Who cares about minor aesthetstic?

Most important thing is Honda engineering in motor and handling, which is top, which is will I buy Honda.

 

People who buy cars care about aesthetics. That's why so much is spent on them. The fit of a door to the frame isn't solely a matter of aesthetics though; it influences cabin noise.

If a manufacturer couldn't handle the easy things a customer can see, door placement, paint application, designing an under engine panel that stays on without zip-ties, why would you think they would handle matters a customer doesn't see?

 

OK, fanboi:

Drove a Ford F150 242K miles. Tires, brakes, U-joints and serpentine belt.

Drove a Dodge Durango 175K miles. Tires, brakes and serpentine belt

Drove a Dodge SRT-4 212K miles. Tires, brakes, serpentine belt, timing belt, water pump (replaced as preventative measure since right where timing belt is) and at 175K miles the clutch.

Reading this forum I have to either adjust the valves or pay to have the valves adjusted on my Fit periodically? Great engineering for a car made in 2017. The POS I bought has panel from the 1970's and engine technology from the 1970's. In my 30 years of buying new cars or getting them as part of my job, this is the first that requires valve adjustment. What a joke.

 

Oh yea....In regard to handling its not a 1988 CRX Si. Yes, those CRX had sort of a double wishbone rear or trailering arm rear suspension. They were very good, probably expensive and is why the 1988 and 1989 CRX Si is still the car to have in SCCA autocross in the STS class. I believe the Integra type R also had the same rear suspension? Regardless those haven't been made for over 20 years. The rear suspension in my Fit is right out of a minivan. The front suspension is typical McPherson strut that has the same inherent issues that all vehicles with this suspension have. The biggest advantage is that it's cheap.

Do some research instead of spewing out something that's been regurgitated for 20 years.

 

shoulda read my quality issue thread...
At least your doors weren't hitting each other when opened.
+ 50 other issues.

 

We had this same problem back in 1988!!!

It was one of the those Accord made in Ohio for the first time.
Had to go back to dealer 3 times for various body fitment issues.
Who cares...car ran and drove great.
Car was excellent mechanically...ol'skool carburetor and flip up headlights.
We took great care of it and it gave us great service for 20 years...no problems.

We were worried too back then about American built vs Japan.
But I knew the important thing is Honda motor engineering is top.

 

I'm late to this thread. I just checked all the door seams on my '17 LX CVT. The alignment looks as good as it can get. The car was assembled in Suzuka, Japan. Compare the Fit to other subcompact cars, not others that cost more. By all means, the Fit has been a favorite among car journalists for what it was designed to do, ample space and great economy for getting from A to B and back.

 

But the CVT transmission is a deal breaker for me, and there are no manual transmission cars coming in from Japan.

 

I, for one am sick to death from staring at the badly misaligned dashboard, A pillar and quarter window trim every time I sit behind the wheel. It's a constant reminder to me that Honda has lost control of its build quality and I was foolish to buy the car. If a company doesn't care to get the small things right, it's hard to believe that they will care about the big things.

I've had to have the rear axle replaced, as the right rear wheel couldn't be aligned and wore out the right rear tire in 15,000 miles. Then there was the recall because Honda forgot to paint the door handle brackets. At 24,000 miles the starter motor died, and just now, as the 36,000 mile warranty has run out, the replacement starter is starting to fail again.

 

Looks like you misspelled "Hyundai".

 

Yes, this was how Honda built their reputation. Honda succumbed to the bean counters wishes like everyone else. It;s probably been that way for the last 15 years? They've been going for the cheapest solution like everyone else. Honda built their reputation on spending additional money if it was going to make the car more fun to drive, do whatever as long as the result was that they would sell more cars. That day has been over for quite some time. Torsion beam rear suspension on the Fit is about as crude ad cheap as one can get. McPherson front suspension is the same as everyone else (cheap). Surprisingly, the rear seats seam to be the only place that engineering won over the bean counters. The fold every which way you can seats aren't cheap to produce and probably sell more cars because of it? It was one of the reasons I bought mine.


Any car will last if you follow the service schedule and replace parts before they have reached the end of their service life. It's how the airline industry works. It's why you don't see allot of plane crashes and how we've been flying B52's since the 50's

 

Yes, Hyundai has some of the best quality of the industry right now. The Japanese are living off their reputation like US auto manufacturers did in the 70's and 80's


How Hyundai, Kia beat out Toyota, Honda | Fortune.com

 

Mine looks like that as well. 17 fit ex. Took it to the dealership and the dude just tried to bend it to where it's flush using brute force, didn't work. He told me there's not much he can do about it so I just learned to live with the misalignment.

 

To the OP.... I wonder if the door jam latch can move further inward to help with making the door flush with the rear?

 

It wouldn't in my case. For sake of discussion it does, it will also increase the closing effort due to having to compress the weather strip a bunch just to close the door. Nobody want to have to slam a door closed in order for it to look right

 

tbFit, that would work if the misalignment was consistent from top to bottom. I think the OP has the same problem I had, where the top of the door fit nice and flush but the bottom edges stick out, noticeably or vice versa. There's no adjustments to the door strike that will bring the bottom or top inward and not affect the other. To all the others out there commenting on this issue, please be aware that my problem (and it appears to be the same for the OP) doesn't involve the gaps between panels. On my car, the gaps were good; consistent along and among other body panels. The problem is how the doors align along the edges. Mine stuck out like sore thumbs. Not even close to being flush or anywhere near it. Short of replacing the doors there are no adjustments for that.

 

I stopped in to a Honda showroom an hour ago. But for these threads about doors I would not have caught what I saw.

The driver's side looked OK and the tops of the doors were about flush with the body. The passenger side doors were well inside the top of the roof; I could see it from 15 feet away. Front and back were lined up with each other, but both were set well inward.

I don't know whether that would create a wind noise problem. This does suggest that it wouldn't be smart to buy one without a close inspection.

 

Yes it would increase NVH. Chrysler's standard is .5mm or .020" over flush. Think of it as shingles on a house. That way the air flows over the next panel instead of making wind noise.

 

Just got around to checking back on this thread. ROOSTER; you hit the nail right on the head with your reply. One of the doors is off flush at the bottom but not at the top and cannot be adjusted. The others might be okay for an adjustment. I went to the dealer. He offered to try some work at a body shop. He specifically said they might not be able to fix it. I never went back for the body work. Screw it, I'll drive like it is. The doors don't rattle or leak. I do blame him for the old edge guard trick. I slammed them on Yelp and Dealer Rater for whatever good that does. Gets my frustration out a little. Rooster is also correct on the cold hard fact; I bought it, signed the papers and drove away. I still have a notion I might try to get some work done on it via Honda warranty but I haven't crossed that bridge yet. Too much freakin' hassle and thery'll probably blow me off as mentioned by ROOSTER and ROB H. To those who asked, yes, my car is made in Mexico. Never again. It's funny because somebody at the dealership told me "some of them are just like that". I told him to stick it in his ear but he was right in a way. Anyway, if you can't beat 'em join 'em. I ordered some edge guards on Amazon and took care to apply them nice and even and professional looking.

 

To TBFit; yes, I considered attempting an adjustment to the door latch striker plate. Some cars have striker plates that can be moved laterally. I don't know if that's the case on my Fit. I did squish the door shut by leaning on it which compressed the weather strip but as ROB H pointed out, having done this the door doesn't close as good. My best bet now is to leave it alone.