I'm still chuckling about the keys breaking in ignition being a common thing.

Also remain hopeful to hear someday how the class action law suit goes over a dead battery.
Are you going to try and sue Honda, the battery maker, or both?

This has really peaked my interest.

If anyone is doing a betting pool on this, I'll put $1000 on it failing in court.

 

It wasn't necessarily an uncommon thing though. I recall there being issues with GM ignition switches (think 80s and 90s "box" pick ups, Caprices, Bonnevilles, etc with 1 key for the ignition and 1 for the door) and either their factory keys or cheap replacement keys breaking off in the switch. In more recent times? Its no were near as common.

I too highly doubt this would stick in court but I'm not that savvy in the justice department nor with what would be validate a class action lawsuit. Looking at this currently though...

Yes... This is a scenario of a current draw that is difficult to source. BUT... Its not a very common issue like that of the popping and crackling that Honda is dealing with in their MOST bus cars like the Odyssey, Passport and Pilot from 2018 to approximately 2022, maybe some of the 2023s. I do believe that complaint has hit class action lawsuit status and Honda even had made that a product recall due to how problematic it was.

This case, not so much... I do genuinely hope that the OP's Fits get sorted so they can enjoy them though I am HIGHLY curious if the alternator (or some other component) is at fault.

 

25 years ago, I bought a white Geo Metro LS for my stepson for $600 as a starter vehicle when he got to driving age. 3-cylinder engine, he wasn't hot-rodding it anywhere. It became The Mouse.

Anyhoo, said vehicle had the end of a key broken off and lodged in the ignition when I came to test drive it. Owner handed me the other half of that broken key as the only way to start the engine.

Yeah, broken keys were real back then.

 

When it happens to others it's funny.

But when it happens to you it's not so funny,
Is it?

 

That's pretty much the definition of comedy. Although once I actually slipped on a banana peel and when I realized what had happened I learned that it's possible to both laugh and cry at the same time.

 

Yes, you are right, it was a warranty extension, but since they could not find a electrical issue or cause for the battery failures, the dealer did a replacement for not one, but both of the Fits. Still the batteries kept failing, and I have bought many batteries or paid their prorated charge now from Honda that were outside the 3 year/36k mile warranty and I never elected to replace them except for the first which the dealer said could be recharged, but my wife said no way would she drive it waiting for it to fail in that manner. None of the dealers have logged anything when I paid to install it, he just said they would not give me another battery even though it was under the normal battery warranty (only 4-5 months old) because "I was out of the car 3 year/36k mile warranty". So I had to pay for a new battery and I was furious to say the least but they would not budge.

Not sure what you mean by "over the counter", if you mean for the Diehard, I have one car out of the 3 year/36k mile warranty and extended warranty so got the diehard for the 2016 Fit, and thats the brand new battery that died, and I am looking for the receipt. Got a NAPA battery as the car was stone dead 100 miles from home on this Diehard and I had to get back home..... I am beyond frustrated or even mad, I am on what you can call 'a mission' and have gone and talked to all the South East Florida, South Florida, and North West Florida dealers and am ready to trade in BOTH cars for one with a full size battery. But the new ones up to the CRV have basically the same engine as the Fits plus a new wrinkle the IDLE STOP which we found out about when we rented a car on vacation, stranded the car at every intersection in several dangerous situations to say nothing of the strain on its battery, and drivetrain and wear on the starter..

 

No worries! By "over the counter" I was referring to acquiring the battery directly from parts at the Honda dealer/center.

Depending on the quality of service the dealer provides, some may help you document your purchase by again either attaching your battery purchase with the vehicle's VIN usually on the part counter receipt OR with a repair order (the later ANY dealership can see if the tech/advisor is reviewing vehicle's service history). Others may not and just send you down the road with a parts counter receipt that you have to keep for later warranty/exchange reason.

Now with that said AND as many times as you've dealt with this ordeal, you actually MAY have a case where you can contact Honda customer service and state your scenario. Sure, both of your Fits are indeed older, discontinued models but from I'm understanding in this thread your concern has been going on easily 5+ years with multiple visits to the Honda dealer for diagnostics. If this is indeed the case (especially if it was present during 3 year/36k warranty) then you might have something.

