Just to fullfill curiosity, does it run better than the old one before the failure?
I was wondering if the first transmission just failed or it was working badly (belt slipping?) since new.

Any difference?

 

It feels the same as it was before it failed. In the minutes before it started to fail I was on a flat two lane road before heading west to a grade on interstate 8, and it seemed to be going a bit higher in rpms coming from stop signs. This got more pronounced as I headed up the grade and the car would stop pulling...a very weird feeling. I'd pull over and it would gather itself up again only to repeat the process till it let go altogether.


For reference here's a few numbers from the final ticket:
Defect 03217
Symptom 03203
Failed part: #06200-5T4-A00RM

 

The issues with the Airbags are the tip of the iceberg why the current Honda Administration will be stepping down.

They also made a critical business decision to move the North American manufacture of the FIT from Japan, where it was born way before export to the US, to Mexico in order to serve the US, Central and South American Markets. US dealers reminded Honda of the customer complaints and problems from years ago when they attempted to manufacture the Accord in Mexico. They reminded them of the quality problems Volkswagen has doing business in Mexico. But to remain financially competitive with other car companies opening plants in Mexico, they went ahead anyway.

This article details the problems Honda confronted manufacturing the 2015 FIT in Mexico:
http://www.autonews.com/article/2014...emplate=mobile

On top of all this, the current Honda Administration made a decision not to manufacture the FIT CVT Transmission in Japan, but instead save even more money by buying it from a transmission company in Indonesia. The CVT transmission (not the manual) is the only part in the 2015 FIT manufactured in Indonesia.

Moreover, due to the delays in getting the 2015 FIT off the assembly line last spring in Mexico, in part caused by failing the the Insurance Off-set Crash Test and having to hold distribution and stop manufacture until they could go back and refit those FITS with a new bumper and re-crash the car in order to pass, they completely missed the important Spring buying season resulting in an unsold stockpile of LX FITS on dealer lots by the end of 2014.

Last, all these problems have caused Honda to delay the launch of their new HR-V SUV, another vehicle to be manufactured on the same FIT assembly line in Mexico until they can shore-up quality. But this delay will again cause Honda to miss the important US Spring car buying season at a time when more and more vehicle buyers are turning towards mini-SUV's and away from cars.

This is just the problems Honda has had with the FIT.

Meanwhile, the CRV by contrast--manufactured by Honda in the United States for many years, has been a top seller and top pick, with minimal problems.

 

You might want to check those CRV's in the Southwest, they're coming from Jalisco, MEX.


Like it or not, the move by most all manufacturers is open new North American assembly plants in Mexico over the US or Canada. Audi alone is spending over a billion on their new plant. A young (average age of 24) and enthusiastic work force where new hires make $40 a day is an attractive thing.


My personal experience years ago with VW spare parts made in Mexico was awful, whereas the Nissan Versa I bought for my daughter in 2008 has been flawless. Is a car made in Mexico today inferior to one made in the US or Canada? I for one don't think so.

 

That is correct, Honda has a production facility in Mexico, but also in the USA. The Mexico assembly was supposed to be for Mexico only?

>>Honda began producing the CR-V in Sayama, Japan, and Swindon, UK, for worldwide markets, adding North American manufacturing sites in East Liberty, Ohio, in 2007; El Salto, Jalisco, Mexico, in late 2007; and Alliston, Ontario, Canada, in 2012.<<

 

From what I recall Honda was forced to move the Fit to North America because of congestion at west coast ports which was severely limiting the number of vehicles they could bring in from Asia costing them lost sales. Problems at west coast ports have been in the news again recently, labor problems I think this time, which are affecting most importers.

Moving manufacture to NA made sense although the choice of Mexico is certainly debatable. However, the Fit is an econo box with a low selling price and low profit margins. The decision to manufacture it in Mexico makes a lot of sense although Honda seems to have underestimated the effort required and failed to anticipate some of the problems (eg theft).

 

Very few "Japanese" cars are actually made in Japan any more, since the Japanese workforce is hardly cheap to pay. The only truly Japanese cars you can buy are upscale models where the manufacturers want to assure quality and a few niche-market cars that aren't economical to build elsewhere. The original Scions and 1st and 2nd generation Fits slipped through the niche-market loophole so we got Japanese build quality at low-rent prices.

Honda decided to move the Fit out of niche market status in the US so we lose the Japanese build quality. It's really filling the same slot that the Civic filled a decade ago, both in size and clientele.

 

"You might want to check those CRV's in the Southwest, they're coming from Jalisco, MEX."


I was so intrigued by this, that on my afternoon bicycle ride today, I stopped at the Santa Monica Honda Dealer to check out the new CRV's stocked in their holding lot. They had about 20 of them so I walked up and down most of the aisles.

1st one: Jalisco, MEX; 2nd: Ontario CANADA; 3rd: Jalisco, MEX; 4th: Ontario, CANADA; 5th: Jalisco, MEX; 6th: Ontario, CANADA and so on. So 50% were from MEX and 50% were from Canada. None were from US assembly, except that all of the units had Engines and Transmissions from USA. The MEX units entered the USA through El Paso, Texas, and the Canada Units entered through Buffalo, NY. All of these units were under 25K sticker--so base: 2wd, cloth, no flat screen or nav, base wheels.

So Honda dealer location in the US is unrelated to assembly plant location it seems.

Wonder if CRV buyers pay attention to country of assembly and make specific requests?

 

Cool survey!


Update: Car's running great and I'll retrace the route it broke down on within a week or two.
Keeah from Honda called again to check up and in the interest of maintaining customer satisfaction, they're giving me a $200 credit with Honda parts/service. Guess I'll get a dashmat or something.
It's not likely I'll hear from the tech guys in Ohio when they take the old tranny apart.

 

Took the car back to the original dealer today for an oil change and to inspect the tranny. Clean bill of health and it's gone a 1000 miles or so since replacement without issue.

 

Good news Fitfoksinger. Sorry for the troubles.

 

Well if you spent 2500 just for ecu swap, they will give you a loaner car..because they make enough profit...2500 is bullshit lol

 

yeah it was bullshit

 

They didn't charge me for the loaner and gave me a Hondo loyalty card worth $200. Add the existing voucher and $45 credit from the service contract, I won't be paying for oil anytime soon. Oh, and a 1/2 tank of gas credit from Enterprise. I rather liked that turbo Jetta. Anyway, Honda was very good about all this in the end.