Hi. Just noticed that my '09 Fit has a gap in the plastic molding between the windshield and the hood. Is this typical?

*pic removed

I didn't even look for this when picking up the car 3 weeks ago. Looking at pictures I took for friends/family, it seems like it was there back then as well. Is this typical? The circle on the left shows a gap, while the circle on the right (harder to see) shows perfectly flush...

Any thoughts? If the other side is flush, seems like there must be a piece missing? If it could somehow slide to fit, the other side wouldn't be flush. Is this a problem?

 

They all have it.

Seems like a design error, but I don't think it's corrected in the '10s. The US Fit has an elongated nose to expand crash crumple zones and this cowling is extended to help cover the extra space. I'm not sure but maybe they didn't spend a lot of time making it fit perfectly as it's only the US market...

Here's mine:

 

whew! thanks :-) was freaking out for a moment.

 

well this is the place!

 

It is normal. Was a long string here a few months ago.

 

I noticed that too, then looked at a neighbors Fit, same gap... it does look like a design mistake, but frankly, the gap is WAY too large... it has to be intentional imho.

 

Someone should make this a sticky.

We get the same question every few months.

 

Vinyl expands and contracts. If they placed the pieces tightly together, or used one single piece, when it expanded (heat and cold) it would warp, bubble and bend badly.

A company like Honda wouldn't make silly, continuous mistakes such as this year after year. It's like that for a reason.

It's normal... made that way for a purpose.

 

Actually no. Other materials do, but not vinyl.

 

All materials expand and contract with temperature change. Some just have higher coefficients of expansion than others. Not sure how the vinyl/plastic piece Honda used compares, but it is an unusually large gap.

Barb

 

Actually, yes!

Houses clad with vinyl siding have slots all along the top edge where nails are to be inserted in order to attach the siding to your home. The slots in the vinyl strips allow for the radical expanding and contracting caused by radical changes in temperature.

Therefore, if vinyl didn't expand and contract there would be absolutely no need for manufacturers to spend the time and resources needed to place the inch-long slots every foot or so along the edges of the vinyl slats in order to allow for that radical expansion.

My house has vinyl siding.. I've had to replace a few strips after branches/limbs hit the sides of my house during wind storms. After a cold night, you can actually see the vinyl expand when the sun comes up and starts shining on it (place a piece of tape near a seam and watch it move toward the seam). I can even open the door on our porch/deck, the heat comes rushing out of the door from inside, and the cold vinyl on the porch ceiling makes slight popping noises (expansion).

Ok, so enough vinyl education.

Yes, vinyl definitely expands and contracts! (Maybe you're thinking of polycarbonate or something)?

 

As the Fit reaches mach 1 the materials expand enough to force the edges of the plastic together. At least this is how it worked in computer simulations. Of course both bumper covers will pop off.

 

^ just imagining this made me lol.