2011 Honda Fit

ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING (EPS) CUTS OUT AND BACK IN AT UNPREDICTABLE TIMES CAUSING STEERING TO BECOME STIFF AND UNSAFE. THE EPS INDICATOR COMES MOMENTARILY WHEN ASSISTED STEERING IS NOT AVAILABLE AND TURNS OFF WHEN POWER STEERING IS RESTORED. IT HAPPENS PERIODICALLY UNDER ALL DIFFERENT DRIVING CONDITIONS. THIS LOOSING AND REGAINING ASSISTED POWER STEERING HAPPENS WITH IN SECONDS. IF CORNERING WHEN THIS OCCURS, THE LOSS OF POWERING STEERING CAUSES SEVERE UNDERSTEERING FOLLOWED BY SEVERE OVERSTEERING WHEN POWER STEERING IS RETURNED (ALL WITHIN THE SAME CORNERING MANEUVER). FIRST NOTICED JUST PRIOR TO GETTING THE TAKATA RECALL PERFORMED; HONDA DEALER STATED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE STEERING BECAUSE THEY "COULD NOT FIND ANY CODES". DID NOT NOTICE THIS PROBLEM TOO MUCH AGAIN TILL RECENTLY WHEN IT STARTED OCCURRING SO FREQUENTLY THE CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. THE OWNER'S MANUAL STATES THERE IS ONLY A PROBLEM WITH EPS IF THE WARNING LIGHT STAYS ON. HONDA DEALERS ARE 'UNAWARE OF ANY ISSUES' ALTHOUGH HONDA HAS HAD EPS ISSUES WITH THE FIT AS DOCUMENTED IN NHTSA COMPLAINTS AS WELL AS HONDA SERVICE BULLETIN 14-058 (DEALING WITH EARLIER MODEL FITS). WHEN I RECENTLY CONTACTED HONDA AND ASKED ABOUT THE PROBLEM THEY STATED THEY HAVE NO INFO ON DEFECTS AND BASICALLY IT SUCKS TO BE ME. BECAUSE THERE ARE SUPPOSEDLY NO STORED DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTC) WITH THIS KNOWN ISSUE IT CANNOT BE RULED OUT AS A CAUSE OF ACCIDENTS. IT SEEMS ANY AND ALL HONDA FIT ACCIDENTS (ESPECIALLY INVOLVING FATALITIES OR SEVER INJURIES) IT WOULD BE CIRCUMSPECT TO CONSIDER THE UNPREDICTABLE LOSS OF POWER STEERING, WHICH CAUSES OVER AND UNDER CORRECTION IN CORNERING.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2011 HONDA FIT. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 7 MPH, THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS REAR ENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH. NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. POLICE REPORT NUMBER: PA-19-285971 WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED TO A POLICE IMPOUND FACILITY. THE FRONT PASSENGER WAS TRANSPORTED BY AMBULANCE TO THE HOSPITAL AND SUSTAINED FIVE BROKEN RIBS, A BROKEN BACK, AND LACERATIONS TO THE HEAD. THE OCCUPANT REMAINED IN THE HOSPITAL FOR EIGHT DAYS. THE SECOND ROW PASSENGER AND A CHILD WERE ALSO TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL WITH INJURIES TO THE FACE AND HEAD. THEY REMAINED IN THE HOSPITAL FOR ONE MONTH. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 51,000.

WHILE DRIVING THE CAR STARTED MAKING HUMMING NOISE, IT GOT LOUDER THE FASTER IT WENT, TOOK IT TO GARDEN STATE HONDA IN PASSAIC NU AND THEY SAID IT WAS THE WHEEL BEARINGS ON BOTH SIDES, WHEN I ASKED IF IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY THEY TOLD ME NO AND IT WILL COST $800 AND IT WOULD TAKE A WEEK BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE TOO ORDER THE PARTS. I WAS MOVING TO FLORIDA AND WHEN I GOT THERE I CALLED DELRAY BEACH HONDA AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE BEARINGS ARE COVERED UNDER THE DRIVE TRAIN WARRANTY, SO I TOOK THE CAR IN AND THEY REPLACED THE BEARINGS AND ALSO REPLACED A BAD DRIVER SIDE AXLE. THE BEARINGS AND AXLE REPLACEMENT AT 35,00 MILES IN MY OPINION IS UNACCEPTABLE CONSIDERING I DRIVE FOLLOW THE MAINTENANCE STRICTLY AND I AM VERY EASY ON THE CAR.

