Honda Fit Fire Recall: 646,000 Cars Globally, 140,000 In U.S.

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Nelson Ireson

27 32,820 views Jan 29, 2010

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2007 Honda Fit

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Door Controls - 2007 Honda Fit 5dr HB AT

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It's been a bad week for Japanese carmakers. First Toyota (NYSE:TM) gets backhanded by the NHTSA over its ongoing unintended acceleration issues--and associated multi-million-car recalls--and now the Honda Fit faces recall over a fire hazard.

Honda (NYSE:HMC) today announced a recall of 646,000 Fit (Jazz in some markets) compact hatchbacks due to a faulty master switch that could allow water to enter the power window switch, potentially causing a fire. Of those, 140,000 cars in the U.S. are subject to the recall.

While not as wide-ranging as the Toyota recall, the Fit recall, which affects 2007-2008 model-year cars, is no less dangerous. The car fire could potentially start at any time, causing property damage and personal injury--especially if while the car is driving down the highway, or parked in a garage. Already several vehicle fires have been reported, prompting Honda to issue the recall.

The fix is simple enough--Honda dealers will either retrofit the car with a new switch or put in a waterproof skirt. Of course, Toyota's fixes are simple enough as well--both the floormat recall and the unintended acceleration recall require little more than modification to the pedal assemblies and floormats.

This isn't the Honda Fit's first recall for weather-related problems on 2007-2008 models. In late 2007, Honda issued a recall for a problem with the occupant detection system for the front passenger airbag. If subjected to road salt in snowy areas, the salt and snow could cause corrosion, breaking the wire that detects if a child seat is present. This failure would then allow the airbag to deploy in the event of a crash, potentially injuring the child.

For more on the Toyota situation, read Bengt Halvorson's complete overview here, and if you have a 2007-2008 Honda Fit that's subject to the recall, Honda's customer service number is 1-800-999-1009.

[Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! News]

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Comments (27)

mikeymoose Posted: 1/29/2010 11:02am PST

They're called "Fit" here in Canada, too...

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Cheap Honda Cars Posted: 1/29/2010 1:42pm PST

Honda said the recall was to fix a defective master switch, which could cause water to enter the power window switch and in some cases cause a fire.
James Williams

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tea Posted: 1/29/2010 1:55pm PST

Not a good week for the Japanese.

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Unique Swath Posted: 1/29/2010 2:05pm PST

Still gotta this is a one-time deal, rather than a huge, systemic, take-'em-all-off-the-lots-til-we-fix-'em kind of thing. Toyota is getting a major black eye, but this sounds pretty routine.

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greedo Posted: 1/29/2010 2:16pm PST

hmm....on fire, or stuck in a runaway car. Thank goodness they're not combined in one car. That would really suck.

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Eric Jover Posted: 1/29/2010 2:49pm PST

I wonder how many incidents of fire were reported as well as how many would constitute a recall in the decision making process of Honda. It's nice to see these manufacturers are fixing their errors nonetheless.

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Richard Posted: 1/29/2010 3:39pm PST

Fire or not, I'd still buy one.

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Limousine Liberal Posted: 1/29/2010 4:43pm PST

yikes. definitely a difficult week for toyota and honda. this one, while apparently easy to fix and perhaps not as potentially dangerous as unintended acceleration, still is a bit concerning - cars catching on fire can be a bit of a bummer. hope it is simple to fix and cleaned up quickly!!

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Damien Thomas Posted: 1/29/2010 6:05pm PST

Screw the Fit, give me a new Ford Fiesta over this any day!

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Medisoft Clinical Posted: 1/29/2010 6:26pm PST

So far my Toyota Sienna has been great!

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tmkwdi Posted: 1/30/2010 9:57am PST

First problem since I bought my Fit a year and a half ago. Absolutely great car!

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jim Posted: 1/30/2010 10:32am PST

My U.S. built Chevy compared to the "Jap" vehicle recall goes like this: Stuff keeps breaking on my Chevy, I spend many hours returning to dealer for repairs (plural) and then can't get parts for warranty repairs after 4 months-yes, 4 months. Chevy stays broke, still is. Jap car problems are recalls that are fixed promptly. Guess who gets my money on the next vehicle.

