I've had my Fit for 2 weeks now, and twice I've had some difficulty turning the ignition switch to start. The car was not parked on a hill, was parked flat in my garage. Shift lever was not off Park. But, I had to jiggle the key a bit, or even push it in to get it past this unnatural "detent" to get the car to start. All other times it works as it should when starting. Since it happened for the second time this evening, I thought I'd post to see if anyone else has experienced this.

I do know that they key needs to be pushed in for removal - this is NOT what I'm describing.

 

YOu are right!!! I got the same exact problem I call Honda they said you have to take it in the service, but befor you get in service and that happen again. I can tell you what to do.

1) just plug your key in as normal as when you start your car.
2) Be-sure the Stick locat at "P"
3) Try to turn your wheel hard to LEFT (you cannot turn your wheel as normal becasue the wheel is lock.)

I think you can turn your key to ON Position. That's what Honda told me to do, and it was worked

 

The next time this happens stop.

Release the key and put both hands on the steering wheel.

Give the wheel and gentle but firm turn to the right and left, just a little bit. Most likely you will find there is slack in one direction or the other. Now, turn the key with your right hand while using your left hand to turn the wheel in the direction you had slack.

I have had this happen to me parked on a flat surface with the wheels straight ahead. It must be a characteristic of the vehicle design and may have something to do with the electric steering boost. Unless Honda puts out a field service action and calls the vehicles all in for some sort of modification it is probably nothing to worry about and to me it looks like a quirk of a quirky car, but nothing to get alarmed about.

 

It happened to me 2 days after I got my LX. Check when you exit the car that you are NOT using the steering wheel with your right hand to get out.
It seems to put tension on the wheel that makes the ign. hard to activate.

 

Based on the quick responses to my post, it seems like I am not alone, and this is a real issue with the Fit.

If you have also experienced this problem, please add to this list. Maybe we can then share it with Honda to see if they can REALLY fix it for us.

We shouldn't have to pull the steering wheel left or right to start the car - regardless of the price of the car.

 

Chill out. It can happen to any car. If I parked my 85 Olds and torqued the steering wheel hard over and then turned off the ignition it caused the same problem; tension on the steering.

It only happened the one time.

 

That would happen frequently with my '99 Camry. It is more of a car thing than just a fit thing.

 

It's supposed to happen. It's a feature, not an issue. The steering wheel locks to prevent thiefs from easily taking your car. To unlock, you sometimes need to turn the steering wheel left or right. It even happens on my old '79 Volvo.

If you want to recreate the situation: stop and put the car in park, turn it off and take out the keys, then turn the steering wheel left or right. You should hear/feel it lock, and then you won't be able to move it after that point until you put the keys back in and move the wheel again.

 

Really,

Chill, there is nothing wrong with the car.

 

I have a Sport 5MT, same thing happens on occasion. Just move the steering wheel left or right to relieve tension on the steering wheel lock.

MotorDad in Milwaukee

 

^^^ agreed, it's not a Fit issue at all, just something that happens with all vehs. My 05 xB did the same thing and the instruction manual said to turn the wheel slightly to free up the key.

 

I'd chill if I torqued the steering wheel over and turned off the ignition before this happened. The three times this has happened so far, the wheels were straight, and the car was on level ground. None of my previous cars over the past 30+ years had this "feature" when parked similarly.

 

i have 9 hondas and they all do this

i am not sure why you would think it's a fault

it has nothing to do with whether your wheel is straight or not.. if you turn the wheel on your way out or if it was moved without the key in the ignition, it goes into ignition interlock, the steering wheel locks and it's anti-theft

-joe

 

Let us know what they say at your dealer when you take it in for repair of this defect.

 

its not a defect...wiggle ur dam steering wheel. all cars can do this....and every car iv had HAS done this

 

My $40K BMW 330i did this all the time. My GM cars do it as well. It's no big deal.

 

Maybe Honda should talk to some other auto manufacturers about steering wheel lock designs. I've had many cars with steering wheel locks, and they will lock up if you park on a hill with the wheel turned - to me that's normal. When that happens it requires the driver to turn the wheel to disengage the lock as the key is turned.

None of my past cars with steering wheel locks would lock up if the car is parked on a flat surface, with the wheels straight and the steering wheel not turned. (Actually one did have the problem - my 1999 Dodge Caravan with 100,000+ miles. It would lock up on flat ground with straight wheels. I replaced the ignition switch and the problem was gone).

The Fit has done it 3 times in the past 3 weeks.

 

My Mitsubishi has never done this. I don't know how you guys can call this a feature. Maybe it is a somewhat common and non-critical issue, but its still an issue and it would be better if it didn't happen. This did happen on occasion with an old 1979 Pontiac I drove years ago. You shouldn't have to "jiggle" the wheel before you start it. Most cars have some issues, and this is probably one of the Fit's.

 

Has anyone considered the fact that this is occuring because it is electric steering rather than hydraulic?

 

i believe its just the steering wheel locking all u have to di is what everyone else said give a gentle tug and wahlah fix'd... its no biggie really