2007 Honda Fit Sport: A Fit(-and-finish) Haiku

My Japanese made Infiniti G35 Coupe had an interior rattle the day I drove it off the showroom floor. Rattles continued to plague that vehicle the entire time I owned it. My first Japanese made vehicle, and I was less than impressed. It was actually in the shop for warranty repairs far more often than any other car I've owned (all American or Mexican built).

Texases - Love it.
From now on, all responses
in haiku form please.
 
Josh

First a bad transmission and now the dash is rattling. That one must have been made the day before a Japanese holiday.

Turn up the radio. The Fit cant be rattling that bad. Its a Honda.

1487,
that was almost a haiku!
Rattle's fairly loud.

Our '06 Honda Pilot Rattles, Groans, and Vibrates like it's going out of style. And I'll be suprised to see the Transmission go to 100k. But it's sure is good on gas!
  
It's a shame that the Fit's a Honda, i.e. wonderful engine & driving experience, but the body & transmission just weren't made to last.

Now I hate to be an English Nazi, but here goes. Technically, what Josh graced us with is not a Haiku. It's actually a Senryu. Haikus deal with nature and natural things while a Senryu is sort of the catch-all for whatever is left.
 
Beside that, great Senryu, Josh. I can definitely appreciate a little culture with my car evaulations. The irony of using a Japanese verse style to criticize a Japanese car is an extra bonus. Let me see if I still have it...
 
A Honda Senryu
 
Cutting cost ain't free
The truth hits home with each squeal
My brake pads went bad
 
It works all right, if you overlook that "ain't" isn't a word. : P

Phinneas,
 
Actually I think you're being a Japanese Nazi (of which there may have been a few back in the day, incidentally). In Japanese, you're right, senryu does not fall under the haiku rubric; in English, however, haiku primarily serves as a catch-all term for poems written in this form, although its original meaning may be preferred among connoisseurs such as yourself.
 
Here's Merriam Webster's definition of haiku: "an unrhymed verse form of Japanese origin having three lines containing usually five, seven, and five syllables respectively; also: a poem in this form usually having a seasonal reference."
 
Note that the primary definition is the catch-all variant.
 
Excellent Honda haiku though - or senryu, if you like. :) Keep 'em coming folks!
 
Josh

First, my story: My 06 Civic SI, one of the first 3000 made, has had numerous rattles since day one. Rear speaker deck and front A-pillar are persistent, sunroof creak dissapears with the shade closed. Windows sounds like it's backing itself out when the temperature hits 10 degrees (forgivable).
 
That was at about 500-1500 miles....at 40k, it's exactly the same. For what it's worth, I consider a non-expansion of rattles a plus. That being said, it bothers me when I drive with no music on (i.e talking with the wifey).
 
Oh Civic SI
When will you learn; no rattles!
Back to drawing board
 
Fuel economy
Great handling, great shifter
DBW from hell
 
Joe

This is hilarious. I'll try.
 
Don't diss the Fit much
You do get what you pay for
Even from Honda

Josh:
 
Next time, can you give us a sonnet? And please, not a Saab sonnet.

phinneas519, "ain't" has been a word since 1749. Just that certain cultures of the USA look down upon it.
"Ain't" is in every respected dictionary.

I registered to this site to contribute a post or two (and I have) because this forum seemed a step or two above the norm, esp. with regard to, well, not kids and the "UR" "lol" etc.
 
Now a haiku? Hell yeah, right on.

Well Sellis16, that's the Long-Term Road Test Blog for you. Anything less would be uncivilized. :)

With a MSRP of under $14k, what do you expect? Corners are cut somewhere to get the price that low, especially if it's a Honda.
 
I've heard rattles in nearly every type of car, from sub-$10k Hyundais to $100k+ Audi's. Of course, after spending $100k+ on a car, any complaint you have is handled with more urgency and attention than if you spent $10k..=)

mine's not too bad after 26.5K miles. an occasional rattle when it's really, really cold in the morning, but nothing persistent or really that noticeable. I'm more annoyed by a plastic panel near the bottom of the door (on the floor side) that isn't fitting as well as it used to after the cold of winter. will try having the dealer get it back in place once things warm up more permanently.

so the fit is go
but so are all the rattles
they should go away

Cargo champion
Mini Cooper wannabe
Does Honda compete?

rattles or no rattles, i am Go....
bumped on this link
http://theyreviewed.blogspot.com/2007/10/2008-honda-fitjazz-for-japan.html

Hondas don't rattle. Every single one that rolls off the assembly line is perfect and anyone who dares to disagree is a liar.

