Hi! I'm a newbie on this forum and I found it because I just don't get it. 2010 Fit Sport (AT) has 22500 miles on it in 18 months, is always in a garage or underground car park. Yesterday it cranked slow on start-up (60 degrees in the garage) and today it wouldn't start

I have to wonder: are these cars battery vampires if you don't drive them every day? Sometimes it will sit for several days or a week between drives. I know some other cars (Porsche) have to have battery maintainers on them if they're not daily drivers, but I never would have expected the Fit to have that issue.

Anybody have any experience with this?

Thanks,

Jim

 

First off I'd take it to the dealer and have them check out your car being that's it's still under warranty. Wouldn't even fuss with it. Was this the first time? Did you leave anything on?

Secondly, not an expert here, just driving and ownership experience. But based on your post, the car is not driven often and perhaps not even long enough. So relative to your battery, the charging system is not on long enough to completely charge your battery with every use. Take it in anyway. Just my take...

BTW, welcome aboard!

 

Depends how much you drive each time. If only short distance the car will not charge. Do it over and over and battery will build memory and wont charge to full permanently.

 

my commute is around 18 miles each way, so I would have expected it to charge. I have a service appointment Monday morning at the dealer, but I was just trying to get a sense of this 'drive it or it's dead' thing. my last car before the Fit was a 90's car you could park for a month with no issues.

Thanks

 

If a battery is not 100%...when you crank the starter, the starter takes the majority of the voltage, then there isn't enough voltage left for the ignition to fire the spark plugs. Hence the turning over and no bang in the hole. The battery in the Fit isn't much bigger than the battery's in my motorcycles

 

You might've left a light on, which you wouldn't notice once the battery's drained. It's pretty easy to bang into one of the lights over the rear-view mirror and leave it on, and you might not notice this in the daytime when exiting the car. Or the hatch light is on because it wasn't closed all the way...

Or the battery terminals need cleaning.

The battery is pretty small but it should last several years unless something out of the ordinary goes wrong with it.

 

Memory is not a problem in lead acid batteries.

 

It's definitely not normal and I recommend keeping your appointment. I have a company vehicle that comes home with me every day so there are times when my Fit doesn't even get started for weeks at a time and I never have a problem.

 

I agree with Brian and Subie: either you accidentally left a light or something on, or you have a problem that the dealer should fix under warranty. 18 miles should be plenty to keep the battery charged.

The Fit does have some bits that use power all the time: the clock in the radio, the keyless entry system, its basic alarm system, etc. It probably couldn't be left for months at a time without charging, but several days or a couple of weeks should not be a problem.

 

it's looking like a bad battery. I started the Schumacher smart charger twice last night, got 'bad bat' both times. I'm trying the CTEC 3300 now. I'm just hoping now that I can start it to drive it to the dealer instead of getting a tow

 

The Fit IS known for the weak battery, but at least once a week starting, and you should not have any problem. Maybe need a new one...

 

Marginally related - of all the Honda's I've ever owned, my 2010 base AT starts less easily than any of them. Not that it starts hard, but I have to hold the key in the "start" position longer than I've ever had to on any other Honda. It's as if it just doesn't want to catch right away. The battery appears to be fine, and I drive at least 50 miles every day in it, so it's charged. It just doesn't have that Honda "zing" to it like the others have.

 

im referring to 'memory' in a generic term. most car batteries do not charge to full after it's drained unless it's a deep cycle.

 

that sucks. hope you get a new battery.

 

Seems like you spent a lot of lot of money on chargers...which seems like an awful lot of trouble and specialized gear, yet you don't have a set of jumper cables?

Instead of getting a tow, just get a friend/neighbor or even passing stranger to jump start the car and then get to where you need to go for service.

If you have no friends, and free/paidfor roadside service, the towtruck I suppose can just give you the jump instead of the full hassle of the actual tow. The service dept of any mechanic will jump you again to get you home if needed once you get there, so don't worry about being stranded. Call first if they advise you something else.

That being said, if they're making me jump through hoops, perhaps I'd say screw dealing with the hassle of warranty on just a battery, my time is more valuable, and just eat the cost and go get the battery replaced in 1 shot.

 

Sorry to hear of your woes.

Before my FIT, I would park/store my 1999 Honda Civic outside (20-30 below Centigrade climate) for 4, 5 or 6 months for the winter with the cables off the battery. Upon my return I would put the cables back on the battery and the car would fire up. Of course I always had a friend with me and booster cables on hand.

Also, if your car is not driven much an overnight trickle charge would please your battery.

 

I would hope it isn't the fact he has a short commute. For the past two years my drive to work has been 3.6 miles, and I do that 5 days a week. I've yet to have a problem with it not firing (knock on wood....). I'm considering a battery charger to keep in the car in case I do end up killing it one day.

 

after 48 hours of restarting the 'smart' cycle (desulfates to start with), it's finally taking a charge Past experience with the Olds battery last year (when I got the charger) tells me it's still bad, but at least I'm hoping I can start it tomorrow. I just haven't seen my jumper cables since I moved last year...

 

I'm pretty sure they'll (dealer) replace your battery. They should! Might want to have them check your charging system too. Could just be a bad batch but if it happens again, then I'd start thinking more... Good luck!

 

BTW, my commute is 18 miles one way.