Hi all,

I have a 2002 VTi / auto. When I am cruising along a flat road or slight downhill at a low speed (10 - 50 kmh), I lift off the throttle, then when I get to the very end of the throttle lift, the car noticeably feels like it engine brakes (maybe drops a gear, hard to tell). So i put a small amount of throttle on to compensate, get back to speed, lift of the throttle gently and the process repeats, so I am on and off the throttle all the time. The gearbox itself has been serviced not too long ago so all new oil and checks seemed good. I have tried it in different modes with the same result (Low/Sports etc). it is most noticeable on flat or slight decline when not much throttle input is required.

Any clues as to what might be going on and how to reduce this?

Many thanks

 

Got any codes? Misfire?

 

You might just be feeling the effects of deceleration fuel cut-off. There's a subtle but noticeable change when fuel injection cuts in or out in response to throttle position changes around the "zero" point and the engine switches from producing power to engine braking. You might also notice a slight pickup when the idle control kicks in if the engine speed drops too low (particularly when the engine is cold), say when coasting to a stop in gear with the accelerator released.

I've noticed that my Fit will choose a somewhat lower ratio when descending a hill with the accelerator pedal released - not as low as S but enough to provide some useful engine braking, so I think it's by design. Of course, it will also favour lower ratios at lower speeds, making the engine braking effect stronger. A very light press of the accelerator will normally get it to upshift within a couple of seconds when this happens.

If you have an OBD reader you might find that useful in figuring out what's going on. The accelerator pedal position should read around 10% when fully released. You should also see the fuel control go into open loop/fuel cutoff when you release the accelerator while the car is moving.

I believe the PCM monitors the rate of change of throttle position, so you could try easing off very gradually and see if that makes a difference to the downshifting.