Hey all,

I've been a long-time lurker and have graciously relied on the posts of others for advice on routine maintenance and repairs for my 2012 Fit Sport, but I have a specific question that I (unsurprisingly) have been unable to find in the forums.

A little background: I bought my first Fit, a Pepsi-blue manual sport, in the fall of 2012. At this point I exclusively drove manual cars since I preferred the additional control and driver participation they provide over automatic transmissions. About a month after that purchase I became a paraplegic in an accident (not auto related). Due to the lack of commercial (safe) hand controls for manual transmission cars on the market, I ended up trading in my Pepsi-blue Fit for my current car: a black 2012 Fit Sport with an automatic transmission. Fits are fantastic for wheelchair users due to their small size and how easy it is to adjust the back seats for whatever chair(s) you're using for the day, but I also specifically wanted paddle shifters to keep the same driving experience as a manual car.

However, the way my hand controls are set up makes actually using the shifters awkward. My left hand is to remain on the hand control bar as I'm driving, since it controls both the gas and the brake, and my right hand is to remain on the suicide knob at about the 1:00-2:00 position on my steering wheel. Shifting up isn't that big of a deal, since I don't have to remove my hands entirely from the steering wheel. However, shifting down involves either taking my hand off the gas/brake or wrapping my right hand around the steering wheel to access the paddle on the left side of the steering column. This is not ideal and I've spent the past ten years driving entirely with automatic shifting because of it.



Hand controls pictured. Please disregard the mess.


Circled is where I think a thumb switch could go to activate the shifters. There is already a hole in the bar here that a switch could be attached to and is within easy access to my thumb.

What I would like to do is somehow divert the function of the paddle shifters to a separate switch installed directly onto my hand controls, where I would be able to activate both the up and down shifters with the thumb of my left hand which would otherwise be unused. The interior panel behind the pedals was removed to accommodate the hand controls, so accessing the fuse box and running a wire up the controls to a switch would be very easy if the controls could be accessed through there.

Is this something that can theoretically be done? If so, how would you approach it?

Thank you for your consideration!

TLDR: Can I reroute my paddle shifters to a separate switch that can be actuated with just my left thumb?

 

Seems like a relatively easy concept to complete. It would appear that the existing paddle shifters are momentary switches that "short" their respective line to ground when pressed. It would seem that one should be able to determine which two wires these are and tap into them before they go into the "clock spring." They should be able to be installed in parallel with the existing ones so as to keep the factory ones intact... Or not. See attached page out of Service Manual.

Maybe a suitable rocker switch with momentary switches both in the up and down positions, so the neutral position would be in the middle.
Something like this (there are probably hundreds of options on switches):

Mark

 

I'd be curious if you could have a jumper harness made and use a switch similar to that of a motorcycle's or quad bike's to command the shift. Kinda like this linked below.


This way you can still work the hand controls, shift with a thumb input and steer as needed.

There is a group at my local track called "Hands On Driving Academy" have a fleet of various B Spec cars with various hand control configurations. Two of which are Fits. Feel free to send them a message.

 

How about just drive the car in automatic mode. The paddle shifters don't really make driving the Fit a great driving experience anyways. Because it's not comparable to a manual in any way.

Life always changes. And so does the driving experience. Plus manual trans cars are almost no existent in todays market so just get use to the change everyone is also making.

Making mandatory use of the paddle shifters just isn't important in a bottom tier commuter car.

 

Eh... The amount of control gained when using the paddles is worth it in these momentum cars. Especially in the somewhat wide geared 5AT equipped GD and GE... GKs are a bit more lackluster thanks to its darn near "infinite gearing" from the CVT, making the "7 speed emulation" almost redundant.

Sure, I will agree that it is not the same driving experience as the 5MT and 6MT Fits. But the feature is still a means to help with engine braking on sharp declines (like a manual), staying in the power/torque band on inclines (like a manual), and helps with anticipating a passing opportunity as some examples (like a manual).

 

Agreed with Hootie. I use my paddles to control downhill speed every time I drive. I hate nothing worse than watching a line of brake lights ahead of me and pondering the waste in fuel and brakes.

On long uphills I will also shift into S mode and use the paddles to pick the gear I want to prevent continuous upshifting/downshifting between gears.

Having owned manuals in the past, I agree the paddle shifters aren't as engaging or useful. On the other hand, when I get stuck in traffic (every time we have to drive across CT or towards Boston), I don't miss the cramping left leg I used to get with M/T cars.

 

If you're experiencing continuous shifting in your AT, you may be past due for an ATF drain and fill. The difference just one drain and fill makes in what feels like the car searching for the right gear is night and day.

 

Good point and always wise to keep up on maintenance. I will be doing my ATF again in the spring (per time recommendation). I don't drive much and have fewer than 15K miles since my last change. My ATF level is within spec and checked regularly.

In this case, I'm speaking of the situation where your speed, your throttle input, and the road grade hit a sweet spot that's not quite right for either gear and so the transmission shifts back and forth between them. Depending on where you live and drive, you may never experience this, or you may deal with it regularly. It's less common at high speed on highways and interstates because the engine is turning at a moderate rpm and making decent power, but my local roads are relatively hilly and the speed limits range between 25 and 45 mph. If I floor it up a 30 mph hill the A/T will pick and hold a lower gear but I will soon blow through the speed limit. If I drive more casually to maximize fuel efficiency, as I generally do, the A/T will hunt on hilly roads with relatively low speed and relatively low throttle input.

In a M/T car where a higher gear will lug the engine, you manually shift to a lower gear and higher rpm. In the Fit Sport with paddle shifters, I use S mode and downshift to do the same thing.

 

Yes and no... 5AT Fits have a quirky transmission shift logic at certain lower speeds.

I remember the first year of ownership with my 2008 VBP how indecisive the transmission was when driving in 30 to 35 MPH speed zones. The torque converter would constantly lock/unlock and/or cycle between 4th and 5th gears on a fairly flat section of road. A slight change in throttle input at those speeds or brief incline would cause this to happen so much so that only drive in S mode and use the paddles daily to reduce this.

That was just shy of 16 years ago... Since then, I've learn that in the case of 5AT equipped Fits, 30 to 40 MPH just happens to be a sweet spot were the transmission will do some funky things depending on engine load, road grade and yes indeed ATF quality play into this as well since fluid degradation can cause torque converter like judder.