Likely the shocks/struts and some bearings/bushings might need to be replaced. Doubtful that anything else would need to be but that's no guarantee.

You have to pay to play.

If you were a shady individual... yes.
If you were honest, you'd pay for the repairs.
If you were smart, you'd plan ahead (and it seems this is what you are doing here now...)

~SB

 

The way I spend money on performance parts I'm no going to worry about whether the Swift springs cause my shocks and struts to wear out prematurely but I am betting they aren't going to cause anymore wear than the stock springs would over time and miles driven .. If anything is going to create a problem it is going to be the 41 mm offset wheels I have which is nothing compared with the very extreme offset, unsprung weight, rotating mass, outrageous camber and short travel stiff springs that I have seen so much of all of the time since being on this forum... Other than tires and windshield wipers I have yet to replace anything that has worn out but I will soon need to do the WindowWeld fix on my front motor mount if I don't by a set of high performance after market mounts instead.

 

I called my dealership today and asked them a few questions. Here is what they told me. Please tell me if this sounds right/reasonable:

Shocks and struts are not covered under the bumper to bumper as they are wear and tear, but they shouldn't go out before 70,000 miles anyway.

"Lowering the car is a BIG NO NO!" They said that Honda can void my warranty based on this. I said, "I understand if something happens to the drivability of the car but what about the engine, it wouldn't void that warranty right?" The salesman told me that the official Honda answer was that it could void the entire warranty. "They could blame engine failure on the vibration caused by the springs if they wanted to. They probably wouldn't but they do it on a case by case basis and have the right to void the warranty for anything performance orriented other than a K&N air filter."

So I have 2 more questions for you guys and gals...

1) If I put the springs on and one dealership refuses my claim can I just take it to another dealership and see what they say, or will they enter it into some kind of Honda database and void the entire warranty forever?

2) If something major does happen to the car in the next 70,000 miles could I just remove the springs before taking the car in for service without Honda being any the wiser?

Thank you so much for all of your help with this issue!!!!!!

 

Don't believe what the stealership tells you. I kinda laughed when I read the last post. Sounds like what vw wanted to try to pull on my buddy who has a 2009 gti in which he had professionally installed a $8000 sq sound system with seas audio and alpine f1 components ... anyway that's beside the point of my story. So his starter went out. Vw fixed it under warranty. All fine and good. Another 5000 miles later it went out again and vw tried to pull the bs saying his stereo caused the failure and they voided his warranty... needless. To say he sued upon false claims and won. Somehwere in the lines of 6000$ for all his troubles in total . Point of the story. Honda like all companies has to prove damn well something was caused ny a mod or not

Sorry for any spelling errors im on my phone

 

The idiot that told you that must be the same one that told me my computer ECU would get a bug that only he could fix if I used a Hyper-Tech programmer on my 97 GMC Safari van.

 

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects you from the practices you are fearing. Any aftermarket parts must have a direct and clear negative impact in order for warranty service to be declined. Failing to honor a warranty engine fix based on aftermarket suspension springs is illegal.

M

 

Ok I'm strongly leaning towards getting Swift springs...screw Honda. I can deal w/ the unlikely event that these high quality springs will cause any problems that interfere w/ my warranty.

Last question:

How much will it probably cost to install the springs (no I don't plan to do it myself) and will I need an allignment afterwards?

 

I think demographics, income and cost of living expenses for the area a person lives in has a lot to do with the price of services rendered... It's been 16 years since I have paid anyone to wrench on anything for me but around here I imagine I could find someone that would install the springs for $150 to $200.. If someone was to pay me $100 dollars to do the installation I'd be very happy and maybe even a little guilty for taking that much. I hope I never have to actually pay someone to work on my car because I know that what I'd have to pay would seem like too much... All old people are like that and I am getting pretty old.

 

It cost me $96 at my local Dodge dealer to install them. I did the cowl removal myself.

 

Most import tuning shops around here in Baltimore are quoting me at least $250 + allignment. Is this crazy or about right? Should I look at basic mechanics as well?

 

That is the same amount another FitFreak was quoted to have her's installed in Dallas... It seems outrageous to me, but it is only because I can remember when a job like that wouldn't cost more than $50 and at that price guys that were the same age I am today would be enraged if quoted that much.... You can buy all of the tools you would need to do it yourself and maybe a case of beer for someone to give you a hand for pretty close to $250.... I would look around and ask other guys with lowered cars about who did theirs and for how much. It cost a lot of money these days to do business and the only people that can do it cheaper would have to have less over head and be in an area with lower rent and insurance cost. You might want to see about finding someone in an outlying area with lower operating cost... I helped with an install of the same springs on a GE like yours in a driveway on jack stands. You should be able to find an old crazy guy like me around there that could do the same. Which reminds me, I never got paid.

 

You could buy all the tools you need with a knockoff brand mechanics tool set at home depot for $40 and get the spring compressor free at autozone.

