I'm having glitchy acceleration problems with my '09 Honda Fit Sport 5 speed AT. Before I start, I've eliminated coil packs, spark plugs, AT fluid, and the air filters as a problem. The issue I need help identifying:
- When accelerating through first and second gears from a complete stop the acceleration is hesitant. When pressing on the accelerator the car hesitates at low speed for about 1 to 2 seconds and then moves into a higher speed. If I press firmly on the accelerator pedal down to about one third to the floor, acceleration is a very pronounced without any hesitation, the engine revs normally, and the car moves forward. This is just not good for stop and go traffic as I could rear end someone.
- No misfiring during highway travel. Car maintains consistent speed.
- Car lunges forward when shifting from park to drive after the engine has fully cooled. This is the only time it happens.
- Turning the ignition first thing in the AM is a more delayed response than at any other time. So, when starting the car I can hear the car "turning over" for about 1 full second when the engine is cool in the morning, and it happens instantly at all other times.
- Driving in first gear in slow traffic the car's speed hesitates. If I'm driving in first gear in slow traffic for a bit and then give it more gas, the car again hesitates through 2nd until it reaches third gear. There's no grinding or clunking and the shifting isn't very hard, it's just as if it struggles to reach a consistent speed.
- Check engine light has never been on.
- When driving I can periodically smell burnt off motor oil (very faint smell and no smoke) coming through an open window or through the vents. There is no oil leak.

I've consistently changed my transmission fluid, and my CEL has never been on. All recommended maintenance is up to date.

 

First, welcome to the forum!

Since this is your first post I have a few simple questions to establish a history of the vehicle.

How long have you had the vehicle? Length of time and mileage you have driven it please.

How many miles does it have on it now?

When did the problem start?

Has it gotten worse?

Does it feel like its an engine misfire/hesitation or do you believe its more of a sluggish/mushy upshift from the transmission.

Does the same thing happen if you manually shift it and use the same amount of acceleration?

How have you eliminated the coils, plugs, atf and air filter? Have you changed those parts to try and solve this problem? If so, any difference after any part was changed?

Lets start with that.

 

All the correct questions we need to help out right there ^^^^

 

I've had the car for a few months and it has 92K on it. The first thing I did after buying it was change the plugs and coil packs, oil, air filter, and checked my AT fluid which is a clear brownish red, just because I wanted to be safe. Everything started after about a month, right at the 91.5K mileage mark.

The problem is both of what was mentioned. When giving it light acceleration the car hesitates while in 1st almost as if it's struggling to find speed, and only happens while traveling below 10MPH, like when moving slowly forward from a stop in heavy traffic. The auto shifting isn't as snappy as I'd expect while accelerating, but the shifting is never terribly rough or noisy. RPMs never exceed 3K during upshift.

Using the paddle shifters seems to eliminate the issue.

Nothing has gotten worse and apparently the new plugs, coils, and filter didn't change a thing.

Another thing: this morning I had an 18 wheeler barreling toward me from behind as I was merging on a flat freeway ramp. I had to accelerate really hard and fast and I could hear the engine rev, RPMs spiked but didn't redline, but it still took the car over a full second to actually start accelerating over the 30MPH I was driving. Wasn't using manual shift then.

 

Do you know if the valves have been adjusted recently? If not, that would be my suggestion of where to start. Even if it doesn't solve your problem, it's not wasted effort.

If that doesn't cure the issues, it may be that some sensor is a bit dirty or flakey for the engine control system. A cruddy MAF sensor can certainly cause similar symptoms to what you describe, for example, among other causes.

Hope you get this resolved quickly and easily. The Fit is a fun little car.

 

The dealer immediately told me I need to have the transmission checked for $175 because the '09 Fit is known to have tranny issues after 75K. Any truth to this before I pay those #%&@$??

Being a lifelong Toyota owner, I've never experienced transmission problems and don't know what to feel for while driving. (Toyotas are boring to drive.)

Looks like the MAF sensor is the MAP sensor in the engine diagram, right? Also I was told by a friend with a Fit manual to clean the EGR port as a starting place. EGR blockage would make sense based on the symptoms. And I've ruled out converter as the cause.

 

I have not seen a Fit in my dealer since the release in 07 with a A/T problem, IMO it's one of the most bullet proof transmissions.

