I have a floor jack. It's not very long, and it's not low-profile.

1) What's the best way to put the front end of the car on jack stands using the OEM jack points?

2) Please remind me where to place the floor jack if I had one that could reach under the front of the car to the center? There's a beam there, right? I'll try to see what the Service Manual says on this.

Thanks.

 

I will paste the official recommendations from the service manual below. On my Fit I regularly use the rear central lift point but my jack can't reach the front central point so I have never tried it.

For years I have been lifting small hatchbacks (Ford Escort, Dodge Shadow, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Nissan Leaf - a heavyweight in comparison to the prior vehicles) by placing my jack about 12-18 inches (moves slightly depending on the vehicle) behind the front side sill lift point. This allows me to lift the entire side of the car while keeping the side sill lift points open for the recommended placement of jack stands. Because I run directional tires and only rotate F <-> R this is also convenient during tire rotations.

I distribute the load and cushion the side sill by placing a 10-12 inch long 2x4 on my jack, and I'm careful when lowering the car onto the jack stands (i.e., don't drop it like a madman). So far, over many (easily 100+ occasions) I have never bent or otherwise damaged the side sill, either where I'm lifting or where I lower onto the jack stands. I do have thin rubber pads on my jack stands for a bit of cushion.

I place wheel chocks on both of the opposite side wheels when lifting like this, plus all the normal precautions like having the parking brake set and the vehicle in gear or Park.

Remember that if you're trying to lift the car high off the ground, you don't have to do it in a single lift. You can lift high enough to get the dropped jack stand in the proper side sill location, then place the opposite side jack stand one click up, then return to the first side and lift it to the third click, and so on. This seems safer to me than trying to lift the front/rear/side of the car to the maximum height allowable by your jack before placing jack stands.

If none of this sounds great to you, you might consider running your front wheels onto ramps and then seeing if your jack can reach the front central lift point to allow you to lift a bit higher, remove the ramps, and place your jack stands.

 

@Drew21 Thanks, Drew. I don't think I want to risk damaging my side sills. Maybe I will buy a low-profile jack if I can find one that doesn't weight 100 lbs.

I wish I had a better idea of what the "front jacking bracket" looks like.

 

Like I said, I've been doing it that way for decades without issue but there's no point doing something that stresses you out.

Our Leaf weighs 3300 lb, or about 800 more than our 2010 Fit. I haven't damaged the sills on the Leaf yet, so I don't see how it's going to be a problem on the much lighter Fit.

Do you have ramps? Drive the car on and take a good look underneath for the center lift point, then hit it with some contrasting spray paint so it's easier to see from in front of the car,

I just looked through the Related Topics below and one said that the front central jacking point is "on the sub-frame just behind the engine mount" so hopefully that will help you narrow it down.

 

Just thought of another data point regarding the structure of the (mighty) 2010 Fit.

When we moved to our house four years ago I was excited to have a tiny one-car garage for my DIY adventures. The first time I had the Fit up on four jack stands I was confused because the passenger rear stand was loose, as in about 1/4-inch shy of touching the side sill lifting point when at the same level as the other three jack stands. I swapped the two rear stands and the same thing. I eventually figured out that there's a low point in the floor and that the unibody of the Fit is stiff enough to suspend one side of the rear off the jack stand.

 

The front lift point is a hump in the center of the front subframe just behind the engine. There is no way to fit a jack under there without driving on ramps. The way I do it is to use a jack on one of the front side lift points to lift it just high enough to slide a second jack under the front lift point. Then jack it up, remove the first jack and put my jack stands under the side lift points.

 

Wouldn't it be easier to drive on e.g. 6x2 plank and then put jack under the center for lifting?

 

Park on 4 pieces of wood of 2x6 or the like. Then use the jack on the front point. This is what I did when I had my Fit. (And still do it on my S2000.)

 

Good advice, gentlemen. Unfortunately, I don't have wood, ramps, or a garage.

Last night I remembered that this is what I used to do when I had two floor jacks, a small one and a big one.

I hate the sound of that, but I'll find it.

 

I have some shorty low-profile ramps; I drive up on them first and then use the big floor jack to raise the car using the lift point that's behind the engine. But for just a simple oil change, the shorty ramps raise the car high enough so I don't even need to raise it any higher.

 

I made a couple of little ramps out of 2 2 x 4s stacked and fastened togeather for height with 45 degree ramps for the front wheels. Tack rubber (i used an old entry mat) to the bottom of the mini ramps to keep the ramps from slipping under the wheels when you drive on to the ramps. Ask me how I know firsthand! Raises the front end up high enough for oil and trans fluid changes. Works like a charm once you have good traction on the bottom contact with the road. Best of luck, Clay

 

Thanks to all who replied.

I did what I had to do by using a jack to lift the right front jack point, then sliding another jack under the car and lifting from the center jack point. Then, I put jack stands at the front left and front right jack points. The only problem was that I was using pretty crappy jacks.

Yesterday, I bought this Pittsburgh 1.5-Ton Aluminum Floor Jack for 15% off. I may buy a second one if there is a better sale in the future.

 

I got the same jack at Harbor Freight. Works well. Still a little heavy, but lighter than the alternatives. Clay

 

I had one like it in the past, but I do not remember how it was branded. Harbor Freight site says it's 33 lbs. They have only one other that is lighter at 32.3 lbs. Do you know of an even lighter 1.5 ton floor jack? I'm not buying heavy floor jacks any more. Thanks.

 

That is the jack that I have. A little heavy, but it works well. Still lighter than the all steep ones that lift more but a hard to lift and are usually kept on the ground in a garage at ground level. Clay