Hey guys! I hope that this is the correct forum to post in, I drive a 2008 Honda Fit Sport, and have a few questions. First off, here is my baby.

Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

As I just got my tax return, I was thinking about taking most of it and putting it to my car. I want to get it tinted, decently dark, and was thinking about a standard tune-up as well, maybe new brakes. I'm going on 65k ish miles, don't know exact, haven't looked, but I haven't gotten anything done except typical maintenance, oil changes, tires rotated and balanced, what have you. I know there's a local place that will just look under the hood for free, but I was wondering, exactly what should I expect? I know that Hondas are EXTREMELY reliable, but while I have the extra money, I want to fix things before it's a big issue. At my last oil change they told me that my rotors are looking pretty bad, but they charged way too much to even think about doing it there. Sorry Meineke! Any idea of prices or what I should or shouldn't need to replace? thanks!

 

Brake discs and pads are easy enough to do yourself. Get a micrometer or vernier calipers and measure the thickness. There should be a marking on the disc for the minimum thickness. If they are just "wobbly" on braking you can have them cut down at Napa for like $15 each, then you might only need to put pads. I'd do the spark plugs at 50k even if the manual says they are good to 100. IDK what the actual service interval on them is without looking. If it's automatic, you could get a fluid change. I also don't know if it's a belt or timing chain; if it's a belt plan to do that by 80k at the latest IMO.

 

Don't believe anyone who tells you to change your "timing belt". You don't have one.

 

+1 on checking the brakes yourself. I'm at about 70% on my original brakes at 50K which makes me think meineke might be taking you for a ride (unless you do mostly city driving). Even if your pads/rotors are fine I'd clean and re-grease the slide pins and adjust the auto-adjuster on the rear drums.

Simple things to check/adjust:

1. Tire Pressure
2. Tire Rotation - I usually mic my tires and put the chunkier ones in front rather than blindly rotating them around.
3. Fluid Levels (Oil, clutch, brake, coolant)
4. Air and cabin filters
5. Bulbs
6. Check accessory belt for cracks or other defects.

Intermediate things (if you're handy with a wrench, jack and stands)

1. Change your brake fluid (every 2-3 years, regardless of mileage)
2. Replace your transmission fluid (I usually do this early on for manual transmissions to flush any left over shavings from brake-in) but leave it alone after that. Follow your owners manual for automatic transmissions
3. Re-grease caliper slide pins and tighten rear drums
4. Adjust parking brake cable.
5. Check suspension and steering linkage for any slop.

Advanced (Bonus points)

1. Adjust your valve lash, mine (2008 Fit Sport Manual) came with the valves too tight on the exhaust and too loose on the intake, I saw a solid 8% fuel economy boost after doing this.
2. Have your battery tested (many auto-parts stores will do it for free), getting stranded sucks and it happens a lot with the stock fit battery. I replaced mine with a 51R and it's been 100% in cold weather for the past two years.
3. Get an alignment if you haven't already, mine was pretty far off from the factory.

The GD3 US Fits 2007-2008 have timing chains so no worries on timing belt replacements.

There's probably more I'm not thinking of but I'm sure some other nice folks will chime in.

 

I guess I should probably said that I am in no way a mechanic. I don't have the tools available to do any of that myself, and I'd rather not try, I'd probably mess something up. I just know enough about my car to not get swindled at the mechanic, they seem to think that girls aren't knowledgeable at all. I do a lot of city driving, I'm not hard on my brakes, but drivers in my city are insane, so it's been a bit more rough on them the past 2 years. I'm not sure if mine is a GD3 or not, I have never heard that before. Mine's an automatic.

 

for fits sold in the US:
07-08 -> GD3
09+ -> GE8

If you're not into getting into the nitty gritty of your car, just go for the basics and do the stuff on the maintenance minder. Unfortunately without pulling the wheels off its pretty close to impossible to get a good look at the pads and rotors so go somewhere reputable to have them check out your brakes. For what its worth, I’ve had the major chain brake places be on both sides of the honest/ripoff spectrum depending on location. Try to get some information from friends/family on where they get their brakes done, how much it was, etc.

Aside from that, some quick googling shows 60K for the first automatic fluid change and 30K for every change after. I'd reccomend you take it to the dealer for that since Honda transmissions can be a bit picky about fluid types.

 

Great post with great tips. This summer, I'm planning on doing a valve lash adjustment and bleeding the brakes since I fear it's never been done on my car. I'm at a little over 50k miles. How do I check/adjust the clutch/clutch? How do I tighten the rear drum brakes? I know my front brakes are good, I might change the rotors if they look worn. Do rear drums need to be changed? I don't race BTW.

I also put a 51r in my Fit and felt like it was night and day.

I'd say my Fit drives like a brand new car. The only concern I have is when drive at or over 120km/h. I hear a constant "vibration" sound from my engine. I'm thinking the engine mount is old/cracked. Also, this vibration can be felt slightly in the steering wheel. Is this normal? I know that the previous owner of my car painted the drums and calipers and actually painted the mating surfaces. I've heard that this can cause vibrations in the wheels when driving at high speeds. I'm probably gonna try to clean that off with my dremel tool this summer. Could that be the cause of the vibrations felt in the steering wheel at highway speeds?