I JUST bought this car yesterday at a audi dealership in PA. I drove it all the way home to NYC no problem. But today it popped out of gear twice on my way to autozone to buy oil and 2 more times after that on my way to walmart...

WTF??!?! Anyone know what the cause of this could be? This is really frustrating since I just dropped 11.5k on it. It has 47k if that matters...

I know there should be a 5yr/60,000 mile warranty through Honda. I'm just really hoping its not the transmission. I bought this as daily and it sucks that I'm already having this problem.

Also... this isn't right after shifting... it happens basically when it wants to. So I know it is in 5th before letting off the clutch.

 

I would take it back to the dealer and have them check to see if the transmission fluid is low. Or you can just get the car on a level surface and open the transmission fill bolt to see if mtf flows out.

 

Take that Fit back to the dealer. Did you test drive the car before you bought it?

 

Well after moving the car from the spot in the driveway... there's definitely gear oil leaking. Considering the dealer is 2+hrs away, I'd like to see if it's something that I could resolve at Honda under the 5yr/60k warranty (unless that's only on certified pre-owned or new Honda vehicles only).

I definitely test drove the vehicle... it did not pop out of 5th gear on the way home or during the test drive. Only today. I'm rather upset about it. If anyone knows the lemon laws on used vehicles even on "as is" status. Please let me know. I just dropped 11k on this car and I don't want to be stuck spending more money just to get it working right.

 

I believe the standard warranty is 3 years so HURRY back to the dealership! I have an 08 MT fit and popping out of gear is clearly NOT normal behavior!

 

That is the 3 year/ 36k mile new car warranty you are thinking of. I believe bboixtc's problem should be under the 5 year/60k mile powertrain warranty but I am not 100% sure.

 

3yr/36k, well I'm definitely over the 36k.

I hope that it is, and that I get a new transmission out of this. It sounds to me like a synchro problem, Even if the fluid was low, why would it only be 5th gear? It can't be the shifter cables, that doesn't explain the leak. And who knows how bad the other gears are by now.

 

Check the mounts and bushings on your shifter cables.. but it sounds like there is something more severe going on..

worn out bearing races, too much shaft end-play, worn 5th gear/Reverse slider engagement and hub, etc.

All of which would require a complete teardown of the unit, sorry

Now, they do not specialize in Hondas, let alone Fits in particular but they are all respected race trans builders and OE trans re-builders/modifiers... These are the people I would go to for questions, help or repair if they will agree to it:

Shepherd Transmissions (John Shepherd)
TRE Transmission
Jack's Transmission (Jack McGee)
TMZ Performance (Tim Zimmer)

 

Damn, at this point, wouldn't it be easier/cheaper to just replace the transmission with one from lets say ebay? Are the GE trannys interchangeable?

 

Tough to say.

First call the Dealership, or schedule a trip back to PA and show up at the door with your paperwork for a chat. Pending the outcome from that I would weigh the options on rebuild, which could be really easy if there is like a end-housing that comes off by the wheel well to access 5th/reverse.

I would avoid eBay/paypal for something major like this, and we have another member contemplating a GE trans on a GD.. but that is still developing. Any single odd nuance like a larger/smaller flywheel/pressure plate or tooth count, different TOB style, alignment dowels, etc. could make this more trouble than it is worth.

 

If it's an internal tranny defect @ 47K it should certainly be covered under warranty, so get thee to a local dealer ASAP, and be prepared to go over the dealer's head to the regional Honda rep if you don't get satisfaction. I wouldn't go back to the joker who sold it to you as it surely knew or should have known of either the leak or the popping out of gear. Gotta wonder why it's leaking, too. I'd be searching for evidence of major collision repair. Hopefully not, but I'd be checking.

 

Ok so I dropped off the car today and the guy told me that it could just be leaking engine oil and I had mistaken it for transmission fluid. Regardless, low transmission fluid could cause the transmission to pop out of 5th gear. If it were the synchros, it would or may be difficult to even throw it in 5th gear. Even if it were to be low on transmission fluid, why would it be burning or losing it to begin with? It's $125 for them to look at the car and I won't have to pay it if the problem(s) are covered under the powertrain warranty.

 

This sounds shady.. if you just bought an $11,000 car a couple days ago, and your bring it back complaining of potential major drivetrain and they tell you its gonna be $125 for a onceover I would contemplate threatening legal action or if possible, return the car for refund. That may get their attention.

This is an Audi dealership, I would bet they knew something was up.

With <50k miles on what's been proven as a reliable transmission, I would start getting the vehicle history report from someone like CarFax and start talking to a Honda Rep or Dealer about the problem, give them the VIN number and see what comes up.

I would be apocalyptically pissed about this. 5th is a pretty tough gear to fuck up in a car with only 100ft-lbs torque. None of what that guy told you adds up.

Why would the engine be leaking, and why would that be okay?

The trans shouldn't be leaking either, nor would low fluid cause it to pop out of gear.

The reasons I listed in my initial post are the common culprits for this behaviour. If it was the synchro it would grind on the way in if you could even slam it into gear. Even then, if you got it into gear the synchro doesn't keep it their, it just starts to speed the gear assembly up to meet input shaft speed.

Stick it to them on this, I know it is a pain in the ass but it will be worth it in the end.

 

Well here's the deal. When I bought the car, I obviously did a carfax prior and found nothing. I wouldn't be foolish enough to buy a car without checking it. The $125 was what the Honda dealer told me.

I got the car back today and they said that the axle seal was leaking, it was transmission fluid and that low fluid would cause it to pop out of 5th. Because they weren't able to repeat the issue after putting a new axle seal in. It was covered under the Honda powertrain warranty so I didn't have to pay the $125.

However... I get home, get out of my car and see drips of tranny fluid from the car. Re-scheduled an appointment for tomorrow. Hopefully all goes well.

 

any update? is the car ok now?

 

Thanks for asking dude.

Well... long story. It was low on transmission fluid causing it to pop out of 5th. Honda found out it was a bad axle seal... they replaced it, problem repeated... turns out the tranny housing was damaged when they replaced the axle seal a year ago at another Honda dealership.

They told me they were going to replace the transmission housing. (stupid shit, they should've just gave me a new transmission, if it was low on fluid for a year, synchros, gears are probably more worn). Mid way upon removing the transmission, they call and tell me that they highly recommend me taking the car back because it will most probably have transmission problems in the future. (basically the mechanic didn't want to do the transmission gut swap).
They later said that it is NOT covered under warranty because it was driven with low fluid for a year which is considered abuse or some crap like that.


At the end of it all, the dealer (donrosenimports) took the car back. No cost to me. It was a terrible 1 week experience and I'm STILL without a daily.

 

Wow, That does sound like a hellish week but I'm glad they took the car back and gave you a refund. Good luck in your car search.

 

damn, that sucks. i don't know if this is allowed, but you should post the last 6 of the vin so we can avoid that car like the plague...

 

I had this problem and the cause was that the transmission oil had leaked out through a small crack in the case. We sealed the crack with an aluminum "welding" epoxy compound and put in oil. So far, so good - no more popping out.