Project: MisFit

[Kaan]

SO... in our house we destroy gasoline. the Jeep with an 4.0L I6 and the Tundra with a 5.7... they love to visit the gas stations. We needed something that got "good" gas mileage (we considered an S2k, because 21mpg seemed good) and we wanted some utility (even if we needed a roof rack, etc). 

I'm a pretty brand loyal person... the Tundra is amazing but i wish the Ridgeline was better suited for my need. I kept looking at the honda lineup, looking at prices, etc. The Honda Fits were just SO cheap for what you were getting... so we started stalking the typical websites looking for a deal.... you know Sylvia and I like deals. 

We went to Landmark Honda and picked out a 2009 Honda Fit Sport... 51,700ish miles... black on black... 3 pedals... 5 speeds...zero accidents and 100% dealer maintained. We haggled over the price, they were really stuck on zero accidents (i was too but i wasnt going to tell them)... i only really got a discount because their sticker had listed options the car didnt have... navigation and hatch cover to be exact. so they rounded down to the nearest thousand and waved their $800 processing fee (whiskey tango foxtrot). 



The plan... drive the hell out of it. we average 20k miles/year on our vehicles... this will take all the weekend miles and sylvias miles to the hospital (technically my park and ride is closer). It fits both our bikes for our weekend trips (no more 15mph Tundra trips)... in the 3 days we have owned it I decided we needed to add some stuff...

over the next couple of weeks (pre vacation)... weather tech floor mats, weather tech rain guards, and canvasback seat/trunk mat are all going to get thrown on. there are zero floor mats in the car and we need them... the car is black on black so i'd like to leave the windows cracked under the rain guards... and while it has a TON of space in the back, it didnt hold up that great to one trip with the welder in the back. 



we are averaging 42ish mpg right now... i did a full commute to dc in it yesterday... even with the disaster of afternoon traffic it was getting great mileage. so far it looks like it will pay for itself in fuel savings in 19 months (or roughly 32k miles). 


dont shed too many tears... i'm hunting the fit forums for wrecks and part outs... i'll start collecting the K swap parts when they come up. I think when my nephew starts driving in 10 years we will give it to him and swap it. 

[ScottyB]

nice grab! i love the 1st gens and finding a 5'er with that mileage is super nice. everything i understand about the little 1.5 is that it'll basically ride until you die no matter how abusively you drive it. with the back seats folded down the rear hatch space in those is nuts considering their size. like a little bread van.

42mpg...amazing. i feel like a boss if i get just 30.

[.RJ]

everything i understand about the little 1.5 is that it'll basically ride until you die no matter how abusively you drive it

Kaan: "Hold my beer"

[Kaan]

its a first year 2nd gen. no changes other than body styling and interior bits (but you cant notice lol).

there are several guys on the fit forum logging +400k miles on these little 1.5L motors. 10k mile oil changes (says honda), coil packs seem to last a while, every now and then a sensor goes bad... but mostly brakes and tires.

we are prepping for the 60k mile service... which is just coolant, oil, trans fluid, and brake fluid. we will likely stick with the factory service schedule and just do it at home. there isnt anything "major" outside a valve adjustment at 100k i think... thats a pain in the butt due to the head/manifold design.

[ScottyB]

its a first year 2nd gen.

d'oh! that's what i meant. basically the 1st chassis design.

10k mile oil changes (says honda)

i pulled a great oil analysis out of an 8,000 mile run on my K20, 10 should be cake for you guys on any decent big brand synthetic.

60k mile service... which is just coolant, oil, trans fluid, and brake fluid.

do me a solid and have a go at bleeding in some fresh clutch fluid while you're at it. when i just recently did mine around 100k it was putrid, totally cooked. looked "OK" yellowish in the master cylinder but the stuff in the line was closer in color to used oil than old brake fluid.

[Jake]

I really liked Matt's 2nd-gen (that was first Dave's) when he had it. Great little cars that hold a ton of stuff. Enjoy it!

[Kaan]

while the L series engines are terrible for spark plug replacement... the oil change and 60k service was SO "easy" it was scary. Sylvia and i started gathering all my pans and tools at 4pm (outside mind you, since the #civicofdoom is dead in the garage still). by 4:45 we were picking up all the stuff and putting the car back on the ground.

oil, radiator, brake flush, clutch flush, trans fluid, all filters... refilled and burped.

[Deceus]

while the L series engines are terrible for spark plug replacement... the oil change and 60k service was SO "easy" it was scary. Sylvia and i started gathering all my pans and tools at 4pm (outside mind you, since the #civicofdoom is dead in the garage still). by 4:45 we were picking up all the stuff and putting the car back on the ground.

oil, radiator, brake flush, clutch flush, trans fluid, all filters... refilled and burped.

I did the same with mine. Took me a little longer because I wanted to really flush the coolant out since mine's closer to 100k. Ran the heat and drove it around with just water for a bit and then had to let everything cool. Still only took like 2 hours but I did skip the brakes for now. Just going to drain and fill the auto tranny every oil change (10k) since it's just too easy not to. The dealer does a 3x drain/fill service every 30k or so but quite a few people seem to just do the 10k interval. Been really impressed with what this thing fits. I've already decided to let someone else do the spark plugs when it's time.

[Kaan]

while the L series engines are terrible for spark plug replacement... the oil change and 60k service was SO "easy" it was scary. Sylvia and i started gathering all my pans and tools at 4pm (outside mind you, since the #civicofdoom is dead in the garage still). by 4:45 we were picking up all the stuff and putting the car back on the ground.

oil, radiator, brake flush, clutch flush, trans fluid, all filters... refilled and burped.

