Insurance should have helped defray the cost.

The two other cars I have, 2003 Accord, 98 Camry both have wide openings in their bumpers exposing the condensers. If you look in any parking lot, 4 out of 5 cars (this is scientific; don't mock me) have wide openings in their lower bumpers. My old 97 Odyssey had a wide open lower grill.

I'm not sure how plastic or aluminum mesh will perform with a missile coming at your grill at the speed of your car, plus whatever momentum it has of its own. I doubt this will stop a rock, or piece of metal, any better than the aluminum fins surrounding the condenser tubes.

In over 35 driving-years with the 3 cars mentioned above, I've had -zero- punctured condensers (or any of the cars before these). Lots of stone chips though. I think the condensers do a pretty good job taking care of themselves.

 

this might post larger than intended lol but heres my mesh! (and my dirty car, stupid weather)

 

Yeah you're right. this one might had the better condensers compared the the standard ones. Fairly made and guess it is durable enough to last for a long time.

 

I'd be concerned about the loss of airflow and resultant loss of cooling both for the engine and the A/C.

 

it is mesh, airflow isn't restricted but rocks are!!

 

In 09 I was reading this forum quite a bit even before buying my Fit and by the time I got, I was so reved up about this that I did the grille mod immediately- like the first day I got it. And, for me it was a back wrencing job to accomplish. Frankly, the only thing it ever seemed to block was leaves and bugs. When spring arrives I may or may not do this mod again to my 2012. I'm not convinced by any stretch it's imperrative to do. I think the chances of a problem with a rock doing major damage is extremely slim. Just like the fog lights, where people would have you believe there is eminent danger of THEM being broken by rocks too, I never had a problem- ever. Lucky? perhaps. Do these types of mods if you feel you must. But I still think the odds of serious damage is very low. As was pointed out- rock dings on the HOOD, now that's highly probable. Get yourself a nose mask- it'll likely be called to service more than a grille mod ever will. IMO, YMMV.

 

Don't do this, and you'll get bitten someday. Do a proper grille ie. you want metal not the soft plastic gutter guard and strap them on strongly, best investment ever. I've lost a foglight and a condenser in the past... ignore this advice at your wallet's peril. Its your car after all, do as you please.

And it is NOT a back breaking job to get one in there!

 

And put mesh over the windshield too. It's a rock magnet.

 

Windshield replacement is cheaper than a new condenser and its far less practical to mesh the windshield, plus it would look ugly.

The gutter guard grille costs less than $10, looks good, and is a practical option.

As far as air flow goes, the grille is a non issue - people that put turbos in cars, guess where the intercooler typically goes? You're not blocking the airflow and closing the opening, just impeding rocks from being able to get in there and do any damage.

 

I used this stuff based on a recommendation from a DIY thread here.
McMaster-Carr
It is strong and seems durable enough for small rocks, and if it starts to look worn and I need to redo it I have plenty to spare. Tied it up with black zip ties and its not even noticeable. It does catch leaves though; a small price to pay.
A cheap DIY for peace of mind in avoiding a possible expensive repair.

 

Yep- that's what I used. The gutter guards look terrible, imo. The mcmaster mesh is easy to work with and very durable. Over three years, never failed or wore out. Mostly invisable- a good thing to me.

 

My 2008 GD3 Base...



Search "billet grill honda fit" on ebay for it.

 

That's some mouth bling. Bugs Bunny with a grill!

 

i love my mesh!! and it was about $6 total and makes me happy to look at. aaaaand might save me an a/c condenser.

altho i do have some dings on the hood lol :-(

 

Please be warned, if you remove the upper grill (on the 2012 model) when installing mesh on the lower grill, you will have to remove the whole bumper cover to put it back on.

Removing the whole bumper cover to start the job may be easier.

Jerry G

 

I don't know what you're talking about... I put in the McMaster-Carr plastic mesh 2 weeks ago on my 2012 and only had to remove 8 clips that were holding in the top cover. I didn't need to remove the grill at all... perhaps it's more difficult on the sport?

 

I should have mentioned I do have the Sport model.

I took off the upper grill so I could access the lower grill more easily, big mistake.

Under the big "H" in the center of the grill are 2 snaps that were impossible to snap back where they attach to the bumper cover.

There was another post about this as well, it made for very sore fingers and knees trying to get the grill back on.

Jerry G

 

Word to the doubters, I've been on the forum since I bought my Fit Sport new in May 2009. I was another doubter in the need for extra protection up front. 3 years and 91k miles later, I've got 2 broken foglights and now probably a broken condenser. It's a frequent enough occurance on these cars not to be a fluke. Honda has shown when enough people get together and complain they will respond. I got a free a/c in my 02 CR-V when it blew out of warranty at 50k miles b/c it was known that the compressors in those models were flimsy. Jus fwiw...

 

LOL at the poor fool who had this problem before. Oh wait, that was me. That was one experience I will never forget.

 

Can you upload more pictures please? I am going to try and do this over the weekend. From what I have read on here this is a MUST DO!
Thanks for the upload!!!!