New Honda Fit wouldn't start day after purchasing

May 8, 2017 7:19 AM

We bought a new (2017) Honda Fit EX manual transmission on Saturday (May 6th). We drove it home and parked it on our street, and the next morning (Sunday, May 7th) it wouldn't start.

We called Honda roadside right away and had it towed to the dealership. They're looking at it today.

Does anyone have experience with this happening? Is this common, or no? Should we expect anything from the dealership, other than to fix the issue and apologize? We don't have another car and getting back to the dealership will cost us time and money. Can we ask for the car to be delivered? We're shocked that we're having problems with a brand new car on day two. Thanks for any advice or wisdom.

posted by ancient star to Travel & Transportation (17 answers total)

We don't have another car and getting back to the dealership will cost us time and money.

Does the purchase contract with your dealership, the roadside assistance policy, or your auto insurance include a rental car? If so, you can at least fix the don't have a car problem in the meantime.

Can we ask for the car to be delivered?

Of course you can ask, it never hurts to ask. They sold you a car that quit on you a day later; it's both normal and ok to be pissed off. Let the dealership know and ask what they're going to do to make this less shitty for you.
posted by phunniemee at 7:25 AM on May 8, 2017

Honestly, I would expect them to take the car back and give you a different one. Do you not have some kind of clause where you can return it within a few days? When I bought a new car I had 7 days to back out and return it with no penalty. The dealership should be horrified and doing everything they can to fix this in whatever way you want them to. Don't spend a dime of your own money on this problem.
posted by something something at 7:31 AM on May 8, 2017 [22 favorites]

This could be as simple as a dead battery. I used to have a large, multi-brand car dealer as a client and occasionally I would get weekend loaners of brand new cars. A time or two, I would come out to cars that wouldn't start and have to get them to jump me so I could drive. When cars sit without cranking and without much juice in the alternator that can just happen. Hope this is the case for you and a new battery sets you on your way. But in no way, shape, or form should this cost you anything.
posted by littlerobothead at 7:35 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I should say it's not the battery! The engine was turning over but not starting.
posted by ancient star at 7:38 AM on May 8, 2017

Having worked for Honda corporate back in 2000, our policy was to only buy-back cars as an absolute last resort.

For comparison, the dude who bought a car, drove it less than a mile, only to have the radiator explode? Yeah, he didn't get a new car. The dealer fixed it, everyone apologized, but buying the car back and giving him a new one never entered the picture.

Definitely ask the dealer for everything want in terms of a loaner car, credit towards parts & accessories, etc. Tell them you'll go to corporate and get the district sales and/or service representative involved. But I would strongly advise you not to expect a new car. Everything else is fair game, if you're willing to complain loudly enough.
posted by jpolchlopek at 7:42 AM on May 8, 2017 [3 favorites]

Get a loaner car. Most of the possible reasons for something like this are probably minor (bad spark plugs, fuel pump, etc). I wouldn't worry right now that you got a lemon.
posted by empath at 7:46 AM on May 8, 2017 [3 favorites]

Is there fuel in the car?

Since you bought it two days ago, this should be entirely the dealer's problem to fix. It seems utterly reasonable to me for them to offer you alternative transportation while they fix whatever is wrong with this one. I would also expect them to bring the fixed car to your home.

(I don't know where you are, so like everyone else here, I'll assume that you live in my country.)
posted by Too-Ticky at 7:48 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Nth-ing that don't expect them to swap out cars. Cars are mass-produced machines, there's going to be a few that have issues right off the line. Once it gets sorted, though, it'll be as reliable as a brand new car again.

I once bought a new car that smelled vaguely of oil after driving it. I figured that it was just protective coatings getting burned off, but nope, the plastic valve cover somehow got broken during assembly and oil was splashing out. I was pissed, but they fixed it up put it in their special vehicle delivery showroom when I came in to pick it up.
posted by hwyengr at 7:58 AM on May 8, 2017

Response by poster: We're in the US, on the east coast. We don't (necessarily) expect a new car, especially since a manual Honda is very uncommon on the east coast and they don't even have another manual Fit!
posted by ancient star at 8:19 AM on May 8, 2017

My vehicle is out of warranty and even so my local dealer (which is not where I bought it) offers free shuttles and free loaners. One or both of those should be on the table, as well as the possible option of them dropping the car off at your house if that is easier for you.

(Regarding the battery, I have had batteries be strong enough to turn over the engine but not strong enough to actually start the car. It may be as simple as charging the battery, or any of the more complex issues others have mentioned, but I would expect them to repair it, not replace the car.)
posted by Dip Flash at 8:24 AM on May 8, 2017

It's probably going to be a simple fix; Nthing that asking for another replacement is not the thing to do here. You play that card after 2-3 issues or a repeated issue.

Delivery is possible, but if the issue is just that you don't have another car -- almost all dealerships have shuttles that take repair customers back and forth from the dealership.
posted by randomkeystrike at 8:44 AM on May 8, 2017

You should start making a paper trail immediately -- don't just rely on phone conversations. Write and send a letter now, setting out the facts: "I bought a car Saturday, it wouldn't start Sunday, and you [the dealer] came and towed it away" (or whatever). Send a paper copy, and keep a paper copy in your own files.

It takes a little extra time now, but you'll thank yourself in a month if you're still having problems with the car. (Write and send another letter every time "it should be fixed now!" but it isn't.)
posted by spacewrench at 8:48 AM on May 8, 2017 [9 favorites]

Read up on lemon laws and see if your state has one.
posted by AFABulous at 8:59 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

I had the same problem after I bought my Honda CRV: Brand new car, drove it home. Parked my car outside to open the garage, but then the car wouldn't start! I called the sales guy I had dealt with earlier in the day and it was because they didn't change the dealer codes for the car security system or whatever. I think the sales guy that came had some kinda of device that had to be within vicinity of the vehicle for it to be able to start - it's an anti-theft measure so people don't just hot-wire cars on their lot and drive off. Had to drive the car back to the dealership where they changed the codes, no problem after that.

Maybe check for that?
posted by Seboshin at 9:26 AM on May 8, 2017 [4 favorites]

I came in here to say what Seboshin did -- we have 2 Hondas, a Fit and an Insight, and I forget which one this happened to, but the next morning after purchase the car wouldn't start. It turned out to be a security measure the dealer installed. They explained it to me as "it keeps the car's computer brain from 'recognizing' the battery." The guy came to my house and dealt with it -- it was literally a tiny chip the size of my pinkie nail. He pulled it out and said, "You're all good now, sorry about that" and I've never had any problems since. (That was several years ago.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:15 AM on May 8, 2017

My guess is an issue with the immobilizer. They may have accidentally given you an unprogrammed key, which would lock out the engine when you try to start the car with the wrong key, so even using the known good key it'll still not start until you reset it. The manual would have the procedure for resetting it, but the dealership should take care of that in any case.
posted by TwoWordReview at 2:19 PM on May 8, 2017

Response by poster: Last update: there was a fuse that got disconnected somehow and apparently that's been fixed. We got a few free accessories for our trouble and they delivered it back to us. Hopefully this is the last of the trouble!
posted by ancient star at 6:55 AM on May 9, 2017 [3 favorites]