I have been a Honda Fit owner for over 14 years. I really not sure why I am so bad luck. My 2010 Fit got total last month. After 3 weeks of searching, I bought a 2019 Honda Fit with only 6,000 miles from Toyota dealership for $2,1000 (after $850 discount) + tax, license and registration fee four weeks ago. The car has low miles and drive like new. It is a big upgrade from 2010 to 2019. It has sunroof, volume control from the steering wheel and it has better MPG than my 2010. Carfax is clean. Please read on my story...

After a few days of purchase, I found all the carpets are wet due to heavy rain. Water has been leaking inside the car. I had took the car back to the dealership and they kept it for 4 days. They only cleaned the clog in the drainage system near the sunroof and then took the car to a car wash. Found no water leak inside and then returned it back to me. Unfortunately, they scratched one of the windows while washing the car but they replaced it with an after-market window. Until heavy rain since yesterday, I found all four carpets are wet again. I am going to take the car back to the dealership to ask for them to fix the leak and request to replace the entire floor.

Here are my biggest concerns:

1. I am going to request them to replace the entire floor because water has gone inside the foam under the carpet which can have smell and mold. I know the cost to replace the carpet is about $3,000-$5,000. Yes, I was shocked. This makes me worry that the dealership will probably refused. They only agree to check the leak for me again but they have not promise me to remove or replace the floor. However, I will request to replace the entire floor. If they really refused, then what should I do? What would you suggest me to do?

2. If water has been entering into the car under the interior carpet floor, there can be mold under the carpet. As you know, mold can harm our health. When pressing down from the top of the carpet, I can feel water are under the carpet. Since water has already entered inside the car, moisture can cause any electric devices to go bad in near future. If you are me, would you get rid of the car by selling it? Yes, I will lose at least $3,000 for tax, licensing and registration fee? My mechanic told me it is better to trade-it in or sell it to avoid any future stress about the moisture issue and any more water leak.

3. I think the dealership should have known about the water leaking issue but they didn't disclose it. They said that they had done inspection of the car before selling it. This means they are being dishonest. I will take the car back to the dealership either they will replace the entire floor and fix the leak or ask them for at least $2,000 credit. If this option even work, then I will just take the credit and sell the car at a loss. At least I will not lose so much money by selling the car.

4. Dealership will not allow me to return the car back to them and let me exchange for another car. I had paid the tax, registration and license fee which they are not refundable.

5. Rain are occurring every day here, so I am feeling worry about the car. It is parked outside. I really not sure how long to hold on the car. Have anyone of you that have water leak inside your car has been keeping the car (after sealed the leak) for many years without any issues? Anything that are bothering you? Can you guys give me your opinion or share any experience? Any of your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I really not sure if this is going to be last posting because I am feeling very upset due to the situation that is happening to me. Please give me your comments and thanks for your help!

 

Sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon.

The problem areas on the GK5 are:

--Fuel injectors clogging from either poor design or the DI engine extremely susceptible to fouling. Major repair if not covered under extended warranty. This is the GK5's biggest problem.

--Starters and start switches on pushbutton start models. Poor design (again) burns out both prematurely. Doesn't seem to be an issue on key start Fits.

--Fuel pump recall on '18 & later model years.

--Door, hatch and sunroof leaks, worse on the '18 & later model years.

--VTC actuator failure. Rattle at cold startup is the first sign (my '16 LX has this). Common Honda problem. When the VTC actuator goes, it can slip a timing belt and ruin the engine.

In the big scheme of things, the leaks are not what does this car in - it's the injectors / starters & switches / VTC actuator failure that eventually kill it.

Your options are limited.

I'd first contact Honda corporate for attempts at remediation. The dealer is likely not going to help much because Honda won't cover diagnostic costs for their own problems unless corporate tells them to.

If Honda corporate can't help, a couple of radical strategies:

--Small claims court against both Honda and the dealership. Most people don't even want to think about this option, but it's a valid one. It costs to file, but when staff can't work because they have to testify in court, tends to get their attention better.

--Picket the dealer. I'm not kidding. Pick a Saturday morning (most active time for car shopping), bring the family, notify the police as to what you're doing. Stay off the dealership's property, but cheerfully explain your situation to anyone on the street. Like small claims court, this tends to get attention in a hurry. Most dealerships do not want you (or anyone else) in the way of potential purchases, and will do anything they can to get you to stop.

