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.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
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!
danp said:
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!
ETA: use a screwdriver or pliers carefully.. Also you may have to Tiger Seal the gutter seal back in places, as they rarely go back as neatly and sit flat..
ETA #2: It was Sikaflex that I used, which I think is better than Tiger Seal... Great stuff. Still makes a bloody mess though!
Edited by tannhauser on Tuesday 28th February 12:50
Mine is a 2011, so not the same car, but every time I have driven it it grows on me a bit more. It's the best car I have driven by a country mile and possibly up there with the best machines I've ever used as it is totally bob on as a tool for a job.
I had a new 2004 Jazz as a courtesy car back in the day and liked it, but found it was a little gutless on faster roads, mine seems a lot more lively. But a brilliant car for around town.
I had a new 2004 Jazz as a courtesy car back in the day and liked it, but found it was a little gutless on faster roads, mine seems a lot more lively. But a brilliant car for around town.
Willy Nilly said:
Mine is a 2011, so not the same car, but every time I have driven it it grows on me a bit more. It's the best car I have driven by a country mile and possibly up there with the best machines I've ever used as it is totally bob on as a tool for a job.
I had a new 2004 Jazz as a courtesy car back in the day and liked it, but found it was a little gutless on faster roads, mine seems a lot more lively. But a brilliant car for around town.
Apparently some of the later ones are Chinese made and others are not - I'm not sure which if any make it into the UK, and how you can tell, however. Also not sure if there is any real difference in terms of quality either. The newer models are quite similar to the old, however they do seem a little more stylish. If that's the right word! I had a new 2004 Jazz as a courtesy car back in the day and liked it, but found it was a little gutless on faster roads, mine seems a lot more lively. But a brilliant car for around town.
We've had two, too.
The original was a 1.3 on a '54 plate that weeped through the r/n/s passenger door seal, but not too badly (unless I hosed it down). Removed all the trim etc and re-applied the inner weather seal with mucho silicone and it was dry thereafter. No cure for all the external rubber seals that had been chewed by seagulls however.
We traded it for a newer (09 1.4 EX) model when the g/box bearing became noisy - having covered 27k miles at a cost of 14.2 pence per mile (including depreciation, insurance, tax etc etc but not fuel).
It was a superb little car - originally bought as my winter car my wife stole it from me in preference to her S-Max, and never gave it back. She does the school run and never wanted for space, but could park anywhere. Usually 45 mpg, more on a run. Proper sun roof too, unlike the panoramic glass plate we have now.
Never, ever let us down. The newer model has also been just as good, if a little more grown up.
The original was a 1.3 on a '54 plate that weeped through the r/n/s passenger door seal, but not too badly (unless I hosed it down). Removed all the trim etc and re-applied the inner weather seal with mucho silicone and it was dry thereafter. No cure for all the external rubber seals that had been chewed by seagulls however.
We traded it for a newer (09 1.4 EX) model when the g/box bearing became noisy - having covered 27k miles at a cost of 14.2 pence per mile (including depreciation, insurance, tax etc etc but not fuel).
It was a superb little car - originally bought as my winter car my wife stole it from me in preference to her S-Max, and never gave it back. She does the school run and never wanted for space, but could park anywhere. Usually 45 mpg, more on a run. Proper sun roof too, unlike the panoramic glass plate we have now.
Never, ever let us down. The newer model has also been just as good, if a little more grown up.
So now the thread gets moved to the stupid "car buying" section, where nobody ever looks - so all the info posted so far gets lost in the ether, nobody adds any further to - then we have another "Jazz buying" thread in the GG section a number of months down the line.
How ridiculous is PH?!
How ridiculous is PH?!
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