Originally Posted By: nfs480
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Originally Posted By: kelpie
I read the transmissions (auto) in them aren't good either.
The AT in a Fit is a pile. Ours has that transmission, and it's not a good one. The car has 33k miles on it now, and it's seen 2 fluid changes already. It shifts well for about 8-10k miles. Then the AT kills the fluid and the shifts get quite harsh. The first change was at 18k miles, and the shift quality was slam-bang by then.
Budget AT fluid changes into your maintenance costs, as it will need them.
Aside from that, it's a typical old-school Honda. Meaning it goes without complaint, and enjoys getting the snot revved out of it. The seats are comfy, the interior looks the same as when we picked it up brand-new, and it still handles pretty well.
This is something that I had not heard anywhere in my research. Is it just that the AT is extremely hard on fluid and possibly a switch to a synthetic ATF like Amsoil might help?
It's a high-revving engine with a 5-speed transmission that downshifts at any change in the accelerator pedal position. It's pretty hard on the fluid due to this.
A good synthetic ATF will help. We're running 50% Valvoline Maxlife ATF (it's synthetic, although they don't advertise it heavily) and 50% Z1, and shift quality is the same as 4 months ago when that mix went in. It also hasn't oxidized as quickly as 100% Z1. The colder winter temperatures are certainly helping.
Be aware that air filters, OEM-size tires on the Sport models, wiper blades, and batteries are VERY HARD or IMPOSSIBLE to find outside of a dealer. All that's available at the local parts stores for the car are oil and oil filters, at least around me. For most of the common maintenance items like brake pads we'll have to mail-order them. Fortunately that hasn't been an issue yet.
Necessary modifications if you want a happy wallet and to be heard in an emergency are protective film for the foglights on the Sport models, a 2009 Accord low-tone horn, and screening off the lower grille to prevent rocks from blowing out the $600 A/C condenser that Honda will refuse to warranty WHEN a rock blows it up.
The Fit is a pretty good little car. It's a big maintenance nightmare between the AT, the incredible unavailability of parts, and tires for the Sport version are between $500-700 a set that you'll need after 25-30k miles. The OEM Bridgestones on ours are shot with 25k miles on them. We have a second set of wheels with snow tires on them. Don't ask how much they were, it's too depressing. And, we run synthetic oil in response to the 12-13k mile oil changes the oil life monitor has us doing. The manual says regular oil is fine for that time, FWIW.
The Fit, while a very competent little car, can get mighty expensive to own. Those are the drawbacks to our Fit that we've discovered in ~2 years of having it.
And in Minnesota, I'd recommend annual rust-proofing. This thing is classic Honda, including being very susceptible to "Honda cancer". I didn't do much rust-proofing the first winter we had ours, and there's a good spot of rust where some paint was rubbed off of a lower control arm. This year I Fluid Filmed the daylights out of it, and that seems to have helped.