I would collect all the repair orders for both cars and list out each visit, their documented findings/notes, and their course of corrective action (or lack thereof). I say this specifically since each time a car is ran through the shop for service work, a repair order is supposed to be generated with the customer's concern, and the tech is supposed to identify the "3 Cs" (the Concern, the Cause, & the Correction) in that repair order before releasing car. We obviously know that bunging batteries at the cars isn't fixing them and this can put a little bit of a fire under the dealer's tail to step it up. This may even get their district's parts and service manager involved as its been a prolonged ordeal.

I encourage trying this route if you haven't and seeing how it goes. Again, best of luck.

Idle stop... It takes some getting used to but its getting trickling into every mode. Fortunately it can be turned off by the idle stop button near the shifter. You'd just have to do it every trip since it doesn't retain the last mode after restart. Even then, the vehicle system still monitors battery voltage and will restart before source voltage gets too low. It WILL give you a notification in the gauge cluster that battery voltage is too low/too weak for idle stop to engage. Similar goes with engine coolant temp being too low, if HVAC temps are set to certain points or if windshield defrost is on.

As for the newer models... NONE of them have the L15B1 or L15B3 (only in Japan VIN 2016s and 2017s) as this engine is exclusive to the Fit in the states only.. The only two that are close would be the Clarity and Insight which both are modified for hybrid use. The LEB3 is in the Clarity and LEB6 is in the Insight. Only displacement is similar on the majority of the L-series engines in the states with the exceptions being the hybrid Earth Dream engines starting with the 2014 Accord Hybrid's LFA1 which are 2.0L.

Following that, the L15B7 and L15BE turbo engines in the non-hybrid Earth Dream cars are totally different animals from the Fit's L15B1/L15B3. Similar goes with lager and recently discontinued 2.0 liter LFB2 from last gen's CR-V and Acccord Hybrids as well as the LFC5 that replaced it in the current CR-V and Accord Hybrid.

 

I have all the repair orders for both at my finger tips and the dealer knows as I show up like clockwork with a failed battery and the service reps know my wife by sight (they dread it) I have talked to the managers and so far not helped or put it in as covered under the lemon although I have my wifes under extended warranty so I would think Honda America would step up to the plate. As for the engines, the 1.5 turbo in the CRV has less gas MPG and power than the 2.4 engine it used to have. And the 2.0 in the CRV hybrid which is the one I was looking to buy is not a Japanese made engine and when I went to talk with the ones who know, as soon as the hybrid battery wears out in a few years, your car is done for good. It will not run unless the hybrid battery is good, and who is going to put in a 3,000 to 4,000 hybrid battery into a worn out car with no resale value as no one in there right mind would buy it.

As for the Idle Stop, just try to drive in Miami and stall in a intersection, they beep at you just for not stomping at the gas quick enough at the green ligths, and I've been shot at or cut off at speeds exceeding... well we wont say as it as it will get me in 'legal issues'. In the Islands the streets are much more dangerous as some are so narrow you cannot see oncoming traffic at the intersections and have to be quick or dead as you shoot through, literally. My friends have gotten new cars with Idle Stop and are trying to return them, but havent been able to so far, we shall see. I told the Honda Dealers to tell Honda its got to take it off but they say its the law now, but they still sell some models without it or dont show in the specs, so not sure..

 

Sounds like a cool place where you live. If I needed any further reason to never visit FL, you've provided it so thanks for that.

I don't understand all the complaining about Start-Stop, but then again I used to drive a manual transmission so I'm used to it taking a second to start moving from a stop and so I planned for that then and even now when I'm driving an A/T.

If it bothers you that much, you surely know that it requires a single button push to turn it off, right? Alternatively, a few seconds on Google revealed products and DIY procedures to permanently disable Start-Stop.

https://tiremeetsroad.com/2022/04/30...pand_article=1

There were many additional articles, forums, and Youtube videos when I did my quick search.

 

Well, all I can say is I broke off the key in the ignition on my older Toyota Tacoma and ran for a while with just the broken key. Was basically the farm truck so never gave it much thought and it always started so didnt worry about it.

 

Yes, dont need no more people coming down as everyone from Rhode Island down is trying to find a place down here and buying houses faster than you can build them, the lots we used to sell within the hour of posting them, the houses took a little bit longer. But even Nancy is leaving California and moving to Florida as dont wont to be caught out in the 'wild west' no more.
As for the Idle-Stop, try to drive in Europe and sit at the intersection. They will run their Mercedes and BMWs all over you, to say nothing of the Lamborghinis and Porsche that cant wait for you, so its not just Miami. If you cut the wires to put in those 'products', your warranty and extended warranty are out the window, and you can check any of the service managers on that. So its not just a push of the button..

