depending on your opinion) and if you don't know when the last owner did these, he might have NEVER done them which would make your car about ready for these maintenances. It's a cheap insurance to prolong the life of your car IMO.

Flushing the break fluid is a bit more challenging so ill leave that up to my mechanic. The break fluid is easy to read (unlike the coolant level); it's located near the top of the engine bay, almost directly under the windshield. My breaking is perfect so ill leave it for now.

 

Thanks MTLian for the tips! I am loving the Jazz/Fit already.

I am still familiarizing myself with the unit and will have to look into the manual to check the coolant, transmission fluid, and break fluid. I'm really worried about the break fluid since my unit seems to require a lot of flooring in order to break, so I'll make sure to check that as well. Cheers!

 

That is not normal. I can only depress the break pedal slightly or else I get a very sudden stop. It is probably different on an automatic but it shouldn't be so bad. I'd consider having the break pads inspected. Again, that's another cheap repair; probably around 100$ for a pair of front pads. Changing the pads isn't easy if you wanna do it yourself but there are many videos on the net about changing break pads. Check YouTube.

Disregard what I said about. Manual transmission fluid since you have an automatic. The automatic transmission fluid dipstick is the one on the right. The centre dipstick is the oil level. Of course, your should check your oil level regularly.

 

If you do indeed need to brake harder than normal to stop, it's probably not because the brake fluid level is low; the level in the reservoir has nothing directly to do with the braking performance (provided, of course, that there is some fluid there). The reservoir is only connected to the rest of the hydraulics when you aren't pressing the pedal. Also, low brake fluid level will cause the brake light on the dashboard to be lit.

I agree with MTLian; have the brakes checked for wear and such. You don't need to go specifically to a Honda specialist; the brakes on the Fit/Jazz are pretty much like any other car and any competent mechanic can do the work properly.