Howdy folks! My daily driver is a 2011 Honda Fit Sport, approaching 220k miles (yes, you read that right). I am the 2nd owner, since probably around 2016 or so I think, haven't paid much attention up until now because I was basically a "this is my point A to point B car".

I am a complete and total newbie to maintaining and working on cars, but my recent RC hobby addiction has kind of fueled my fire to take a look at my real car and see what I can do to keep it running well, not looking to "supe" it up or anything, just want to learn more about what I can do to keep it running for years to come (if that is even possible with such high mileage and very little maintenence)

A few questions if you all don't mind me asking
1 - If I have done nothing but change the oil and tires, and had nubrakes complete a break job on the front, what should I take a look at first? I'd like to learn to do as much as possible myself, because I'd rather not just start throwing tons of money to a mechanic or anything, would also like to get to a point where I do my own oil changes as well.
2 - Is engine cleaning a serious thing? Like to make it easier to inspect/work on? If so is that something better done yourself or if you're not sure what you're doing are there places that do it?
3 - I have a few interior lighting issues going on, 1 is my overhead dome light isn't burned out but will no longer come on without me banging on the roof around it, assume there is something electrical I need to get into, and the a/c switch has a similar issue where I basically have to turn it off and on a few times before it will stay on - the other is the fan level knob, the backlight sometimes will only come on if I "tap" it.

Hope I'm not being annoying, just want to follow the rules here and learn as much as possible, thanks for reading this far!

Jiggs

 

Welcome!

1 - I didn't quite understand, but are you looking to replace the front brakes? If you have any friends who have worked on cars before, I'd recruit one of them to help you and to supervise. YouTube will have a bunch of videos on this type of work, even on a Fit, I am sure. Watch a few different videos on the same job to get a good idea of what is involved in the procedure.

2 - Yes, a clean engine bay certainly makes it easier to spot leaks and such. You can do it yourself or take it to a detailing shop and have them do it. Cover up electrical components such as your battery and alternator before spraying away. Also, I would recommend checking out videos from detailers such as Larry Kosilla (AMMO NYC).

3 - It sounds like the bulbs you mentioned are getting old and are in need of replacement.

 

Theres a lot of good detailed videos on YouTube. I like 1A Autos vidoes. Theyre straight to the point, detailed, and easy to follow.

I think it would be worth getting a service manual if youre going to go this route of learning how to. When we overhauled the engine it came in handy to just look at where everything is. Theres a good amount of resources online, but I prefer a physical copy. Brings me back to being a kid and sitting with my dad while he worked on our family's cars.

Spark plugs are kinda annoying to change on the Fit, but after doing them you get used to it. Id invest in a torque wrench, especially if you are going to change your spark plugs. You dont want to under or over torque amd cause a bigger headache.