Originally Posted by LaPurple32
I bought a 2010 Fit Sports November 2009. Within a week the battery died twice so I thought I was doing something wrong. To date the battery has died 14 times. The local dealer tells me that my battery is good. I have been stranded several times so I bought a AAA membership, a small battery charger and I keep my Fit on a trickly charge in my garage if I am not going to use it for a few days. Last Thursday I drove 200 miles to and from the Oregon Coast and when I stopped for 15 minutes to pick up a few things the battery died. AAA charged the battery and the man said that there must be something else wrong that is draining the battery. I took my Fit to the dealer to leave it overnight and the service man said, "Are you the lady who just called from the airport parking lot with a dead battery?" Seems I am not the only one with battery problems. When I picked up my car I was told the same thing--good battery. I am writing a letter to Honda Customer Service since the local dealer keeps telling me there is nothing wrong with my Fit. I Googled and found this site yesterday. Anyone else having the same problem?

 

Might want to check your alternator. Are they at least testing your battery every time they tell you it is fine?

 

First, I'd go to a third party (ie. another Honda Dealer) and have them give you a third opinion. Don't tell them you have gone to the other places. Tell them your problem. See what they say.

Second, if they give you the same run around, go back to AAA and see if they have any batteries that will fit the Fit. See if they can install one overnight to test and see if the car starts the next day. If it does then the battery was the problem. If it doesn't, go back to Honda with a valid case.

Third, if AAA doesn't test a battery on your car, I'd be inclined to buy a battery at Sears, Autozone, or any car parts place that you can get a decent battery for cheap. Your battery is getting to the end-of-life stage anyway. If it is the first battery you ever had it is impossible to say how much it was taxed before you got the car. Many batteries, if drained once, will never be the same afterwards.

AAA should be more helpful than the Honda dealer due to the fact of their being a non-profit and funded by their members/customers. This being said, every dealer and AAA service center is different and it is problematic to generalize.

It would be helpful if we knew more about your vehicle usage and car itself. Do you go on lots of short trips? Is it cold where you live? Also, do you have any aftermarket electrical equipment? How many miles does it have? Are you the first owner? There are a lot of things that can drain a battery.

This site has a lot of users, and there have not been any trends in electrical faults with the car and none have been reported in the media (including consumer reports). There is a higher likelihood that the battery is to fault than the alternator or electrical system. I hope that helps, please tell us more about your car and people here can pinpoint recommendations better.

 

If the battery tests as good and you are still losing charge, then you've got some other problem. Could be an electrical drain somewhere, like a light not going off, or the alternator might not be putting out enough power.

This should be pretty easy for a decent mechanic to check.

 

What do you have installed in the car as far as aftermarket electronics or lights? Did you do the independent fog light mod?

 

If the battery is good there is something drawing current when the car isn't running..... I am still using the OEM battery that was in the car when I bought it in July 2006.... It still works fine and will start the car after it has been sitting unused for weeks.

 

14 times??? Good battery (hopefully load tested) or not I would have replaced it already after the 3rd or 4th time.

More details as already posted would definitely help.

 

Thank you for the responses. I purchase my Fit Sports new and I have not installed any additional equipment. It is an automatic and the milage is at 15,000. My short trips are from 6 to 30 miles locally and several hundred miles in and out of state. I keep the vehicle in a garage when not in use. The weather in Oregon is damp but never really cold for long periods. This past winter has been very mild. The battery died three times the first month and since it was under warrenty for three years it was too soon to replace it. I recently asked the dealer to replace it and I was told that they don't replace good batteries. Every time I take it back to the dealer they test the battery and show me a ticket with the result. When I left the car with them for 5 days I thought they would find the problem by testing more than just the battery. When I picked it up I asked them what they tested and the serviceman told me that he started the car three times a day without a problem so nothing else was tested. They said that the battery had to die while they had the car so they could trace the problem. I have written to Honda Customer Service and asked them to repair my verhicle or replace it. I will wait for their response.

 

it's either a bad ground from the engine to the frame/chassis AND/OR your alternator.

there is alternator shops that can test it, or, get yourself a cheap multimeter, start the car, and check the voltage. at idle it should be 14v or so. (make sure your stereo is off, no heater fans running, etc).

then, if all that is off and you're at 14v, turn your radio on and see how bad it plummets. the stock deck shouldn't ding the battery/alternator worth a damn. it COULD also be a relay that's stuck open causing the drain.

i'd suspect alternator tho.

 

Have them test your alternator and refuse to leave until they do. You paid for a warranty.

 

Good luck to you LaPurple32. I wouldn't have been as patient as you are. I would have raised some serious stink the first 30 days... Have you had it checked by other dealers/shops?

 

Alternator test should take all of five minutes.

I'd go to a regular repair shop and ask them if they could test it for you rather than fighting with the dealership. If they say it's bad take the results to the dealership and talk to the manager.

Your time is worth more than the little bit of money the independant shop might charge you to test the alternator. More than likely they'll just do it as a courtesy if you tell them your situation.

Independant shops hate dealerships with a passion

 

Autozone will test the battery and alternator for free.

 

That said, the intermittent nature leads me to suspect a loose connection.

 

There are no other Honda dealers in my area. I received a call from Honda Customer Service yesterday and the lady repeated several times that she sympathized with me over the the problems. I was expecting a solution to the problem but all she said, "I want you to take your Fit to the Honda service department and tell them about the battery problem." I told her I had been telling them about the problem for two years and that I had explained that to her in my letter. I told her:

1. Fix the car.
2. Replace the car or
3. Give me my money back.

She will call me back next week. I am going to take it to a mechanic for a test. I will probable buy a new battery and trade the car for another brand.

 

Do they have a lemon law in your state?

 

Yes, Oregon does have a Lemon Law. Oregon Legal gave me the name of a lawyer who had me send a letter to Honda and the local dealer. Honda Customer Service phoned and suggested I take my car to the local service department so they could check my battery. I suggested she read my letter again to see how many times I had already done that. She kept repeating, "I sympathize with you." That doesn't fix my car. She will call me back next Tuesday. Oregon Lemon Law extends protection up to 24,000 miles. I have just reached 15,000 miles.

 

Based on your description, it's probably not the battery.

 

You may still have to bring it there one more time since getting Honda involved and trying to invoke the lemon law. Otherwise Honda will say you were uncooperative, etc.

 

Good luck to you in getting an acceptable resolution.

I agree. Battery load test is pretty straightforward. The "intermittent" nature of the prob is the killer which does kinda points to a connection issue. Chances are the dealer couldn't duplicate the prob because all the testing was done while the car is stationary in the shop. And the prob happens when the car is in use (in motion) or shortly thereafter... Just a SWAG...