I bought a new 2015 Honda FIT from Lawley Honda in Sierra Vista, AZ Late 2014. Snowbird so left in the spring for the summer. Later saw front bumper sagging (found on this forum this was a problem) Later the lower splash guard fell down (found on this forum this is also a common problem). While traveling in Montana when I noticed the fender a dealer up there told me they only deal with paying customers. Reported them to Honda. Now back in AZ for the winter and selling dealer after I showed them the forum reports still told me and the area rep that I must have run into something and for the shield must have run over something. NOT COVERED. I waited 3 weeks for the area rep to rule as they kept putting me off. I even told them to look at their 2015 FITs on their lot as some of them have sagging front bumpers also. Think that would make a difference, NOPE. Also the drivers side door weather strip started to disintegrate (told customer caused) NOT COVERED. I replaced it myself. Now dash 12 V power (no power) fuses good. Upper dash driver side is not aligned. (has a gap) see this is also a issue on this forum.
I even had a case number from Honda corp for the bumper which I obtained while traveling last summer which I agreed to hold off on to let the selling dealer fix when back in AZ. Now the local dealer said so what that didn't make any difference. NOT COVERED. Look I like the car many options standard not offered on other cars... Drives great and fantastic mph. BUT I give up, going to trade before a door falls off. I see a Buick Encore in my future. I can only assume this lack of customer service comes all the way from top down at Honda. BTW I showed the Honda rep these forum reports of these problems and they could care lees about others having the same problems.

 

That's really a shame. I don't know what's going on with Honda lately. I still like my 2015 Fit, but the number of problems I have with it seems never ending. In case you're interested, here's my experience with the car so far... it seems eerily similar to your experience.

A month after purchase, it spent almost a month straight at the dealership for a transmission issue, which never was fully resolved. At this point Honda claims it's "normal" for the shifter (standard transmission) to get "stuck" and refuse to shift into a gate. They already replaced first gear and the fork, found that the gear itself had a fuckin' flat spot on it from the factory some how. WTF? And now, the same thing is happening to 5th and to reverse. They won't do anything about it, claim it's "normal" because there is no synchro for reverse, and they just can't seem to replicate the issue in 5th. Great.

On top of this - the paint is awful. It gets swirls from wiping with completely soft cotton towels that have never given me trouble with any other car, the paint's chipping in at least a dozen locations, and the front grille has a big crack in it. I admit I do take care of my cars kind of obsessively, but there's no reason my 7 1/2 year old BMW's paint should be in better condition than my almost new Honda's paint, luxury car or not.

I very seriously considered taking a loss of thousands of dollars to trade for a Fiesta ST, but when I test drove the ST, I first fell in love with the actual driving aspect, then realized that it's just not feasible since a human being over 5 feet tall simply cannot fit in that back seat. Too bad the Ford didn't have the Honda's packaging, or the Honda didn't have the Ford's fun factor, or both cars would be absolute winners in my book.

I don't know what's going on with Honda lately. My girlfriend's Accord had a bad brake caliper, the driver side window one-touch up doesn't work (it actually brings the window DOWN in one touch, strangely enough), and her sunshade / visor / whatever has loosened and falls on her head. This shit apparently isn't covered by warranty. Just the visor itself is EIGHTY DOLLARS to replace. And her father's Pilot is having the SAME EXACT driver window and visor issue.

My own dad was gung-ho about buying an HRV to use during winters (his only other car is a convertible volvo). After he saw my Honda struggles, he settled on an impreza wagon instead. Yeah it's kinda ugly, very basic, and bland. But it has great AWD and at the very least it (probably) won't break, which is something that we used to be able to say about Hondas, but doesn't seem to be the case any more.


On the flip side, however, I did open a case with Honda of America. All it took was an angry facebook comment to their page, and the next day I got a long apology and a case number. Next time I go in for any service, I'm to contact Honda HQ so they can get in touch with my stealership concerning the transmission issue. The paint issue... is just Honda paint apparently. Which sucks, because within the year the Fit will probably be looking like my 2005 240K mile Element.


Now, a question for you... Why a Buick Encore? I heard they're pretty decent as far as vehicles go, so I'm not trying to second guess your decision or anything. I'm just asking because my first thought when considering jumping ship was to get another hatchback. Any reason you're thinking of a micro-SUV? I was 99.999% set to get rid of my Fit until I realized that the Fiesta just isn't a practical car, despite being a hatch, and no other cars with a similar level of utility as the Fit are available in a similar price range.


Also, there is a guy on here, HondaGeek (not sure if that's EXACTLY how he spells his username here). But he's a Honda employee and may be able to help you out in some capacity as well.


Anyway... good luck buddy.

 

Our '15 FIT CVT is our practical, flexible, extra leg room, vacation, cargo and people hauler. Our Fiesta ST is my commuter, driver comfortable, 'fun car'. Happy to have both and they each serve their purpose well for us. Both get remarkably good mpg to boot.

 

Zero problems. You pays your money and you takes your chances.