Well guys and girls, another issue came up lately that certainly is weighing heavily on my faith in Honda products. That being the ‘carpet’ if you could call it that. In the past couple months I’ve noticed the carpet in the passenger side foot well has been ‘molting’ and the base layer it’s attached to is now wavy. By molting I mean the fibers are constantly pulling away from the base layer and the long, fuzzy fibers look like rat fur. It almost looks like a sweater that’s piling. I’ve already shaved the fur away twice with electric clippers, but it keeps coming back. The area is not subject to abrasive foot action. What’s even more disturbing is the fact that the base layer looks like a washboard in an area about 8” square. Even after shaving, the base layer doesn’t sit flat. It appears to me that the area has been wet and dried wavy, although I know it never was wet. I mentioned it to the service manager and he simply said “You really don’t want me to replace that carpet” alluding to the fact that they wouldn’t be doing a good job with it. He also said “let’s monitor it and see if it gets worse”. Ok, I’ll monitor it, but the wavy base layer will never sit flat and it will continue to shed fuzz until there’s no fuzz (carpet) left. I should demand a replacement, but am leery of the service guys tearing apart my interior and creating more problems. I tried to take pictures, but because it’s black and the location I’m unable to get clear ones. Anyone else notice this on their Fits?

 

I put a set of Weathertech mats in immediately. I think you are fighting a losing battle with the factory "carpet."

 

Agree with gderf. It's a misnomer to call it "carpet". You'll have to get new carpet mats but once you get them you'll be glad you did.

 

Back when I bought my '09 Fit, I remarked on the cheapness of the "carpeting", to the effect that "Honda couldn't have found a cheaper material for the carpeting." With the GK, Honda proved me wrong by coming up with a cheaper, shoddier material than I believed possible. Calling it "rat fur" does a disservice to rats, everywhere. Even my two Dodge Neons came with beautiful, high quality cut pile carpeting.


With the Neon, I bought carpet mats to protect the beautiful carpeting. With the Honda, I bought Weathertech floor liners to hide the shoddy carpet material.


Even the Honda "carpet mats" are horribly cheap, and fit poorly in the rear foot wells.

 

All, thanks for the replies, however it's not for lack of protection. I have had husky liners in the car ever since it was a week old. Besides, the defective area is smack under the middle of the mat. There is a defect in that area of the carpet or it is getting wet contrary to never feeling wet. Wish I could take some decent pics of it.

 

Do the husky liners have little "nubs" on the bottom to hold them in place? If so, that's probably what's tearing at the carpet. My Weathertech liners are smooth on the bottom and my carpet looks fine under the mats.

 

Uncle, while there are nubs, the passenger side has always sat on the factory carpeted mat so there is protection from below. I just don't understand the 'furring' as there is no movement of the original mat to the base 'carpet'. It's as almost if the binding agent that holds the material together isn't doing it's job. I guess it's time to pull the hair clippers back out and give it a haircut. BTW, the problem area is almost dead center in the foot well. This started happening about 4 months after I got the car; it's only 10 months old now. Hardly anyone rides in that seat so the wear shouldn't be on that side at all. Vacuuming is a nightmare, it exacerbates the problem. I'll try to dust the area with talc and see if I can get some decent pictures.

 

That is weird. My carpets, cheap as they are, are showing no such signs of deterioration. I can see an impression of the bottom of the floor mat in the driver's side carpet, but that's it.

 

i wore a hole in my fit carpeting within the first month of use. rat fur? lol... it is cheap carpet, much cheaper than it has been used in the past.

 

Uncle, I'm going to take my car to another dealer to see if they, the service manager specifically is more interested in my issue. I wouldn't have such an issue with the carpet if it was simply some fraying... heck, if that's all it was I'd simply shave it down and use some spray adhesive on the fiber to keep it down. The problem is the area is buckled, wavy, or whatever words you can find to describe it. It's not flat like it was when new and will never be again.

 

What year is your Fit? I have a 2016 and like others, immediately installed WeatherTech liners front and back simply because I didn't want to deal with removing road salt residue (which never really comes out), or sand.

When I remove the liners to wash them out, the carpet underneath looks the same as it did the day of delivery.

 

2015 here kayak... I have and always have had the Husky liners installed (same premise as Weathertech). It's not that the carpet looks dirty, it is fuzzing up (long strands of fuzz, about 1.5" long) AND the base it's attached to is lumpy/wavy. Imagine a piece of paper that had gotten wet and dried... not flat like it used to be. It's not a matter of getting dirty, it's wearing oddly and vacuuming seems to exacerbate it.

 

Sounds icky! If you don't get help from a dealer, try sending a letter (the kind typed and snailmailed) to American Honda and politely explain the problem. Years ago I had a Honda and the ignition went out at around 130K. My mechanic suggested I write American Honda. I did and they replied the ignition should not have failed and reimbursed my repair costs.

 

My driver's-side floor mat, with 23K on the car, was getting worn near the gas pedal where my heel rests. Rossi Honda in South Jersey gave me an entire new set of mats gratis. I plan on investing in a set of all-season mats before next winter starts.

 

This made me laugh! Thanks!