2015 Honda Fit Re-Tested by IIHS: Top Safety Pick

The 2013 Fit was originally tested back in January, with the “poor” rating in the strict crash test being the fault of the front bumper beam. Honda aimed to assess the matter and so a pre-production 2015 Fit was sent to the IIHS in March, but this only managed a “marginal” rating. The automaker has now reinforced the bumper beam welds, which has led to the “acceptable” rating. As a result, the Honda Fit is now an IIHS Top Safety Pick.

In the first test, the bumper beam, a steel bar welded to the chassis’ rails and hidden behind the plastic bumper, detached itself from the frame rail on the passenger’s side. Thus, the driver’s side of the Honda has to deal with more impact energy than it could handle. Now that Honda has finally managed to fix the problem, the beam remained in place, while the upward movement of the steering column, another negative effect noticed during the initial test, was seriously reduced.

The small overlap test sees a 25 percent of a vehicle’s front end (driver’s side) striking a rigid obstacle at 40 mph (64 km/h).

Honda will now replace the bumper beams on around 12,000 units of the Fit, with its US and Canadian dealers set to cover the task free of charge. The repair job is estimated to last about 30 minutes.

Owners willing to check if their Fit requires the aforementioned update or not should contact their dealers. Cars built starting from June 6 are OK, but, as an owner, you only know the month during which your car was built, not the exact day. You can also call 1-800-999-1009.