Honda built this large facility in Mexico to give their dealers all the Fit's and HR-V that they could sell. I would expect that the new plant would be up to full production after six weeks IF Honda needed the product. Do the dealers need more inventory?

The Fit has been out for over a month, and the Yellow and White, two of the colors that I expected to be most popular, are rare. Why?

Is this a paint issue with these colors, or is Honda holding some colors until they begin selling the 2015 for all their models in September/October? Using these colors to introduce the "New 2015" Fit?

Are the Fits selling so well that the dealers can't keep them in inventory? There are three large Honda dealers in my area, and I have not seen one new Fit on the road even for a test drive from the closest dealer. Strange.

Anyone know whats going on?

 

Every dealer near me in Indiana has one or more in stock..LX is still a bit hard to find..but larger city dealers,seem to have some

 

It sounds like there's still a backlog on quality inspections at the ports. Honda is trying to be very careful with what gets to the dealers and is doing extra inspections at that stage. That coupled with the Fits that do arrive are sold relatively quickly.

I don't know if it's a paint issue or not, but even Honda's website says that yellow won't be available until late summer. That may have been a planned thing though.

 

I just did a search on cars.com for yellow fits, with no distance restriction from my zip (under advanced search), and it came up with just 7 for the whole country, 4 of those being LX. The same search for white produced 166. Black 547, Red 355, Blue 183, Silver 536, Passion Berry Pearl 74, and grey 456. The Yellow is very hard to find, despite what part of the country you live in.

Also keep in mind, many dealers list these cars on cars.com, but have not actually received them yet, so many of these are not on dealer lots.

 

Look at the circumstantial evidence. Introduction in Japan went without a hitch. Honda geared up for a big introduction in April, then suddenly..... nothing. The few cars that had been delivered to dealers were quietly picked up and returned to the port.

They wouldn't throw away all that media hype without something being seriously wrong. The high rate of quality issues reported on the few newly-delivered cars indicates that they really haven't got a handle on things yet.

Not very Honda-like, but then again Honda hadn't experienced the unique issues involved with manufacturing in Mexico.

 

GeorgeL, you're overstating. There are individuals who have egregious problems, and others who have minor ones, but it seems to me that most of us are perfectly pleased.

 

On this forum we're dealing with a small number of people, and an even smaller number of people who have a car. A significant number of these have reported problems with paint, fitment, cameras, glass, etc., right out of the dealer lot or occuring in the first few days of ownership. These aren't typically problems that one is used to seeing with Hondas.

This, combined with the lengthy delays and Honda's silence add to say that all is not well in Celaya.

 

In lieu of statistical data it's impossible to enumerate what percentage of owners have issues.


Or, as they say on other forums: "Link, please."

 

Well we're talking about a totally new car, at least for the US. New engine, new body, new interior appointments, new factory, new workers. No matter how hard you try there will inevitably be "glitches" somewhere. As for not seeing them in your area, well they are pretty rare everywhere and it will take weeks if not months till you start seeing one daily I would think... and that's if you were actively looking out for one.

I haven't heard of any other new model releases with introduction issues like the 2015 Fit has had, but then again this is the only model that I have ever had this much anticipation for and actually checked daily for news.

It is odd however that Honda still held their press intro in April if they had any idea they would have any major delay issues.

 

Let's be fair... A forum is usually an amplifier for negative aspects... When I bought my 01 civic, the number of "problems" led me to purchase Hondacare which covered some big issues (early) with the car.

That being said, limited supply is of interest... The lack if info is a bit concerning...

I think the last time I waited this long for a car, it was one actually being built for ME on a production line..

I'm confident that honda will address the issues, after all a "miss" on their least expensive car could have ripple effects...

 

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. Most of the quality issues are cosmetic/fit type issues. What is considered acceptable to the line work in Mexico versus the Honda quality person are two different things. This information is coming from a good friend of mine who is the lead American engineer for the engine production at the new plant. He kept me posted all through the project. You have three different cultures, three different languages, there are bound to be glitches. He assured me that the vehicle's powertrain is solid with no quality issues. He gets a daily report on production numbers and there are plenty to ship once they address the issues.

Regards,
Steve

 

I'm still waiting for mine, but the dealership had a few on the lot in other colors. I think they had 4 last I drove by, and had sold a couple (including forum member SHIBA's) already.

I've only seen one sold 2015 actually out on the road.

They told me the car would be in last week, and I already knew they were being optimistic so I really don't know when the vehicle will arrive, just that is apparently in transit.

My understanding is inventory had been held back due to quality issues, but that's understandable considering our NA vehicles are coming from a brand new plant in Mexico. The redesigned Fit has been available in Japan for about a year already, I believe, so any quality issues are probably due to the plant, not necessarily the redesign itself.

 

I'd rather they be extra picky in QC than allow a whole bunch of them to be sold and subsequently have customers deal with the headaches of a faulty automobile.

 

I fully understand the cultural issues, but I'm buying a Honda and there are high expectations for fit and finish. Few of the defects that FF members have seen would have left the factory in Japan and these are apparently on vehicles that have already been re-scrutinized and reworked in Celaya. One shudders to think what is going on with the vehicles still sitting in outdoor storage in Mexico.

I sincerely hope that the fit-and-finish problems as well as the software glitches aren't a harbinger of more-deeply-hidden powertrain issues. I know that Mexicans can produce quality engines (I have two of them in my VWs) but it remains to be seen whether they can produce quality *Honda* engines and transmissions.

Quite true, but identifying the problem is only the first step in solving it. I think Honda made a big mistake when they moved away from their tried and true automated production methods to the more labor-intensive Mexican approach. With an automated factory the parts have to be right, whereas with manual labor they can be bashed-to-fit. (Pun unintended!)

 

Honda is having quality issues with the Mexican workers. They should have it resolved by now or still working on it. Unfortunately, some got sent to dealers (mostly cosmetic). Check car over thoroughly before purchasing. Plant should have been built close to our border like Ford did.

 

I've seen several published reports stating the 1.5L Earth Dreams engines are manufactured and assembled in Indonesia and married to the balance of the car when assembled in Mexico.

 

Only the LXs seem to be rare in my area(s). Have only seen one of them, which slipped through my hands in a 24hr period. I'm actively looking daily. The dealerships keep bugging me to purchase an EX or EX-L, which I'm not interested in.

This car has been available overseas right? Japan? Some other countries? The glitches should've already been addressed.

 

Yes. As I mentioned a few posts up, the redesigned Fit has been available in Japan for about a year now. The plant for NA though is brand new and has apparently already encountered issues in production.

 

I can't imagine why, since those are the cars that Honda is supplying in quantity. It costs them nothing to bug customers to buy a higher trim, and sometimes it works!

The Mexican plant is new and Honda opted to rely on more hand labor there due to the lower labor rates. Overseas production is mostly centered in Japan where the more-highly-automated factories have less chance of producing a product with poor fit and finish.

 

I've been looking all over the northeast trying to get a blue Fit EX CVT since May, when my dealer said they should be available. A dealer might list a dozen Fits, but they are all "In Transit," which means they might arrive someday. Unless you leave a deposit, you don't exist. This is a seller's market. I drove from NY to NH yesterday to get a silver Fit for myself, and my son is getting a black one just an hour away on Friday.