My 2007 Fit Sport is still kicking mechanically (despite an exhaust leak that I can't pinpoint...), but a year ago I discovered significant rust damage along the driver's side that is too expensive to fix and I've been expecting to need a new car in the near future. I had been praying that they would release the re-designed JP 2020 model in the US next year, but then was gutted to hear they're cancelling the Fit altogether... so it's back to the drawing board.

For several reasons I've been of the mindset that the Fits manufactured at the Celaya, Mexico plant were inferior to ones coming out of Japan, which means if I were to ever buy a "new" Fit that the most recent model year I would buy is a 2017 (last year North America got JP-made models). Most of the info I found about Mexican Fits being "bad" was from the first year or so they were being built though, so I'm wondering if they "got better" from 2018-2020? While I would prefer buying a new car in general for the inherit peace of mind (ie, new warranty, etc), something about it coming directly from Japan sets my mind at ease... but am I wrong?

 

I have found my Japan-built Honda cars to be better quality than the ones coming from England or Ontario. It’s a very very small difference though. There were some Mexico years of known quality issues (paint? Bumpers?) but I would blame that on the new plant not the location.

 

i was also gutted by this news. such a fundamental loss, the american society we live in, with trump as president and standard cars falling by the wayside really makes me sick. I bet if you look hard enough you can find an end of run GK.

maybe, people are people. all it takes is training, to make people understand their work like people from other places


more to the point of the discussion however, and to provide my seemingly fanboy-esk opinion:
My Mexican built '17 GK is a happy little car, even after 100k miles of me driving it. I've never owned a honda before, and I've never owned something so reliable, or fun. Perhaps there may be something to the "made in japan" bit, however: after the 2015-16 problems, honda stepped up their QA game, and it shows.
Notes about my ownership experience:
* highway car, and thus i chose 93 octane (at pump) for various reasons including lower pre-detonation.
* oil and filter changed every <5k miles with mobile 1 15k rated 0-w20.
* air filters changed every 20k.
* spark plugs changed at 97k (because i wanted to).
* not parkinglot revving.
* not racing every single stop light.
* only banging gears occasionally.

 

My 2018 is made in Mexico. No issues.

 

Same with my 2015.

 

FWIW, we had a 2015 LX CVT - first one that arrived at our local dealership in July 2014, assembled in Mexico. Great car on paper, but lots of smaller issues, that seemed to be multiplying. Paint was dull - almost as if no clear coat. At 55k miles, fuses/radio/battery/backup camera issues started to develop. When we traded it in, everyone at the dealer was very blunt about the problems they had with '15s and 16's from Mexico.