POWER STEERING FAILED MULTIPLE TIMES WHILE DRIVING, AND THE RADIO CUT OUT MANY TIMES AS WELL. WHEN THE POWER STEERING FAILED I VEERED INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE WHEEL UNTIL IT RESTORED. FORTUNATELY I WAS GOING LESS THAN 30MPH, AND AVOIDED AN ACCIDENT. UPON RESEARCHING THIS PROBLEM I SEE THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. I AM TOO AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR AS I LIVE IN A BUSY DOWNTOWN AREA. THIS HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING IN THE CITY WHILE TRAVELING STRAIGHT AS WELL AS TURNING.

DRIVING ON FREEWAY, A CAR WAS STOPPED AHEAD, HIT BRAKES, AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM DID NOT ENGAGE, HIT REAR OF CAR AHEAD DIRECTLY WITHOUT MUCH SLOWDOWN COMPARED TO EXPECTATION, POSSIBLY SKIDDING STRAIGHT, FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE 2-3 SECONDS (LONG ENOUGH TO BE PUZZLED) OR FOREVER. HAVE NOT HAD AUTOMATIC BRAKING KICK IN A LOT OF TIMES IN PAST, NEVER HAD AN ACCIDENT LIKE THIS. NO FLUID LEAKAGES SEEN ON GROUND BEFORE OR AFTER ACCIDENT. CAR WAS DRIVABLE BUT TOTALED, NO INJURY REPORTED. TIRES 1 YEAR OLD. HAD JUST GOTTEN ON FREEWAY, WHICH HAD TURNED TO STRAIGHTAWAY, SO MIGHT HAVE BEEN GOING AROUND 50 WHEN BRAKING STARTED, MAYBE 15-20 ON IMPACT. PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WENT OFF.

THE POWER STEERING CUTS OUT INTERMITTENTLY FOR SECONDS AT A TIME BEFORE COMING BACK ON WHILE DRIVING. NO SPECIFIC MIX OF SPEED OR TEMP SEEMS TO CAUSE IT, IT IS RANDOM. THE RADIO CUTS OUT EACH TIME AS WELL. I'M TOLD THIS IS A FAULTY EPS UNIT OR SENSOR AND IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH HONDA FITS. WHEN DRIVING STRAIGHT IT HAS NOT BEEN AN ISSUE BUT I'VE HEARD STORIES OF PEOPLES STEERING WHEELS LOCKING IN A TURNED POSITION AND THIS COULD OBVIOUSLY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.

THE BACK SEAT BELTS DO NOT LATCH FROM TIME TO TIME. MORE FREQUENTLY LATELY. I TOOK MY CAR TO HONDA TO HAVE IT CHECKED AND THEY SAID THAT THEY COULDN'T REPLICATE THE MALFUNCTION. BUT WHEN I INSPECTED THE BACK SEAT THE SEAT BELT WAS TUCKED UNDER THE SEAT AND DID NOT LOOK CHECKED. I HAVE 3 CHILDREN AND ONE OF THEM REQUIRES A CAR SEAT. IT CONTINUES TO MALFUNCTION AND THE CHILDREN CANNOT LATCH THE SEAT BELT TO BUCKLE THEMSELVES IN. I AM UNABLE TO TRANSPORT MY FAMILY IN MY CAR SAFETY AND CANNOT DRIVE IT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 HONDA FIT. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 75 MPH, THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF A SECOND VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED AND METAL DEBRIS FLEW OUT. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED BACK AND SHOULDER INJURIES AND A LACERATED LEFT HAND. MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS RECEIVED. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 85,000. UPDATE NAME PER HONDA INFO. PCO