I recently got a 09 Fit Sport, automatic trans. Lifelong Toyota owner. Absolutely love the reliability of Toyotas. The peace of mind that comes with knowing that you're not going to get stranded is the best. Especially when you're budget only allows for older used vehicles.

I'm loving the Fit so far. The drive is nice and the cargo space is amazing.

There are a couple issues I'm having that I'm curious if they are Fit quirk thing:

The engine seems to run pretty rich. Like when it's idling, the exhaust fumes smell strongly of gas. I've never experienced this with a Toyota. I'm hoping this is just a Honda thing, that their engines run richer than normal. One would think that if the engine was running abnormally rich that a sensor would indicate this.

Another issue I'm having is with the latch/lock for the hatch door. It doesn't always unlock as I think it's supposed to. Like when I press unlock twice with the key only the 4 doors get unlocked. It seems with the key I have to press it three times in order to get the hatch door unlocked, and even that doesn't seem to always work. Is there like a timing thing here...like press it three times real slow or fast to get the hatch door open? When I use the button inside the car for opening/locking the doors it seems that I have to click open three times for the hatch lock to open. That is annoying. Also, on Carolla when I put the gear in park all the doors automatically get unlocked. For the Fit, only the driver side is unlocked. Is there anyway to get it so that when I put in park all the doors get unlocked?

I'm also having an issue with the A/C. It doesn't blow cold air when it's 90+ degrees. Below that it's very cool but when it's hot and sunny it barely cools inside. I'm hoping that I just need to recharge it.

Thanks in advance for help.

Any cool tweaks I can do with a Fit that isn't too labor intensive? I'm not a big car guy. Looking for utilitarian mods more than anything else really.

 

If it smells rich 99% it needs a valve lash adjustment. Is it over 100k? The exhaust valves tighten up with age and mileage, intakes are usually ok.

Can't speak for the hatch problem, I haven't experienced it.

The AC is anemic new. Run recirculate in high heat, that's all you can do.

Edit: if you don't want dust and crap to build up on the top of the rear wiper in home position there's such a thing as the "JDM" wiper mod, which parks the wiper at the end of its travel at an angle so it doesn't build up shmutz

 

Thank you for the response. If it is the valve lash that needs adjusting, is it a pressing issue?

 

Not terribly but know you're accelerating wear on your catalytic converter by packing it full of unburnt hydrocarbons and accelerating wear on plugs. If left unchecked eventually the car will struggle or refuse to start in cold weather, no idea how long that actually takes. Some first generation guys usually start experiencing this at 125k, but the first gen head is different than the second gen, so take it for what it is.

If you're going through the effort of doing the valve lash adjustment you should be doing the plugs and coils as well. Getting access is a real pain in the dick for the lash job, and the plugs are done in almost exactly the same manner. Get OEM stuff, no need to mess around with colder plugs or anything. NGK or Denso plugs, Hitachi or Denso coils. Amazon or Rockauto are the getting places to save over walking into a parts store.

 

The plugs and coils were done two years. Does that change your diagnosis of it being the valve lash?

 

No, not knowing the service history and going off what you say, still firmly believe it's a valve lash job. Driveway mechanics aren't exactly clammering to do a lash job, I could see someone being lazy and omitting it.

 

You say your car has a gas smell coming from the exhaust. That is not normal for a Fit, or any other late model car with fuel injection and pollution controls. The engine is computer controlled and things like the air/fuel ratio is controlled by sensors, feeding the computer info, and that allows the computer to make adjustments to the fuel trim level and timing to keep the car running at an optimal- miserly level. If the car were running rich, you should be getting a check engine light with a code telling you something like the primary oxygen sensor is malfunctioning, etc. If you are not getting an engine trouble code, I wonder where you're smelling the fuel from? Is it actually from the tailpipe or could it be coming from the engine compartment? Fits have a known issue with the spark plugs backing out of their threaded bores, and thus the gas smell comes from the un-burnt gas leaking past the plug threads. There are a number of threads on this forum about this issue that you can do a search for. Additionally, you only state in your post that your location is the USA- not a particular state.. In your state, were you required to smog check the car when you acquired it? If so, did it pass? Your car would not have passed with a gas smell coming out of the tailpipe.

Just curious- did you get an owner's manual with your car? If you have one, there's a lot of info in there about the locking/unlocking features of the keyless entry/remote control. The following info is from my '13 Fit Sport automatic owner's manual under the heading "locking/unlocking the doors from the outside". One click unlocks the driver's door only, a second click unlocks the remaining doors and the hatch. In a separate section there is also info about customizing the auto door locking/unlocking setting. As a side note- If the hatch does not unlock regularly, the lock/unlock mechanism in the hatch is prone to corrosion. There are Youtube videos that detail removal, cleaning up and/or replacement of the mechanism.

Last, but not least- the a/c. As has already been mentioned here, the Fit a/c system is on the small side. You can help yourself by leaving a sun shade in your car when the car is sitting in the sun on a hot day. When you start the car and turn the a/c on, make sure and switch the control to re-circulation and not fresh air. The fresh air just introduces outside hot air into the car, and dilutes the amount of cold air the a/c system is producing.

Sorry for the long read, but I hope this info helps.

 

So I found a simple solution for the hatch door lock not opening.

Here's the problem I was having:

The solution:

 

Yeah- those are the videos I was referring to in my earlier post

 

If you want to fix the drivers door vs all doors unlock when car is turned off, there is a youtube video out there for it, but the simple steps are these:
1. Put the car in neutral/park, put the key in the "on" position
2. Hold down the unlock button on the drivers door. When you initially press it, it will click (like its unlocking the doors)
3. Keep it held down until it clicks two more times (total of 3 clicks to be heard) then let go. The clicks are 5 to 10 seconds apart.
4. Turn off the car.
5. Turn on the car, go for a test drive (above 5mph) so that all the doors lock
6. Turn off the car, and see if all the doors unlock

This procedure doesn't change the locking on the fob (1 click drivers, 2 clicks all doors), only changes locking procedure for car shutoff.

 

I'm new to fitfreak.net but have been in the industry for 33 years (not to wave a sign that I'm superior, at all, but just to explain my perspective).

The temperatures in a car that has been parked, even for seemingly just a few minutes, will be much higher than those outside of the car. This is why you don't leave a pet or helpless person in a car, even with a window cracked. It's a greenhouse (the above beltline of a car is actually called the greenhouse) and captures heat energy from sunlight, not to mention stagnates air, all of which contribute to the superheating of interior air.

It actually would be advisable, when you first start off, to put the HVAC in fresh mode for a bit (to have cooler air run through the a/c rather than the heated interior air), and maybe even crack a window or two to help evacuate remaining heated interior air, before switching to recirc. Don't have to do it for very long, maybe 5 minutes.

BTW- I joined because I'm looking at gen 2 Fits for my daughter... It's been a benchmark in my line of work, not just for subcompact cars but, for package layout of components and systems for maximum interior flexibility & cargo. Brilliant engineering layout... A good friend actually races SCCA spec B, nationally, in one, as well, so I know it is a very capable basic layout chassis design (not engineered to a low price point, as much as others might be)... But I don't know a lot about the systems weakpoints in used versions.

A/C... Check, but is it the A/C itself or the fan? Kind of a large, upright interior volume, with a huge front window... Vents look kind of small. Could be both, I'm guessing.

Any other specifics that long time owners want to point out as absolute things to look for?

Thanks!