Well, after they changed the push start button, I have not had a lick of trouble on either one of the Honda Fits, so it definitely had to be the problem, they just were holding it close to the vest so wouldnt have to do a recall. Everyone needs to grill your dealer on the battery issues, and see what they will do for you..

 

Has anyone had a similar problem solved this way?

 

My 2017 Honda Fit LX manual trans has had no battery or charging problems and is still on its original battery. I'm wondering if the lack of push button start and other luxuries on the stripped down LX is the reason. My previous car was a Lincoln Mark VIII LSC, which I drove for 17 years, and I was tired of all the luxury accessories breaking down. I wanted and got a "hair shirt" car.

 

My 2015 fit had constant battery problems And it had No push start button.
replaced probably 4-5 batteries by now
finally fixed the problem by disconnecting the "smart charging problem like i mentioned above" its now been 2+ years since i've had anything resembling battery issues, and still going strong.
i'm pretty sure its a combination of the smart charging "algorithm" combined with my less than ideal driving habits. eg my drives are 10-20 min tops, etc. and the fact that i think the charger likes to keep the battery probably at just above acceptable levels i think causes problems when it gets into the colder months here in Canada.

 

All the above applies to our 2016 LX. MN weather, short trips, sporadic usage. However, we are still on the original battery and have had no problems -- so far. However, I am wondering if we should be looking at a battery change since it is 6 years old. Maybe we have a Honda wonder battery but the past 30 years of car battery experience tell me that 2 days after the battery warranty expires (maybe 5 years) so does the battery. Are we living on borrowed time?

 

Well, theres a few things here, the original 151R that was in the 2015s some had a bad batch from what the rumors are. after 2 honda "replacements" i gave up with them and changed my battery to 51R. then my 51R died.. (most likely being frozen in the winter) i park outside in the street,
i mean i did add a remote starter, so in theory that could "drain" the battery just enough to be marginal perhaps i dont know. either way, since unplugging the dang smart charging circuit, have had 0 issues.
as for your battery, i would imagine its probably time to replace soon, typical SLA batteries can last anywhere between 4-8 years from my experience. but if your car is still starting fine, i would just keep driving it until battery obviously doesn't start or you notice other low battery issues. even after my battery was "dead" i kept using it to limp along, i had a portable jumper pack looks like one of those usb battery packs. but it pretty easily jumped my car when the battery wouldn't start.
did that for a whole winter because didn't feel like changing battery again at the time.
my 2 cents anyway

 

It seems to be the culprit..

 

For what its worth. 2017 Fit LX CVT put in service November, 2016. Current ODO 108,859. Put in a new battry today Aug 8, 2022 $142.47 free installation. Walmart EverStart Maxx Lead Acid 151R 370 CCA 3 yr replacement warranty. So my original battery lasted almost 6 years. I thought it would last the life of the car. What did I do wrong?

 

Wasserball, it doesn't have to last the life of your car. Only for as long as you own it. Your mistake, since you asked, was not selling the car at 100,000 miles.

My friend's mom, who's 90, kept having the battery fail on her Civic. Mechanic replaced the battery twice, saying they were both defective (I disagreed). Then another failure- replaced something else (I think alternator). Then the dealer took a shot at it, replaced the battery (I know; she didn't listen to me).

I finally told her the battery doesn't recharge at low rpm with the amount of driving she does. I told her to drive it like she's a 16 year old with a new Camaro. Gas is cheaper than a new battery.

Problem solved.
(also I was at her house last week, looked into her car and told her to drive it in S, not D)

You'd think that with a 90 year old, somebody else would've figured that out, but I guess there's no money to be made if you can't sell somebody something.

 

This is all great information. 2017 Fit, bought in 2018, in Merida ,Yucatan, Mexico. Heat is our issue; not cold. Keyed ignition. I'm about to buy my second new battery tomorrow, and will look at the smart charging gizmo. We drive in eco mode all the time. Does anybody think driving in normal mode(higher rpm) would make an appreciable difference? The first I bought at Autozone, a couple years ago. I wonder if it's still on warranty. Ours just turned over 70,000 km. It's spending the night in an underground parking lot in the city, 25 km away. Not many options to try a jump.

 

Here in the U.S. for less than $50 you can buy a portable jump-starter that charges via USB and holds enough of a charge to start at least a couple of cars before needing recharging. Clips onto the battery just like jumper cables do.

 

And ours came to the rescue when the battery died a few years ago.

 

I bought a few, one for me and a couple for relatives......my wife doesn't seem interested, for whatever reason.....plus I can charge phones, tablets, etc, if house power is out. I've had enough trouble with lawn tractor batteries over the years, will be easier to use this than shove the tractor around and jump with my car. and it's always nice to be able to make a random stranger's day when their car is dead in a parking lot.......provided it;s a 12 volt LOL

 

Well, I took the old battery back to Autozone, where I bought it, and they informed me it has a five year warranty, and gave me $80 refund against the early failure. Along with the credit for trading in a battery, I got $100 off the cost of a new battery. This I can live with, now that I know to expect it and thus plan for it. I can't imagine Honda doing the same, but I could be wrong. Our OEM battery lasted 21 months and the second one lasted 22 months. I can remember when a battery lasted 15 years. But in those days there were no draws with the ignition off. No computers, no fuel injection.....
I'll look into the portable jump starter.

 

I can't tell you how much of a life saver my Noco GB40 booster has been for me and others I've boosted. Bought another for my brother and it has come in handy. Much better than waiting for someone to come rescue me.

 

Sounds reasonable.

What's the lifespan on one of those things?
Also, how often do you have to charge it? I'd imagine as it ages you'd have to charge it more often (similar to a cell phone).

 

It holds a charge really well b/c my model is designed to boost a regular vehicle multiple times. I've even used it to charge a cellphone overnight. You don't have to charge it as much as you think. The only issue is that it itself is a battery, so you can't leave it in the vehicle in winter. Otherwise you have to have it close to your body to warm up before it can boost.

Mine is about 7 years old.

 

so you can unplug this and start the car still?

 

Never thought about that,, we always drive in eco mode. Will have to switch and see if any difference..

 

May have to change mine for the 5th time as the battery we put in on March just died on the 2015 Fix EX, and I mean dead. No lights, no start, no nothing, even after charging it for over 24 hours...