02-08 Honda Jazz
Discussion
Superb cars.
We have one in our family - from almost new in 2008. Never missed a beat in 80k.
Only thing I've had to do is swap the battery and consumables.
Seats fold flat in the rear, easy as anything to drive - although very slow.
Can achieve up-to 45-50 mpg on a run.
And if you're DIY servicing, they have 8 spark plugs...
We have one in our family - from almost new in 2008. Never missed a beat in 80k.
Only thing I've had to do is swap the battery and consumables.
Seats fold flat in the rear, easy as anything to drive - although very slow.
Can achieve up-to 45-50 mpg on a run.
And if you're DIY servicing, they have 8 spark plugs...
As long as you don't want to go fast or look cool then the Honda Jazz is one of the best cars out there. 
With the back seats down it's like a two seater estate car, and we tended to get 45mpg average as a combination of about town commuting and regular 70 mile journeys.
We sold an 02 Jazz for £300 last year, 120k miles I think, it was starting to creep up to £300-400 a year in maintenance and had a few bigger jobs it needed doing, and they're kind of known for developing a leak in the boot of which we had a stellar example. I'm not sure I'd buy a 55 now unless the price was right and had access to a cheap way of maintaining it. We bought another Jazz (we're *that* cool) a 59 with 18k miles on it, so great condition. I'm fairly tall and there was more room in the 02-08 as far as I remember, the seats seem more chunky in the new ones.
With the back seats down it's like a two seater estate car, and we tended to get 45mpg average as a combination of about town commuting and regular 70 mile journeys.We sold an 02 Jazz for £300 last year, 120k miles I think, it was starting to creep up to £300-400 a year in maintenance and had a few bigger jobs it needed doing, and they're kind of known for developing a leak in the boot of which we had a stellar example. I'm not sure I'd buy a 55 now unless the price was right and had access to a cheap way of maintaining it. We bought another Jazz (we're *that* cool) a 59 with 18k miles on it, so great condition. I'm fairly tall and there was more room in the 02-08 as far as I remember, the seats seem more chunky in the new ones.
My daily sheddy mcshedface is a 06 1.2 in resale silver with 95k under its wheels. Partner had it new then passed on to me when she felt like replacing. A set of winter steelies and I'm the only 2WD car on the road in my village!
Jazz features include that rear roof seal leak, fortunately very mild. Awful, awful handbrake. Occasionally stiff steering. Replaced battery. Otherwise fuel and yearly service & MOT. Original clutch & exhaust. Cavernous interior. No A/C means it's a bit sweaty for long summer journeys but the 1.2s are higher geared so are quieter at motorway speeds. Grips and handles surprisingly well. Gearchange a joy and the red line beckons enthusiastically in that small single cam way,
regards,
Jet
Jazz features include that rear roof seal leak, fortunately very mild. Awful, awful handbrake. Occasionally stiff steering. Replaced battery. Otherwise fuel and yearly service & MOT. Original clutch & exhaust. Cavernous interior. No A/C means it's a bit sweaty for long summer journeys but the 1.2s are higher geared so are quieter at motorway speeds. Grips and handles surprisingly well. Gearchange a joy and the red line beckons enthusiastically in that small single cam way,
regards,
Jet
Missus has had one from 06 / 7000 miles now just over 90k - minor service bills in that time, tyres and an ABS pump rebuild - she gets 50mpg all the time never let us down - you will be amazed t what it will consume inside - leaks - did someone say that ? ended up drilling a hole in the spare wheel well - its worth bugger al - she wants a change now not another Jazz for no other reason that she wants something different but i think whatever we get will be more expensive to run - one of the best cars we have ever had.
danp said:
Great little cars - reliable, chain cam, practical, easy to drive etc. Dare I say it but I enjoy taking ours out - lovely gear change and only about a tonne so it can be fun(ish) at sensible speeds ;-)
Shame they didn't do a Type-R (or Type-S) with say 150bhp.