 

I'm confused.
Does your Fit have a button to turn off the idle stop feature?
If so, then it actually is a push of a button.

I understand that you might have to do it each time you start the car, but there are many things you do each time you start the car: buckle seat belt, check mirrors/surroundings, push brake and/or clutch pedal, turn key (don't break it!) or push start button, adjust climate control, adjust radio, shift into gear, release emergency brake, release brake and/or clutch pedal...

I suspect you barely think about the many steps you take when you get in the car because they are ingrained habits.

Adding one more button push to that list is pretty small potatoes, especially if the idle stop feature is threat to your life on the Mad Max roads of FL as you suggest.

 

Need to read the post, I was at the dealers this last weekend looking at the new Honda models...

 

Apologies. There are about five different topics in this series of posts. I went back and you complained about the idle stop feature on a rental car rather than on your own car. I'll stick with what I said in the previous post. It would have taken you less time to push a button to turn off the feature than it did to come here and complain about it.

Lots of features on new cars that not everyone needs or wants.

You can:
1) complain on the Internet.
2) adjust to the feature (e.g., anticipate your start, just like you do with a M/T car).
3) use the work-arounds (e.g., shut off the feature with a button push).
4) drive older cars without the problematic feature.

Three of those options move you forward. One doesn't.

 

This is what happens when you dont move fast enough, you have a choice as I said, either quick or dead.. https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-da...-flee-on-foot/

 

Sorry, but I don't see how your link is in any way relevant to your battery issues, keys breaking off in the ignition, or the idle stop feature on newer cars.

Instead, it speaks to some or all of: excessive speed, inattentive driving, impaired driving, reckless driving, potential vehicle theft (drivers of the wrecked car fled the scene), the dangers of being a delivery driver or someone who otherwise works around roadways (e.g., construction worker, postal worker, etc).

Being a delivery driver means that you necessarily have to come to a stop, often at the side of a busy road, to make your delivery. If someone speeding in a potentially stolen car, or even someone not paying attention because they're playing with their phone, rear-ends you there's not much you can do except hope you're not injured or killed. It's dangerous work and it sucks, but it has nothing to do with how quickly a delivery truck or any vehicle can move away from a stop.

 

You started the whole off topic with your "If I needed any further reason to never visit FL, you've provided it so thanks for that." So I think the one who started the derailing of the thread was on your end if anybody.
As for the Idle-Stop, the battery issue has made me look for replacements for both cars, and thus going to the dealers in Florida to see what they have, and looks like Idle-Stop is being put in all the cars except the Hybrids which have their own issues.

 

As for the battery on the multimeter, they are showing 12.8 and 12.6 volts, and above 14 volts when running, and above 9.5 when cranking up, which all the dealers have checked and its withing the Honda spec as you can see below..

"

1. Check the voltage. A good car battery should read 12.4-12.9 volts when the car is off. Anything lower doesn’t necessarily mean the battery is bad. Your car’s electrical system may have drained it, or there may be an issue with your alternator. Recharge the battery and test it again later to see if it’s holding a charge.
2. Do a load test. The next step in determining whether your battery is bad is performing a load test. Have a friend start the car while you watch the voltage on the multimeter. It should drop no more than two volts while the engine cranks. If it drops any more or dips below 9.5 volts, you need a new battery.

Additionally, once the engine is running, the battery should be receiving a charge from the alternator. Because of this, the multimeter should read between 13.8 and 14.5 volts when the engine is at idle. If it falls outside of this range, get your alternator checked."
How to Check Your Car Battery Voltage | Honda of Slidell

What they dont say is what level it needs to be to start up as the Honda Fits seem to only show the display with no start if below 12 volts, and no display and no start if below 11.5. It has something that reads the voltage and does not allow it to crank as even a jump will not crank it over, it has to be charged up over 12 before they will do anything.

 

What is causing the popping and crackling, any clues..?

 

I have been monitoring with the voltmeter and watch as it goes down on a new battery from 14.2 daily about 05 and once it gets below 9.0 I would recharge, so something is draining the batteries.