Hi,

Was wondering if anyone had good advice for what options we have to replace the battery on 3rd gen(2015) Honda Fit. The size 151R is tough to find and generally pretty expensive.

On older forums (& older generations), others mention using 51R (event 26R) as they are more powerful batteries and more widely available (at Costco et al) so generally cheaper. But it does involve some work and extra adaptor that many say makes it not worth the benefits. Was wondering has anyone tried doing this on the 3rd gen Fit?

Or in general any other advise to get a battery replaced for $70-80? Thanks

 

What is the concern? Hard to find, not. I doubt you can find a battery for any car for less than $100. There is an old axiom, "If it is not broken, don't fix it". So, my suggestion is get a battery that will fit the Fit.

 

I use a 51R, just requires some cutting of plastic.

 

I got my replacement 151R from the dealer, and They installed all up for $140.

 

That's what I'll be doing when the time comes.

 

Cyclist: I would just get this OEM Honda Battery from a Honda Dealer in your home state of Texas--It's only $100 plus $16.00 for the core. You are not going to find a better price. Just don't know what the shipping is?

It's 350 miles from Houston so a 1-day ship maybe not too expensive?
See if they will cut you a deal on shipping?

HondaPartsOnline.net
Clark Knapp Honda
900 N Sugar Rd (off W Hwy 83)
Pharr, TX 78577

https://www.hondapartsonline.net/oem...ZlPXZhcmlhYmxl

OR Take this to your local Honda Dealer and see if they can match it?

 

Thanks all for the responses ... but after I got the battery test done early morning and posted on fitfreak for advise, the battery suddenly died later in the day when I was out (which was surprising as it worked well all week even after staying out in hot temperatures in the open). Since it was Saturday afternoon and I needed the car again, I had limited options so had to get it replaced locally (and quickly) for $155 plus taxes but with a supposedly good 5 year warranty (3 years free replacement) ... i know its doubtful the warranty works out.

I just checked the shipping cost from Pharr, TX to Houston (for buying from honda parts online) and it is $37 which would have bought the price close to what I paid for anyways and unfortunately I did not have the time luxury. All along I had expected a good battery to be available for < $100 at Costco, Sams, etc. but I guess with the special sized battery that's not possible (unless you do the grunt work to get a 51R fit in). Just sharing my thoughts/experience. Thanks again!

 

just curious, other than cutting plastic ... what else is needed to make a 51R fit?

what adapters are needed, to make it all work?



(I was under the impression they just drop in, with a little cutting of the plastic tray)

 

That's it!
There are two types of trays. If you happen to have the larger one then no cutting is required since I believe it accommodates the larger battery as is.

 

This AGM battery Doesn’t Fit for the Honda FIT! Just buy a Optima Yellow Top D51R

 

Anyone know how to remove the nylon thing that sits atop the left j-hook. I can't figure out how to get it off so that I can turn the nut underneath it, in order to loosen the j-hook. The nylong thing is just there to hold wires in place, so that they don't flop around.

 

I just had to do this three weeks ago. I have a Canadian 2016 Honda Fit now with a 51R battery inside. My battery tray was too small to add the 51R battery but it turns out I could just remove the tray (no tools) and strap the battery in. All in all it took 20min with the hardest part trying to figure out how to remove that white nylon thing that sits on top of the left j-hook. Removing it turned out to be: removing the right j-hook, then removing the left j-hook and unscrewing the nylon bit. For the install, put both j-hooks on and just press the nylon thing back on top. No shims or anything needed. For reference I used a EverStart MAXX-51RN.

 

Oh! I think I see! Thanks @FitAnotherWay. Once you remove the J-hook, you can remove the nylon thing by turning the J-hook instead of turning the nylon thing – with the J-hook removed, the wire conduit that is attached to the nylon thing won't get in the way of separating the nylon thing from the J-hook. Then, to get the nylon thing back onot the J-hook,, you just place it atop the J-hook, and push down on it. Have I got that right?

Jeeze-Louise Honda – that nylon thing seems like an unnecessary complication, and an unnecessary manufacturing expense for you. Is that a standard out-of-the box part or did have to have it custom-made especially for the way we see it being used?. I've never seen one of those nylon things before, and I don't see it being used anywhere else on the car.

