2008 Honda Fit problems & reliability
217 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2008 Honda Fit, alongside 8 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
18 complaints report injuries (28 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2008 Honda Fit vehicles were involved in 38 fatal crashes with 27 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 57 | 26% |
| Structure | 43 | 20% |
| Power Train | 24 | 11% |
| Engine | 23 | 11% |
| Electrical System | 18 | 8% |
| Exterior Lighting | 17 | 8% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 14 | 6% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 13 | 6% |
| Steering | 12 | 6% |
| Unknown OR Other | 12 | 6% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 75,000 miles (middle 50% between 35,250 and 104,250 miles), based on 146 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“My Honda Fit with an automatic transmission experienced a driveshaft failure due to corrosion in August 2018. At that time, Honda had announced a recall for similar driveshaft corrosion failures affecting manual‑transmission Honda Fits, but no recall existed for automatic‑transmission vehicles. Because there was no…”
Power Train · filed Apr 2, 2026
“Id like for my car to get assessed for any of the 8 recalled items that pop up in your system.. I bought this car from a dealership and I don't believe that they did anything for it to fix the recall problems”
Power Train · filed Aug 23, 2025
“The contact owns a 2008 Honda Fit. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. While driving approximately 55 MPH or faster, there was a misfire coming from the engine. The contact stated while driving at slower speeds, the vehicle was wobbling. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic…”
Engine · filed May 23, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Low Beam Headlights
Preliminary Evaluation PE10037 · opened Sep 16, 2010 · closed Dec 20, 2010 · led to recall 10V624000
Technical service bulletins
32 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2008 Honda Fit. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Front Passenger's Airbag Inflator.
A18-050 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 30, 2026
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A20-015 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 3, 2022
"Service Bulletin - There are several A/C leak detection tools available. -Refrigerant Gas Leak Detector -Ultrasonic Leak Detector -Leak Dye"
A07-030 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 23, 2021
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A20-015 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A18-053 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 7, 2018
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A18-050 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 1, 2018
Service bulletin - all of the listed vehicles have a type 4 immobilizer system that disables the vehicle unless a programmed ignition key is used. The type 4 system is different than previous systems in that the…
A02-053 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 20, 2016
Posters sent to hawaiian independent repair facilities, automotive part stores, car washes, and gas stations to remind owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
TAKATA_HAWAII PO · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 7, 2016
Flyer circulated to the residents of hawaii to remind owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
TAKATA_HAWAII FL · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 7, 2016
Letter sent in conjunction with the florida highway safety and motor vehicles department to remind florida owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
TAKATA_FLORIDA D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 29, 2016
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2008 Honda Fit has 8 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2008 Honda Fit?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 75,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.