 

Nothing new. These Fit's pretty much all leak water in heavy rain, we live in the NW. Our 2018 Sport (non sunroof) leaked water since we drove it off the dealer lot when purchased new. Not something Honda is going to fix. And the car has never stayed wet inside. Some water comes in on heavy rain days and dries out very quickly so we have never seen mold anywhere. It's never to the point of puddled up on the floor with standing water. Just damp carpet which is normal for any wet climate while getting in and out of your vehicle. Which is not a huge concern to me.

Our water leak comes in through the passenger side door glass and drips down the door panel and leaks into the car past the water barrier plastic. Along with the faulty foam taillight gaskets (another known Honda issue over the years. They shrink when they dry out over age. Therefore it can cause leaking water.) that let moisture in to the rear lights and can cause puddling in the rear. It's due to a poor design, so Honda isn't going to fix it free of charge when everyone has the same issue. And you wasting your time thinking Honda will back you on it when the problems are everywhere. There are a few videos on youtube combating and fixing the issue. This is a fix you will have to do yourself. But it will require door panel removal. Just look at all of the leaking water threads on this website alone. They are everywhere.

 

There is no way that they are going to replace the carpet. They would at most, and probably not even this, dry out the carpet and let the foam underbacking air dry. Let us know how it goes, but your dealer does not sound like they are accommodating.

Why won't they let you trade it in on another of their cars, especially a Toyota dealer? This happened to a co-worker last week: He bought an Equinox from a sleazy corner lot that turned out to have a failing transmission. They let him exchange it for a Sonic and even reimbursed for the battery he replaced in the Equinox.

 

I checked on eBay that the carpet is about $300 only or maybe they are in used condition. I am not very sure but I expect the cost is expensive regardless.

I will lose a lot of money as least for the sales tax, registration and other dealer fees which are about a total of $2,800. I don't think they will allow me to return the Fit. I would love to "exchange" for a new car instead of the Fit that is having water leaking issue. I like the car very much but the water leaking is really bothering me. I am going to the dealership tomorrow morning.

 

The important thing to is fix the source of the leak. Fix this before anything else. A common area is from the hatch seams. If it's leaking from the sunroof area, you should see something in your pillars or headliner. You may be missing some body plugs. These are under the car at the lowest point in the interior of the car usually--I dont know where they are on the Fit. These are rubber plugs. If it's missing, water will enter from the bottom when you drive and get the carpet wet, but there will be no signs of leaks from the roof.

Once that's fixed, you can find a local car detail shop that can help dry your carpet. If it smells, you can have them ozone the interior.

Getting a used car dealership to deal with anything is often very difficult, so get your car fixed first then think about going after them to see if they will compensate you.

 

Thanks for all of your replies. I really appreciated! Here is the updates! The dealership is willing to fix the leak. They are keeping my car for few days. They said that if they can't fix the leak, they will buy the car back.

What do you guys think? If your car has water leaked into the car, do you think it is a big deal? The autobody shop told me it is a serious issue and not to keep the car even it has only 6000 miles because some electric components will go bad easily due to moisture. I have found many Honda Fit owners from the internet have the water leak issue and they seem to just fix them and still keeping the car for long term.

Please vote:
(A) Keeping the car as long as the leak is fixed even there might be moisture and all the windows get foggy more easily.
OR
(B) Getting rid of the car so not even want to deal with any future issues since any water leak might cause damage more easily to electric components inside the car in near future. However, you might not know when the water leak will happen again until the next storm season. Also, when the water leak happens again, the dealership might not help for the leak and buy back the car anymore in the future.

Yes, I like the drivability of the car. I like the inside more than outside. It is a great car to drive, except the paint on the roof is not great and the water leak issue make me worry a lot.

Your vote is very helpful.

 

If the leak can't be fixed, give it back.

Too many strikes against the GK5 to keep it.

When my GK5 dies, I won't consider another one. Love the form factor but not the problems.

I realize all manufacturers have issues, but the GK5 isn't anywhere near as reliable as the first two gens in the US.

 

If you stop the water coming in, it's not that hard to dry out the interior. Well, it's not that hard if you have a roof to park under and aren't currently located in CA. Any detailing shop should be able to dry the carpet if you can't do it yourself, and as someone else suggested they have tools for removing lingering odors. But, it's really not that hard to do yourself with fans and lots of newspaper or other absorbent materials.

The carpet and padding underneath are synthetic materials. They're made to get wet and dry back out, for the obvious reason that when you use a car the floors get wet. When they get really wet, it takes a bit more effort to dry them out, but it can be done.