They're brilliant little cars. I acquired one by accident with the intention of shifting it on, but I love it! So versatile, pretty efficient and fairly nippy if you plan ahead - indeed it's more chuckable on back roads than our BMWs - though it's nowhere near as agile as the old EJ Civic I once had... Decent Euro NCAP scores too (unlike the old Civics).Shame they didn't do a Type-R (or Type-S) with say 150bhp.
They're prone to leaking, which has been mentioned and is endemic - a reason why I nearly scrapped the car, as it was like a swimming pool inside. The sealant on the roof seam (leading to behind the tailgate) cracks over time, so something like Tiger Seal makes a good repair. The rear doors also leaked from inside as the membrane became "unstuck" over time; so I cut out a section of the lower door seal so that water runs down the outside of the sill, rather than straight into the rear footwell! Pretty appalling really, on a modern Japanese car, but I've forgiven it! I also drilled a 20mm hole in the spare wheel well (using a step drill for neatness!) so any persistent leakage has a means of escape!
On the whole, recommended! But not to be seen in!
Mum has a 2008 which apart from consumables has been perfect. She loves it as the seats can go into different postions depending on where you need the space. Fold them flat, or the bench seat in the rear you can lift up to give you space behind the front seats.
I find the steering too light, but thats just me. If i needed a cheap run about they would be top of the list.
I find the steering too light, but thats just me. If i needed a cheap run about they would be top of the list.
My parents owned one from brand new, for ten years from 2003. It didn't do much mileage, but I don't think it ever had so much as an advisory on the MOT, and when they replaced it with a larger car, I don't think it felt particularly tired at all. The only "problem" they had with it was that sometimes, when accelerating quite hard, there was a bit of vibration from the CVT box, but it was cured with new gearbox fluid and it shouldn't affect you anyway if buying a manual. I would buy with confidence.
Bunfighter said:
Big favour- any chance you could show it on a picture (where you lay it down) to stop the leak coming in? I can't picture it/where.
Hadn't realised the leak was so common, guess I should have googled "jazz boot leak" ;-)http://www.beardmorebros.co.uk/website%20pages/jaz...
I took the hatchback rubber seal off and on which improved ours, but still a slight leak - may try the above or similar.
Never went for the fix, apparently it's a faff and involves taking the interior trim off which will never go back right again, so it seems that drilling a hole in the footwell *is* the fix.
This is a thread from last year: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=156...
This is a thread from last year: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=156...
Sheepshanks said:
Apart from the roof seals, the other common issues are the gearbox bearings and wheel bearings (especially the rears getting noisy. Not heard of them actually failing - they just get noisier - but Honda was doing them as goodwill on cars up to about 8 years old.
Yep that reminds me... My rear OS bearing is noisy...The gearbox also has a whine at low speeds - might that be the bearing?
Twilkes said:
Never went for the fix, apparently it's a faff and involves taking the interior trim off which will never go back right again, so it seems that drilling a hole in the footwell *is* the fix.
This is a thread from last year: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=156...
Re-sealing the roof seam is easy - just need to remove the gutter strips. But yes a hole in the spare wheel well is also the way to go!This is a thread from last year: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=156...
Plenty pics on the internet of where to look - remember to do (or check) where the seam continues behind the tailgate, on the outer sides of the hinges! In fact it's a good idea to check everywhere for leaks with a hose, as you may find others!
tannhauser said:
Re-sealing the roof seam is easy - just need to remove the gutter strips. But yes a hole in the spare wheel well is also the way to go!
Plenty pics on the internet of where to look - remember to do (or check) where the seam continues behind the tailgate, on the outer sides of the hinges! In fact it's a good idea to check everywhere for leaks with a hose, as you may find others!
How do the gutter strips come off please?Plenty pics on the internet of where to look - remember to do (or check) where the seam continues behind the tailgate, on the outer sides of the hinges! In fact it's a good idea to check everywhere for leaks with a hose, as you may find others!
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