Like mentioned tight valves could be a possibility and the EGR ports aren't usually a problem in those cars and especially with that low of mileage.

Other than the hesitation like I have read in your posts the car has no check eng light or other drivability problems???

Have you checked the oil level lately???

 

The oil level is fine and there are no other issues. CEL has never been on. So ignore the EGR? Should I remove and clean the MAP?

 

Let me get into work and ask a few of my techs what they think. EGR is not out of the question but typically like I mentioned not a problem at that low mileage.

 

Thanks a lot! I appreciate all the help!

 

I asked around and without any codes its kinda hard to say.

A few mentioned the MAF sensor as someone already stated. Pull it out of the A/F housing and inspect it for any debris or lint and also inspect the housing for debris. Do not clean it with compressed air use a q-tip to gently clean it or the computer cleaner can compressed air might work if it is not to much force.

Not ruling out tight valves either.

 

Did you check the transmission fluid level as well? If your not sure when the transmission was changed last I would suggest trying that as it couldn't hurt.

 

The 2009 GE has a MAF sensor not a map.

 

Although the CEL hasn't come on, there could be a pending DTC with freeze frame data.
A tech needs to properly diagnose your drivability concern. There are a ton of things that could be causing your issue.

Since the engine management in this vehicle is "fly by wire", I would start with a battery pull. This would put the car in basic settings.

 

I thought I had a bad transmission as well when I bought my 09 AT. I have some hesitation just as you described and have realized thats the way these 5AT function. I was used to my 2000 Civic being so quick to accelerate that I seriously was worried about my Fit.

I don't know if this is what you want to hear but hopefully there is nothing wrong with your Fit and that's just normal operations. I'm not a Honda technician so getting your car checked out is not a bad idea but comparative maintenance could be the cheapest way to see if it is your car or not. Go test drive a friends Fit or at a dealer and see for yourself. 105K with my Fit and she shifts like a Formula 1 car... At least in Sport mode, lol.

 

I think this is a key point. Sounds like a sensor or computer issue, if the sport mode or paddle shifting is working correctly.

Have you tried disconnecting battery to reset the computers?

Otherwise, unfortuantely I don't have advice, but it seems like the above point will help eliminate a lot of the possibilities.

 

I took it in to the [supposedly] best Honda dealer in the city and left it for two days. They were unable to replicate any of the issues, and I settled on a fuel system cleaning since I've eliminated MAF, TPS, air filters, fuel filter, transmission, and ECM. All that's changed now is the gas mileage is better by about 5 MPG.

The next step is having the valve clearance inspected and adjusted since I can hear the valves on start. The dealer didn't advise doing that even after I told them it's part of minder #4, so I've found a dealer about 40 miles away who will do it for $169.

By the way, I test drove a certified used '09 sport A/T with over 100k miles at the dealer, and it doesn't have any of the issues mine does. I'm nearly positive that it's the valves.

 

Here's another thing I've noticed with the Fit is when the A/C is on it will fall flat on its face when trying to accelerate to include low speeds. Is this on while driving? I just don't think it's a valve issue because you would see the same acceleration problem with Sport mode.
I know it doesn't help when your stealership is just trying to make an extra buck. I had some car issues on the way west and the dealership in Slidell were not the greatest with customer service so I ended up hanging out at the Honda of Covington. They were really great and had me back on the road without the run arounds.

 

How did you eliminate AT fluid? Did you have it changed or just checked for fluid color?

My 09 fit had similar hesitation symtoms due to dirty AT fluid. No CEL light either. Honda dealer recommended to flush trans fluid out 3x, and hesitation disappeared.

At 95k miles, it wouldn't hurt to change out the AT fluid since it's about time to do one anyway.

Good luck

 

2009 Fit AT with 50810 miles. Car started shuttering as as gears shifted up from stop. Malfunction light came on and the D light started flashing. Off to Advance Auto and a OBDII code check. I got PO 847- 3rd Clutch Pressure Switch and PO756 Shifting selenoid problems. So I said "fine, I'll order the parts and replace them

But as I attempted to drive away from Advance Auto my battery failed. All I could get was a the chirp, chirp sound of a dead battery. I had Advance Auto replace my battery.

And as I stated the car with the new battery in place all lights went off and the car returned to normal operation. I drove home with a perfect Fit.

So my 5 year old battery was not producing enough juice to activate the faulted parts. A new battery restored all parts to proper function.