When the first of the 3rd gen Fits showed up in stores, I drove one and found the steering to vague and the suspension too boaty...so I didn't buy one.

Then they did a refresh in 2018 and seemed to have addressed the steering and suspension issues...so I bought it.

Fast forward 4 years...and I think it's now driving like the first run of gen3 fits. Boatier and just not on point like it used to be. I will say that i did overload the car once with a bunch of patio stones. I wonder if I damaged something or put something out of whack? Is this possible?

I'd like to get it back to where it was...it's not like I drive aggressively, but I just like the feel of a tight Honda FIT. Would it be shocks? Would it be those other things that they upgraded for the 2018? I forget what they're called...but I'll look it up. They were a fair bit stiffer on the 2018...maybe they don't last.

Would like to hear your thoughts.

 

The Honda FIT isn't a truck.
I'm guessing you probably blew out your shocks by overloading them.

 

and how would I determine that for sure?

 

You didn't mention how many miles on your vehicle, but if you're at 100K miles or beyond, shocks are on the short list of items needing replacing.

Couple ways to check. Dynamic way: In a parking lot with no vehicles or obstructions around, accelerate fairly quickly and then slam on the brakes. If the car is bouncing excessively, probably need new shocks.

The static way is to push your body weight down on either bumper while parked. Same thing - if it's bouncing around just recovering, need new shocks.

As far as overloading the rear -- I wouldn't want to put too much pressure on the rear axle this way, not on this vehicle. As to whether it pushed up your shock replacement interval, no idea.

 

it's only about 60000 kilometers....but I did hit 2 huge potholes along the way...huge, I say.

What are dampers? I found that the 2018 installed retuned dampers....could they lose their qualities?

 

The shocks on my 2016 were also blown when I bought the car. It also had 60,000kms at the time.

 

You mentioned that you overloaded the car and also hit potholes. I would suggest to begin from wheel alignment and tyres, and only after that start to think about dampers aka shock absorbers.