Subcompact hatchbacks are the friendliest companions to carry out the urban traveling needs and the Honda Fit has been a great offering in the segment. Being a highly-preferred daily driver, the Honda Fit has been commendable in its reliability aspect too and the 2012 model isn’t any different either. The current model has seen about 108 complaints so far and was recalled 11 times as well. A majority of the recalls were regarding several airbag issues with the Honda Fit and the number of affected vehicles was in excess of 10,00,000 units. Apart from the airbag issues, a possible driveshaft failure and an incorrect yaw rate problem also saw a couple of recalls as well. Also, a majority of the owners have complained about the airbags too while the complaints against the powertrain and other aspects follow. In its class, the Honda Fit competes with the Chevrolet Sonic and the Ford Fiesta hatchback.
Honda Fit user complaints and problems
Engine problems
- Spark plug blowing out: A lot of owners of the 2012 Honda Fit faced this problem with their vehicles. While driving, the spark plugs would eject from the engine suddenly. Stripping the wires on the engine bay in some cases. This issue has been present on the last year’s model too but no recalls were issued to address the problem.
- Power loss and engine stall: A couple of reports state these issues are there against the 2012 Honda Fit. As per the owners, they experienced a sudden loss in power from the engine while driving and the vehicle stalled in one instance too.
Safety problems
- Brake failure: A couple of owners faced problems with the brakes in their vehicles. In one case, the brakes failed while the owner was driving the vehicle at 40mph, resulting in a crash. In another case, the brake pedal would get extremely hard to press during cold weather conditions. Upon warming up the pedal would start working but the failure would recur intermittently.
Miscellaneous problems
- Steering system failure: Several cases of steering failures have been reported against the Honda Fit. Most of the owners stated in the reports that while driving, the steering wheels became too hard to turn, resulting in loss of control of the vehicle. A few owners crashed too due to the loss of control.
2012 Honda Fit recalls
|
S.No. |
Recall Date |
NHTSA Campaign ID |
Issues noticed |
Additional remarks |
Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
April 24, 2013 |
13V157000 |
Incorrect Yaw Rate/FMVSS 126 |
Excessive yaw rates prevent the proper function of the electronic stability control (ESC) system, increasing the risk of a crash. |
Honda will notify owners and dealers will update the ESC software free of charge. The safety recall began on August 1, 2013. |
|
2 |
February 3, 2016 |
16V061000 |
Driver's Frontal Airbag Inflator May Rupture |
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal airbag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death. |
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflator, free of charge. The recall began in March 2017. |
|
3 |
January 10, 2017 |
17V030000 |
Passenger Frontal Airbag Inflator May Rupture |
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death. |
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side airbag inflator, free of charge. The manufacturer has mailed an interim notification and will send a second notification when parts are available. |
|
4 |
August 31, 2017 |
17V545000 |
Incorrectly Installed Replacement Airbag |
In the event of a crash, an incorrectly installed passenger frontal airbag inflator may deploy the airbag improperly, increasing the risk of injury. |
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began on October 30, 20 |
|
5 |
January 9, 2018 |
18V042000 |
Passenger Frontal Airbag Inflator May Explode |
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death. |
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on February 16, 2018. |
|
6 |
April 26, 2018 |
18V268000 |
Improperly Installed Passenger Airbag |
An incorrectly installed airbag may deploy improperly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury. |
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal airbag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began on June 22, 2018. |
|
7 |
September 27, 2018 |
18V661000 |
Passenger Frontal Airbag Inflator May Explode |
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death. |
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on November 6, 2018. |
|
8 |
May 16, 2019 |
19V378000 |
Improperly Installed Passenger Airbag Inflator |
An incorrectly installed airbag inflator may not properly deploy the passenger frontal airbag in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury. |
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the inflator installation and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal airbag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began on July 5, 2019. |
|
9 |
June 27, 2019 |
19V500000 |
Driver Frontal Airbag Inflator May Explode |
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death. |
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on August 12, 2019. |
|
10 |
June 27, 2019 |
19V502000 |
Passenger Frontal Airbag Inflator May Explode |
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death. |
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on August 12, 2019. |
|
11 |
December 10, 2020 |
20V770000 |
Drive Shaft May Corrode and Fail |
A broken drive shaft may cause a sudden loss of drive power. The vehicle could also roll away if the parking brake has not been applied before the vehicle has been exited. Either condition can increase the risk of a crash or injury. |
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the drive shafts, replacing either the left or right drive shaft, if necessary, free of charge. Owners were notified of the safety risk with an interim letter mailed on February 2, 2021. A second letter will be sent once the remedy is available. |
Should you buy a used Honda Fit?
The Honda Fit is not only a great urban cruiser, it scores high on the practicality department too with its versatile and cavernous cabin. In the reliability department too, the car stands firmly; however, it did let down several owners in the recent past due to some manufacturing defects. The brand did issue several recalls to fix most of the problem but the spark plugs ejecting issue is yet to be resolved on a massive scale. Getting a used model of the Honda Fit would require an extensive inspection of the model for the spark plug issues and the airbag issues as mentioned above.