 

I use genuine Honda batteries in all of my cars. Cheap price, great warranty, and made by Interstate.

 

Yes @nomenclator that's exactly how it's done. Maybe there are better ways but that worked for me.

 

I found another way!!!!! That nylon thing "has a (10mm) hex head for a reason." Has the same size hex as the nut that hold down the J-hook. You can turn the nylon hex head if you hold the other part of this fastener, and prevent it from rotating. You hold on to the part that surrounds the hex, and that is attached to the loop of nylon that surrounds the wire conduit, While you turn the hex counterclockwise, you keep this other part from moving. Turning the hex counterclockwise will then detach the nylon thing from the J-hook! It takes a lot of turns but you can see the hex head getting higher and higher with each turn, and eventually you can pull the entire nylon fastener off of the J-hook. To put the nylon thing back on, you just push it down – but to remove it, you just turned the hex. I still think it is an unnecessarily and weirdly complicated device, that is there just to hold a wire conduit from flopping around. Couldn't they have found some place to attach the conduit to, with a zip-tie? "Honda makes it simple"? Honda makes it simple my ass. I might add that there exist zip-ties that can be removed without cutting them, and that can then re-used. They sell these in drug stores and supermarkets, not just in hardware stores. Or simply, why not keep the conduit from flopping around by tying it to something with a pipe-cleaner.

 

Home Depot had an Exide something or other, 51R, Rated 500 CCA. $109 plus $12 core charge. They had only 1. There was a label on it with the manufacturing date, in plain English, not in code! April 2021. They called it the "factory charged" date or something like that. So I bought it. I read in a couple of places that you should make sure when you buy a new battery that the manufacturing date is not more than 6 months before your purchase date. So April to Oct – 6 months. After I bought the battery I tested the voltage. It was 12 volts. Put it in the car and it started the car right away.

Had to "press and hold the button" on the radio to get it to work again. Did I lose my preset radio stations? I don't know! I use the search feature. Never use the buttons. Disconnecting the battery caused the time to be lost. So I had to set the clock. (1) Holding a button down and (2) setting the time seemed easier than finding another battery (even a little rectangular 9v should do) and connecting it to the battery cables somehow, in order to maintain the car's memories while the car's 12v battery was disconnected.

I forgot to mark the weird thing that wraps around the battery, before I removed it, so before putting it back in, I had to check on-line for the correct orientation. Turns out the part where the single piece is spliced together, goes at the left front of the car.

I had a full sized battery tray ready to replace the my Fit's original short-length tray. I had found it on ebay, a used tray from a wrecked 2016 Fit being parted out. I replaced the original tray with the full-sized tray. Cost me $31 after a little friendly bargaining with the owner, I thought it was worth it – enabled me to avoid the task of trimming the original tray.

My Fit was manufactured in Feb 2015, purchased by me new in June 2015. While the orignal battery was able to start the car through last winter, when I had tested the battery before last winter with my voltmeter, it seemed like it was nearing the end of its life – because while my assistant started the car its voltage momentary dropped from 12.5 volts to about 8 volts – my belief is that it should not drop below 9 volts. The new battery drops to 10 volts.

 

I used a 151R AGM battery from Pep Boys near me. $140 with tax and core deposit, 5 year warranty. It's nice having a bit of reserve, as the wife sometimes leaves lights on, or wants to finish listening to something after she's parked.

I simply cut the raised part of the tray off, since this is a sealed battery with realistically nothing to drip, and reattached everything.

 

I just use the Honda Battery on my 2015 FIT. The OEM lasted about 3 years and the dealer replaced it free with a new Honda Battery because they said it should have lasted longer. So I am now on 4+ years on my second Honda Battery. On my old 2009 FIT the OEM Honda Battery lasted 6 years!

 

To replace the Honda Radio Code battery on a 3rd gen (2015) vehicle: choose a compatible battery, locate the battery in the engine compartment, disconnect the negative cable, replace the battery, and reconnect the negative cable. Have a professional perform the replacement if unsure.