Honda Fit Sport Long Term, High use report.
 

I bought my fit 3 weeks ago to replace my 200k mile chevy that died.
I am starting this report on my fit to give others a snapshot of how this car performs under heavy use.

2007 White Fit Sport AT
Red brake Calipers
Blue lugs and Valve stem caps.
http://www.stripertackle.net/prodimages/fit2007-010.jpg

I drive 126 miles a day 5 days a week
That is 630 miles a week
2520 miles a month (4 week month)
30240 miles per year. These miles are only my daily comute and do not take into account weekend or other misc. driving.

Week 1 car is perfect, gas mileage is a bit off from estimates, but this is normal on an unbroken in motor.
By Friday I was at 850+ miles on the odometer.

Week 2 Now past the official break in period I began to explore the revs of the engine. I drive in a region with many hills, most are mild but there are a few monsters that really show the limits of this engine. The paddle shifters help make up for this though.
By Friday the car has nearly broken 2000 miles

Week 3 Becoming comfortable with the car and how it handles. Closing in on 2600 miles. I have recieved the gas cap error message on moday morning "check gas cap" will have the dealer reset on Saturday, it has been unusually cold, a snap freeze for 2 days. I have experimented with the gas mileage trying to see just how good it can get. I drove one day with no radio or vent fan and kept the revs under 2500 for 62 miles. On this occasion it was about 60 degrees outside and running on mid grade fuel (89 octane) 15% humidity I was able to get 41 mpg. A retry of the same experiment on the following day with higher temps and higher humidity yielded only 38 mpg. By Saturday I had the oil changed by the dealer only I provided them with the oil: Castrol Syntec synthetic oil. Dealer resets gas cap error and states it is free under warranty. As of this post 2832 miles on odometer. More to come...

wow
 

wow i thaught I put a lot of miles on my car i have a newer car that will soon be accompanied by a fit that has 24000 miles more than when i bought it in july so were about in the same boat :) keep in touch and lemme know how it is also i drive A LOT every day and was wondering how comfortable it is

congrats on enjoying the fit!

i have about 23,xxx miles on my fit (had it since November 06) and just got 42 mpg on a trip to Vegas ;)

24,142 miles, oil at 15% @ 6500 miles, code B12- changed engine and cabin air filter ($29. each,) check brakes (90%), adjust rear brakes, tires 7/32 all around good wear, oil and filter, $165. They ordered a new 12v socket that honda says has been a problem and which has never worked for us.

One of my most favorite cars ever. After one year, I've even considered getting another one, still easy and fun to drive, and still drives perfectly. Going to change out the stock tires, never any good for rain.

Long term, uh, sorta
 

Just celebrated my Fit's one year birthday.

Base, MT, 12k+ miles, average use.

Normal maintenace, 2 oil changes, and the SRS airbag recall.
Bought some new tires and a set of OEM Fit Sport alloy wheels on eBay.

Approx 35 mpg overall. Got 39 and 40 on a trip last month.

Kick-ass little car. Love it!

Looking forward to a lot more years and miles.
My only regret is not installing the clear bra immediately.

Thank You All
 

This is fantastic (data) information.
Learning about the performance over time (1 year) and mileage is extremely helpfull. Also, knowing annual costs to operate this car, such as oil change, filters, etc. are very helpful to those of us who are starting behind you all w/ our cars (I get mine in 4-5 days). This may serve as a great thread for all of us to benchmark our performance.
Again, thanks for these informtive posts..

heavy use...
 

i have 26k miles on my fit. it turned 1 on arpil 20th.

so far, my expenditures are as follows:
oil changes every 3k miles - $60/ea. at the dealer (mobil-1 synthetic)
2 tire rotations - $0 (i did them my self - the tires are suprisingly durable!)
srs computer update - $0
replaced rubber on the clutch pedal - $0 (lotsa city driving...)
broken praking brake boot - $0 (they are really fragile in 20 degree weather)
touch-up paint - $0 (the hood is a rock magnet!)

next dealer visit in the next couple weeks i need to:
change air filter - $30
fix chipping paint on front bumper - $0
oil - $60

that will be my most expensive dealer visit to date...

i went and got the free 40 point inspection in april and the only thing they found was the dirty air filter... and i really beat the heck out of my cars. the brakes were still over 50% and i do about 80% city driving... the tires have about 65% tread left still, which really amazes me for oem tires.

my sister's mazda 3 has already racked up over $1500 in repair bills in the last year and a half... and she drives a third the miles i do!! any car that gets a check engine light (non-gas cap related, of course) within 2 years should be returned to the dealer IMHO...

Can I ask why you list the paint work at $0? I've got chips on my bumper from a road trip I took recently. I'm actually really bummed about it, I've never had a car that chipped so easily, and now I'm afraid to take it out on the highway for long stretches for fear that I'll have a severely pitted front. :mad:

$60 for an oil change?!?

