Reliabilty, economy, leaks and alternatives

[Realmanjake]

Hi, I will be buying a Honda Jazz mk1 soon. I've heard a lot of good things about this car, as much as bad ones. Please answer some questions and give recommendations if You can.

1. What is Your fuel economy? (Many people say they get 5.5l./100km in the city, other say they get about 8l./100km)

2. Is it expensive to maintain? (I think I'm looking at this car with rose tinted glasses. How can it be that people claim that they do 200.000kms with this car only changing the oil, filters and brake pads. Others claim that every Jazz owner loves their car too much to ancnowledge that it's not as reliable.)

3. Has Your Jazz/Fit had any leaks? (I saw that a lot of owners are complaining for isolation, weather stripping etc. Even the facelift model wasn't leakproof)

4. Is the facelift model better? (What are the differences besides the head unit and streering wheel? Is it worth it?

5. Are there better alternatives to a cheap, reliable, economical and fun car like the Jazz?

6. And is it really a fun car?

7. Bonus: Is the audio quality good from the stock speakers?

Any comments are very appreciated. Thank You.

[Jocko]

I have a 2006 Jazz. Manual transmission, 1.2 S. I am getting 6 l./100km in the city but have averaged 5.1 l./100km over the life of the car.
I have had to replace a couple of suspension parts over the 100,000 km I have driven with the car (now done 240000 km from new). I had a noisy gearbox bearing replaced at about 160000 km. The car is extremely reliable. I have had no leaks but some have reported leaks from the roof trims but it is an easy fix. It can be a fun car to drive if you push it along. However, I am certainly not in love with it having come down from a Volvo S40.

[ciciban]

Welcome to the forum! You won't be disappointed with the purchase!

1. Fuel economy is very good, mine (1.4l) is around 5.5l/100km with mixed driving (over the last 8000km I've owned it). It's hard to get it above 7l/100km in heavy city driving.

2. L13 engine is almost bulletproof, just needs regular oil changes. It can use a bit of oil though, but not much, around 0.1-0.2L/1000km. Parts are cheap and pretty easy to replace. It is an older car so shocks, everything made from rubber and suspension parts can fail due to age so watch out for those when buying.

3. Mine does not. Jazzes have a common issue with cracked seal around the rear hatch that causes to fill up the spare tire space with water. It is an easy and cheap fix with a bit of silicone. There is a lot of tutorials online.

4. It depends. Facelift has different bumpers, headlights, and different steering wheel and head unit as you mentioned. I think it's worth it because every of those upgrades look better. Facelift model also has AUX. If not from factory, you can easily install one (plug and play).

5. Toyota Yaris or Suzuki Swift. They don't have so much interior space as the Jazz does though.

6. It is REALLY fun car to drive. Engine is very zippy and makes a cool-ish noise. It's not nowhere near fast but it pulls good. Perfect for B-roads and throwing around corners (sometimes likes to oversteer). Chassis is very rigid and driving position is unusual, but in a good way.

7. Audio is pretty good for a stock system but lacks a bit of base. Look into installing rear door speakers if they didn't come from the factory. Should be easy.

You won't be disappointed with the Jazz. Just watch out when buying to look for strange noises in manual transmission. If it whines, bearings are probably bad and need to be replaced which is an expensive job. Other issues to look out for: noise coming from the rear (wheel bearings), jerky running (caused by EGR valve).

[cristispot]

to continue what ciciban said:

8. calipers sticking ( i have 3 replaced already, i am expecting for the 4th one to fail as well so i will have 4 new calipers  )

[olduser1]

Your best bet is to drive a couple of Jazz models,then go along to drive similar size models from Toyota and or Suzuki. Take at least 30 minutes to get the feel of the vehicle. With cars over 7 yes it's all about condition happy hunting.

[Jocko]

8. calipers sticking ( i have 3 replaced already, i am expecting for the 4th one to fail as well so i will have 4 new calipers

All I have had to do, brake-wise. Is replace a corroded brake pipe for its annual test. My car has steel wheels which give far greater protection for the callipers than alloys. After 240,000 km the car is still on the original callipers and I have not needed to replace the brake pads in the 100,000 km I have driven with the car. I am not hard on brakes preferring anticipation.

[embee]

.....
5. Are there better alternatives to a cheap, reliable, economical and fun car like the Jazz?
6. And is it really a fun car?
Any comments are very appreciated. Thank You.

I had a mk.1 Yaris 1.0L for 20yrs and now have a 2011 mk.2(+) Yaris 1.33L, as well as a 2018 CVT Jazz. I've not owned a mk.1 Jazz but have been in one.
All have been totally reliable up to now. The mk.1 Yaris eventually suffered corrosion on the sills at the rear, a common fault due to water leaking in the roof seams and running down the B/C post into the sill. It had done 100k miles and ran perfectly, using no oil at all.
The mk.2 Yaris is a much more solid car and runs perfectly, the 1.33L engine is very smooth and quiet (it was completely different to the earlier 1.3L which is why it is referred to as the 1.33L). I don't like the electric steering much, very little feel at speed, but everything works and the heating/aircon is way better than the Jazz. The Jazz is much roomier inside, drives very nicely, I like the CVT but that's personal.

In summary they are similar in many ways, have equally good reliability records, the Jazz feels bigger than the Yaris (it's a mk.3 Jazz). None of them are exactly fun cars, they are practical and sensible. The Yaris has drum brakes on the rear which are in my opinion preferable on a car like this, the 100K Yaris was on the original brake shoes.

The Jazz can give the best fuel economy of all of these cars if driven gently, 60+mpg or 4.5L/100km quite easily, the 1.33 Yaris the least economy but still quite good if driven carefully, 50mpg generally and 60mpg quite easily on a longer open road journey in warm weather.

If I was to have to choose one it would be a very difficult decision. The Jazz is definitely the better interior space if that matters, the 1.3 Yaris has definitely better heating/A/C, reliability and cost of ownership is probably the same.

[Lord Voltermore]

I've owned a Mk1 Yaris and a Mk2,  both diesels. Very reliable, and the diesel had good performance. Very happy with them.   But I once drove a petrol Yaris (hire car)  and didnt like it at all. 
 
It may  come down to whether you want a common car just like everone else  where you may have more choice of spare parts suppliers   and knowledgeable mechanics . . Or A Jazz which is more exclusive,  and may not often need spare parts or mechanics.   

I seem to remember , back when we in the Uk could easily buy things from the EU , the Baltic countries are  a good place to buy car spares .   


 

[richardfrost]

My Jazz is approaching 150,000 miles. It is a 2005 SE model which I bought in 2013 when it was on 84,000 miles I think. I drove it for a month or so before my eldest son was gifted it for his 21st birthday.

He used it with his mates to get out and about with kit and caboodle for filming. He left it with me in 2017 when he moved to London. It sat around for a while not getting much use from me before my youngest son's partner used it when her care had to be scrapped.

In 2020 my youngest son passed his test and took the Jazz on to use as a van for his tiling business. It gets around a lot, often carrying significant loads and on rough roads and farm tracks. As a result, it had to have some suspension parts changed recently. But it keeps on going. It is filthy, full of tiles dust, the air con packed in years ago through lack of use, bit it costs very little to maintain and I think it has another year or two left in it yet.

[mj1sjc]

Is it rear callipers? Get the old original ones refurbished from BigRed company and the problem will get resolved.


quote author=cristispot link=topic=15265.msg126546#msg126546 date=1668183403]
to continue what ciciban said:

8. calipers sticking ( i have 3 replaced already, i am expecting for the 4th one to fail as well so i will have 4 new calipers  )
[/quote]