I am retiring my untrustworthy 2015 Fit
 

After 3 short years I am forced to retire my 2015 Fit. I just bought the 2018 Accord EX and traded in the fit as a down payment. There are many reasons for this. Firstly, I do not feel confident that the car will be problem free considering the many hours wasted with the car at Honda service for issues that should have been taken care of before the car was sold to me. Also, the car is a little bit small for my long legs and although I learned to deal with this somewhat I still get some cramping in my legs when I am stuck in traffic. This was my first Honda and it did not make me feel that the car was built with care. Below is my partial maintenance/service of the car. I bought the car in Paramus NJ from DCH Honda. This was the only dealer within 100 miles at the time that had a fully loaded Fit in White color. In the below partial maintenance log I try to list the date and mileage on all entries but many times I forgot to write down the miles. I removed regular maintenance like oil changes, tire rotations and other required stuff. What I did not enter into the log below was the 4 times in the past year that I went to the Planet Honda dealer in Union NJ to fix the temperature setting knob for the AC/heat in the car. It all started in November 2017 where the knob got jammed and was stuck in hot position and I was not able to change the temperature. This same thing happened 2 more times and last time they kept the car for2 days and gave me a loaner. After last time I got the car back it was working with noticeable resistance when I turn the knob to the hot side. They told me that this is "normal operation for this car with this many miles and age". THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!!!!! I had many cars in my life and never had such problems and they refused to fix it to like original condition. Very recently I also noticed that the AC operation has suffered greatly from this knob issue. I no longer have a fairly cool air blowing out of the vents. It is cool but not cold like it used to be. I suspect a poorly adjusted heat control flap that sends hot air from the heater core into the vents. I have told them this several times and they refuse to fix it. I am in the process of writing a letter to Honda corporate about this and other problems. I may also make a video and post it on YouTube but I have not decided on this yet.

******* 2015 White Orchid Pearl Honda Fit EX-L w/Navi *******
June 9 2015
65 miles (67 miles after dealer tops off tank)
pickup car from Paramus Honda, leave the dealership with 67 miles on odometer.

June 16 2015
Go to Paramus service to get dent above driver side door handle fixed. Dent Wizard fixes it.

June 23 2015
Go to Paramus service to align rear hatch.

July 14 2015
1527 miles
Go to Planet Honda service to fix front passenger front side airbag molding as it does not want to stay in place. Also, tell service consultant about bottom of trunk door not closing properly and front bumper cover not properly attached to body panels where there is a large gap on the upper portion of it and very small one on the bottom on both sides. They told me to contact dch paramus honda about tailgate and front bumper cover issues.

July 21 2015
Go to DCH Paramus Honda to fix back door and bumper cover. Told to come back next week to take car into body shop to fix bumper.

July 28 2015
2200 miles
Go to DCH Paramus Honda to fix bumper cover and rear driver side door as it is a bit too tight when opening.


October 10 2015
Noticed that rear defroster does not work. Side mirror heat works.

October 13 2015
Go to Planet Honda to tell them about rear defroster not working. Rear door panel had to be removed and defroster wire reconnected.

November 2017
Heat control knob gets jammed in hot position.

January 2018
Front rotors appear to be warped after 32K on car.

*****************************

Good luck with your new vehicle!

I've had my fair share of Q/C issues with mine, but it's never left me stranded at near 58k.

Wow, sorry to hear. More than a few of the '15s seem to be very problematic.

Good luck on your new ride....the Accord, as usual, is getting rave reviews and will be a vast improvement over the Fit.

