changed all the external lights to LEDs purchased from amazon, head lights, fog lights, turn signals, parking lights, reverse lights, cabin light. although cabin light is obscenely bright. i purchased "in-line" load resisters (you plug one end into the bulb's receptacle and on the other end is a receptacle you plug the bulb into, and then insert that into the headlight assembly as normal) for the front turn signals because there was significantly less room to work up front. since the load resisters apparently get dangerously hot, the load resistors up front are hung from keychain rings and then those rings are secured to the frame with zip ties. i can try and grab a picture of those if there is interest. the ones in the back are secured with metal wire and are away from anything the heat can damage. everything works as designed, although the license plate bulbs dont exactly fit the housing, but i was able to make it work. one did burn out which ive chalked up to being defective or perhaps too much force when initially installing, but i replaced it and its been fine. everything works as intended, no hyper flashing etc. this was very easy for me, as my car has sustained minor damage to the front driver side fender and there is a hole in the wheel well/fender liner large enough for me to change the bulbs through on that side without needing to remove the headlamp assembly, bumpers covers, etc. same thing on the left, (someone sideswiped me just enough to rip the bumper cover off [ lol they came back the next day after it was repaired and hit the driver's side mirror, now its black and the other is blue lol] there is basically no fender liner on the passenger side so i was able to just reach up in and replace the bulb, however the turn signal gave me a lot of trouble for some reason, the bulb kept getting caught on the reflecting dish inside the headlight assembly causing the bulb to fall into the space where it should be in its receptacle, thankfully a telescoping magnet was able to fish it out multiple times, and i eventually did pull the bumper cover off, and pull the headlight assembly out, install the bulb and put it all back together. heres a little needless history - i paid 3000 for my 2007 fit, with 130,000 miles on it in mid 2018 from a lady at work. its 2022 and now 212,000 miles with no real signs of crapping out any time soon. i did have to replace the alternator when i first got it as it was making the headlights pulse and eventually got worse to the point i was no longer able to ignore it. fun fact: i was able to just replace the alternator without removing anything else at all from this car. the cabin fan blower and the blower motor resistor, i couldnt tell which one went bad as the resistor appeared fine and a multimeter says "its fine", and the blower activated when connected directly into a 12v circuit. replaced both, cabin fan back to normal. the hood release latch was causing the car alarm to go off all night and annoy my neighbors, so i began to pull the fuse for the horn out (along with the ABS fuse so the car could not be put in drive therefore i could not forget to drive off with no fuse in the horn and therefore no horn, which seems incredibly unsafe when you think about it) when i got home until i could take the time to figure it out (this was before the sideswipe). the next morning, after the alarm going off all night, the battery would be dead and id have to use my portable jump starter. since i knew it was going to be a few days before i could get it figured out since i had some stuff coming up and the car wasnt completely non-driveable, i put a solar panel on the dashboard and connected that to a controller and the controller to the battery (just ran the wires as best i could and routed them thru the crack in the 'A' pillar where the body panels meet) and each morning my car would start just fine. eventually the internet said i can just disconnect the hood latch connector and that made my car alarm stop going off. apparently my gas cap "went bad" and was making the check engine light come on so i had to replace literally just the gas cap, bought from ebay, kinda pricey for what it is. other than that i have not had any issues with this car. i have an OBD2 thing and use the dashcommand app, i can routinely get 40 mpg for decent stretches and after this weekends roadtrip, my mpg averages at 33.

what silly repairs has anyone else done to their car? what should i be on the lookout for now that my car is getting up there in age and mileage?

 

I know is not what you want to hear, but the stock 'in line resistors' are as inefficient or more than the stock incandescent. It is same as keeping the stock incandescent directionals connected and hidden inside fender, and then adding the LEDs. Might as well keep the stock directionals and it is simpler and less expensive.. The 'in-line' resistors defeat the main purpose of the LEDs. ....their low consumption and efficiency.

......sorry .....but that is basic electrical engineering.

 

while i understand your reply to mean they use MORE electricity than the incandescents they replaced, im failing to understand how thats an actual problem as the lights function as intended, with no noticeable side effects.