Ya'll, please don't take what I said the wrong way. We share here and I was just sharing what failed on my Fit and that I just don't have time to deal with it.

No, it's not a lemon and it isn't the end of the world. I'm just too busy to deal with "any car issues" these days.

Will update when I finally take her in.

 

Hey, it's all good. I feel your pain. Car issues can be a real inconvenience when they happen. The bright side is...it should be covered by your warranty, and being a Honda...it could be the last car repair it will ever need...

Long live Hondas!!!

P.S. Thank your precious stars that you have 2 jobs in this economy. There are many who have none. I have even read a few posts of fitfreaks having to give up their Fits due to lack of employment. Good luck with getting your situation resolved as quickly and painlessly as possible. I've been there myself and really do feel your pain.

 

Sorry to be smart azz but I find it rather disturbing more than anything how owners here have no faith in their dealers or complain about service. I would have thought all H dealers would have courtesy shuttles. My Dodge dealer even has loaners if you really need one. It is this kind of service we get up here and expect.

 

Update:

As of Friday (9/4/09), the A/C doesn't blow at any fan speed. No A/C at all. Thank goodness I have other cars.

 

are all the dealers closed around you? no sympathy here buddy, take it in! cars break.

 

Yeah! It would suck if you had to sweat!

 

I know it's hard to understand since we are communicating over the internet.

I have a number of cars and I work on them myself. Trust me, I know that they can/ do break. If the Fit wasn't new (and under warranty) I would just fix it myself.

What you aren't understanding is that I cannot just "take it in". I will either have to miss work (which is unacceptable in this economy) or make 4 trips to the dealership in hopes of getting this issue fixed (read above).

I will hopefully find a way to deal with it next week, but it is going to be a pain in the butt.

 

hmm...I would ask Honda to help you out especially since it's a warranty issue..I recently took in my 91 civic and they took me back home but they also offered to give me a loaner...I would have accepted but I have 4 other vehicles.

 

Your First Q has been probably answered to death so I'm not going to weigh in there.

The 2nd about the 50% oil life... Have you Reset the oil life gauge? And why would you have changed the oil so soon? Most people aren't having to change their oil for 6-10K miles on the fit so you should have either just done or be doing your 1st oil change and not coming up on your 3rd. I'm at 1600 miles and 90% oil life. There isn't the need to change oil like in older cars (religiously at 3000 miles) Engines are built better, the oil used is better, tolerences are much much higher... I've owned a number of hondas in the past and followed the recommended schedules with no issues ever. (My prelude was almost 200K mi when I traded it and both it and my Integra GS-R were driven Pretty hard.) I'm going to trust honda on this... they are the largest manufacturer of engines in the world and have a bit of insight on this.

I think what a few people are eluding to is that you state in your 1st post that this is your 1'st Honda (1st foreign car) and your other posts (especially the longer one) is setting up your own expectations that your dealer experience is bound to fail. There's a good chance they'll be able to diagnose the issue right away and fix your issues quickly. I've been insanely happy with the honda dealerships (service Depts) that I have dealt with.
A Few examples;
-Our Ridgeline had one caliper seize at 33K miles - and we were 300 miles from home... I called a local Dealer and our VT Dealer's SVC mgr and explained the situation. My Dealer talked to the local one and 20 minutes later, the local dealership called me and got me in... Same day, they Replaced: Rotors, Calipers (both Front), brake fluid, and both Pads. My dealer told me up front that worst case scenario... bring the bill to him and he'd take care of it. Fortunately there was no charge to me at all. 2 Dealers took care of us in one shot. I expected to pay Pro-rating on the pads at least (and possibly the calipers) but paid nothing.
-Another dealer took a look at our Ridge after we heard a strange noise. A tech took a 20 minute drive with me to reproduce it... Determined it was the roof rack howling and a simple crossbar adjustment... didn't charge us for their time.

Crap happens to new cars... fortunately for most of us, it happens to someone else... this time, unfortunately, you were the "someone else". Honda makes a great car and unlike many other makers, hondas problems tend to be smaller while other companies have issues that leave drivers with dead engines stuck in the middle of no-where. Give the car and the dealers a chance to make it right and look at this from a positive aspect. I did with the brakes and the Ridge and was even more surprised when they paid for everything - no pro-rating.

~SB

 

First, of course I rest the oil meter every oil change. Second, I'm still at just over 10K miles so I've only performed 2 oil/ filter changes thus far. Once at 5K miles with dino (to help the seals) and just recently at 10K miles with synthetic.

For those of you who can honestly believe that the oil meter is correct in stating that you can go 10K plus miles on dino oil, as would be my case according to the oil meter and the way I drive the FIT, more power to you.

