Alert: Honda Fit Weakness June 15, 2009, 12:20:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103326For Andy and all others that have purchased a Honda Fit. I recently came across a potential design weakness in this car which is relatively easy to fix. I belong to another unofficial Honda Fit Forum and a number of owners have had to replace the AC condensor which is mounted in front of the radiator at thier expense ($800.00+) after rock damage that was not covered by factory warranty. Honda does not provide any rock protection for the condensor and it is exposed to any flying objects coming from road. For the Sport models, The glass foglight lense's are also prone to the same rock damage and they are expensive also. The condensor damage problem can be alleviated by purchasing a section of aluminum mesh gutter guard from Home Depot and securing it to the back of your (bottom) grill with tye wraps. This is a $2.00 to $3.00, 15 minute fix that may save you $$$$ down the road. In my case, and Andy's case, it is relatively simple to attach the mesh to the Roadmaster brace that is immediately behind the grille with long tye wraps. You need to remove the upper trim to access the area which requires removing around 7 pushpins. For the foglights on my Sport, I obtained (2) precut pieces of mylar film with adhesive backing that I simply placed on each lens. I can provide a contact for thes if anyone is interested.
Re: Alert: Honda Fit Weakness Reply #1 – June 15, 2009, 03:39:23 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103330"Honda does not provide any rock protection for the [air conditioner] condenser and it is exposed to any flying objects coming from road." Thanks for the tip, Wiliam! I just took a look at mine, and it seems to be OK, but I'll add some protection as soon as I can.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/