2008 HONDA FIT Complaints

THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH THE BRAKES. THE BRAKES LACK FEEL AND ARE "SPONGY." THIS CAUSES GREAT DIFFICULTY DURING BRAKING. AT HIGH SPEEDS, THE BRAKES SEEM TO FUNCTION PROPERLY, BUT AT LOW SPEEDS IT DOES NOT. WHEN I PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL, INSTEAD OF BRAKING, THE BRAKE PEDAL WILL DROP. THE CAR CONTINUES TO MOVE AS IF THE BRAKE PEDAL IS NOT BEING PRESSED DOWN. THE CREATES A SITUATION WHERE THE LAST FEW SECONDS, I MUST HIT THE BRAKES EVEN HARDER FOR THE VEHICLE TO BEGIN STOPPING. THIS CREATES A HAZARD FOR VEHICLES BOTH IN FRONT AND IN BACK OF ME. THERE IS VERY LITTLE CONTROL IN THE BRAKING SYSTEM. FROM THE FORUMS, IT APPEARS THERE ARE MANY OTHER HONDA FIT OWNERS WITH THE SIMILAR PROBLEM. SOME HAVE GOTTEN INTO ACCIDENTS DUE TO THIS FAILURE, WHILE OTHERS HAVE BEEN MORE LUCKY. THIS IS CERTAINLY A ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR TO THE HONDA DEALERSHIP, WHOM HAVE DENIED ANYTHING BEING WRONG. I URGE YOU TO INVESTIGATE THIS MATTER BEFORE ANOTHER PERSON IS KILLED/ INJURED DUE TO THIS FAILURE.

AFTER ATTEMPTING TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY STOP ON A CITY STREET ON A SUNNY DAY WITH ABOUT 2.5 CAR LENGTHS BETWEEN MY FIT AND AN ACCORD. THE VEHICLE'S ABS SYSTEM OVERREACTED AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO BECOME VERY CHOPPY, DRAMATICALLY INCREASING THE DISTANCE IT TOOK TO STOP. THIS CAUSED MY VEHICLE TO REAR END THE ACCORD. IN RETROSPECT, HAD I NOT APPLIED 100% BRAKE FORCE AND DID NOT TRIGGER THE ABS, I MAY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE JUST SHORT OF REAR ENDING THE OTHER VEHICLE. I HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR SITUATIONS UNDER VARIOUS ROAD AND WEATHER CONDITIONS WITH THIS VEHICLE, WHERE THE ABS ACTIVATES PREMATURELY AND REMAINS ACTIVE, EVEN WHEN THERE SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT GRIP. EVEN LIGHT PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WHILE GOING OVER SOME POT HOLES AND UP ONTO DRIVE WAYS TRIGGERS THE ABS SYSTEM. I NEVER PAID MUCH ATTENTION TO THIS ISSUE BECAUSE I ALWAYS LEAVE ENOUGH SPACE BETWEEN MYSELF AND OTHER VEHICLES, BUT AFTER DOING SOME ONLINE RESEARCH AFTER MY ACCIDENT, IT HAS BECOME APPARENT TO ME THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE ABS PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE. NOR AM I THE ONLY INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS REPORTED THIS ISSUE TO THE NHTSA. AS A NOTE, I HAVE DRIVEN VARIOUS SMALL AND LARGE VEHICLES - WITH AND WITHOUT ABS - AND THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN REACTED SO POORLY IN AN EMERGENCY/PANIC SITUATION. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THESE ABS PROBLEMS OCCURRED WITH THE FACTORY DUNLOP TIRES AS MY RECENT ACCIDENT WITH PERFORMANCE (GRIPPY) FIRESTONE FIREHAWK WIDE OVAL INDY 500 TIRES (WITH >50 TREAD). I HAVE NOT GOTTEN THE ESTIMATE FOR THE DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE, BUT THE FRONT BUMPER IS DAMAGED AS WELL AS THE HOOD - NOT SURE IF THERE IS ANY FRAME DAMAGE. NO AIRBAGS WERE DEPLOYED, NO OCCUPANTS WERE HARMED. I WILL ALSO REACH OUT TO HONDA AMERICA. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE. THANK YOU. *TR

NOTICED DAMP/WET CARPET UNDER RUBBER FLOOR MATS ON NOV 15TH 2011, NOTED A MOLDY SMELL. CLEANED CAR DRIED OUT CARPET. NOTICED REAR CARPET VERY WET AFTER RAINY PERIOD DEC 21 2011. PULLED UP CARPET, WATER ALL OVER TOP HUMP WERE SEAT BRACKETS ATTACH TO CAR FRAME, CARPET WAS SOAKED ALL WAY TO FRONT SEATS. I FEEL THIS MAY BE A STRUCTURAL ISSUE AND SAFETY ISSUE. OVER ON MILES FOR WARRANTY TO COVER. SCHEDULE WITH LOCAL DEALERSHIP. *TR

WHEN DRIVING VEHICLE,ENGINE LAGS AT ABOUT 50 MPH. ALSO WHEN ENGINE IS STILL COLD AND TRANSMISSION IS IN DRIVE IT STALLS, IT DOES IT REPEATEDLY UNTIL IT REACHES NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE. IT SEEMS SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH FUEL DISTRIBUTION, WHICH MAY BE VERY DANGEROUS. *TR

