Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Hatchbacks Honda Fit Honda Fit Transmission Questions
136 messages, Last post on Jun 04, 2009 at 4:57 AM
You are in the Honda Fit Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
|
Replying to: igloomaster (Jul 24, 2008 5:09 pm) I drove stick shifts sometimes back in the early 70s and it wasn't a problem because there weren't nearly as many cars on the road and rarely were there traffic jams (Minneapolis, MN, at the time). I have since relocated to Omaha, NE, 10 years ago, and the situation is totally different. In late 2006 I bought a new 07 Ford Focus with 5spd (a really cheap one, $10K brand new on a MSRP of $15K) and drove it 20 miles each way on commute to work. After a while it really wore me out because traffice on the interstate would back up and I'd find myself shifting gears about 200 times in 20 miles and it was taking 45-60 min to get home. By then I was wore out. I sold the car after 1 year and 10,000 miles - it was a nice vehicle but the stick shift had become a problem. Then I bought another new 2007 Ford Focus for my wife to drive, top of the line ($13K paid, MSRP was $19K), with automatic. World of difference (better, more comfortable to drive), but now the gas mileage sucked. 07 Focus with 5spd got 30-32 mpg, same car with AT was only getting 21-22 mpg - 10 mpg less! EPA ratings were 27/34 on the AT Focus, and Ford is not known for their cars actually getting the gas mileage you see on the window stickers. So, dissatisfied with the gas mileage on the Focus with AT I bought, I sold that one too (for $12,500 only $500 off new price and owned it 9 months and drove it 6K miles. Since Dec 07, I've bought 3 new 08 Fit Sport Automatics (1 for my son, 1 for my wife, 1 for me). We all love our Fits, fun to drive, easy to park/handle, cheap on gas. If your budget allows, get the AT. I know Fits are getting hard to find and the price the dealers are getting is way up from 3-6 months ago. The MSRP on the 3 Fits I bought were all $16,705, and what I paid for them (without state sales tax, title, license, etc. - all that stuff we pay at our county tax offices after the sale here in NE, and typically ran another $1300-1400/car) was $16,122 (low), $16,167 (middle), and $16,322 (highest). Advertised dealer invoice is $16,122, so I feel I got good deals on all 3 purchases. Getting those kind of prices now would be difficult, but doable if you are a good negotiator. |
|
|
|
|
15, 27, 39, 53. Those are the speeds listed in the owners manual as the best shift points. However, I'm experiencing something different. my new fit (just took delivery yesterday) feels more natural at 10, 20, 30, 40 IF i want no greater than 2500 rpms per shift. anybody else? does this change over time? (granted i've only got 90 miles on the thing!) |
|
|
Replying to: pilsner (Apr 28, 2008 9:35 pm) |
|
|
Hi, we got our Fit about a month ago and I just love it. It's the best small car (and one of the best cars overall) that I've ever driven. We'll take a trip someday and I expect 45-50 mpg then. We drive for mileage and get 34-35mpg in Baltimore right now. Having sung all the praises, I've become more and more concerned with the transmission. It doesn't shift smoothly .You often get a little "ah-ha!" moment between gears because the transmission seems to let the engine run free for just a bit before the next gear engages. Sometimes it's enough to make you feel thrown forward in your seat just enough to make you wonder what just happened. When starting off, it shifts from 1st to 2nd at about 15 mph and then almost immediately shifts to the next gear (3rd or some sort of overdrive gear). The result is that the car seems to lose all power (Small wonder. You're turning 1500 rpm at 20mph with a 1500cc engine) so you give it more gas and then it down shifts and goes on. This annoys my wife. Sometimes she talks about it. When cruising on a level road and you try to speed up, sometimes it immediately shifts _up_ to a higher gear (of course, again, all power seems to vanish) and then the car seems to figure out that was maybe not a good choice and shifts down again, sometimes two gears. As I said, we drive for mileage and so we are very easy on the accelerator most of the time. If you are trying to keep up with rush hour traffic, you really don't notice anything undesirable about the transmission but the mileage 'tanks', so to speak. We took it to the dealer this morning and the shop manager drove it around the block with me as the passenger. He made several comments like: "THAT's not