 

Need somebody to repo those springs? I could even let the axle drop out just to be a d**k

 

 

That's alright, I enjoyed a reason to get out of the house and the poor gal had to put up with my crazy as hell self while standing out in the hot sun and handing me tools.... Besides I may need for her to get me out jail sometime and can hang my good deed over her head.. Seriously though, I couldn't have done it without her help.

 

THAT is a bunch of BS, and there's A LOT of misinformation flowing around on this site about warranties. Here's the skinny, from our Gov't in the form of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, about "warranty voiding" issues regarding aftermarket parts and the like:

Auto Warranties, Routine Maintenance, and Repairs: Is Using the Dealer a Must?

First, be careful WHAT you ask your dealer, and HOW you ask the question.

I spoke to the service manager at my dealership about the mods I've made, and what push-back I might expect from the service department knowing that I will be taking my car in for the V-TEC spring engine recall soon. He told me not to worry about taking off my K&N short ram and re-installing the stock air box. He also told me that it wasn't a problem until it was obvious that the mod/upgrade in question did in fact cause a given failure that you are trying to claim for a warranty repair. It has to be clear cut (proven to be valid) to void the warranty. Fact based, NOT opinion or innuendo. Car warranties are not applied with a shotgun blast, they are considered on a case-by-case basis because that's how they're written to be applied. The guy you talked to said as much near the end of your quote, so the dude contradicted himself in the same line of bullshit he gave you.

The other issue is deviation from repair guidelines, so, if you've lowered your car to the point that it can't roll over the dealer's lifts, if you've added a S/C or T/C that requires knowledge or steps that they cannot deal with (if you put it on, and it's in the way of something Honda is trying to do for you, you're hosed), or you've done something that requires special tools... you get my drift. He told me, in his own words, "most of us at the dealer have 2 or 3 mods on our Honda's anyway, so it's not like we're not up to speed on dealing with simple aftermarket upgrades like intakes, lowering springs, exhausts and the like".

You have to know HOW to speak to these guys. If you ASK them "will X void my warranty if I do it" you're setting yourself up for push back. You're effectively asking the dealer for permission, or if it's OK. What do you EXPECT them to say? They don't want to deal with anything other than stock if they can avoid it, so they certainly won't encourage modifications! Given the choice, 9 times out of 10 the dealer is going to tell you a mod/upgrade is off limits!

Now, if you're worried about having to replace the struts because of premature wear caused by aftermarket lowering springs, and wondering if that failure would be covered by the warranty, why make the upgrade? The majority of us upgrade our Fits knowing that any issues beyond that aftermarket upgrade is on us...

 

Forgot one hidden cost: Vandals and Cops

Vandals and cops love lowered cars, because they know kids drive them. Kids love ipods, navs, and other expensive gadgets that you have in your glove box. Cops LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE ticketing lowered cars.

 

I love it when a cop car or two stays on my tail for a couple of miles or a young kid or someone older in a performance car pulls up beside me... Because of the length of my beautiful blonde hair I think some of them think there's a pretty young girl behind the wheel. The expressions of shock on their faces is funny as hell when they see my grizzled, bearded old face... I do seem to be followed by cops pretty often when I am in a city so I am diligent about maintaining my cool.

 

everyone's input is pretty spot-on. It just depends on your relationship with the service dept and how you approach them. Obviously, if your struts go out insanely quick, switch in your stock springs and take your car car back to the dealership and play stupid!

Also, honda motor corp knows for a fact that their cars are going to be moded, why do you think their design is so easy to wrench with compared to other cars?

This also brings up another issue of why you should support the companies that actually do REAL RnD (not jes copy and cut 'n chop stuff to FIT us models) on their parts because of their genuine tuning philosophy which places their products @ either the same, if not higher, than oem quality. (wheels, suspension, performance, etc...)

If you're careful in tuning your fit, you can get away with "murder" @ the dealership when if comes to warranty (within reason of course). I'm on my 2nd mtr and trnny!

 

I asked my service manager at the Honda dealer when I got my first service done if any modifications would void any part of my warranty. He told me that any use of any non-Honda approved part would void all warranty, both bumper to bumper and powertrain.

However, the manager at another dealership told me that only parts affected by the non-Honda parts would not be covered, for example if i installed springs then the shocks and shock mounts would be non-warrantied but the rest of the components would still be covered.

When I actually called Honda, they informed me that if my car breaks down, I can have it repaired at any ASE certified repair shop. I have had other cars that had aftermarket parts installed that did cause damage (an improperly installed flywheel coming off the crank and destroying a bunch of stuff) or parts that were just damaged (ac condenser cracked due to impact) and both shops simply called the company concerned and got approval to replace all affected components, virtually no questions asked.

By the way, I am at 42K miles and have had $79 dropzone springs for the GD3 on my 2009 Fit Sport since 11K miles, and my shocks are still riding fine.