Alright- I've seen this mentioned a few times in the first gen threads and a few times in the second gen but I'm still a tiny bit at a loss here.

I'm looking into trading in my mini cooper to pick up a used fit, I need a car that can carry more then my mini and sometimes even let me sleep in the back. Refresh mode looks fantastic but it seems it was only offered in certain years?

Could anybody pretty please tell me which years it was offered in? I'm referring to the North American model, just incase that makes a difference.

Thanks!

 

you talking about the HVAC? if so, the fresh-air mode is on all of them 07-present.

you're going to sleep in your car??!

 

Haha, not the HVAC.

I'm talking about the seating modes, I googled up this image from the japanese honda adverts.

http://www.automotriz.net/images/mod.../sid_int_2.jpg

The one on the bottom is "refresh mode" and folks have mentioned having it in their USA fits.

And... Yes. I'm going to sleep in my car sometimes. I live on the road for a good number of months out of the year, it's just more convenient. Especially when your other option is your tent for most of the time. I work the renaissance faire circuit.

 

Refresh mode (seating), is available on all the 07-08 USDM Fits.

Also on the 09+, just not in the US. It seems they made the seats larger for us.

There was some discussion, and if you import the seat back (as opposed to the whole seat), you can regain refresh. I wanted to do this, but it seems too expensive just to regain that which I will barely use.

Out of curiosity, where do you sleep? Interstate rest areas?

 

Oh, I'll tend to sleep on the campgrounds that the faire has, or somewhere safe along the way (busy bagel place parking lots in the morning). But we had a shitty season in New York this year complete with a hurricane and we had to pack everything up and take our tent down just incase a tree fell. Everything was fine but, ya know, sigh.

I was hoping you wouldn't say seat change and 09 till now but.. I suppose that is that then. I'll keep my eye out for an 08 then. What a hassle though, there were bits about the new fit that I really liked.

 

Why not fold down the back seats and sleep in the rear part of the car with sleeping bag or blankets?

 

I assumed just folding the rear seats down wouldn't be enough room?

I figured I would need to fold the front seats down to avoid being cramped.

 

Hehehe... Hey it's possible, I just gave up on trying to do that because of the price, and trying to source it. Then when I got the Clazzio seat covers, I decided it wasn't worth it as the seat covers are a perfect fit for the US market Fits, if I were to swap seats the covers would no longer fit.

If that's an option you like, I would definitely suggest you try it out for size before buying. Looks like a weird sleeping position for me.... a lot of people were calling it "dirty mode" for it's other uses. Regardless it's a Fit so both models are great, and that is a useful feature.

Yah, I'm trying to figure out something cause I'm taking a long road trip next week, and rather not pay for a motel just for a few hrs sleep, but not sure if the 95S rest areas are that safe.

You guys got hit with that hurricane that hard? I was in Pa at the time and they had localized power outages, when I get back to NYC it was like nothing happened, just some strong winds & rain... but CT got hit harder.

 

I'd just do this. There's plenty of room in the back with the seats flat. You might have to fetal position it up a little bit but I bet it's 100x more comfortable with a sleeping bag than sleeping in a narrow seat folded down.

I've comtemplated this a few times when I was in the doghouse

 

I did. I traveled (alone / no luggage)) to NY from MA for a day trip and on my way back it was raining so hard that it was dangerous to drive, so I pulled into a rest area on I95, layed the seats down and slept in the back for a couple of hours.

 

I'm 5'7" and I can sleep comfortably in my GE. I tend to try and hide, so I only fold the 40% seat down and leave the big seat in the normal position. I sleep with my head towards the portal/hatch, sort of bent at the waist, but I am still really comfortable on my back or side (with a camping mat + pillow). With the cargo cover and a black blanket tucked up into the cargo cover (I have some elastic around the cargo cover) no one knows I'm in there.

 

I winded up doing the same last week during my NY-FL trip, took a few hour nap at a rest stop.
I guess I was a little paranoid after Michael Jordan's father's murder(?) at a rest stop years ago.