Hello, I am new to the forum and hope it will be a helpful resource. We purchased a new 2009 Honda Fit Sport last fall and have been very happy for the most part. We have owned other Honda products in the past and have always been impressed with the quality. Yesterday I took the car down to our local do it yourself car wash for a quick scrub and to vacumn the inside. This is an old carwash,nothing fancy,and I have used it for years. I washed the outside as usual then started to vacumn the inside,,to my shock the carpet started to pull out of the car in pieces. I stopped of course as soon as I noticed what was happening, I knelt down and looked closer, I could actually pull the carpet out with my bare hands,it comes out like a persons hair would pull out. Has anyone else had this problem? Upon closer inspection the carpet really seems to be very cheap, nothing like I have in our Accord. Of course I plan on taking this into the dealer right away, but I wanted to see if anyone else had any issues like this. Thanks,Chris

 

honda went cheap with the carpets... any sort of mats can help fix it... all season?

 

its a FIT not an Accord, note the price the Fit is that cheap for a reason

 

Sounds more like it's been water damaged and is falling apart. Yes it's cheap but not fall apart from vacuuming cheap...

 

I agree. I haven't been inside a GE8 but that should NOT happen. I find it very hard to imagine the carpet in my GD3 doing that and I would hope the new carpet isn't worse, at least not that significantly.

 

Weird.

Just washed my car and the vacuum guy (Hi Cliff) (comes free with a wash) went crazy with the vacuuming. He went deep into the edges and was not anywhere near as gentle as I am. I've also vacuumed the carpet myself on two occasions and haven't seen anything like this. It seems pretty durable, actually. I installed my own all-weather floor mats and it was a pain in the arse to cut through the carpeting to put in the holders on the driver's side.

I agree, it looks like you might have something else going on with your carpet.

-P

 

Carpet seems to be on the cheap side so I bought Weathertech Floorliner DigitalFit for the front and rear right away. The front is awesome but pricey (paid ~$99). It seems that I won't have to worry about getting snow on the interior floor from my boots during winter. The 2nd row was ~$60 and a bit disappointing compared to the front. It provides more protection compared to the OEM and most aftermarket mats but falls short compared to the front.

there are pics of the actual products here in the forum but I'm too lazy to dig them up.

 

I can tell you that the carpet did not suffer any water damage at all. This was not the first time that I had vacumned the carpet either.The spot that is fraying away is right on the hump about a foot from the gas pedal. I have had all weather Honda(dealer installed) mats in the car since it was bought new back in the fall, which aren't really close to the problem area. I plan on taking it to my dealer in the next few days to see what they have to say. Thanks,Chris

 

Hey, you should post up some pics of the damage. Is it on the gas tank hump?

 

If you dig at the "carpet" with the tip of the vacuum hose too much it will fray. It's cheap material. I was trying to get every last bit of sand out of mine in the hatch area, and noticed it started to fray a bit if I worked it too hard in one spot. My recommendation would be to use an alternate attachment on the end of the vacuum hose, perhaps something a bit wider so it doesn't dig into the material as bad. I'll bet if you take it to the dealer for this they will do nothing - but I would have to see a pic to be sure.

 

In my 2009 Honda fit I also have carpet issues. A hole of carpet is missing to the right up high by where my console/hump is. It is rather ridiculous and it is not from wear/tear on my end.

I have taken the car to the dealer and had pics taken April 20th. I also have waiting with no call back till May 20th. I have had 2 calls since then in which I have not been able to respond but I plan on calling this week to see if they intend to do anything.

The car is under warrenty but they seem to say this is not. Pretty sad.

If it is not taken care of I will most likely switch to another company and no longer buy honda. It's pretty ridiculous. BMW mini here I come.

 

Someone got their dealer to replace the carpet because of this. Mine is mangled to hell with only 14k miles. By the time I am done owning the car, there will be holes all the way through in some places. Never had a car do this at all.

 

i need floormats quick! my car didnt come with any. -=(

 

This sounds like a defect in some cars. Excessive wear for no reason is a defect. But I think you have to honest as well, when assessing things. I mean, normally even cheap carpet won't just fall apart from looking at it. But if you wear big clunky shoes and constantly bash the shit out of the wheel wells, if you spill frequently without cleaning, or if you haul stuff and mash up the carpet, it's gonna wear. Long and short, if you're a dainty priss and the carpet is falling apart around you- defect. If you really cause the problem, it's you. And in that case, whether you feel the carpet should be holding up regardless, you need to change your habits. In my opinion.

Dan

 

I agree with you totally shockwave but I truly did not do this to my carpet. The dealer actually told me they are waiting on their honda rep. to tell me whether they will cover or not.

See... it's not where a foot should go... it's up rather high. I'm sure I've brushed against that area but not enought to make a perfectly round spot. i think there is something going on 'glue' wise. Like it wasn't cured or something. It's really sad and a pathetic excuse for carpet.

I loved my honda accord. Honestly after getting the extended warrenty my honda fit sport was around 21,000. This should be covered. I have the wonderful all weather mats. This is not a floor board issue. I took it in around 30,000 miles and I do drive a lot but it should not be effecting this area.

This is a clear cut example of a defective carpet in the car. I also have a few bolts coming out but have not mentioned that but will most likely if and when I talk to the dealer again. Really disappointed in this car.

 

Oddly enough I teach art and haul a lot in the trunk. No problems there it's the carpet on the floor area. Seems different in structure almost like it was some sort of paper or blown on. Very poor quality and I'd like more people to stand up if it is a defect so we can make honda do the right thing (if the elect not to in my case). I will be calling tomorrow and will know more then.

 

I've also kept the car clean on only had it detailed once. Detail shop was shocked like me and said a new car shouldn't be doing that. It was there before they detailed it and we all discussed it.

 

I noticed when I first got the car that the gas pedal is closer to the center hump/console/whatever than usual. If you look at the way the seats are arranged, there is a nice gap of space between the seats and the doors/pillars, and a narrow space between the front seats. I had a 2001 Civic that did NOT have a gap like this, and I suspect that it is to both allow the side/side-curtain airbags space to deploy, and do add some decelleration space for any intrusion in a side impact.

What does this mean? The steering wheel, and pedals are shifted inward as well.

My solution was to pull back the carpet, whip out my Buck knife, and cut out huge wad of that lint-trap looking sound-deadening that was behind this patch of carpet. It may make the car marginally noisier, but it gave my right foot FAR more room.

I suspect that the car wasn't designed for Big American Feet. The average Japanese male is what, 5'7? I suspect there aren't many Japanese men with size 10+ (American sizing) shoes.

 

We have 25,000 miles on our '09. We have 135,000 miles on our '02 Acura TL. The Acura carpets and mats are good as new. The Fit's, alas…

I can replace the mats in the Acura for about the same price as the mats in the Fit. Go figure.

Cheers.

 

I also think the sad fact is that it's hard to get quality carpet no matter what these days. I can't seem to get a decently made carpet in the house anymore either, let alone an installer worth their weight in salt. And I don't buy crap.



Dan