Archive for October, 2008
How to reset the oil life monitor / indicator on a Honda Fit
My oil life indicator got down to 10% today (at about 6500 miles) and, since I had the day off for Columbus day, I decided to take my Fit in for its first oil change. Living in the small ghetto-ish community of Echo Park here in Los Angeles, there aren’t too many Honda service centers or even Econo Lube n Tube’s around. This is why I found myself at the little service center in my local independently run gas station. They changed the oil on the Fit for $30 and got it done fairly quickly. The only downside was that they didn’t reset the damned oil life inidicator. Thanks to the “Having a Fit” blog, I discovered how to reset the indicator myself and thought I’d share them with you:
- Press the trip meter select/reset pin until you the oil life reminder is displayed
- Press and hold the select/reset pin down for approximately 10 seconds until the oil life reminder is blinking
- Press and hold the select/reset pin down for another 5 seconds or so until the oil life reminder is reset to 100%
Big thanks to Having a Fit for posting this. Up next, I’ll be posting about my brand new Pioneer Avic F700BT.
What kind of mileage do you get in your Fit?
My fit is a 2008 Sport with automatic transmission. Since I opted for the AT over MT (a pretty damned big decision mostly influenced by the hours a week I spend on the LA freeways), I’ve known not to expect amaaazing gas mileage out of my Fit, but that said, I’m still just not that impressed with my results.
I’ve heard people say that I need to wait for the car to be truly broken in, but at this point my Fit has just over 6k miles on it and I’m still basically averaging around 29mpg. My useage is almost entirely highway and I really expected to see closer to the 34mpgpromised. I’ve even heard of some people on various Fit/Honda forums getting up to 45mpg … which leads me to wonder whether the rumors of amazing gas mileage for the Fit stem mostly from people who drive it like a 90 year old woman. I’m no where near the most aggressive driver I know, but driving in LA, you definitely need to accelerate enough to not die when merging onto the freeway.
So, whats the deal Fit lovers? What kind of mileage are you getting? Anyone have any real world, practical, tips that don’t involve drafting behind a giant truck or turning off the engine in the middle of a crowded highway?
Honda Fit Best Selling Car in Japan for 11th Month in a Row
For the 11th straight month, the Honda Fit has ranked as the best selling compact car in Japan.
Up 52% in September, the Honda fit has sold 16,350 units, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said in a release today. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Corolla ranked second with 12,176 vehicles sold, and the Vitz took third with 9,972 sold.
Demand for Honda’s Fit and the new Freed minivan boosted the Tokyo-based company’s domestic sales, excluding minicars, by 12 percent in the fiscal first half. The Fit, revamped last October, helped Honda defy the industry’s 2.9 percent drop to the lowest level in 34 years.
Japan’s first-half auto sales slumped to 1.54 million vehicles as rising unemployment and decade-high inflation sapped demand for new vehicles.
Here is a ranking of the top 10 Japanese subcompact’s for September:
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No. Model
1. Honda Fit
2. Toyota Corolla
3. Toyota Vitz
4. Honda Freed
5. Mazda Demio
6. Nissan Tiida
7. Nissan Serena
8. Toyota Prius
9. Nissan Note
10. Toyota Passo
——————–
Bloomberg.com Comes Down on the Honda Fit
Unlike the LA times and many recent publications that seem to have a glowing review of the new Honda Fit, Jason Harper from Bloomberg.com didn’t seem to like it quite as much. Harper states that people might take the many positive reviews that the car has been receiving as an indication that it’s a “refined and grown-up sort of car.” Harper thinks it isn’t.
He said that in his 400 mile test drive the meek 117hp engine struggles up hills and while the chassis has been stiffened in the 2009 model there is still significant body roll through turns. Harper states that the seats are cheap, uncomfortable and don’t offer proper lumbar support, the interior looks cheap and overall he thinks the car is ugly. While the “ugly” is just an opinion, he’s right about most of his complaints, although he *is* talking about a $16k car.
The article didn’t only have bad things to say about the Fit though. Harper liked the cabin and cargo space, the large windows with no blind spots, navigation system and other amentities that have made the car so popular.
Read the full article on Bloomberg.com.