Three problems related to brakes failed have been reported for the 2008 Honda FIT. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2008 Honda FIT based on all problems reported for the 2008 FIT.
Air bags did not deploy yet I smelled the smoke from them. Air bags should have deployed due to the damage caused to my vehicle. The vehicle is a total loss. This caused injuries to myself and others. Brakes also failed to properly function.
At start-up there seems to be enough brake booster vacuum for one braking; the next time I hit the brakes it goes to the floor as if there is no power brake assist. There are brakes there, but it takes a huge amount of force and if you're not expecting it would be easy to hit something. It happens 50% of the time I start the vehicle (after sitting 8+ hours). The issue is worse when in reverse (lower gear and thus more power from the engine?). The second dealer I went to said this is a known issue with no known repair. While at the dealership, a civic owner said she has the same problem and the dealers told her that it is "normal". The service manager told me to let the car warm up for 2-minutes before driving. A year ago, I had 32,000 miles when this first occurred 20% of the time; now I have 76,000 miles and it occurs 50% of the time. I can understand that some people with similar complaints may think the brakes are not working at all, when you have to push extremely hard to get them to work (as when your brake booster fails). It is difficult for me to stop even though I'm 6'7", 200 pounds, very strong and I'm a heavy equipment operator so I'm prepared for things to go wrong.
Was driving on sunny, clear day. Traveling at 40-45 mph when traffic came to complete stop. Applied brakes and car did not stop. Rear ended a rav 4 and caused almost $6000 in damage. 2nd accident with this car where brakes failed. Plenty of room to stop, car wouldn't.