hello, I'm the new owner of 2 Fits which has led to many comments about my sanity, especially from my girlfriend. Got a great deal on an 09 white sport M/T and shortly after, found a 12' white M/T sport with only 25000 miles and had to buy it. The older one will be for sale soon. I'm a big fan of the car even though there are many things that could be better.


My first big question is about some damage caused by a honda dealership. The 12" needed airbags so I left it with the closest dealer and when I picked it up, the upper glove box and top dash panel had scratches and nicks. The dealer wants me have their 'specialist' who comes in once a week do cosmetic repair on the scratches. I would prefer new parts which are ridiculously expensive. How do I convince the service department to order the replacement parts and give them to me to install. Do I have any recourse if they refuse new part? Also, has anyone used a specialist for cosmetic interior repair and does it last.


The first big difference between the 09' and 12' are the tires. the 09 has cooper 205/55 and the 12' has falken 185/55 and tires makes a big difference. the falkens are quick and the coopers make the handling and steering feel much heavier.

the 12' is somewhat quieter when doing 75 on the highway.

any comments or direction to appropriate threads would be appreciated.

thanks to all who contribute to this forum as it's been an invaluable resource

 

I have a '11 and the dealer only needed to change the driver's side airbag. That's unfortunate that the tech wrecked your dash apparently doing the passenger side airbag too. It seems like the dealer "fixer" will minimize the appearance of the damage. My concern is what you can't see. I have no special knowledge about the process other than the common knowledge that everything is plastic. Everything snaps / clips / pops together "once" and isn't made to be reused. Check to see if you can easily peel open / move / shift any plastic panels. Drive the car on rough surfaces (safety rumble strips along edge or middle of the road) to listen for noise from a loose panels. Make sure your glove box opens / closes normally. Check out the operation of the heating / air conditioning / re-circulation buttons / levers. Does the radio work normally?

I mention all of the above because it doesn't seem like the tech knew what he was doing and could have inadvertently damaged something else.

185/55-16 wheel / tire is stock and the 205/50-16 has almost the same circumference, so there is very little speedo error. Did the previous owner replace the stock wheels (6"x16") with 7"x16" when mounting the 205/50-16? That extra 1" wider makes the steering feel different with certain tires that have softer sidewalls.

If gas mileage is important to you the stock 185/55-16 should offer the best. A narrower all-season tire will probably give you better traction in snow if do that occasionally and reduce the chance of hydroplaning in heavy rainfall but there are so many different tires and your perceptions of "good" handling that there is no "absolute" right answer.

Best of luck in your FIT-Life

 

That sucks they scratched and dinged up the dash etc. I asked my fiancé (who used to be a service advisor for Honda) and he agreed the cosmetic "fix" isn't ideal because you can't really fix damaged plastic that well. He suggested calling Honda directly with your VIN and the whole story and your concerns, because Honda can put some heat on the dealer to take care of it. Ultimately it's still up to the dealership, but at least worth a shot.

 

Welcome to the forum!

The 2012 will be quieter as they added more sounded proofing in the later models. Could also be the tires as well.

Sucks about the dash.

 

As well the suspension should be a less stiff in the '12

Also the '12-13 sport wheels are actually Honda Access Modulo wheels so they are a little nicer quality than the 09 sport wheels. I would put that more into consideration than tires. Tires are a consumable item, I go through a set every 1.5 years and thats not bad.

 

I would force the dealership to install new dash parts 100% out of their pocket. It's not your fault they scratched up your dash.

Some bullshit about a specialist will just rub on some compound to make the scratch "Disappear" then a week later it will show up. Keep insisting for new parts. If they refuse or give you any hassle say you will go online in social media and publicize how they refused to fix their error. That may sound extreme, but companies don't mess around wth bad publicity online. And I am talking more than just a bad yelp review.

Hope it gets taken care of, and good find on the '12 sport!