I don't know either, but it was quite prone to breaking 1 year previous, which makes me wonder if they ever really fixed it: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...-happened.html

Filed my BBB claim, we'll see. It's not even about the money now, it the principle of the thing.

 

Great information. Thanks

 

The most important part of the TSB is that it documents that failures of this type are deemed to be a WARRANTY item (there are TSBs that will say this is not under warranty, and are service procedure bulletins).

It gives "case history" that in general, the Honda warranty covers this type of failure. So even if you have a different model year or even a different Honda vehicle, a crack in the armrest should be something that is covered by warranty. In other words try to be cognizant to not focus in so much on the exact year. The way Honda is positioning themselves, if you were the first person to run into the problem, how could you ever prove you were covered for anything.


You're only in the wrong if the TSB says this is a type of failure not covered by warranty and should be a maintenance issue (e.g. you have squeaky brakes, and they have a TSB for a new brake procedure or something like that).

 

On other warranty threads, people have recommended calling the corporate American Honda to escalate the issue, and it seems this often has positive results. I'd probably try that. Good Luck!

 

Yup that's the thread.... it's happened to a few others as you know from reading that thread.

Hope you get it resolved soon.

 

The part that cracked may be a new surplus from a previous year and is prone to the same damage. Honda should fix this under warranty.

 

I know how the damage was done, it's a freaking arm rest! The crack is where your elbow would normally sit and I highly doubt that you did a flying elbow move to break it or Hulk Smashed it. It's simple: the plastic there is thin and cheap and if you rest too much weight on it it breaks. Mine is an '09 so I shouldn't have any problem but if they give me a hard time I may freak out.

 

Lol I love you SB

 

Call Honda Corporate and register your dissatisfaction with the customer service provided by your local dealer. Let them know you will give them a poor rating via internet rating sites such as Google, Yelp, etc. Also tell them about this forum. There is power in numbers and no one wants bad publicity.

 

I had a fight with VW of America over a broken sunroof frame. Out of warranty. The dealer recommended I talk to VW of Am because he said it was something that should never break, which means an implied warranty comes into play.

VW only wanted to play ball half way, they wanted me to pay for the other half. I declined.

Two days later I called them and in a very nice tone asked them for their physical address. She inquired why I needed it. I told her that I was taking them to small claims court and needed an address to deliver the subpoena. She told me she would look into it and would call me back.

One hour later the dealer called, "VW is paying for the whole thing, bring the car over."

If all else fails, threaten them with small claims court. Might work for you too.


Flea

 

If I got a reasonable response from Honda, I'd just buy the damn part. Now they've got me fighting just cause I'm mad! With this kind of logic/evaluation of damage anything could break on the car, and all they would have to say was "looks like it was abused". My car is fricken pristine, (I detail it every week and perform all maintenance even before they recommend)....why in God's green earth would I abuse that 1 panel?

P.S. they made the mistake of sending me a survey. God help the person who reads that one.

 

I've never once had a good dealing with honda when it came to service/warranty issues. same goes with many others that I have known over the years. (esp with the Si 6spd 3rd gear issue).

 

Not to be a dick, but your car is not pristine. Just look at your armrest in your pics, look at the obvious color change between most of the armrest and where you rest your elbow. It looks dirty or really used to my eyes, at least from your photos. Could just be the angle or something, but if not, then pristine it isn't.

 

Agreed, but that's where the fabric has rubbed into the crack/the color change caused by the difference in the depth of the fabric. For a long while I didn't inspect it, and thought the fabric was just comming loose/fading, as that might have been from resting my elbow there too much, which I could live with.

Do you all think that would be why they said it was abused? The service manager said, "You must have hit that area with something". So even if it is the fabric color in that area, it seems to me that they are accusing me of just randomly taking a blunt object to that 1 part of the car, regardless of the color.

This was taken the week before:



And 2 weeks prior the exteriror:



I don't have shots of the fabric in the rest of the car saved on my computer, but will gladly upload them if you all care to see them.

 

BS! Mine did it, just like yours, and I didn't realize it was an issue until I started reading around the web. Your dealer is full o' crap about it not being reported as an issue, or an issue at all. There is another thread on this very forum about this very thing happening to quite a few Fit (GE8) owners.

Mine is cracked/broken and falling in as we speak. I'm afraid to rest my arm on it or put any pressure at all on it anymore. I'm not a big guy either... I'm a little tall but rather small framed. In other words, I'm not a heavy dude, and there's no reason whatsoever for it to happen and be considered normal wear or something owners did.