I did the same with mine. Took me a little longer because I wanted to really flush the coolant out since mine's closer to 100k. Ran the heat and drove it around with just water for a bit and then had to let everything cool. Still only took like 2 hours but I did skip the brakes for now. Just going to drain and fill the auto tranny every oil change (10k) since it's just too easy not to. The dealer does a 3x drain/fill service every 30k or so but quite a few people seem to just do the 10k interval. Been really impressed with what this thing fits. I've already decided to let someone else do the spark plugs when it's time

for coolant... i put the front on ramps pulled the lower radiator hose. when the radiator was empty i jacked the rear up to 36 inches and let the block drain. minty fresh fluid and a PH check after burping says that's all i needed to do.
i wouldn't change the auto fluid that often. that's too often for the fluid to break in and be useful. i think you will find that you are going to start hard shifting. i'm not a huge auto honda fan, but i'd do it every 50-60k miles. the other option is never due it and buy a used one to put in around the 160-180k mile mark

[Deceus]

while the L series engines are terrible for spark plug replacement... the oil change and 60k service was SO "easy" it was scary. Sylvia and i started gathering all my pans and tools at 4pm (outside mind you, since the #civicofdoom is dead in the garage still). by 4:45 we were picking up all the stuff and putting the car back on the ground.

oil, radiator, brake flush, clutch flush, trans fluid, all filters... refilled and burped.

I did the same with mine. Took me a little longer because I wanted to really flush the coolant out since mine's closer to 100k. Ran the heat and drove it around with just water for a bit and then had to let everything cool. Still only took like 2 hours but I did skip the brakes for now. Just going to drain and fill the auto tranny every oil change (10k) since it's just too easy not to. The dealer does a 3x drain/fill service every 30k or so but quite a few people seem to just do the 10k interval. Been really impressed with what this thing fits. I've already decided to let someone else do the spark plugs when it's time

for coolant... i put the front on ramps pulled the lower radiator hose. when the radiator was empty i jacked the rear up to 36 inches and let the block drain. minty fresh fluid and a PH check after burping says that's all i needed to do.
i wouldn't change the auto fluid that often. that's too often for the fluid to break in and be useful. i think you will find that you are going to start hard shifting. i'm not a huge auto honda fan, but i'd do it every 50-60k miles. the other option is never due it and buy a used one to put in around the 160-180k mile mark

Apparently draining the pan only gets 40% of the fluid. Still probably not the best idea to mix good/used fluid. I should probably stick to the 3x drain and extend it to 50k but I'm lazy and I doubt this car makes it more than 2-3 years before I'm stuck buying one a little newer.

[Kaan]

run it until its dead and K swap it.

my only complaint is you cant do anything in anger with the car. but a 240hp K24 would fix that.

[Senor_Taylor]

I've never changed auto trans fluid before 90k and haven't seen any issues. Are the Honda units just bad?

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[ScottyB]

my only complaint is you cant do anything in anger with the car. but a 240hp K24 would fix that.

a K24 in one of those would be the equivalent of a B18C in a classic mini cooper.  so much want.

[Kaan]

I've never changed auto trans fluid before 90k and haven't seen any issues. Are the Honda units just bad?

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no... but most honda drivers expect +200k miles. not many neglected auto trans will make it 200k miles.

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my only complaint is you cant do anything in anger with the car. but a 240hp K24 would fix that.

a K24 in one of those would be the equivalent of a B18C in a classic mini cooper.  so much want.

yeah, except you would have airbags, power windows, and space for 4 people. honda missed the boat by not offering at least a K20 Fit from the dealer.

[Deceus]

I've never changed auto trans fluid before 90k and haven't seen any issues. Are the Honda units just bad?

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CVTs, DCTs and those other fancy pants transmissions require a bit more frequent changes. Every 30k does seem excessive for something like a Fit but after the Ralliart fiasco I'm going to be a little more cautious. Plus it's like 2.6 quarts and not 9-10 like the Demon. Probably also another reason for the more frequent changes.

[Jake]

Nissan's newer CVTs will, according to my master-tech dealer friend, go forever if you change the fluid every 30k or so. I think VW DSGs ask for new fluid at 30 or 40k. I have heard every 50k is a good interval for trucks that are towing often. It's cheap insurance to keep the trans happy.

[*insertusernamehere*]

90k is pushing it for an auto trans imo. I never saw any Fits with transmission issues all the way up to 250k. The few customers at that mileage were replacing axles and catalytic converters. Speaking of, Kaan double check if your Fit had a recall (or tsb) on the axles, some of them did. And make sure your airbag has already been replaced.

Kaan if my memory serves me right a K swap is less about parts and more about cut, chop, weld and fabricate.

I don't miss my Fit at all but i'm 10000% you and chris will be happy with yours. I put 45k miles on mine in less than 2 years. Few track crosses and a hyperdrive. The thing just runs. I did all the same maintenance at 60k too juuuust to make sure. I did 10k oil changes and the oil never looked horrible from just a glance.

Traffic MPG is actually the best mpg. Anything above 60mph is more stress on the fuel economy, its a city car afterall. 35-55mph was the sweet spot for that 40+mpg. 

Man.... I used to go so far on 9-10 gallons...

I do hope you take this from MisFit to SuperFit at some point though, you're crazy enough to do it.

[Kaan]

yeah the 07-08 Fits have a motormount set... the 09+ don't... but its coming. Brian at hasport has one in the works while he sorts out the plug and play harness... you know so all the gauges work.

+200hp and a 6 speed … this thing would be amazing.