Hi guys. As I was saying in my intro, I'm really thinking on getting a Fit as my next car. I almost bought one back in '09 and didn't at the last minute, but now it's looking like a much more viable option. So what do I need to know about the Fit? Does it have any quirks, recalls, common problems, etc.?

 

Is that a rhetorical question? Look in the 3rd generation forum and you'll get all the answers to you questions above. And don't buy a Mexican made Fit.

 

Or get a model that all were made in Japan 1st thru 2nd Gen.

��

 

I love my '12 Fit Sport but there are a few things I would improve:

- Stock tires are not great.
- Noisy at highway speeds.
- So much glass, so little A/C.
- Car is slow to warm heater, heater is weak.

You didn't say if you were buying a new or used Fit. My sister-in-Law has a '15 EX and she thinks most of those issues have been improved upon. FWIW.

 

Let me add a couple of things. I have a 2010.
-Rear defrost is painfully slow. You will reach your destination before the frost melts off the rear window.
- No automatic timer on the interior lights.
- Engine power is lacking
- Steering is very twitchy especially in high winds
- Paint quality is lacking. It is very thin and scratches easily.
- The horn is embarrassing to use. Meep meep.
- Clutch pedal feels so artificial.

So when shopping for a '16 Fit just remember: Make sure your VIN# starts with JHM such as JHMGK5H71GX003433 instead of 3HG such as 3HGGK5H87GM702910. Fit and finish is better on the J VIN cars.

 

My rear defrost works well, but I don't live in an extremely cold climate.

It's not the fastest car in the world but the engine is plenty powerful for my needs (driving around town, occasional longer trip on a highway).

My Fit does blow around a lot in moderate to high winds. That's a bit weird.

I kind of love the meep meep. And mine's a 5AT so I wouldn't know about the clutch.

Overall I love my Fit. But it's not perfect. But then again, what is?

 

You sound like a Honda salesman. LOL.

 

I would consider doing the mod where you put some sort of screening in front of the AC condenser to block road rocks from damaging it.
Don't lean on the roof parts (dents easily).

Spark plugs are a pain to change but one end is iridium and the other is platinum so they last ~100,000 miles. Coil packs sometimes go bad, are expensive but if you need to replace one, don't go cheap. If you get an automatic, the drain and refill should be done with real Honda fluid and probably twice as often as they say since you are only draining and refilling part of the fluid. I don't know about the manual or the CVT. The valves need to be adjusted periodically to keep engine running well and keep the valves healthy (not "burnt"), I believe the loose ones get noisy, which warns you, however tight ones don't, but both are bad.

Currently I would be more confident buying a Fit that came out of a plant in Japan, i.e. VIN starts with J, than elsewhere.

For me it is a relatively low cost basic transportation solution. The mileage not much better than or comparable with most new small cars. Nearly all pretty good. In some ways it is like a 4 wheel covered motorcycle. You are going to use high revs at high speed and the variable valve timing is set up to keep it efficient over the wide range of rpms. The big savings is in the purchase price, which you lose if you get it loaded with a bunch of extras. But extras are a personal matter of what is important to you.

 

But Honda is no longer manufacturing the Fit in Japan, but Mexico, for the US market. Aren't all '16 Fit 3H* vin?

 

Not true. That J vin is from a 2016 Fit. Check out Lindsay Honda Columbus Ohio Fit inventory. You will see JHM vin along with 3HG.

My sales guy told me that they are moving the Fit production back to Japan so they can make more HR-V at the Celaya, MX factory.

 

From what I've seen and heard, only CVT transmission Fits are coming in from Japan. I believe the EX-L (leather) models and any manual transmission cars (much fewer than last year) are still sourced from Mexico.


Quality is a matter of the individual car as far as I can tell. Paint quality on my '15 (Mexico) is far better than my '09 (Japan). I have only seen 3 or 4 "J" built cars so I can't make any generalizations based on such a small sample size.


The "build quality" issues on my '15 (dashboard fit, sagging front bumper cover) are more "design" flaws rather than "build" flaws, so I wouldn't expect Japan build to be better in this regard.

 

I've been to my local dealer a few times the last couple months, and have looked closely at the Japanese '16s. Dash panel fit is still not what I would call great, not consistently flush across various models. Front bumper spacing, still not 100% even with either country's build.

Saying that, I'd buy a model from either country if it has the feature set I wanted. 2015 was a brand new model, built in a brand new factory. Any country would have teething problems handling both of those factors.

 

Actually the '15 Fit was only "brand new" in this hemisphere. It was introduced to the Asian market a year earlier as a '14 model. They already had a year to work out design flaws before introducing it here, same as my '09 Fit, which came out in Asia in '08.

 

The intro between both models was a little less than a year, but yes, 2014 was the first year of GKs in Asia. Just wanted to say that tolarances that people find unacceptable from the Mexican Fits, I still see on some of the Japanese built models. It doesn't matter as much where something is made, as what a company through Q&A allows to leave their factory. So basically, I agree with you.

If I was to do it all over again, I'd still buy my Fit. The competitors still haven't caught up to it's features, versatility, and value. I'll live with my dash being a little off.

 

The front bumper eventually sagging (if it didn't leave the factory that way), seems to be a design flaw that has yet to be corrected, more than an installation issue. By now, you would think they could have engineered a more robust fastener. And a better one for that oil filter cover too for that matter.

 

Getting a Fit may lead to adopting two Greyhounds and going on long, fun trips with your pack.

 

for the 16's made in mexico, DEFINITELY check the power windows operation, especially the driver's window.
also check all the fit and finish carefully.