Honda is terrible about living up to defective equipment responsibilities. And I don't need to hear about it being an "econo-box" as an excuse for shabby construction.

After owning this Fit Sport, I can say I love Honda's engines, but that's about all I can say that's decently complimentary about the Honda Fit, as far as construction is concerned.

They use cheap plastic materials in the new Chevy Sonic too. But that thing is a solid slab of interior stability compared to the Honda Fit. They are both around the same price. Using cheaper plastics doesn't mean it has to be wimpy... they can thicken and strengthen certain areas where needed. The Fit is a cracker box, interior wise, compared to some other [newer] compacts I've seen or tested.

Even the exterior sheet metal has to be the most wimpy sheet metal I think I've ever seen automakers using for exterior skin. The top bends and dents if you look at it too hard. I can run my finger across the top of the fit and watch an actual metal wave move along under my finger!

I like my Fit as far as being fun to drive, gas mileage (which is grossly exaggerated, by the way), and I like the sound of the engine. But sometimes the thrill is gone, for me, and I sometimes find myself mildly sorry for purchasing it!

Like I said, I do like the Fit Sport, in some ways... but it's a serious question as to whether I would ever buy another one. I may trade UP to a Chevy Sonic LTZ within the next year. We'll see.

If you want me for a witness as another armrest victim, then you have my cooperation. Maybe another class-action lawsuit will get Honda's attention! I heard (don't quote me) they're already being sued for their false Civic Hybrid claims.

 

Completely the wrong course of action. The point of the Civic Hybrid case that got media buzz is that they did exactly the opposite. She opted out of the class-action settlement and went to small-claims court (which is what someone else suggested).

That case pointed out 2 things.
1)How useless class-action can sometimes be for the end consumer, and
2)How an individual can do-it-yourself and "win" even against a big company opponent. You don't need a lawyer or big bucks, there are tutorials and how-to guides on the internet of how to do small-claims.

BUT you have to get off your ass and put in the work and effort if you want the outcome. If you want people to do things on your behalf and just handover the result to you, they're not going to fight as hard, or alternatively take their fee; and you end up with a $200 settlement instead of the $9,xxx that that lady got.

 

Brilliant!

Hey, just because you can't seem to admit there are certain things about the Fit that are about as cheap as dirt itself doesn't mean everyone else has too submit to such self-blinding denial. Cheap materials do not have to equate to cheap construction of those materials.

Don't be an @ss at someone else's expense!

This kind of mentality is why we have the so-called "leaders" we're cursed with in the U.S. at this time... most people blind themselves to truth and only believe what they wish to believe, or worse, what they're TOLD to believe (say "bahhhhhh" like good sheep now... let's hear it! ). Seriously, as a result we have the screwed economy we now live under. We have idiots (mostly one main idiot and his willing band of thieves!) making world economies worse, instead of better. At least open your eyes when there are obvious problems around you.

You're not immune to shabby workmanship, you know.

This armrest issue is obviously a problem for a lot of people, myself included.

I'm just saying', man...

 

Case in point, Honda forgot to take into account that this car was being sent to the North American market, home of the Big Mac. I have no issue with the so called cheap materials with this car, hell of a lot more solidly built than my VW GTI.

 

I agree with much of what you said... but now there are more than a couple of people with this problem.

For the record, I'm not looking to ream some company, Honda included. I'm not trying to get something for nothing like most entitlement-minded people seem to expect these days. :wavy: (comment not intended toward you... I don't know you to be able to assign that mentality to you.)

I will be happy with, not only companies, but individuals admitting when there's a problem instead of passing the buck, trying to blame the one who has the problem, or blaming everyone else around them for their own mistakes.

I would be happy just getting my armrest fixed, and getting Honda to admit it is a definite design flaw. Other than that, I'm not entitled to anything except what I either work for, or what I pay for. Just because I'm breathing doesn't entitle me to whatever I think I should have... especially at someone else's expense... Honda included!!!

If I sued it would be for my faulty armrest and court fees only... period!

 

WoW!

What year GTI did you have? I have a friend who has either a 2008 or 2010 GTI (I forgot which) and that baby is one h3ll of a lot more solid than my Fit. No comparison! (Not to mention as fast as lightning compared to the Fit.)

Besides, as I said, materials can be cheap, as long as they're designed and constructed in a way that makes them more sturdy and supporting. Making them look not quite so cheap goes a long way toward giving people a better perception of the product too.

Seriously, the Fit has one of the cheapest interiors, looks and construction, of any car I've ever been in. At least as cheap as any I've ever been in.

Just my opinion!