NHTSA Complaint #10888027 — 2007 HONDA FIT

REPEATED ENGINE MISFIRES CAUSING VEHICLE TO DIE UNEXPECTEDLY. SINCE LATE 2013 (APPROX. 75,000 MILES), THE ENGINE FUNCTIONS ERRATICALLY AND ALL CYLINDERS HAVE ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS REGISTERED ENGINE MISFIRES, RESULTING IN THE VEHICLE DYING UNEXPECTEDLY - ONCE NEARLY LEADING TO AN ACCIDENT WHEN IT DIED AS I PULLED OUT INTO TRAFFIC. I HAVE TRIED - UNSUCCESSFULLY, USING TWO DIFFERENT MECHANICS OVER NEARLY THREE YEARS - TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM, BUT IT PERSISTS, DESPITE SWAPPING ENGINE COILS IN AND OUT, ADJUSTING THE IDLE, AND OTHER PROPOSED (BUT UNSUCCESSFUL) SOLUTIONS. SOMETIMES THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT COMES ON, AT LEAST GIVING ME SOME WARNING, BUT OFTEN IT DOES NOT. THE PROBLEM MAINLY HAPPENS WHEN THE CAR IS FIRST TURNED ON AFTER SITTING FOR A WHILE, BUT IT IS UNPREDICTABLE: OCCASIONALLY THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS IN TRAFFIC, AFTER IT HAS BEEN DRIVEN FOR A WHILE. BECAUSE THE PROBLEM CONTINUES, AND ENDANGERS MY SAFETY, I WENT ONLINE TO SEEK HELP, AND UNCOVERED MANY OTHER HONDA FIT OWNERS PLAGUED BY THIS SAME ISSUE, WHO HAD LOGGED THEIR COMPLAINTS AT WWW.FITFREAK.NET, SO I KNOW THIS IS NOT A FLUKE; IT'S A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE HONDA FIT. I'M ATTACHING INVOICES DOCUMENTING THE ATTEMPTS TO FIX THE VEHICLE. SOMETIMES, SWAPPING THE COILS FIXES THE PROBLEM FOR A FEW DAYS, BUT IT ALWAYS COMES BACK. THE WIDESPREAD NATURE OF THIS PROBLEM LEADS ME TO THINK SOMETHING IS FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG WITH THE FIT ENGINE, AND THAT HONDA SHOULD RECALL THE VEHICLE TO REPAIR THE ISSUE. UNEXPECTEDLY LOSING POWER, AND COMING TO A HALT IN TRAFFIC, IS SCARY. IF I COULD AFFORD TO BUY A DIFFERENT VEHICLE, I WOULD. PLEASE INVESTIGATE! NOTE: TO THE QUESTION "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?" I ENTERED THE APPROX. DATE THE PROBLEM BEGAN... BUT IT HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 4 TIMES PER WEEK, SINCE DECEMBER 2013 (FOR 2.5 YEARS!)