I have owned the car for one month. Left the car in the parking on Sunday afternoon after locking with the remote and hearing the horn “acknowledgment”.
Came back Wednesday morning to find a dead battery. I verified that no light had been left on (switch off, and inside light off too).
The dealer found nothing wrong (except the dead battery), and looked at me as if I was the lemon.
What could be the cause of such an issue?
Is that a common occurrence with the Honda Fit?
Probably the battery was defective from the beginning.
You apparently chose not to share the outcome of your dealings with the service department with us. Did they replace the battery under warranty? If they did, then you have no gripe.
As far as I know it’s not common to the Fit. What’s the status of the battery now? Did the dealer replace the battery, or do you still have the original? You didn’t say.
If this were my car I’d want to park it somewhere for a few days and see what happens. A good battery shouldn’t die in just a few days. If they did I’d be buying batteries every month, since both of my cars often sit for a week, sometimes two, without moving.
My parents left a car in their garage for two months and the battery was OK.
Perhaps the battery in your new Fit is defective. Hey, it can happen.
If the battery is OK there’s something that stays on when it shouldn’t.
The battery was recharged and seems to be functioning OK after recharge.
They said that all their tests passed.
My concern is that a battery does not get completely discharged spontaneously and there must be or have been something wrong.
So far the dealer did not replace the battery.
This is not the first time I leave a car standing and I never had a problem.
I am concerned that a small mechanical defect (e.g. a door not locking properly sometimes) may cause a current draw from the battery. I was also trying to get information about the Honda Fit in general and find out if someone had seen this before.
The draw must be something that turns itself on like a ONSTAR system that periodicaly updates its position,something that escaped the parasitic draw test somehow.
What I suggest is getting a copy of how Honda says to do a parasitic draw test (on your car exactly equipped as yours) and doing two things with it,look it over to see if anything differs from parasitic draw tests from days earlier and asking the mechanic if he is following the Honda method to the letter.
Something is letting this car get by the test.
Thanks very much for your suggestion. It is quite possible that the test was done without the alarm on, for instance. I will check today.
Just picked up my car from the dealer. Two series of parasitic draw tests were done: one yesterday PM and one this morning early. Values far below the limits. Yes, they followed the Honda procedure for my model. They tested with devices on and off. So I am back to square zero. However, this weekend I will leave the car again for three days, and will watch.
Hey have your problem been solved??? i’m getting the same problem as yours. please let me knw wht u did. thanks.
Yes and no! My problem was not solved but suddenly disappeared. I left the car in the parking for 3 days and the battery was fine. Now, In fact, I am abroad for a period of ten days and I will check again when I return on August 28. I will post the result then, positive or negative. One more detail: in order not to remain stuck again, I bought an auxiliary rechargeable battery from Sears (model 750) just in case. No use for the time being.
I came back after 11 days and my car battery was functioning properly. My conclusion is that the previous problem may have been either a mechanical glitch or an electronic glitch or that I got the car already with a low battery.
However, another problem appeared: the TPMS light went on. According to my meter, the tire pressure was 30 and should have been 33 (sport model). The manual states that a “significant” drop in pressure would trigger the light. I do not consider 3 pounds to be significant. I topped all tires to 32, and the light stayed on. The dealer fixed that problem (probably did a reset). Another glitch?
did you check the spare? If you have stem pressure sensors the spare can trigger the low pressure light…perhaps the dealer checked your spare…
You may be right. I do not know whether the spare has a low pressure sensor and I did not check its pressure; I will find out and come back.
We have a 2009 Fit and 5 or 6 times in 1 1/2 yr the batt has gone dead. Usually after sitting over the weekend. We drive it m-f about 30 miles per week. Honda has replaced the batt once and paid for towing once. The other times we had to pay for towing and they said the batt was good. They tell us we have to drive the car more. They reccomended 20 miles per day. We have never averaged 20 miles per day on any of the cars we’ve had for years unless we go out of town besides to work and never has a problem with them. I told them this was bs. There are many posts on the internet about this problem and 2 Honda dealers have told me the same that it needs to be driven more. Also you can only get a batt that will fit from Honda. I plan on pursuing this as far as neccesary. We bought 3 Hondas from this dealor in 1 1/2 years and paid cash for all 3. Never again. We wish we had bought the Scion. It was nicer. Mike
Mike, we’ve been confonted with a dead battery a few times, also - and can’t figure out what it is. After jumping it yesterday and driving for several hours, this morning it wouldn’t start. Huh? All of the lights are off - doors seem to be shut tight… I must say, I’m getting a little disheartened by all this. Jim
I own a 2008 Fit, 5 speed manual, recent purchase. Car died after a minute of running stereo and internals without the engine running. It had been sitting for three days, which is rare. I have never had this problem on any other car i have owned.
It happened again yesterday, five days of many miles driven since the first incident. This was after a day of work, leaving me stranded at night many miles from home in the parking lot in the freezing cold while my husband drove to the rescue.
Yesterday it was again, after only a minute without the engine on. I didn’t realize the engine had died because it is so silent, and i had the defrost on. By the time (one minute maximum) i realized it, the battery would not start the car. All auxilliaries remain very strong, which is confusing. Just won’t turn the engine over.
Fortunately it bump-starts in second gear nicely. But i turned my legs to spaghetti trying to push it before calling my husband for roadside assistance.
Completely blew my gig last night, as i thought i ought go home rather than stay out and risk being stranded in the wee hours of a Friday night.
Browsing this morning, there are thousands of upset Honda Fit owners regarding this VERY issue. There was mention of a bad batch installed at the factory, then not enough to replace them, thousands stranded while dealers wait for them to trickle down (pun ;-)…
so - Great Job, HONDA! YAY!
Anyway, love the Fit except it feels like a soda-can compared to my Very Dependable (until it hit about 250,000 miles) Saturn LS1… Which i miss tremendously and regret abandoning for this newer, highly touted and supposedly more “reliable” vehicle.