Honda Fit: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Honda Fit: 9 model years scored from 1,092 NHTSA owner complaints and 51 recall campaigns. Worst year 2015, best year 2016.
Honda Fit: which years to avoid
Across 8 scored model years the Honda Fit ranges from 52/100 in 2015 to 86/100 in 2016 — a 34-point spread, so which year you buy matters. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Electrical System (115 of them).
Safest years: 2011, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020 — scored 70 or better.
Check carefully: 2013, 2015, 2019.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
The Fit years to walk past are the 2015 and 2019, both CAUTION verdicts, at 52 on 282 complaints and 60 on 134. Buy a 2016 or 2020, which score 86 each on 119 and 35 complaints, or a 2018 at 75. The record runs from 2011 to 2020 with no 2014 and no complaints on the 2017. The 2011 to 2013 cars are air bag years: Air Bags is 64, 41 and 92, and the 2011 and 2012 carry eleven campaigns each, ten and nine of them safety-critical, nearly all inflator module recalls. The 2015 opened the third generation with Electrical System at 115, Fuel/Propulsion System 41, Engine 40 and Power Train 38; its campaigns are 15V559000 for ignition coils and 15V574000 for transmission control software. The 2019 repeats the electrical and fuel pattern at 47 and 40, with three fuel pump campaigns, 20V314000, 21V215000 and 23V858000, the last also covering the 2018. Every 2018 to 2020 Fit is inside 23V046000 for a rearview camera that may not display.
Read the guide
Used Honda Civic, Fit and HR-V: what the record says year by year — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
How the Fit changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 2 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2011–2013
Mean score 71/100, about 10 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Air Bags more than anything else (197 complaints). 26 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2018–2020
Mean score 74/100, about 13 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Electrical System more than anything else (90 complaints). 8 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2016 (score 86). Worst: 2015 (score 52, CAUTION).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 86 | BUY | $3,394 | 36 | 4 |
| 2019 | 60 | CAUTION | $3,789 | 136 | 6 |
| 2018 | 75 | BUY | $3,636 | 116 | 4 |
| 2017 | — | DATA PENDING | $3,450 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 86 | BUY | $3,868 | 120 | 1 |
| 2015 | 52 | CAUTION | $4,316 | 282 | 4 |
| 2013 | 63 | CAUTION | $4,617 | 176 | 10 |
| 2012 | 74 | BUY | $4,652 | 113 | 11 |
| 2011 | 75 | BUY | $4,782 | 113 | 11 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Fit, through the years →
Fit sub-models & family
What goes wrong on the Honda Fit
Across every Fit model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Electrical System300 complaints across all Fit years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Air Bags197 complaints across all Fit years · typical job: Airbag module, clockspring or sensor replacement$600–$1,700
- Fuel/Propulsion System132 complaints across all Fit years · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement$680–$1,620
- Engine128 complaints across all Fit years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Unknown Or Other117 complaints across all Fit years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Power Train83 complaints across all Fit years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
What are the best Honda Fit years to buy?
2011, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2016 at 86/100, on 120 complaints and 1 recall campaigns.
Which Honda Fit years should I avoid?
The 2015 is the weakest year we score, at 52/100 (CAUTION), on 282 complaints and 4 recalls. Check the year-by-year table above before committing to any particular car.
What is the most common Honda Fit problem?
300 of the complaints filed against the Fit across all its model years sit in the Electrical System group — more than any other component.
Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04