Over the long term, wet floors lead to rust issues (witness the weight-reduced driver's floor board of most older vehicles, especially in salt states), but over the short term it's not a problem because the metal under the carpet is painted and protected.

Having completely disassembled the interior of a GE8 Fit, I can tell you that (at least on that generation) there's nothing electrical on the floor. Probably for the reason described above, as car manufacturers understand that floors get wet. In fact, even if you had water filling the floor boards until it was running out of the doors, I don't think you would affect any electrical connections.

If it was my car and I liked it, I would probably keep it after getting the leak(s) fixed. But, if you're going to be constantly worried about it, you might as well get rid of it. There's enough stress in the world as it is - no point in stressing over your car.

If you do keep the car, I really like my Weathertech floor liners for keeping all the moisture I introduce into the car away from the carpet. I keep a sheet of newspaper underneath in each liner, which I check periodically. Any moisture getting in (which did happen after I had the rear doors apart in the past) will be noticeable in the newspaper, and since I have the Weathertech liners I know it must be a leak without having to wait until I have a saturated carpet.

 

I like what you said. You are absolutely right. Thanks for your comment.

 

Your suggestion is very helpful. I would really want to keep this car but I am worried so much about the reliability of this car after water has leak and entered into the car. The dealer said that they will buy it back only if they can't fix the leak. I think that I will ask them to sign a paper for me to promise for covering this issue for an extension of 60-90 days if water is still leaking. One interesting fact is that I bought this car at $21,000 + tax which is around $23,000 out the door. It has 6,000 miles. Beside the roof has some scratch and unremovable dirt here and there and also water leak issue, the car is almost perfect. This car had a MSRP under $18,000 back in 2019 if I am correct. I checked Autotrader that every dealer is selling it for over $20,000 with anywhere 9,000 to 30,000 miles. Do you think this is because of the market inflation? When buying a car that is more than 5 years old, I am paying so much more than the MSRP from 5 years ago. I am not too sure if I am making a good financial decision. If the dealer can buy this car back, I am considering the new Prius base model. However, the Fit has a much nicer interior whereas the Prius has a better exterior.

 

I wouldn't pay more than MSRP for a brand new car, so definitely not for a used car. I have never bought a new car because I think it's financially silly and because I know the first scratch would kill me. Things are a bit skewed at the moment, but traditionally the greatest depreciation a car will experience happens the second you drive it off the dealership lot. I'm happy to let someone else do that.

But, I grew up with a mechanic dad, so I know enough to evaluate used cars pretty well and also to do my own maintenance. That lets me buy from private sellers which is where you find deals, especially if your tastes don't align with the SUV/truck craze. I have owned a couple Pontiac Grand Ams, a couple Ford Escorts, a Dodge Shadow, a Hyundai Accent, a Toyota Yaris hatchback, and currently a 2010 Honda Fit Sport and a 2014 Nissan Leaf EV that my wife drives. The max I've paid for any of the cars I've owned in my almost thirty years of driving (damn, I'm getting old) was $5250. I'm sure prices are (generally and currently) higher in CA, whereas I spent most of my life in the Midwest.

As I said above, if owning this particular car is going to stress you out or keep you up at night, then you should get rid of it as soon as possible. You'll probably lose money, but better mental health is worth a bit of money. In the future, you'll hopefully be a more educated shopper (e.g., don't pay above MSRP for a six-year-old car with scratches and unremovable dirt, whatever that means).

Alternatively, if you want to learn more about cars, the Fit is one of the easiest cars currently available to work on yourself (note: the third generation less so than the first and second generation because of... electronic geegaws and doodads). If you're worried about the carpet being moldy, you can remove it yourself. The service manual tells you how. With pictures! I've done it on my 2010 and it took maybe 90 minutes while singing Garth Brooks and trying to keep two overly friendly cats from colonizing the Fit.

If you're ultimate concern is reliability, and you're not a DIY person, in my opinion you want to look for an older car than a 2018 Fit. If you love the Fit, look for a gently used first or second generation. In my opinion, new cars (from all manufacturers) with sensors and driver's aids and electronic this and that are less reliable than earlier, simpler cars. Look at it this way: Ever single thing that can go wrong with my 2010 Fit can still go wrong with your 2018, but you're adding a whole bunch of extra electronics and features (cool, a sunroof!) and engine technology that a normal DIY person is going to struggle to diagnose or fix. Sometimes simpler is better. The most reliable car I've ever owned was a 2007 Toyota Yaris hatchback. Not pretty, not particularly comfortable, probably not cool to many, but it never had a hiccup in the 100K miles of ownership between my dad and me and still drove perfectly when I sold it with 175K miles. As a bonus, it got 45 mpg on the highway. As a negative (or maybe bonus for you), when driving down the highway my wife and I could barely talk because of the interior noise levels... which is why I upgraded to the 2010 Fit Sport (and removed the interior to improve the sound deadening) in 2020.