THE DRIVER AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE DAMAGE TO THE FRONT-END OF THE CAR WAS SO EXTENSIVE THAT THE INSURANCE COMPANY HAS DEEMED IT A TOTAL LOSS?. I AM BRUISED AND SORE IN MY CHEST AND ABDOMEN. I HAVE NECK AND BACK PAIN AND A PERMANENT HEADACHE SINCE THE ACCIDENT. I FOUND THIS INFORMATION WHILE I MADE MY OWN RESEARCH TO SEE IF SOMEBODY ELSE HAD EXPERIMENTED THIS SITUATION. I BASICALLY FACED AN ACCIDENT WITH MY BODY AND I DIDN'T HAVE ANY PROTECTION FROM MY 2008 HONDA FIT. I TOTALLY BLAME HONDA FOR THIS DEFICIENCY . CAR PROBLEM(S) WITH THE 2008 HONDA FIT. THIS DATABASE INCLUDES INFORMATION RECEIVED BY NHTSA FROM CONSUMERS EITHER DIRECTLY OR AS RECORDED BY THE VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE. THIS INFORMATION MAY BE USED BY NHTSA DURING THE INVESTIGATION PROCESS. I NEED AN ANSWER TO THIS CLAIM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA FIT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SEAL BETWEEN THE DOOR AND THE WINDOW WAS DEFECTIVE AND AS A RESULT, WATER WOULD LEAK INTO THE VEHICLE. IN ADDITION, MOLD WAS GROWING IN THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE SEAL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO OFFERED TO PAY FOR 40 PERCENT OF THE REPAIR COSTS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 36,000.

ON ABOVE DATE APPROX 12:45 PM I REAR ENDED A STOPPED MV AT APPROX 35-40MPH. MY DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY RESULTING IN SEVERE INJURY. SPINAL SURGERY TO FOLLOW. I HAVE REPEATEDLY CALLED HONDA, AND THEY DECLINE MEETING MY FORENSIC ENGINEER TO EXAMINE THE VEHICLE AS THEY KNOW IT IS DEFECTIVE. I HAVE HIRED A FORENSIC ENGINEER WHO IS AVAILABLE TO BE AT IN NEW JERSEY ON OCT 7 2011. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT AN EMPLOYEE OF HONDA WITNESS THE EXAMINATION. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) *TT

AFTER BACKING SLOWLY OUT OF A PARKING PLACE, I PUT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION INTO DRIVE. MY FOOT WAS STILL TOUCHING THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED RAPIDLY. I SLAMMED MY FOOT DOWN ON THE BRAKE, BUT IT CONTINUED TO MOVE FORWARD. I QUICKLY MOVED THE GEARSHIFT TO NEUTRAL, THE ENGINE RACED AND THEN SLOWLY RETURNED TO IDLE. I IMMEDIATELY STOPPED AND CHECKED THE FLOOR MAT, BUT IT WAS FLAT ON THE FLOOR. MY FOOT WAS NOT ON THE ACCELERATOR WHEN THE ACCELERATION OCCURRED, AND IF THE MAT WERE INTERFERING WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE ENGINE SPEED WOULD NOT HAVE RACED AND THEN SLOWLY DECREASED AFTER I PUT IT IN NEUTRAL. THIS WAS CLEARLY A MALFUNCTION. I HAVE AN ENGINEERING BACKGROUND AND KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DRIVER FOOT ERROR AND EQUIPMENT MALFUNCTION. *TT

BROUGHT CAR TO HONDA DEALERSHIP ON 6/24/11 FOR SERVICE DUE TO CAR DYING TWICE THAT DAY. UPON ARRIVAL CAR DIED AND HAD TO BE JUMPED TO SERVICE. ALTERNATOR WAS REPLACED AS WELL AS THE BATTERY THAT DAY. THEN IN AUGUST CAR DIED ON THE ROAD WHILE DRIVING TWICE AND WAS TAKEN IN FOR SERVICES AT HONDA DEALERSHIP AND IMMOBILIZER WAS STATED TO BE THE PROBLEM THEN REPLACED ON 8/24/11. ARRIVE AT HONDA DEALERSHIP 9/6/11 FOR TIRE SERVICE AND CAR BATTERY ISSUES STATED BUT TECHNICIAN RESOLVED BY ADJUSTING BATTERY CONNECTIONS. ON 9/7/11 CAR DIES ON BRUCKNER BLVD IN THE BRONX, NY WHILE COMING OFF THE FDR AND HAZARD LIGHTS WOULD NOT COME ON. NYC DOT WORKERS HAD TO MANUALLY PUT CAR IN NEUTRAL SO IT COULD BE MOVED TO SIDE OF ROAD. CAR WAS TOWED TO BRONX HONDA AND BATTERY REPLACED AGAIN. DEALERSHIP STATED CAR ISSUES SHOULD BE RESOLVED BUT HEARD STRANGER RATTLING SOUNDS FROM CAR WHILE BACKING OUT THE SAME DAY IT WAS PICKED UP. *TR

I WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35-40MPH AND COLLIDED WITH A STOPPED VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. THE FRONT END OF MY CAR WAS CRUSHED, SPECIFICALLY ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY THOUGH THE IMPACT OCCURRED IN THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. DAMAGES INCURRED RESULTED IN A TOTAL LOSS. *TR