I'm in my 20's so I shouldn't be old school but I guess that I am. Not only do I change the oil every 5K miles, I also only use 100% synthetic oil once an engine reaches 10K miles.

Honda LOVES to advertise how "green" their cars are and pushing oil changes helps prove just that. Will the engine survive the warranty period (or longer) if one fully follows the oil meter? I believe so.

Will the engine still remain at its peak and as sludge free? I doubt it. If I were "leasing" the Fit, believe you me, I would wait for the 15% oil life indication without a doubt. However, I buy my cars and take pride in their maintenance.

Is my interval of 5K miles oil/ Filter changes (with full synthetic) a little bit of an over kill? Probably, but it's cheap enough and super easy to do and in no way can hurt.

It also gives me a chance to take a look for any trouble spots while I'm under the car. I also take a few extra minutes to clean the engine bay, check the rest of the fluids and filters while I'm at it.


You are right, most of my experiences with dealerships are with American car companies (I bought a Honda because of those experiences).

However, I checked out the local Honda dealership and their service station is not where I would leave my car. In fact, they offer $5 oil changes. Yes, you heard correct, $5 for oil AND filter. When I asked one of the mechanics "what type of oil do you use in the oil changes?" he looked confused and remained quite for a few seconds. I replied, "ok, thanks" and began walking away and he called me back and said "we just use regular oil". I then replied "thanks, but do you know the weight and brand?" He then said that he could ask if it was really important to me, but that I shouldn't worry about it.

It feels weird buying a $7.42 oil filter in a Honda dealership that offers $5.00 oil AND filter changes but I can't leave my car with those people. I just can't.

Sorry guys, I am NOT leaving my car with people like that. I can only hope to do most of what needs to get done myself or with luck find someone who is as picky as I (no connections with @ Honda yet).

So, I am left to going to my selling dealer 30 miles away. I start work before their service department opens and I don't get off until they have been closed for hours.

I guess I'm going to miss some work next week. Bummer.

 

ok.

what should the honda dealer do to make you happy? is that even possible?

 

It's not Honda's fault OR the dealership's fault.

Something broke and I am sure that they will fix it.

The problem is "with me" at this point in my life where I feel lucky to have two jobs. They either lay people off or talk about laying workers off on a weekly bases. This is not the time for me to call for time off in order to "fix the A/C in one of my cars".

If the dealership offers a loaner until my FIT is fixed (meaning I don't need to ask a friend to follow me in one of my other cars and have them miss work too) it will be a HUGE help but I just don't believe they offer loaners to anyone and everyone for every warranty issue that arises.

 

I can understand not wanting to hassle with the dealer especially if the techs at the closest one didn't seem too bright.

I like to work on my cars too so if I were in your situation I would just fix it. Here's what I was able to find through a little searching.

Looks like the part you need is #12 in this pic.



49088080121 RESISTOR ASSY. 14.10

Part costs $14.10 from here. Honda Automotive Parts

If you remove the cover under the glove box you can stick your head in there and see it. Cover just un-snaps and 2 screws hold the resistor assembly.


Can't say 100% this will work as I've never done it but if I didn't want to fool with the dealership this is what I would do.

 

What a cool post. This place is unreal!

This reminds me, is there a place that sells an online version of the 2009 Fit Repair Manual?

Thanks again!

 

That picture is giving me vertigo.

 

You might check this thread for some ideas: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...tml#post631770

 

Yeah it is a weird angle. I just sat the camera on the floor and pointed it up towards the resistor.

Probably not as easy to get to as it looks but shouldn't be too hard if you just want to DIY.

 

i guess i don't see a reason for you to miss work here.

when i've had my 635 laid up for a bit (it was my DD for a year), I just left it at the shop. I would think your dealer has a night brop box. Drop it off one night after work, and tell them to call you when it's fixed. Drive something else in the meantime.

Or, fix it yourself.

 

Final Update:

Took the car in early Tuesday morning with a friend who drove one of my other cars. Decided that I will never make it to my selling dealer without being super late to work, so I took it to the more local dealer WHO HAPPEND TO BE PACKED with cars (3 others with A/C issues according to the service writer).

I asked the service writer if I could speak with the tech who will be working on my car and both were nice guys.

Anyway, had two friends pick up the car for me today while I was at work since the dealership service department closes before I get off work.

They ended up replacing both the "motor assembly" and the "resistor".

So, the Fit is going back into duty as a daily driver.

 

Good to hear you got it fixed! I just had a heck of a time getting my wife's Audi to the dealer. Dropped it off on Saturday and they called Tues and said it's ready. They closed at 7:30 clear across town though. Got lucky and one of my friends was able to go with.

My Honda dealer is closer and the service dept stays open until midnight. Thanks for letting us know what it was. Good to know it might be more than just the resistor.