Honda seems to think they still own our cars. They will try to skip out on
warranty work for the dumbest of reasons. Cannot tow with the FIT. Cannot
tow the FIT. Cannot bend your own wrench on the FIT. What about those mods?
Mods = No Warranty.

No manual? WTF no manual? Pretty soon they will refuse to sell us parts!

This is where we are, we have to do it ourselves. Please go to youtube.com
and search for richpin or richpin06a. This guy makes vids of his repairs and
they are great. So get out your tools and that camera and post some FIT Fixes
to youtube. FITFIXES

We need a how-to section here, there are some seriously brilliant people on this
forum lets abuse them.

Here are some forums that have saved my bacon, just for reference:
TeamSwift ? Index page
SaturnFans.com Forums - Powered by vBulletin Where I found richpin
Honda Civic Forum

Great little cars. Some TLC and you will go forever.

 

I agree with you Colonel,


It feels like all manufacturers are pushing to have work done only by certified mechanics. I personally like to do my own work. Then I know it was done right, or I know to look in the mirror and scold the idiot that should have known better.


I signed up for this forum and maybe it is because the 2015's are so new, or maybe it is just the number of drivers and the relative reliability for the cars, but there is not nearly as much activity on Fitfreak, as I see on the F150 forum I frequent. Although I will admit that the F150 has a huge amount of aftermarket parts and ways to customize, that I just don't see for the fit.... yet. =) Also a large number of members on that forum are there because they have an issue and want help. Thankfully I have seen and heard very few issues come up on here.


FYI - Short story/rant I love to share to spite Jiffylube and promote do it yourself maintenance.


My wife took her CRV into Jiffylube a few years back. (it was against my wishes but I had put off her oil change, so she took it upon her self to get it done) During the change they showed her, her "dirty" air filter covered in cottonwood and other large visible debris. (FYI - I have never seen large debris on an air filter in a modern car) She refused the new air filter, and asked if they would just brush hers off. Now I have no idea how they did it, but when they reinstalled it, they put it in upside down. Less than 3 days later her 09 CRV has broken down on the side of the road. I towed it back to Honda, and they pulled cottonwood out of the intake and mass airflow sensor, put it back together and told her how her filter was improperly installed. (btw I don't know if you have ever tried to install one upside down, it is not easy and takes a bit of brute strength and ignorance to fit into place) At any rate, took us almost 6 months to get reimbursed by Jiffylube for the tow to our house and the 1/2 of Honda labor. To compensate us for this trouble, they offered us a free oil change the next time we were due for service. Still never been back, and still like to shake my fist at their "service" station when I pass.


Well, back to the topic.


Do your own maintenance work, and lets get some more posts up about mods, maintenance or other things you have done with your Fit.

 

I think that a lot of the evils ascribed to Honda in the first post are actually lies told by dealers to try and scare customers into their overpriced service bays. The fact remains that you can work on your own car all you like or take it to the mechanic of your choice. Justifiably, if you or the mechanic you hire does something stupid and breaks something it isn't covered by the warranty.

Of course, many dealers will do anything they can to get out of a warranty claim or convert it to a non-warranty job. They get more money if you pay than if Honda is paying so there is a motivation to deny warranty claims if they can. If I had a Fit with drivetrain issues I'd probably take the trailer hitch off before I took it in, just to avoid an argument.

 

Claims are based off the dealer not Honda.

Of course manufactures want you to take the car to them for maintenance. It insures that the car will be properly taken care of. I don't want anyone else to work on my car except me, car manufactures probably feel the same way.

 

I disagree. I don't believe manufacturers care if your vehicle is properly taken care of, I think they just want you to develop a habit of going there so they can take more of your money.

If they determine your vehicle wasn't taken care of they just deny a warranty claim, cheaper for them and they already sold the vehicle.

It's all about the money.

OP, just keep your maintenance receipts, and you are fine. My Fit won't go back to the dealer for any maintenance, ill do that. ....it will only go back for any warranty work. Hopefully it never sees a Honda dealer again.

This is a great idea OP

 

Our '07 Fit has only seen the dealer for recalls. (115K miles)

 

First off, aftermarket parts have to be PROVEN to be the source of the customer's/owner's issue with the vehicle before a warranty claim can be denied once a repair order has been made to service or repair said vehicle. Yes, dealerships (and independent shops) can either request an initial hour for diagnostic or even turn a vehicle away if they feel that the installed modifications could interfere with the concern at hand. This is effectively a way to cover the technician for their time spent in diagnosing the car. In addition to that, the decision to accept or decline servicing the vehicle effectively comes down to the dealership and how mod friendly they are.

Please check out the following link regarding warranty repair work on modified vehicles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus...s_Warranty_Act

Some examples of this act working for or against the vehicle owner/customer...

If your Fit had a check engine light with a P0420 (Catalyst System Below Threshold) after installing say... Swift springs and a HKS axle back muffler... It'll be highly unlikely that either mod would affect your warranty claim since the springs are irrelevant to the drivetrain of the vehicle and the axle back is WAY down stream from the O2 sensors.

Now... If an aftermarket reusable and oiled air filter (like K&N or some aFe and AEM drop ins) was installed while still wet from the cleaning kit... THIS could affect the warranty claim since the oil from the filter can drip on the MAF and have it send false readings to the PCM due to being contaminated.

Again... the key with either situation is source of the issue has to be PROVEN to be the fault.

Regarding manufactures building cars were they darn near need to go back to the dealer for any work, I honestly don't blame them for designing them this way. Yes, it puts a damper on those who enjoy (and know how to properly) maintaining, modifying and tailoring their vehicle to their liking but with automobiles getting more commonly equipped with Direct Injection, audio units that are effectively $1200 in dash tablets, along with VSA and SRS wiring splitting off... In addition to that, it also further protects the vehicle and the person modifying it from potential damage or injury. Especially those who are inexperienced and/or flat out doesn't know what they are doing. Ever seen the aftermath of wiring in PIAA driving lights on a SVT Raptor by using the SRS wiring for power? Let's just say... things weren't too pretty in that case.

Because of some of these examples I can see why manufactures would initially limit access to service manuals and information on recently released models.

With current information that is out now with the 3rd gen Fit in mind its just enough to do the basic routine maintenance. Now when a few years pass by and vehicles are getting higher up in mileage requiring more extensive services like valve adjustments, injector replacement (remember these are direct injected), clutches need to be replaced, etc... I wonder then if Honda (or a service book manufacture) will produce service and electrical manuals for the public to purchase for themselves.

 

this is my wife's fear with me putting on or having a place install swift springs. She fears the dealer and the warranty folks will deny everything because of it.

though I never had problem with my old mazda RX8 and mods and warranty work and it had lots of mods.