 

I'll second what Drew21 said about 3rd gen being too electronic-heavy vs. gens 1 & 2.

But the biggest difference between gen 3 and gen 1/2 is the direct injection engine.

Honda has not worked out the bugs with this design. If you don't run Top Tier fuel exclusively, you are likely going to run into severe carbon fouling at some point. That almost always means new injectors.

We've had reports here with severe carbon fouling in GK5's with as little as 10K mi. For an engine to foul that early - whoa.

When Honda works out the bugs with the DI engine, I might be back. But not before then.

 

Just a quick update: My car is still in the Toyota dealership since I dropped it off 8 days ago. They have not even call me for an update.

 

Maybe you should call them. Don't be super annoying, but advocate for yourself and be a bit annoying.

They presumably have a steady flow of vehicles coming through the service department for all the typical stuff: oil changes, tire rotations, brake light fluid flush, blah, blah, blah. Quick jobs that bring in a steady flow of money at dealership rates. Then they have a few vehicles sitting around in need of more specific diagnostic or investigative work, such as your car. In addition, they probably have a bunch of techs who can do all the normal stuff, but only a few folks they trust to really tear into a car.

Some of those owners call every couple days to say "Hey, I really need my car back ASAP. Can you please help me out?" Some of those owners don't call, even after a week. Which cars do you think they get to first?

 

I'm glad the dealer plans to either fix it or buy it back. Hopefully that's the end of it. You may want to lubricate the door seals but if there's enough of a gap they may need replacement. It can take quite a lot of observation to figure out a leak sources. If you truly can't figure it out then, well, there's always a fashionable tarp option.

I can at least put your mind at ease in one place. Cars are a lot easier to dry out than houses, when they get wet. Mold is not going to grow "right away", but over weeks or months perhaps, so it can be good to attend to it. If you pry off the trim around the edges of the floor, you can lift up the carpet in most places without removing seats - enough to circulate air with a fan or a small dehumidifier. Summer, of course, helps make that work better.

I used this one for another non car related project, very impressed with it (it's hard to find small ones).

Not going to lie my mind says this car was sold in CA because someone knew it leaks and they wanted it out southwest where it "doesn't rain" uh huh. I can understand a) wanting to get rid of it but b) facing a very unfriendly used car buying market. Everyone I know is buying new because it just doesn't seem to make sense to buy a lightly used vehicle right now.

 

Just an update... The dealer is still keeping my car. They confirmed no water leak has been found after they fixed the leak from the sunroof. Well, they told me the same thing when I dropped off my car last time so not sure if they didn't clean the clog more in detail before or not. However, I requested to replace the whole floor due to moisture and previous water damage under the carpet, but I think the sales manager has not approve it and let the car to sit outside at their lot. I think they will keep my car until next week because the storm is coming back next week. I am hoping they will allow to buy back the car regardless. It is really a bad experience as they have the car for almost two weeks now and another 5 days after I bought the car from last time. Honestly, the car has only 6000 miles and I paid more than the car's MSRP when it was sold in 2019. I know the price for the Fit has been going up due to inflation and the current market. A used Fit nowadays is more expensive when the car came out brand new back in the day. I realize that it makes sense to buy new (for a different model) but I know we all like the Fit for some reason. Otherwise, you and I are not spending time on this forum. There is just a reason that we like the Fit for its own characteristic. However, the 3rd Generation of Fit has been proved with poor reliability than the previous 2nd generation. There are lot of issues from other owners. One things that I hate is the CVT (compared to my 2010 with auto transmission) but we know this 3rd Gen has much better MPG. Anyways, I will see what the dealer going to do with my car next week. It is very frustrated.

 

Totally agreed!

 

I have a video about this on youtube and how to fix it, look up my user name. The leak on mine came from the doors, specifically the interior door sheet metal skin

 

After the water leak is fixed, did you keep the carpet without replacing it? Did you find any other issues that are bothering you? For example, moisture or foggy windows and any smells during summer time?