2003 Honda Jazz 1.3 petrol from Australia and New Zealand
Summary:
Punish yourself with a Honda Jazz/Fit. The CVT is the worst
Faults:
Shock leaking.
CVT shuddering problem.
At cold start, rough idling.
CV joints.
Engine minor oil leak.
Steering boot.
A few other minor things.
General Comments:
My company bought 5 of them for our sales reps, hearing good things about them, and it was a big mistake.
The worst part of the car is the CVT. No one seems to talk about it, but they just live with it. We have a few Fits (imported) and a Jazz in the family, which are mostly owned by elderly people and women who generally look at cars as A-B transport, hence the reviews here don't speak the truth.
Fuel economy fluctuates a lot, the gearbox is terrible, and the car feels like a cheap paper bag.
The Vitz we had before had double the km, but was a lot better in quality if you look at the mechanics.
The intent of buying these was to save fuel and running costs, but it did the opposite.
We have a fleet mechanic on site who looks after all vehicles and services them every 8-10k, so they were maintained well, but the cars are just rubbish. Honda always had a poor reputation of making the worst gearboxes. When I was a teenager, I owned a Honda Civic, an Integra and an Accord - good motors, but all had same issues - the transmission, and it is a major issue as it costs big bucks.
I'm glad we sold them all and went back to Toyota.
On the bright side - huge interior space, good seating position, nice interior.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 29th July, 2014
8th Aug 2014, 14:45
Hi mate, the Fits we had were all imports. I guess NZ new would have been a better pick. Other Hondas owned - all were imported to NZ.
The Civic had 140k and was slipping between 2nd and 3rd.
Had an Integra, which had an issue going into reverse.
My Accord was the oldest I had, which was 1986 - a flip up light model. After 2 months the gearbox would stay in 1st only.
Most did not have a service history, but the reason could be that they were poorly maintained. But to be honest, many Toyota owners in the family never experienced these sort of issues. But yes I do agree, Honda makes a good car, but among friends and myself, what we've owned so far turned out to be poor.
4th Apr 2017, 17:25
On the contrary I am having a very good experience with my Honda Fit 1.3 idsi. Good steering feedback, zero maintenance issues, great, smooth and quiet ride at highway speeds without revving more than 3000 RPM. The only issues are the red paint has faded on the roof and sides and fuel economy is not as Honda says i.e. 23kmpl. It's like 15kmpl.
My friend with her Vitz Sport 1.5l has had some problems with the suspension and some minor maintenance issues. The Vitz steering has a numb feeling.
9th Aug 2019, 02:56
According to this review, you bought your 2003 Jazz in 2013. This means you've bought a car with 10 years worth of wear and tear on it, along with the real possibility of neglect. Maybe your expectations were a bit too high?
5th Aug 2014, 11:10
My brother's Jazz is starting to suffer from CVT shudder, but considering the km and money they've spent on it, it's not surprising. They do need different maintenance and will need new belts, all of which is isn't cheap. I agree the cost cutting with the Jazz to make them more affordable has led to them suffering a bit in durability and a cheaper feel.
Though the other problems you mention are not unusual for a car that's 10 years old and with over 100k on the clock. There was a service bulletin for the EGR valve, which can cause fuel economy/roughness/surging issues.
As for the comments on Honda gearboxes, I question what condition those cars were in when you bought them and how they were treated. Without that information displayed, I can't draw a conclusion.