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Hatchbacks Honda Fit Honda Fit Transmission Questions
143 messages, Last post on Sep 09, 2009 at 10:42 AM
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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
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Replying to: kfanyo (Oct 20, 2008 1:49 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 |
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Replying to: kfanyo (Oct 20, 2008 1:49 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.
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Replying to: ricerx (Apr 27, 2009 3:10 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. |
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Replying to: pilsner (Apr 28, 2008 8:35 pm) Don't be put off if it won't act up for him. Good luck! |
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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...
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Replying to: acura03g (Nov 01, 2006 12:24 pm) |
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Hs anyone gotten the Quick shifter option with their manual transmission? I'm familiar with a short shifter on a BMW. If the Fit has a truly short shifter it will improve the shifting dramatically. Anyone have any comments? Thanks guys |
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Replying to: ctboyo (Jun 03, 2009 6:38 am) |
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Bought my '09 5M last week thru C4C, just over 500 mi now. I really appreciate so much about the car and am enjoying it immensely except pulled into garage and when very quiet (no stereo, no fan), when in neutral w/ clutch pedal out, heard a slight constant noise. Then pressed clutch in and it went quiet. Half way thru the clutch stroke could modulate that sound with a half inch movement of the clutch pedal, making noise appear and disappear. Took in for warranty repair documenting the problem on paper but not demonstrating it to them. Service couldn't hear the problem, calling me to say to come pick car up. Nicely, dragged Svc Mgr outside and had him listen as I operated pedal (should have done this in the morning). He said "that's not right". He got in the driver's seat and under the hood, spending about 10 minutes with it. Before I left, he assured me he'd see to it that it was taken care of. He called Honda Engineering and called me to say that Engineering aurthorized him to have me bring car in for a transmission disassembly. I delivered it yest morn and he's estimating they'll have it four days, thru Friday. He's been very helpful and introduced me to the lead mechanic who would be tearing it down. Nice professional man - assured me he would find the problem! I expressed concern that its a new car and I still want a new car when I pick it up. Again, he assured me everything would work out fine. Gave me a free loaner - '09 black on black leather Accord Coupe with 5500 mi. Is it sweet and nearly twice as expensive as my Fit. I still prefer my FIT! Even though I'm concerned, just need to have faith they'll make it right. I do understand your various problems and great concerns when various ones of you are having these problems and not getting the attention you need. If your individual cases were mine, I'd get ahold of the Service Manager's ear and drag him out to your car. Put him in the passenger's seat like I did and demonstrate the problem. Don't be nervous or fearing that you're taking up too much of his time. You've spent 5 figures on your Fit and it should work correctly. Go for that drive and have him note the problems. If you're out on the road for 30 minutes, so be it. You're in control cause you're in the driver's seat. Be courteous and respectful while being straightforward and insistent. Ask him to note the problems on a pad of paper. Then, if neccessary, ask to come back and jump into a new Fit for a test drive, noting none of the problems you're having with your individual car. I'd keep at him, again kindly and respectfully, till he says he'll get to the bottom of your problem. He does not want a scene in front of other customers when you return to the dealership. Be willing to make one, if he wants to blow you off. You might have to get kinda tough with him. Just remember, you paid good money and the car is not right! While reasoning with him, he should give a darn that one of his cars is running around out there with a tranny problem. If he makes an ignorant comment like "I'm not authorized to work on your trans" or "the problem you're having is normal", and sticks to a comment like that, tell him you'll take it to a fellow dealership and have them look at it. He and his dealership probably won't want the bad press he'll know you'll give, going to a fellow dealer... If you feel that things must come to a head in the service area or the showroom, be willing to notch it up to that point but you must do it keeping your emotions in control. Do not become a raving lunatic, knowing that other customers and the dealership staff will look at you like you are - a crazy. Losing control and allowing anger to take over will not help you. It'll feel good to tell them off but will hurt you and the probability that your problem will actually be corrected! Again, you've got to take the bull by the horns and lay on somebody till the problem is corrected. DO NOT accept a blow-off, hoping the problem will go away on its own or that you'll live with it. When the warranty runs out, you'll be sorely sorry you didn't get it taken care of when you had the chance! I'll tell you what, if my car isn't right when I pick it up, I will take my own advice and live at that dealership while pestering Honda on the phone, doing whatever is neccesary to leverage them to take care of "their and my" problem. All of this written in my humble opinion, Dan |
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