right", "I gotta check for a software update" and "It shouldn't be driving like THAT" and "Don't worry, we'll get that fixed". I really felt like things were going to be OK. So I left the car at the dealer and a couple of hours later they called to tell me that all tests had checked out and that the same shop manager had determined that ALL 2009 Fit's drive just like ours and they would be happy to let us drive another one just so we could see for ourselves. Ever since I got that call, my bull-'feather' detector has been blinking red. So I thought I would ask you good folks if this transmission behavior sounds familiar and/or normal or do I need to get a bit firm with the dealer and/or Honda in getting this resolved. Incidentally, the shop manager told me during the test drive that they are not authorized to do any repairs on the transmission in our car. If it doesn't seem right, they change it out, period. I suspect this all-or-nothing approach to transmissions is going to make people in his position a tad resistant to declaring that a transmission is indeed performing at a sub-standard level. Anyway, I hope I haven't gone on too long and I would love to hear anything you have to say. Thanks very much in advance, Ken
|
|
|
Replying to: kfanyo (Oct 20, 2008 2:49 pm) sounds fishy to me...i have a 2007 Honda Fit and i had a weird sound in my transmission and still do but it does not affect the drive. Drive the other 2009 cars and drive the same way you described or your wife....i cannot believe all Fits shift that way..i havent any problem with my auto shift and as far as they are not authorized to touch the transmission?????what is THAT...never heard of such a thing. When i had problem in the past..i went to the service manager in Honda and told him i wanted to speak to the representative from Honda who periodically visits. (i believe they visit all of the dealers & service areas ) and speak with her/him about this problem. (they took care of me because they did not want me to speak with the rep from Honda) if they wont or if they say, they dont come here..haha.... go over his head to Honda itself...you can find their address on the internet. Honda stands behind their cars. If all the 2009s shifted like you described we would have all kinds of messages on this forum... best |
|
|
Replying to: kfanyo (Oct 20, 2008 2:49 pm) It was always a little jumpy in the lower gears at first, especially when going from a complete stop into 1 or 2, but it seemed to mellow out after a few thousand miles and my awareness of the gas pedal's sensitivity. I dismissed it as a new car that hadn't been broken in yet and continued to drive. Things seemed to be going great, but then I started to notice the car getting stuck in 3rd gear when going down hills. The engine would just wur (sp?) until I assisted it by clicking the right paddle shifter. I shouldn't have to assist an automatic tranny. Anyway, the car did not always do this and like I said mellowed out in time. However, now it's back to getting stuck in 3rd going downhill and it's skipping gears altogether as I drive. Has anyone ever experienced going from 1st into 5th by the time they reach 35MPH??? It seems to jump right into 3rd, hit 4th at 20MPH, and then 5th at 35MPH. Then the car has no power at all and the engine just wurs/spins.
|
|
|
Replying to: ricerx (Apr 27, 2009 4:10 pm) Has anyone ever experienced going from 1st into 5th by the time they reach 35MPH??? It seems to jump right into 3rd, hit 4th at 20MPH, and then 5th at 35MPH. Then the car has no power at all and the engine just wurs/spins. I have a 2009 Fit Sport Auto and it does none of those things. Our car is almost up to 9,000 miles now. It never did any of these things even when new. I would say something is wrong with your car. We do however only get 34 mpg combined. |
|
|
Replying to: pilsner (Apr 28, 2008 9:35 pm) Don't be put off if it won't act up for him. Good luck! |
|
|
I bought this car last March. There are many good things about it, but the standard transmission is driving me crazy. It makes a loud clicking noise (sometimes two) when going into a gear and, sometimes, when leaving one. The dealer is pretty sure this is normal, but they are investigating. Has anyone heard of this? Anyone know if there's a way to get ride of the noise? Thanks... |
|
|
Replying to: acura03g (Nov 01, 2006 1:24 pm) |
|
You are here:
Forums
Hatchbacks Honda Fit Honda Fit Transmission Questions
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2009 Honda Fit
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
