I've got a 2016 EX with the push button start. I've read in other threads on this forum that Honda might replace a starter out of warranty. I tried calling corporate and they told me it might be covered by the drive train warranty and to call a dealer. I did this and they told me it was not under warranty and did not know of any warranty extensions offered by Honda.

Anyone had success getting Honda to replace a starter out of warranty? Any tips on how I should approach Honda? I appreciate any help I can get in this. I got an estimate of $450.00 to replace it from a private shop, but it sure would be nice if Honda would do right....

 

Some factors considered could include things such as your vehicles mileage, how long ago your cars warranty expired, whether you are the original owner or not, you and your cars service history with Honda dealer or dealers, maybe more

Have you taken it to a Honda dealer for this problem yet?
Taking your car to an indy shop first is kinda telling.....

 

You did what I recommend here, contact Honda corporate first. I don't know how far out of warranty you are, but Honda saying rotsa ruck is not going to cut it.

Time to get a little more assertive, because really, what do you have to lose?

A few ideas:

1. Call corporate back, ask why you should be on the hook for starter replacement on a 3 yr old vehicle. Unless you've been using it commercially, there is no good corporate explanation for this one.

2. If corporate balks and says well, we're only going to cover warranty repairs and nothing else, ask them: What do you think the chances of me purchasing another Honda are if you don't goodwill this repair? Seriously? You're giving up a customer over a couple hundred dollar part? Early starter failure is not a good omen, but lack of meaningful corporate response is worse, and I'd say so. A poor response just compounds the original problem.

3. If that doesn't work, go to a dealership and ask to speak to a service writer. Ask them point blank: Are you seeing any early starter failures on pushbutton start Fits? If the service writer asks why, you can say you have one, but you'd really like to know the answer, because Honda is not helpful and you're doing research. Repeat this with every dealership in your area. If you get similar answers - yeah, they tend to go early - you now have more ammunition.

4. You can also use an option not many people avail themselves of, ask for a meeting with the Honda district manager of your area. Ask the same questions as above. If you get the same answer from that person, you can express your same displeasure. At that point, if no help, I'd go ahead and replace it, but not through a Honda dealer, I'd avoid them if at all possible, so as to not reward them for their issue.

 

Thanks for this. I will try again with corporate. I have owned 4 Hondas and hope that they will back their products.

 

I hope you had good luck. The same happened to my 2016 and I just got it replaced OOW today. Honda goodwilled most of the bill. Definitely contact AH first. Arming yourself with get case number and case manger's info made the whole thing very smooth for me.

 

I have purchased a used 2016 Fit EX three months ago, and it would not start two days ago. I saw several threads here regarding premature failure of starter motors, starter button, and battery. When I call Honda Corporate office, the representative told me that I was one month and one week out of warranty, so regardless of whether it is the battery or the starter motor, Honda has no financial responsibility. Plus I am the third owner of the car, I would not have known whether the previous owner have properly maintained the car throughout. I cannot start the car at all, while all the dashboard items lit up,including the starter system warning message icon. I had tried over 20 times in two days, with different key fobs, etc. Once my neighbor was able to successfully jump start my car (after several attempts), I immediately drove to the dealership. Mechanics think it is a bad underperformed battery, so I had incurred out of pocket diagnostic cost and new battery cost.

My original Honda fit 2010 had the exact same issue with premature battery malfunction was replaced under warranty in less than 3 years. One would think that over years, things would have improved. I guess not. The AH rep is reading the script and she could not tell me if I have purchased extended warranty HondaCare, will this issue be covered.

 

Sorry to hear about that, KittyC, but unfortunately, this is becoming the new normal for Honda with the GK5 Fit. Corporate response is all over the place. Option 1: You have nothing to lose by asking for a sit-down with the Honda district manager just so you can say your peace to someone's face and gauge their reaction. Might bring satisfaction, might not, but it's worth making the Honda district manager earn their pay this way.

Honda thought they could deflect you by saying one month out of warranty, so sad, not our fault. This seems to be the corporate line. I'd push back.

Option 2: Picketing the Honda dealership. I'm not kidding. Check with police first, make sure you don't break any laws or say anything that could be construed as libel, just ask people going into the dealership if they'd like to hear your real-life story. Saturday mornings are best, bring your kids and family if you can. You'd be surprised how quickly they come running when they realize what you're up to.