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JR Posted: 1/30/2010 11:08am PST

Will still buy Japanese.
American cars are still terrible.

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Emalie Posted: 1/30/2010 6:48pm PST

My Honda Fit is a 2009 so it's not affected, but it's good to know that it's being publicized and fixed. I love my Honda and even if they eventually call it in, I'm not sorry I bought it.

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arnoldgaltine Posted: 1/31/2010 8:05pm PST

well IMO it's not honda's fault we all know that there is no such thing as perfect car or system, no matter how good the car is there are still some problems that may occur. well japanese are are still the best... specially the street tuner cars.

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Woo Posted: 2/1/2010 5:09am PST

Screw USA cars they suck! All American cars are built to be fixed. All foreign cars are built to last. Had American cars my whole life. Now I own a Honda. Once you go Jap you never go Back. I'd still buy a Toyota over an American car, at least the Toyota won’t break down on me and leave me sitting along the highway. It will just drive me into a lake or something.

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bill Posted: 2/1/2010 8:59am PST

Only make and buy cars that have the hand crank up windows...no more power windows..whats wrong with people!?

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Lou Posted: 2/1/2010 9:02am PST

We love our Honda Fit! Great car that "fits" our lifestyle.

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Jos Posted: 2/1/2010 3:34pm PST

I have a 2009 fit and I love it. I read an article about the problem and it says that the master switch get wet when it rains with the window open.
But who drives with an open window when it rains?
At least Honda will take care of it.

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Samantha Rogers Posted: 2/2/2010 7:51pm PST

It is good to know that Honda is now addressing the problem concerning fire hazards. However, the issue of recall only came up after a number of reported vehicle fires. If fixing the problem will only involve new switches and waterproof skirts, why did the company failed to realize the importance of installing the two mentioned features while designing and manufacturing the original models? I don’t know if someone was injured in the reported fires but if there is, the company may face problems especially if a lawsuit was filed against it.

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civic san Francisco Posted: 2/3/2010 3:32am PST

Really nice to know that Honda is recalling Fit to handle the fire hazard issues. The issue would be sorted out. And Honda Fit is a good car to drive. It is all about safety which Honda is now looking into so we can expect some enhancements in the future models.

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easyrider Posted: 2/5/2010 7:21am PST

Anybody who wastes money on one of these pieces pf garbage needs their head checked. Thankfully ford is coming out with the fiesta which will really make Fit owners look stupid.

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easyrider Posted: 2/5/2010 7:23am PST

WOW, look at those cheap door controls, Honda sucks.

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Tim Posted: 2/7/2010 7:27pm PST

I lovemy fit, first time i"ve even heard of a problem with these cars. great milage, though i wish it had a little taller first gear

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Monibotica Posted: 5/15/2010 5:23am PDT

I drive a 2008 Honda "un" Fit... I love my car.. It needs a 6th gear but that's besides the point... In the past 3 months I have taking my car to the dealership 3 times, because my SRS Light keeps coming on.. Which means my Airbags have deactivated them selves...I'm a nanny!!! and, No one at the dealership has even mentioned this recall to me.. What should I do???

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Monibotica Posted: 8/11/2010 1:31pm PDT

I haven't had My 2008 honda UN FIT!!!!! for 16 days!!!! It's at the MAIN LINE honda said to be in the shop.. I've called here and there to see what's going on with my car and no one ever calls back.. It's in the shop for the 4th time this year for the same problem... SRS light on, which means if i were to get in an accident my air bags will not deploy!!!! Everything that could be fixed has... The dealership doesn't know what to do next... I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!! DO NOT BUY THIS CAR... if you do, make sure the car isn't part of the massive recall Honda never bothered to tell me about a month after buying my car!!!! 646,000 Honda Fits recalled for this problem.. There has been 12 accidents reported for this issue, and one death!!!!

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Dava Posted: 8/6/2012 11:48am PDT