2008 HONDA FIT Complaints

I STARTED MY CAR AND THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD NOT MOVE AT ALL. WHEN I WOULD TRY AND TURN THE STEERING WHEEL THE WHEEL INDICATOR LIGHT WOULD FLASH.I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND RESTARTED IT AND IT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. I UNPLUGGED THE BATTERY TO RESET THE ELECTRIC SYSTEMS AND IT STILL DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. AT THE MOMENT THE CAR IS UNDRIVABLE DUE TO THIS SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

WHEN IT RAINS THE CAR LEAKS FROM THEIR DOORS ONTO THE FLOOR AND BACK SPARE TIRE AREA. THIS CAR HAS BEEN RECALLED FOR SWITCH BOARD DEFECTS WHICH POTENTIALLY CAN START A FIRE IN THE CAR. THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL FOR THE DOORS LEAKING INTO THE CAR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA FIT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED AT START UP AND THE RPMS DECREASED. THE FAILURE WAS EXPERIENCED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER A DIAGNOSTIC TESTING BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO LOCATE A FAILURE CODE; HOWEVER, THE DEALER REPLACED THE SPARK PLUGS, THE AIR FILTER, AND THE IDLE SYSTEM WAS RESET. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 116,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 117,000.

WHEN I SAT AND IDLED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THIS HAPPENED TWICE. I HAD TO WORK VERY HARD TO PULL THE CAR OFF THE ROAD. I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, THEN TURNED IT BACK ON AND THE POWER STEERING CAME BACK ON. I LOOKED ON LINE AND DISCOVERED NUMEROUS PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM. HONDA EVEN PUT A BULLETIN OUT #09-043 ABOUT THIS. I WAS NOT GOING TO WAIT FOR A RECALL BECAUSE SOME HAD WRITTEN THAT THE POWER STEERING HAD GONE OUT WHILE THEY WERE DRIVING. I HAD THE HONDA DEALERSHIIP INSTALL A NEW EPS UNIT ON 9/25/13. THEY CHARGED $1100. HONDA SHOULD BE MADE TO MAKE THIS A RECALL BECAUSE IT'S EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. *JS

THE TRANSPONDER KEY WORE OUT PREMATURELY AND DAMAGED THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR LOCK OVER SEVERAL MONTHS, THEN THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR LOCK, THEN THE IGNITION, THE LAST OF WHICH REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. USE OF THE KEY BECAME TROUBLESOME AT ROUGHLY FOUR AND A HALF YEARS, BUT AT FIRST ONLY IN THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR LOCK. AFTER HAVING NEW CODED KEYS CUT AT THE DEALER THE DOOR LOCKS WORK REASONABLY WELL, BUT THE IGNITION REQUIRES TWENTY TO THIRTY ATTEMPTS, IF IT SEATS AT ALL. THE VEHICLE IS NOT RELIABLE IF KEY IS REMOVED FROM IGNITION.

ON 10/21/2008 SEVEN MONTHS AFTER PURCHASING OUR 2008 HONDA FIT (NEW) THE BATTERY WENT DEAD. WE JUMP STARTED IT AND TOOK TO DEALER. THEY TESTED IT AND SAID IT FAILED THE LOAD TEST. THEY REPLACED IT WITH A NEW ONE. ON 10/20/2010, THE CAR WOULDN'T START AGAIN. WE JUMP STARTED IT AND DROVE TO DEALER. THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG. ON 01/24/2011, THE CAR WOULDN'T START. WE HAD IT JUMP STARTED AND DROVE TO DEALER.THEY LOAD TESTED IT AND IT FAILED. THEY REPLACED IT WITH A NEW ONE. ON 07/08/2013, THE CAR WOULDN'T START . WE HAD IT JUMP STARTED AND TOOK TO DEALER. THEY REPLACED IT. THE CAR IS DRIVEN ABOUT 45 MINS MOST DAYS. EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE IT WILL SIT FOR A DAY, IT CURRENTLY HAS 72,507 MILES.THE LAST OCCURRENCE HAPPENED AFTER IT SAT FOR 4 HOURS. NOTHING WAS LEFT ON. EVEN THOUGH THIS SHOULDN'T CAUSE A CRASH, WE ARE RELUCTANT TO DRIVE IT AT NIGHT AND BECOMING STRANDED. WE CONTACTED AMERICAN HONDA AND OPENED A CASE. THE NEXT STEP WOULD INVOLVE US PAYING FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. ACCORDING TO SEARCHES ON THE INTERNET, THERE WAS A BATTERY PROBLEM ESPECIALLY IN 2009. HOPEFULLY, THIS BATTERY WILL BE A GOOD ONE. I GUESS WE SHOULD BE HAPPY WE DON'T HAVE THE ACCELERATION PROBLEM DOCUMENTED ON THIS WEBSITE. SO FAR, THE DEALER HAS BEEN GREAT ABOUT REPLACING THE BATTERIES FOR FREE UNDER THE BATTERY WARRANTY. BUT WE WISH THEY COULD FIGURE OUT WHY THE BATTERIES KEEP FAILING. WHETHER THEY ARE DEFECTIVE OR IF THE CAR'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IS CAUSING IT TO HAPPEN. *TR

