My wife had an accident with our 2008 Fit Sport manual trans Silver. Most importantly she is ok, as she is pregnant. She was wearing her seatbelt (thank God).
The other cars had minor damage (a honda sedan and a van), but the front end of the fit was demolished!!!!!
I am suprised how tore up the fit was when the other cars did not receive much damage.
The front bumper is torn off and a front quarterpanel. The radiator is trashed and one headlight is broken. The airbags did not deploy and there is no internal damage. I think the fit can be repaired! I am really hoping for this. I do not believe there is any damage to the engine block. I am suprised at the damage to the fit , when the others cars had hardly any damage. Is the fit like a paper weight? I like the fit, and I thought it had high safety ratings.

 

I am very glad that your wife and unborn child are OK, if shaken!!!!

Safety ratings = occupant protection, not lack of cosmetic or structural damage while protecting said occupants.

No airbag deploy means that the crash G forces were relatively low - I recently had an encounter with a curb in which I came to an abrupt stop and bounced back, spinnning around, from about 20mph - no airbag for me, but my face was in no danger of contacting the wheel or the door - which is what airbags are designed to cushion.

It sounds like the front end took the hit - the bumper cover is actually very flimsy (in terms of attachment) so it is no surprise that it came off. The quarterpanel is held on a bit better, but depending on the nature of the collision, one of the other vehicles might have snagged it and pulled.

Those other cars had more damage than was apparent - there are crush absorbers concealed behind bumper covers that will need replacing, and odds are that things just aren't quite lined up right any more.

FYI, Honda has a practice wherein they crash test their biggest vehicle (Ridgeline) vs each model, just to ensure crash compatibility. If there's an issue, they modify the smaller vehicle to be tougher!

 

Thank you Kbri. I appreciate the info and well wishes. I also am thankful it was not a high impact crash.

 

The Fit's front bumper comes off very easily... it's mostly held on by plastic clips and hooks. My car hasn't been in a front end accident and the bumper is ready to fall off due to some of the plastic hooks having snapped off during rough driving.

 

I have to pop my bumper back in place about every other time I drive the car. It pulls loose from the fender about any time the front lip makes even slight contact with the ground.

 

Thanks for the replies. I now know about the bumper. The hood was also crushed like it is made of paper. Be safe.

 

Was the point of impact higher than the fit's bumper? One not insignificant safety issue for vehicles is that bumpers across car lines are not set at similar heights. It's most noticeable with small cars verse truck based vehicles. The truck rear bumper can completely miss the Fit's bumper and impact on the hood instead.

 

It sounds like it did exactly what it was designed to do. The metal bends and the front end crushes to absorb the energy of the crash. The front end more than the back since that is the end that runs into things. The more of the impact the car takes, the less the occupants take. The plastic bumper is actually just a cover (bumper cover). Behind that you'll find all sorts of energy absorbing stuff and a fat steel beam. I'm glad to hear that mother and baby are well. The Fit is a safe car

 

The fat steel beam is two pieces of rectangular tubing of measuring roughly 2"x 4" shaped like a T with a styrofoam block molded to fit the contours of the inside of the bumper fascia. It bends pretty easily but is easily straightened with the application of heat.. It sounds kind of hokey but it does distribute the force of an impact over a larger area than if it wasn't there and in turn the A/C condenser and radiator effectively becomes instrumental in absorbing energy.

 

I really miss those big old chrome bumpers. Thought was, at one time, to make them heavy enough to absorb the force of impact. Some became works of 'industrial art'.

 

As everyone has already stated, the important thing is that your wife and unborn child are Okay.

But I'll jump on the bandwagon late and say that what you describe is not an indictment against the safety of The Fit or it's build quality.

In many ways a modern vehicle is designed to crumple..or absorb impact and energy. Just hopefully to direct it away from occupants as much as possible. It actually sounds like The Fit did exactly that.

Sincerely? The vehicle is nothing...it's the flesh and blood that matter. Glad it seems everyone is okay...

Pregnant wife? Insurance Claims? Body Shops? Hospitals?...what it the Cliche Chinese Curse? May you live in exciting times?

Good Luck...take some pictures and hopefully this will just become a story to tell a young boy or girl someday....

 

I don't miss them...Some kid with a old Buick with his nice huge chrome bumper smashed in the front corner of my car in a parking lot with it. No damage to his car, but $1,400 worth of repairs to my car. Thankfully he was drunk enough to come inside and find me. Bitter sweet justice. I get my damage paid for and he gets a DUI.

Oh and glad to hear the wife AND baby are ok.

 

The fenders on my 55 Eldorado were thicker than the steel bumpers of cars built in the 70s and the bumpers were massive works of art... The crush zone way of thinking was an innovation well proven by Volvo and best exemplified by their concept "safety cars" long ago.... In 1994 there was not one traffic fatality in the U.S. of a driver or passenger in a Volvo... I firmly believe that there is a negative side of people driving cars that have very high safety ratings, a lot of people that own them drive like fools... An uninsured driver in an old beater take less chances behind the wheel than a person in a new car and full coverage with a low deductible.

 

We've both seen it happen Coyote. Sure it's 'better' these days but, like you say, personal responsibility has been taken out of the formula.

 

And the lawyers on both sides love the damned fools that are irresponsibly responsible for it.

 

hope all is well..

 

Thanks again everybody! We should get the fit back tomorrow all repaired with a new bumper and new hood, quarterpanel, and other interior parts. The engine block was not harmed. I am thankful the fit will be back on the road!! 3 weeks in the shop and still waiting for the fit to be back on the street. But, this is good news!

 

sounds good sponger. glad to hear your wife and baby are both ok.

the fit will crumple as programmed by design. i rather have my car absorb the crash than my wife.

 

Yes, Kenchan, I have learned this. The accident was not too bad, and my wife is ok. But, the fit was crushed in the front horribly. Thank you!