2009 Fit Brake Replacement
 

To date I am super-impressed with my 2009 Honda Fit LX. Nothing but oil and filter changes and one transmission oil change in 100,345 km. AND my upgraded Michelins on ATX wheels and General Ultimax snow tires on original pizza pans are all good for another season! Oh and a rear wiper blade. BUT both my tireshop and dealer say a brake service is required. The quotes are both in the $350-$400 range - front only - replacing pads and rotors and not calipers. The BIG decision: Do I go with the 'new' style aftermarket ceramic rotors and pads (prettier for my see-thru wheels) or do I stay with Honda Parts???

BTW, I used to rebuild my calipers when driving my '07 Toyota Camry every 50,000km. - no caliper kits rebuilds for FITs?

Honda pads and any decent solid rotor will give you the same stopping distance. Pads retail is about $50 and good solid rotors (like Brembo) are about $40 a piece. A quart of Honda DOT 3 brake fluid is about $10. If you plan to do a DIY, it should cost you about $200 or less including shipping/tax and any brake lube/caliper bolt lube you may buy.

Curious, what forced you to rebuild the calipers? All the cars I drove survived fine on the original calipers.

Well the Service Manager at our Toyota Dealership said they were "pitted" and needed to have a "caliper kit". The symptom was pulling to one side upon regular braking.

My Fit's pads are worn but the rotors seem fine. No vibration when braking and no grooves. Why is it suggested I replace the rotors?

You'd have to check the thickness of the rotors to see if they're still within service spec, do you have a micrometer? You can ask the tech to mic the rotors and show you that they're out of spec. If they're still well within service spec there's probably no reason to replace them, but if they're getting close to the end of life i'd just replace them while you've got everything apart, when they start getting thin they risk cracking.

You can also take a glance around the outside edge of the rotor, if there is a signifigant "lip" around the edge it's probably getting close to time to replace them (this is without measuring with a mic, but is far from ideal haha)

wow $400 for new pads and rotors...I'm so glad I do all my own work. I agree with what was already posted do it yourself and save about $200. I would be willing to bet many a user on this site could help you through it...myself included ;)