Yes, maybe you can explain the $0 fix for rock chips. My sport is a magnet for rocks.

actually, it's $56 for a mobil-1 full-synthetic change with filter, i just rounded up... it's around $40 just to buy the oil and filter myself, for $16 more i can have someone else do it AND i get a free car wash out of it.

besides, most non-dealer oil places don't typically replace the washer on the oil pan plug for every oil change...

the touch-up paint was free... i just applied it myself on the rock chips.

i got the free bumper touch-up for the chipping paint on the corner where the bumper meets the fender, apparently from a bolt that was too tight. there is a thread on that issue somewhere, i guess it's pretty common.... for that, i just asked them to fix it.

sorry if i wasn't too clear on that...

Huh? I bought Mobile 1 synthetic, 4 quarts, and a filter for under $25. I catch it on sale for like $5.29/quart.

I change myself, always have, and it only takes about 10-15 minutes, including cleanup. Honda will give you the washers for free if you ask nice!!

====================

I'm over 27K miles on mine - anniversary is 5/17!!

In a nutshell...
 

Without starting a long debate over lubrication choices...
Why synthetic over motor regular oil?
I understand the perceived longer life cycle for synthetics, but what is the true return on investment?
Does it prolong life of the vehicle (this is probably a guessing game)?
Does the maintenance minder understand that you are using synthetic and is it's lifetime calculation adjusted accordingly?
I'll probably be scolded for this post, but...?

well, to be honest with you, my reason for using it is this:

i had a crx with a ton of miles on it, when it finally died, it was a conventional oil related issue (along with a letting your girlfriend take care of your oil changes related issue...)

i bought a '94 civic ex with 80k on it, i put in amsoil, drove it 12k between changes and had no problems all the way up until 175k when i sold it...

basically it's one of those things where it never went wrong for me, so i never went back...

(i don't go 12k between changes with my fit, i'm keeping it to 3k)


ps - the price per quart was a generalized number, usually it hovers around $5 - $7.... i just hate changing oil myself. i did it for years with my older cars, i know it's cheaper that way, just thought i would treat myself now :D

free oil changes, priceless!!
 

Honda of Clear Lake, Houston, TX, FREE oil changes every 3750 miles as long as you have the car. Not a bad price!!

Synthetic oil is worth the cost - Honda mechanic sees the insides
 

I have a friend who is a Honda mechanic. He said it is worth using synthetic oil. He said he has seen Honda's that used synthetic oil still looking like new at 200,000 miles.

Spark Plug change?
 

I have 3 - 2007 Sport Fits in courier service, all with over 100K now. I am being told that we need plugs and fr. brakes in them and have also noticed the MPG's dipping on these vehicles. We are down to 26-28 from as high as 34 MPG's. We've changed air filters a few times and do normal maintenence (oil every 5K, tires about every 30K, trans fluid every 35K, etc...)
Some of the drop in MPG's is due to cold weather, but that seems excessive to me.
The Matrix vehicles have always given us 190-200K on brakes and plugs. They also give a consistant 30-32 MPG's whether they have 4K or 240K on them.

I'm thinking the Honda brake pads must be softer from the factory and perhaps the plugs aren't iridium, as the Toyota's are? Obviously, we are all about highway/high speed driving, here on the northern prairie...

The MPG issue is puzzling me...we are sure NOT to run the local fav of 10% ethanol (88 or 89 octane) in them. We know from experience that gives reduced MPG's and screws up O2 sensors & catalytic converters...

Anyone have this kind of road miles? Your experiences similar?

any more updates from long-term usages? i'm sure a lot of people here will find the information useful. thx.

34K miles
 

My '07 Fit Sport was delivered March 9th, 2007. As I write this, it's March 30th, 2008, so the car is 13 months old (almost).
I have a bit over 34,000 miles with no problems. No leaks, no rattles (except a slight dash squeak on mornings when the outside temperature is cold), no problems at all. Gas mileage varies but usually hovers around 34 to 35 MPG. Got 36.6 on my last tank, from top-off to top-off.
Car will need tires soon.
I have changed the oil according to the Maintenance Minder, changed the air filter once and the pollen (cabin) filter once.
Car is stock as far as mechanical parts go; my only mods are Zeta dead-pedal and oil-fill cap, window tint, and wind/bug-deflector on hood.

I love this car. I treat it nice, and it treats me nice. My wife is a courier and is considering buying one, too. I dread that, because it will hurt my heart to see her smoking and eating and dropping soda bottles all over the inside of a new Fit. Got to go now, I'm about to cry.;)

I'm in a similar situation, doing 130 miles daily six days a week all highway. since the car was bought in July 07 with only 53 miles, it now has over 23000 close to 24000.
the car runs absolutely fine...using only 87 octane exxon and or sunoco, the best mpg I've gotten to date has been around 36MPG.

So far the vehicle has not been serviced by Honda yet, only done oil changes and tire rotation/balancing.

Mods have been mild: Fujita SRI, skunk 2 springs, and other suspension upgrades.....nothing to really effect mileage or reliability.

The FIT has not disapponted at all yet!