So being the good Fit owner that I am, in preparation for winter, a few days ago I decided to put a nice coat of wax on my 2015 Fit LX. I started with the roof, as I normally do when waxing. Since I'm a shorter guy, I was standing on a step stool to reach the middle of the roof. I worked from both sides of the car to be sure to get the whole roof covered. As I was buffing off the wax, to my disgust, I realized that while I was leaning on the roof pillars, I put a total of 10 small dents in them. Yes, not 1, not 2, but 10 dents! Ugh, WTH?! I've easily completed 100 wax jobs in my lifetime on a variety of vehicles and NEVER have I had this happen. In looking at other cars, I think it's because the Fit pillars are more flat, and not rounded. Rounded pillars seem to offer up much better flexing/dent resistance.

All this being said, and being the anal retentive, obsessive compulsive person that I am, today I dropped the car off at the "dent wizard" for some paintless dent removal. Total estimated cost for repair is $400. And that, my friends, is one expensive wax job!

The bodyshop guy told me that they have even had staff dent cars while leaning on them. He said it's an issue with today's "make them lighter, save fuel" car manufacturing.

Anyone else ever experience such an unfortunate turn of events? And this being said, please be careful when waxing the roof of your Fit!

 

yes, you are not the first by far

Anyone else ever experience such an unfortunate turn of events? And this being said, please be careful when waxing the roof of your Fit![/QUOTE]

 

Acorns dropping from very tall trees have dented my car...

 

And then, there is hail...

 

Festiboi did the same thing while washing her car. Read and weep. She is too strong for her own good?!? Sad at the lack of structural strength of the roof.

 

The same thing happened to me. It really doesn't take much to dent them. I was surprised.

 

Any pics of dented roof pillars?

 

Festiboi just did again this week while waxing the car. Its not as bad as last time and I was trying to be so careful. I leaned on the car once out of instinct, realized the error of my ways, backed up, and now there are two fresh dents on the roof. Du-oh!

Sorry to everyone who is also experiencing this. It is surprising how thin the sheetmetal is on these cars.

For a moment I thought it may have been my well-hidden strength! But I waxed my husband's Aveo today with no issues, like I have for several years. I pressed down lightly on that car's roof and there was no give, it's pretty strong. The Fit's roof feels flimsy by comparison.

Thanks for the revisit to this issue and the warning to all of us!

 

Can you speak to my wife and convince her to wax my car?

 

AVeo? Do you like that car? how does it compare to the fit iyo?

 

Sorry, folks, just what are roof PILLARS? Did the original poster mean roof PANELS? The only picture posted is of a hood that has been dented by hail. I've seen that happen to older cars with heavy gauge steel roofs, trunks, and hoods. The impact of even dime sized hail is scary, much less golf ball sized.

To me, pillars would indicate the A B C and D posts from the windshield to the bogus vent to between the doors and to the rear window.

If the roof panels are that flimsy, how are people installing roof racks and the like? Were the Fits LXs or EXs? Should we be installing NASCAR roll cages?

 

Going by the OP's description and Festboi's previous thread on this subject, I think we're talking about the area of the roof between the door frames and the "rubber strip" that divides this area from the center roof panel.


My guess is the support structure is plenty strong, but the sheet metal skin is VERY thin in this area.

 

Going back to her original picture, I would agree with your assessment of the area of concern, but that still leaves the actual roof. I was exaggerating about the NASCAR roll cage since more roll protection exists because of the windshield frame and the door frames. I'm sure that the thinness is for light weight. How well do the Fits score in passenger safety from Consumer Reports and the various insurance and Federal safety nannies? (I know, Google it, but CR is very jealous of its sacred self.)

 

Honestly, I like the Aveo a lot better. We've driven that car 86k miles and aside from an A\C wire burning out three years ago, nothing has gone wrong. We've driven it cross country and no problems. The Fit has been to the dealer for odd issues eight times now in only 3k miles. The Aveo just feels better built.

The Aveo is a lot quieter and refined on the freeway, feels quicker, and has more front seat legroom

The Fit does have more rear seat room, gets about 10 more mpg on the freeway (44 vs 34mpg) and has more engaging and stable handling.

But overall, as much as car fanatics would cringe with me saying, I think the Aveo is the more desirable car

 

Lol, does she like cars? That's your first step.

I love cars, and waxing them is a pleasure. Try to sell her on how fun cars are, but she may make you do house chores in exchange

 

Agreed, remember the Saturns and Lumina Vans of the 90's. They were clad in plastic and people were concerned about safety. It ultimately was the steel frame underneath that played the biggest role in a crash.

Even though the Fit's sheetmetal is paper thin, I have no doubt that the steel frame underneath is strong and isn't compromised

 

Not cringing, but like I pointed out before about build quality, it all depends. Your Aveo rolled down the assembly line on a good day. The Fit may have rolled out on a bad one. Just as I got my first Honda (leaving a gas sucking Chevy Lumina Station Wagon), my stepfather wanted to get a new car. Prior to the Lumina I had 3 Pontiacs (including a GTO). Being a veteran of WWII, there was no way he was going to buy Japanese (he added a few expletives). So I sent him to the Pontiac dealer. That Lemans sedan was even worse than the Lumina.

Sometimes it's the luck of the draw. Ya gotta know when to fold 'em.(K. Rogers)

 

Planning a trip to the Music City any time soon?

 

I just finished up putting on some Klasse products and I can attest to the thinness of the panels. Luckily I saw this post before I started, and I was sure to be extra careful. I could still feel that panels giving a little when remove the sealant.

The metal work seems pretty flimsy, and that is after previously owning a WRX with aluminum everything.

 

Pictures or it never happened.

Also, why are you waxing a Fit? It's not a Jag.