But even if you get the starter replaced - and I'm assuming you will, otherwise the car can't be used - then the problem is the fuel injector and rail system. In my mind, that's the bigger issue, because repair will cost a couple thousand instead of a few hundred. We're hearing as many complaints on fuel injectors now as we are on starters. This ain't good, folks.

 

You forgot to mention China , ordered Honda to stop selling turbo charged vehicles because in the new turbo charged dream-works engine‘s gas is blowing by the rings & mixing with the oil and the engines are failing due to lack of lubrication. Honda didn’t have a good response to get peoples vehicles fixed so the Chinese told him to stop selling . Honda has become the new GM, their quality has been slipping and corporate response we got your money, go ahead and buy something else next time .

 

I don't think it's fair to single out Honda when in fact all of the car companies have been issuing major recalls. Even Toyota who a year ago was recalling the brand new Camry because they had built cars with the wrong sized pistons in them (how does that happen?) and cars affected would have to have the entire engine replaced. All of the car companies have been rushing into new designs, new technologies and new factories in order to meet new fuel economy requirements and changing public needs and they've all lost control over quality along the way. Too much too fast.

 

Just checked and my car is still eligible to purchase an extended warranty Honda Care. I am trying to figure out if the problems you mentioned on fuel injector and rail system (or brake vacuum) will be covered by this warranty. I have emailed the online Honda dealer but they have not replied yet.

Picketing at Honda dealership? I don't think I can drag my Alzheimer dad to cooperate to such an activity. Let's hope that there are more owners complaining enough for a recall and refund of payment for such a problem. Maybe someone will start a class action lawsuit for such defective parts.

Which official auto website should we file complaints?

 

I previously replied, but somehow the reply was lost in the moderator approval process.

Already have Honda dealer installed a brand new OEM battery out of pocket. However, when I monitored the battery via an Innova 3721 car battery monitor ( ) it shows 14.* volts when driving, but the battery bar gauge is slowly depleting, My battery warning light is not on, charging system warning light is not on, but this battery charge indicator only show half full bars for now compared to 3/4 full when new battery was installed. It does not seem that lights are depleting the battery. Load test was good per dealer. Hmmm...

Seems like 2016 EX is worse than my previous 2010 Honda fit.

 

quick question; how do you know if your starter is failling ?

 

It won't "catch" on the first try. Then as it begins to fail, won't catch at all.

 

It takes more tries to press the start button in order to start the car if you have the EX version, and because it takes multiple times to start, battery will deplete if this issue occurs more frequently, subsequently, you will also notice that it is stiffer/harder to step on the brake pedal when starting the car. Unfortunately, warning system light will tell you only when this process fails, not to warn you beforehand.

 

I just picked up a 2016 EX Automatic with under 30k on it. This is day2 that we've had. According to carfax, there was just one owner before us (it was a lease). Anyway, I noticed during a "cold start" only I hear the grinding noise for less that 3 seconds or so. I read another thread which mentions that it maybe the starter or even something else.

My apologies for the newb question... what is the warranty for the Fit? I have 5 more days to decide whether to return it to Carvana or should I take it to the dealer? We bought this for our kid who will be a senior this year. We (my wife and I) are Honda people and not sure if its worth keeping this one. Thoughts?

 

Warranty is 3 years or 36K miles, whichever comes first. Since the starters on the pushbutton start models seem prone to early failure, you can use this as a negotiating point with Carvana. Ask them if they would be willing to replace the starter. If they say no, return the car.

 

You can call the Honda Corporate office and provide the VIN to find out the exact warranty period. They will have the purchase/lease date and add 3 yrs to that date for the 36 months or 36k mile warranty. Then, you can decide whether you want any in-warranty replacement of battery, starter, etc. from the dealer, or return the car to Carvana if it is out of warranty. Battery drain in the dealer's parking lot can be an issue. The longer it is sitting in the parking lot, the more likely the battery will fail prematurely after an extended non-driving period.

 

I was able to record the sound, is this the starter? Sure seems like it. I’m working with both Carvana and Honda now.

https://gopro.com/v/bQNol8vmPw272

 

2015-2016? That sounds more like the VTC actuator rattle IMHO. (variable timing camshaft gear). A dealer would need to confirm that's actually the fault, which probably means dropping the car off the night before so it has plenty of time to sit so it is most likely to make the rattle noise for them the next morning


USA
Bumper to bumper warranty is 3/36
Powertrain warranty is 5 year/60,000 miles
See owners information package for more

 

Only happens during a cold start though....