PARKING ON A SIDE STREET BEHIND ANOTHER CAR APPLYING BRAKE, AND WOOSH! CAR TOOK OFF IN WHAT I'VE LATER LEARNED WAS AN "UNINTENDED ACCELERATION," RUNNING INTO THE CAR IN FRONT AND SMUSHING IN THE HOOD OF MY CAR. I THOUGHT I HAD LET MY FOOT SLIP OR HAD SKID ON SOME ICE, BUT LATER SIMILAR INCIDENCES MADE ME WONDER. THIS LAST TIME (MAY 30, 2013), AGAIN WAS PARKING CAR AND APPLYING BREAK IN A PARKING LOT (FULL OF LAWYERS' CARS!) AND AS I APPROACHED THE SPACE, CAR VERY QUICKLY SPED UP AND I NEARLY CRASHED INTO A LIGHT POLE AND/OR BEAUTIFUL NEW (EXPENSIVE) CAR TO MY RIGHT. I'M SURE ANYONE WITNESSING THIS WOULD SEE A DRIVER SLOWING DOWN AND THEN CAR JERKING AMAZINGLY FORWARD, LIKE A HORSE AT THE BEGINNING OF A RACE. I WAS SO VERY LUCKY IN THAT I WAS ABLE TO STEER RACING CAR INTO PARKING SPOT AND MAKE AN ABRUPT STOP (I DON'T KNOW HOW). QUITE SCARY! I LOOKED UP WHAT COULD BE THE CAUSE OF THIS PHENOMENON AND DISCOVERED THIS AS AN UNACKNOWLEDGED "KNOWN ISSUE" WITH SUPPOSEDLY NO KNOWN FIX. DANGEROUS! *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA FIT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELRATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS FOUND THAT THE FRONT AXLE WAS FRACTURED DUE TO RUST. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA FIT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE MASTER POWER WINDOW SWITCH WOULD OPERATE INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY REFUSED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE UNDER THE RECALL EVEN THOUGH THE VIN WAS INCLUDED. THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER WAS 10V033000 (VISIBILITY). THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000. ..UPDATED 07-05-13 *BF

WHILE PARKED MY 2008 HONDA FIT HAS A WATER LEAK THAT CAN SEEM TO BE FOUND. ACCORDING TO INTERNET MESSAGE BOARDS THIS SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM PLAGUING MANY IF NOT MOST 2007-2008 FIT OWNERS. THE WATER LEAKS AND POOLS ON THE REAR FLOORS CAUSING MOLD TO GROW WITH A STRONG SMELL OF MILDEW. WHEN I CONTACTED HONDA THEY TOLD ME IT WOULD COST APPROXIMATELY $150 PER HOUR TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM ALONE. INSTEAD OF THAT I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO COULD CLEARLY SEE THERE WAS A WATER ISSUE, BUT AFTER 2 HOURS OF INSPECTION, COULD NOT FIND THE LEAK. I BELIEVE THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND SHOULD BE RECALLED, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT THE CARPET HAS TO BE REPLACED TO BE COMPLETELY FREE OF THE MOLD. THE VEHICLE HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT, IS NOT MISUSED, AND IS SERVICED REGULARLY (FOLLOWING THE RECOMMENDED HONDA MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE). *TR