NHTSA Complaint #10524443 — 2008 HONDA FIT

ON 10/21/2008 SEVEN MONTHS AFTER PURCHASING OUR 2008 HONDA FIT (NEW) THE BATTERY WENT DEAD. WE JUMP STARTED IT AND TOOK TO DEALER. THEY TESTED IT AND SAID IT FAILED THE LOAD TEST. THEY REPLACED IT WITH A NEW ONE. ON 10/20/2010, THE CAR WOULDN'T START AGAIN. WE JUMP STARTED IT AND DROVE TO DEALER. THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG. ON 01/24/2011, THE CAR WOULDN'T START. WE HAD IT JUMP STARTED AND DROVE TO DEALER.THEY LOAD TESTED IT AND IT FAILED. THEY REPLACED IT WITH A NEW ONE. ON 07/08/2013, THE CAR WOULDN'T START . WE HAD IT JUMP STARTED AND TOOK TO DEALER. THEY REPLACED IT. THE CAR IS DRIVEN ABOUT 45 MINS MOST DAYS. EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE IT WILL SIT FOR A DAY, IT CURRENTLY HAS 72,507 MILES.THE LAST OCCURRENCE HAPPENED AFTER IT SAT FOR 4 HOURS. NOTHING WAS LEFT ON. EVEN THOUGH THIS SHOULDN'T CAUSE A CRASH, WE ARE RELUCTANT TO DRIVE IT AT NIGHT AND BECOMING STRANDED. WE CONTACTED AMERICAN HONDA AND OPENED A CASE. THE NEXT STEP WOULD INVOLVE US PAYING FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. ACCORDING TO SEARCHES ON THE INTERNET, THERE WAS A BATTERY PROBLEM ESPECIALLY IN 2009. HOPEFULLY, THIS BATTERY WILL BE A GOOD ONE. I GUESS WE SHOULD BE HAPPY WE DON'T HAVE THE ACCELERATION PROBLEM DOCUMENTED ON THIS WEBSITE. SO FAR, THE DEALER HAS BEEN GREAT ABOUT REPLACING THE BATTERIES FOR FREE UNDER THE BATTERY WARRANTY. BUT WE WISH THEY COULD FIGURE OUT WHY THE BATTERIES KEEP FAILING. WHETHER THEY ARE DEFECTIVE OR IF THE CAR'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IS CAUSING IT TO HAPPEN. *TR