I have a '15 LX we bought CPO, and have had literally zero problems over the last 2 years....car had a fair amount of hwy miles on it when traded in by PO, and I sometimes wonder if he or she already suffered through the teething problems of the early '15's, had them all fixed, and traded it in? Dunno, but...I either got a good build, or the PO had all the problems that can pop up fixed. I love this snotty lil car :)

When I went in for the last time for the heat knob issue I was given a new 2017 Fit that was made in Japan. First thing I noticed was that someone has already dented the rim in one of New Jersey’s famous potholes that are everywhere in the winter and spring. Second thing I noticed is that the suspension is a lot less clunky over bumps in the road and stuff. This was one of the things that concerned me when I first got the car comparing it to my previous which was a 2003 Mazda Protege5. I also noticed that the radio had a volume knob which was one of the things reviewers on YouTube seem to complain about. Personally I didn’t care about the volume knob, I always used the steering wheel volume buttons and if I wanted to mute the car quickly I hit the power button. I also noticed very minor differences in the engine bay that were slightly different from my car. I think the 17s and 18s will be excellent cars when it comes to quality and reliability. Replying to 2Rismo2, yes I also never was stranded and consider the car mechanically excellent.

Sorry to hear. Thankfully my early 2015 has been flawless so far.

The GK fits were launched as a new model, in a new factory, in a new country with a new supply chain. Presumably with mostly new workers. I am not surprised to hear of multiple quality problems from that situation. I personally think the supply chain is the primary issue; and you may get a sense whether it's the components breaking themselves, or something about how they were assembled together.

I'm not saying you should excuse Honda. It's the OEMs responsibility to ensure manufacturing quality! I would be very upset myself; what you described sounds like "old GM" quality. I'm just saying this feels very normal to me given how complex it is to screw a car together. In my mind, it's best to avoid models of any brand that fall into that situation. Figure Honda will work the issues out over the first 1-2 years ... vs say Fiat where I cynically expect they will never get fixed :D

My 2012 made in the Suzuka plant in Japan where they also produced the NSX, someone correct me on that if you know better, has been quite good. :) In fact my family has purely out of luck owned I think 4 cars from that plant (2 Fits, 1 Civic Hybrid, and 1 del Sol which remains the most reliable car I've had despite it still sitting in my driveway at 22 years old.) Obviously it's impractical to buy cars based only on where or how they were made, but I think it makes a difference.

So er. Moral of the story is .... Buy an NSX? Well that is not very helpful advice is it. I wish.

my 16's on its way out too. as soon as temps reach 70F im going to bandaid fix the flaking door paint with factory matched paint rattle can i have left from a previous repair and trade it in.

Sorry to hear about your struggles.

There were reports of a lot of fit and finish/quality problems upon the first wave or so, of Honda Fits that came out of the newly opened Mexico plant.

The number of stories at that time actually delayed my seriously looking at Honda Fits. I waited until I heard they were being built in Japan again.

That's no knock on the Mexico Plant, but sometimes there is a lag, as a plant tries to open, get up to speed, and gains experience.

And I also have heard from owners of those Fits, that have had little or no complaint.

If yours was produced in the Mexico Plant, I'd have to file it under the complaint section.

And it's just too bad.
With your straw that broke the Camels Back problem. I agree the heat control knob should not be difficult to turn. And IMO it's ridiculous to contend that a control knob, has any connection in terms of deterioration, to mileage or age. It should be repairable, to simply work properly...which is with minimal resistance.

People restore Model-T's to "as new" condition. Ridiculous to contend that a control knob that is less than 5 years old, has deteriorated to a point that is repair isn't possible because sub-standard performance is "normal" for it's age and mileage. I think not.

This is possible that these problems are caused because of new plant, new workers etc. but like you said in the end Honda is responsible. This is the shortest amount of time I ever kept any car since my driving career began in the early 90s. I always finance and keep cars for at least 10 years. The Mazda before the Fit I had for over 12. I also have a friend that has a Acura TSX and says that is the best car he ever had.

While I will agree that none of these build quality issues are great to deal with, nothing seems major at all.

Take the damn car to an independent mechanic to fix the AC issue.

Tight door is body issue and can be fixed by any body shop for no more than 100$ by readjusting the hinges and regreasing them.

A rear defroster window wire needed to be reconnected? That was it? Not even broken?

Again, I understand you want a trouble free car, but calling the fit unreliable over a few issues - none of which have stranded the car or put you in danger - is called being a drama queen. Sit down, spend a few hundred bucks and get your damn issues sorted out.

PS - nice username LOL. impressionable and short-sighted. Have you heard of a guy named George Constanza?