"Hondas don't rattle. Every single one that rolls off the assembly line is perfect and anyone who dares to disagree is a liar."
 
Yeah! ;) I like a dash of relevant cynicism every now and then...

i agree with kevlang:
 
after 18k in only 7 months, i've only gotten the rattle when its really really cold.
 
chavis10, 1487,
 
what are you doing on this blog? grow up and post where your comments are wanted. ( i know that leaves very few blogs to comment on, but you take what you can get y'know?)
 
unless you can back up your useless rants with tons of experiences with aveos, cobalts etc that are rattle free, get over it.
 
nothing is perfect, somethings get closer to it than others. ;)

eldaino- the point is ANY car made by ANY manfacturer has the possibility of experiencing build quality issues. I didn't start this, the IL editor's poem made the implication- "what gives?" I've had two Mazdas in the last 3 years. The first was complete junk and the second just fine. I didn't flip out and assume all Mazdas are junk, my particular car was and that was that. The second car came off the same line and was built from the same parts so it's just the luck of the draw.
 
PS- one thing that's interesting is that I find Japanese brand dealerships seem to reject your concerns when in for service. I had to write Mazda USA for my 1st car's transmission to be fixed (under warranty at that). Seems Edmunds had a similar issue with the Fit along with other people I know.

My current Honda/Acura vehicles:
 
2003 Acura CL-S 6MT coupe: Had sunroof rattle upon delivery and dealer fixed it. Hasnt returned. Heard it was a common issue with 02-03 CLs. 46,000 miles.
 
2005 Honda Odyssey Touring: Had a rattle in the rear starting around 10-11K but it dissappeared before we could take it to the dealer. Hasnt returned. 39,000 miles.
 
2002 Honda S2000: Tight as a drum. Being a rag top you think you would hear something but its suprisingly very very very solid. 12,000 miles.
 
1995 Honda Civic Ex sedan: Even with the Tein EDFC equipped adjustable coilover suspension set to its most firm setting, remarkably, the old car doesnt rattle or creak. 274,000 (HARD) miles.
 
Im not taking up for Honda as the issue of rattles has been around in various Honda/Acura vehicles for a few years. Im not sure if its the material choice (Civic) or if its something esle. From the complaints Ive read about they all seem to be inner dash or rear shelf related and worse in colder weather.

Regarding your Civic, hondacura4, there isn't anything that can rattle because you stripped and modded it to within an inch of its life. j/k :o)

My 93 Infiniti G20 just started rattling now at 260000 km, but they're minor and only when it's cold. I guess they don't make them like they used to. I'm selling it of course now.

My 2000 Altima only has a few mentionable squeaks. The worst is a creak from the windshield, which is a replacement since the original cracked. The rear suspension creaks, but that can be fixed by replacing them. The wheel covers flutter. I could fix that by taking them off, but then the car looks stripped. There is a squeak coming from the glove box area once in a while.
 
Overall, not bad considering it has 140+k on the clock.

"Regarding your Civic, hondacura4, there isn't anything that can rattle because you stripped and modded it to within an inch of its life. j/k :o)"
 
Im a performance junky but unlike most TASTEFULLY modified Civics mine still has all of the sound deadening and the full OEM interior with the exception of the Sparcos and custom roll cage.

joefrompa: My '06 Civic Si is rattling like crazy too! For awhile, the dealership says they can't replicate the problem. I finally get my service advisor to go on a drive with me, and tell him to listen to the drive side A-pillar. 5 mins into the drive, he goes, "yeah, it's faint, but I can hear it". Faint? I can hear it from the passenger side!!! I think people who work at the dealership have their ears shot from all the work they do with air guns and such.
 
You rattle all day,
But dealership technicians,
Cannot replicate

chavis:
 
my mother in law has a mazda 6 and will never go back to the dealer again. but i personally think its a dealer to dealer issue, not inherent of the brand, as i know there are some crappy honda and vw dealers out there, but all the ones i have been lucky enough to deal with have been great.
 
i wonder if they are keeping anything in the small compartment above the shift lever; i leave crap in there all the time and about 75% of all my rattles have been silenced because i remembered to empty out the change and chapstick sticks out before i drive. Not making excuses, (because like i said, my fit rattles when its real cold.), just a thought.