My car's less than a week old (2010 Sport AT), and just installed the cargo cover.

The solid part is flat (horizontal) but the part that attaches to the seats seems a few inches longer than it needs to be, so it droops down and then back up to the snaps. Any idea why Honda did this instead of just making that portion shorter?

 

Same thing happens on my GE.

No idea why they designed the cargo cover on the GE the way they did. On my EP3 it is solid all the way to the seats. The only logical thing I can think of is that they did it so that the rear headrests can still be adjusted, since the cover goes right up to them? On the EP3, the cargo cover meets up to the back seat slightly below the headrests.

Stupid lol

 

Nope, it attaches to the back of the seats below the headrests.

This is the third hatchback I've owned ('79 Rabbit and '87 Integra) and I think a better design would've been a solid piece attaching to the rear seats and hinged there so when you open the hatch you've got full access.

 

Honda always seem to forget designing cargo hatch covers. I think they do it last minute on just table napkins and straight into production. My crosstour have 2 cargo covers... both are heavy. The inner cover is fine but the outer one (which is the heavier one) has already fallen off. It attaches with a hook and weak nipples... one nipple got mangled and would not stay in place. I just took it off and threw it in storage.

That's on an EXL accord crosstour... how much more on the FIT?

 

If they made it even longer so it reached the bottom of the hatch when you unsnapped it you could fold down the back seats and it would still hide everything. But no...

 

I actually took off the cloth part of the cargo cover (if you look where it connects to the solid part, there are plastic pins you can undo) - so with just the solid piece, I then reclined the back seat all the way, and the gap is maybe 1/2 inch, so no hanging cloth part, and no snaps drilled into my back seats...

Looks much cleaner, and again, no snaps - I figured they'd get in the way if I was loading stuff onto the seats when folded, so I didn't install them.

Hope that helps!

 

There is a youtube video that shows the installation. Check it out it will probably answer your question.
YouTube - Episode #152 - 2nd Gen Honda Fit Cargo Cover Installation
BTW- I get my cargo cover next week.

 

Is it so that the seats can be reclined or put upright without leaving a gap?

I can't see quite how it's set up in the video, but I can't see how you'd do it without a bit of slack there - You would either have a gap when the seats are straight up and down, or you would lose the ability recline the rear seats.

 

Yep, I think so. You leave it snapped, and the seatback can recline and return without leaving the cargo area uncovered..... I thought they were nuts until I realized the seat DID recline a bit

 

as for the GE's factory cargo cover, i had one until i had the rear windows tinted.

i removed the floppy felt portion since it was just getting into the way anyway. there's like 4-5 snaps and comes off cleanly. my wife carries a lot of stuff in my GE so it's better just to tint the glass and not install the cargo cover.

i still have an aftermarket one for my GD... it just gets into the way.

 

I didn't know the rear seats reclined! Nice!

 

it's actually for when you need that extra 2inches to fit something in the boot.

 

I installed my cargo cover last night.
I can not begin to explain how unimpressed I was with it.

My cheap base VW Golf from 14 years ago had a pull out cover. My Subaru had a pull out cover. My wife's Toyota had a pull out cover. And Honda sold me this.... thing?! Really? Drill holes in the back of your seats for snaps? strings dangling in your rear window? this thing even weighs more then the pull out on my Subaru did. and when I needed to remove and stow the cover from my scooob, there was even a handy place to stash it behind the spare tire.

IMHO, Honda dropped the ball on the rear cover.

I installed it though. I can't be parking in Baltimore with the contents of my trunk exposed.

Zach

I would have happily paid 2x as much for a pull out cover.

 

I had an 87 Acura Integra. Made of course by Honda. Don't remember any complaints about that hatch cover, and it came with the car.

In 13 years they've obviously gone backwards... they got almost everything right with this car but the hatch cover's bad. It leaves a half-inch gap between the cover and the hatch so someone with a flashlight can see into the hatch. On the Integra (and on my prior car, a VW Rabbit) the hatch closed on top of the cover and overlapped it a tiny bit.

Hey Honda, if someone steals the gold bars and diamonds I carry in my trunk, it's your fault!

 

The half-inch gap bugs me as well. I ended up spending $200+ getting professional tint on the back windshield and back side windows and another $200+ to add the impact sensor to the car alarm because I use the trunk to store lap tops as well.. sshh......

 

You don't need to drill...the holes are already in the seat frame; you just probe for them with a pushpin and screw them in.

If you don't care about it lifting up when you open the hatch, just remove the strings.

I actually thought of this and tested it. You really can't see anything. Why would a thief stand there for 5 minutes attracting attention to himself while squinting at this tiny gap with a flashlight trying to ascertain if there is something in your car worth stealing when he can either choose a more promising target or just smash the glass and find out for sure in 5 seconds?

Don't get me wrong...the part certainly leaves something to be desired (especially considering the MSRP!), but it's not *THAT* awful. Solid cover vs. pull-out is preference more than anything. Personally I prefer a solid cover.

 

Rational people don't break into cars, risking jail time or being shot for what's usually less than several hundred dollars.

Or, if you prefer this answer:
I park in NYC a lot.

 

Thieves may be irrational but they're not brainless.

Even the stupidest of thieves still just want to get in and get out, as quickly as possible, without being seen or busted and with something valuable in hand.

Mostly they pick obvious targets that guarantee some success - a GPS stuck on the dash, a handful of change in the cupholder. They don't spend more then a few seconds casing a car and they certainly don't stand there with a flashlight and their face pressed against the glass trying to see through a 1/2" gap.

The 1/2" gap is surely a fit-and-finish annoyance. But it is not a meaningful security weakness.

If anything the presence of the cover itself as an indicator that something might be hidden beneath (or the cover would not be there) is a greater security risk. If you're THAT concerned you're better off with no cargo cover and stashing your gold bars and diamonds in the secret compartment under the back seat when you park in NYC ().

This is actually one of the reasons I personally prefer a "hard cover" over a pull-out cover; it looks at a glance like a built-in cargo shelf that is always there and not something that is only deployed when I'm hiding valuable stuff under it.

 

Someone who'd break a $200 window and risk a beating or worse for the change in someone's cupholder is pretty brainless or strung out. I've seen thieves spend a few seconds per car doing what they can to see inside, so I'd rather not have them see anything.

Either way, this is my third hatchback and the first one with this issue. And I PAID for the cover!

 

actually the factory cover is cosmetically pleasing. it has a 'finished' look for when you open the hatch. unlike the GD's cargo cover the GE's cover pulls up the opening when you pop the hatch. nice feature.

BUT... the problem is the size of that thing when you want to carry larger stuff.
on the factory cover i had there was no gap between the seat and the cover that i could remember.