I have to agree with the OP on this. I was the 'victim' of not only a poor January 2015 build Fit, but also poor customer service at the selling dealer and regional levels. I got 'Fit to be tied' that I dumped the car after 12 months and 18k miles. Yep, only a year. Mechanically, I didn't have the car long enough to complain about it starting or driving. What ticked me off to no end was the fit and finish. Not a month after I had the car the clear coat started failing on 3 panels. When I said failing, it was failing. Clouding up, flaking off, and spreading. This within 30 days after taking possession. I had to fight, and I mean fight for Honda to recognize it as an issue and get them to fix it. The resolution? Strip the clear from nearly half a NEW car and reclear. Is that what you would want in a new ride? Aside from that I also has misaligned doors that no 'adjustments' would be able to fix. Then the water... water water everywhere in the footwells. Every issue made me believe that I had purchased a left over Yugo rather than a Honda. I just couldn't take the issues and potential issues any longer and off to trade it went. My experiences with Honda go back decades, but this is the time that I truly felt that Honda no longer cared. Oh, what really makes me sad is how many of you want to shrug off these problems with the excuse 'it's only a $20k car, what do you expect?'. It doesn't matter that the Fit is Honda's lowest priced vehicle. Their quality should be the same as their most expensive. I expect that, why not you? I am not fully away from the Honda family as there's still 2 vehicles in the garage with the prominent H. Those were made when Honda cared. In the end, Honda has lost its luster (in my mind). They had issues, didn't really address them, and allowed at least some unknown quantity of vehicles to be sold instead of doing the right thing and reworking each and every early Fit before sale.

so wat are u guys looking to get next? i’m pretty much set on the new Forester XT.

it all depends on what you need kenchan. I traded the Fit for a 2016 Toyota Corolla. Sure, it doesn't have the utility or handling of the Fit, but it does have a GREAT build quality, a GREAT ride, gets within a couple mpgs of the Fit, and it cost less than the Fit. And the best thing of all? After almost 40k miles, it's never seen the dealer for anything. Not an issue at all. That was true of my wife's 2010 Camry as well. That thing has 125k and is still the least expensive car to maintain we've ever had. My brother has a 2010 Forester and it's been a great car for him. I don't think you can go wrong with it.

Maybe it is the model year, or that I am lucky. Going on 20K miles, I am satisfied my 2017 LX CVT. Yes, the quality of the material is not what you get in a luxury car, but the car is solid and reliable so far. It is my utility car, and one that I don't mind lending out. I never considered a different car within its price range.

I expect a certain level of quality and customer service when I buy anything, any product. Many companies flat out lie when they advertise the products. Honda was not one of them but the dealer was. I was not happy with the dealer that i purchased the car from so after the original quality issues I never went back to them except when another dealer advised me to as they considered the issue a pre delivery quality inspection related issue. The heat knob problem forced me to go to a dealer near my work so I will have more time for them to work on the problem. I spent way too much of my time in the first few months of ownership repairing the car that was obviously not quality checked. I say this because after I got the body alignment problems sorted out I went to another dealer and looked at their Fits and did not see those problems on both cars in showroom and outside in the lot. And I will not go to a personal mechanic to fix the heat issue when Honda service refused to fix in 3 visits UNDER WARRANTY !!! So I feel confident that the accord will not disappoint me. When I bought it I made sure to be extra aware of what to look for before signing the bill of sale. The Ohio plant been making Accords for many years so they are not new workers in a new plant. And like I previously said that the 2017 Fit was a big improvement over my 15.

I can empathize with the OP as my 2015 had it's fair share of Q/C issues including the sagging front bumper. I spent more time at the dealership trying to fix Q/C issues and warranty repairs than any car I've owned and it really turned me off of the quality of Honda. The Fit was my first honda and it was not a great intro to the brand.

With that being said, it's never left me stranded and consistently gets 40+ MPG on my commute.

You said it perfect. I feel the same way 100%.

With the Fit being Honda's cheapest and entry level model, I think it's important to give the owner a high level of satisfaction because it's their first impression of the brand. It could mean getting future business for that person and their future family or someone saying, "Never going to buy another Honda..."