Hi Guys. I am a new member here (first thread.) I have been looking at Fits for two years now. I originally wanted to buy an '08 last year, however, my money situation wasn't right. The one thing I loved about the '08 was the roomy engine box with a small engine to work on. I also owned a '91 civic hatchback (best car I ever had,) for 10 years and had no trouble working on it. I have heard that the '09s have been redesigned, and the engine compartment has become more cramped, with the engine pushed further back, like in a van. That's not good. In fact, that would be very bad for me. However, I love the Fit, and will still buy one and deal with that problem when I have to. I will go check one out, since there is a sweet silver one at the dealership now. I just haven't had time yet. I try do all of my maintenance and repair myself, if I can. This is important to me, as I plan to keep it forever. I am posting this, because I am currently replacing a thermostat in my wife's Chevy Impala (not my car of choice), and I am about to drive her car into the river. A normal 10 minute job is taking me all day, since I have to remove half of the engine to get to the housing. I am not a big fan of American cars, although I do like their trucks. I have had Ford pickups and have never had this much trouble with something as simple as a thermostat. Anyway, back to the fit. I love this car and will own one someday. I was just hoping some of you can tell me something about how difficult they are to maintain.

 

Have a look and judge for yourself.

It is VERY tight, but all the regular service items are actually pretty accessible. You can access the battery, the filters and the fluids relatively easily.

Of course in yours, the brake fluid and clutch reservoir (if it exists) will be on the other side.

Only maintenance gripe is that the spark plugs are underneath that panel surrounding the wipers, and yes it all has to come out to change the plugs. At least you don't have to do that very often. I hope the accessory drive belt( it's not really a fan belt anymore) lasts a long time too, 'cause that's a job that will take a while.

The thing is, that many of the things that used to require attention on cars have gone now.

Ignition leads? gone.
Distributor points? gone.
Carby adjustment? gone.
Valve clearances? Automatically adjusted
Greasing joints? now sealed
Decoking? Not with modern fuels and engine management
Cam belt? not in this car

I think servicing these days consists of changing the oil & filters, checking that nothing is about to fall off, and interrogating the ECU via the ODBC interface to see if there are any fault codes. Oh and writing up the bill

 

yeah, dont forget about the pollen filter. i think it is behind the glove box. every 10k i think, maybe $12?

 

ive read the plugs are hard to change on the GE because you cant see what you are doing

 

US models ftw! On the real, we got a lotta room in our engine bay!

 

Hey Ghetto, are you talking about the '08 or '09? I looked at an '09 today and the engine looked crammed in there. I don't even know how I would be able to get it out if I had to.

 

I found it easy to work on the GE8. To me, all Hondas are fairly easy to work on.

 

i agree with JDMxGE8. just by looking at my engine bay almost every other day, it seems that everything looks cramped, there is alot of room for your arms if your a big guy. im 200 lb n i can FIT my arm from thru almost any space in my FIT

 

I don't believe our cars have self-adjusting valve clearance.

You have to go in and do it the old-fashioned way.

 

Spark plugs and valve clearances are only real maintenance and both accessible from top. Valve clearances on US model not self-adjusting. Another reason the Thailand model is superior (CVT and rear discs the others).
Oil filter and oil change also easy to do. though you do need to lay under jacked up Fit. The air filter very easy to R&R or clean, too.
Suspension work is very good and straightforward if you look to modify. Just hold it to max 1.5"? drop.

 

Spark plugs will be a pain but only required every 100,000 miles. And as someone mentioned the Fit doesn't have self adjusting valves. Other than that is easy.

 

You're right. I just had another look at the TOV article. You can see the adjusters on the rocker arms in the diagram. A poor assumption on my part, I guess. I just assumed all modern cars had it.

At least they're easy to get at and use screw and locknut rather than shims.

To remove the engine you'd have to drop it out from underneath, Mini style I think.

 

Thanks guys for your input. After reading the thread about replacing spark plugs, I'm not sure about the '09. I may just buy a used '08. The problem is, used Fits go for 1500 to 2000 dollars (USD) more than brand new ones off the lot. I don't understand that. I may start a thread on that. It p****s me off that Honda crammed the engine in like that, just to make the interior more roomy. Since I don't have a lift in my garage, I will never be able to remove the engine from underneath.

 

The way people used remove engines with Minis was to support the subframe on blocks, undo everything then simply lift off the body using two people, leaving behind the engine, gearbox and front wheels as an assembled unit. This worked because the majority of the mass was in the engine and subframe, and because the Mini had a double wishbone front suspension contained within the subframe.

Would this work with the Fit you think? or would it be too heavy? Perhaps the struts would be a problem?

I reckon it would be possible if you removed the front wheels and suspension first while it was all blocked up.

I've seen touring car racing teams do this type of work in a tent.

 

So how much shop time is required to remove/replace all this stuff to get to the spark plugs.

 

I don't know. That's a good question. I consider myself a pretty good mechanic. If I can't change my own plugs, I guarantee it will be many hours of labor, and will cost a fortune to have the dealer do it.

 

Let me get this straight, you're willing to buy a used Fit that costs 1500-2000 more than a brand new one just so that you can work on the car easier to do maintenance that is required only once every 100k miles? I might be the minority, but I prefer my cars to be roomy on the inside and small on the outside so it uses space more efficiently.

 

X2. Makes no sense...

 

might just be your location, try to go to a different state to purchase your car cuz here in northern virginia a use '08 fit with like 3k is like 1.5k less the a new '09

 

also, other than dropping in another engine, which i doubt the average purchaser would do to a fit, why would not being able to lift the engine out be a deal breaker