hey everyone.. first of all, i'm new to this, so i'm sorry if i posted this question in the wrong area..

i'm in the market for a new (used) car, and i absolutely fell in love with the honda fit. i'm looking at purchasing a 2010 base model (automatic) with a little over 18k miles, but wanted to do some research and talk to some other fit owners first.

i came across some info on the recall affecting the engine springs in the '09-'10 models.. my current car is a 2001 subaru outback limited, and i'm just coming out of a really frustrating experience involving a recall on the vehicle that absolutely did NOT address, let alone fix, the actual problem.. so i'm hoping to get some feedback about this fit recall, as i don't know a whole lot about car repair, but i do know that i don't want to mess around with engine problems, ha.

so, here's my question.. for any fit owners out there that were affected by this recall, did honda actually FIX the problem with the engine springs? have you had any problems since? were you happy with the work done? any other problems i should look out for around 18k miles? i'm 90% sold on buying the car, just wanted to get some feedback from you guys.

thanks in advance for any helpful tips you can offer!

 

I can't speak to the recall, because mine ('10 sport) wasn't affected. But, there are some other things I'd like you to know about the '10 Fit.

A few pros, to get started:

* Great gas mileage
* I find it to be an exceptionally comfortable car, and my wife, who is a bigger girl, seems to agree. I'm average height (this is important, because some of the taller people here find the car uncomfortable)
* Tons of cargo space (we've filled the car to the roof a couple of times, but that was a lot of stuff).
* Magic seats make the cargo area more flexible than any small car I've ever had. Lift the bottom of the back seat, and you can fit an object about 4 feet tall on the floor. Search for a thread called "what you can fit in a fit" or something similar, there are a few of those threads around, with pictures of what people have fit in their fit.
* My wife was driving down a steep hill a couple of weeks ago. All the sudden I felt the car downshift out of 5th gear into 4th (it's a 5 speed auto). That's called Grade Logic, the car uses engine braking to help save your brakes going down hills (and does it automatically)

There are a couple of cons, too:
* It is a small car
* Electric power steering is really sensitive (my wife moves around a lot driving my car, while I stay in one spot because I'm used to the sensitive steering), and takes very little effort.
* I replaced my battery under warranty at Christmas time. It's an incredibly small battery, something like 300 cold cranking amps. It was completely dead. Charged it for a few hours, and it was still dead. Boosted it, drove 130 miles home, and it was fine, but the dealer replaced it just to be safe.
* Huge amount of glass makes it hard to keep cool in the summer.
* Tall people have posted that they find the front seats to be uncomfortable.

That should about do it. I love the car. It handles better than the 2003 Sunfire GT that I had before. It gets better mileage, it's more comfortable, has more standard features, and more doors (had to throw that in).

 

yeah, 2010s aren't affected by the recall. The recall on 09s replaces internal valve train springs (lost motion springs) with stronger ones. There is no difference in performance unless the originals break, then you're looking at a new engine. I have had no issues with the recall work.

The base is missing the USB port, map lights, cruise, and a few other niceties the Sport model has. Make sure you don't want these.

link

 

thanks for the advice, guys.. i actually just came back from filling out the paperwork.. should be a fit owner by monday afternoon.