Headlight failures weren't a planned part of the debut of the sub-compact Honda Fit.
American Honda Motor Company will recall approximately 143,083 model year 2007 and 2008 Honda Fit vehicles because of a bad headlight switch, which can case the low-beams to fail and possibly start a fire.
The problem derives from the routing of the wiring harness to the headlight switch, causing, according to Honda, wear on the plating of the wiring harness connectors. This results in corrosion and causes the connector to overheat and fail. The high-beam headlight circuit is not affected.
No accidents or injuries have been reported related to this issue.
Owners of model-year 2007 and 2008 Honda Fit vehicles will receive notification to bring the vehicle to a Honda dealer for inspection. If needed, the dealer will replace the wiring harness terminal, and the wiring harness connector will be secured in place. If any signs of damage in the connector exist, the dealer will replace the headlight switch.
Honda wants all owners of affected vehicles to take their vehicle to an authorized dealer as soon as they receive notification from Honda that their vehicle requires repair. Notification to customers will start in January 2011.
Honda owners can go to www.recalls.honda.com or call (800) 999-1009, then option 4.
