I wanted to get some opinions. I've driven a ton of manual transmissions working at car dealerships, I've never felt such an indirect, sloppy shifter as the one in my fit except for maybe some big old beat down trucks. It's to the point where I think something's wrong with it. The long throws are one thing, but I miss and grind second, third and forth gear semi regularly. The thing that really makes me think something is mechanically wrong is going into reverse is actually pretty hard. I do the normal 1st to 2nd a few times before going into reverse but even then the thing does feels like its not really going into gear. A couple of times the shifter even popped out of reverse. I swear changing gears feels like a long, grinding, process. I figured once the car was broken in, it would be better but it hasn't. I do not abuse the car in anyway.

I have a weird creaking sound coming from probably my front strut so I was going to take it in anyway, but anyone else have this problem? I want to see what honda says but I don't see anyone tsb anywhere so I'm guessing it's time to start saving up for a short throw shifter. I was also reading that you can replace the bushings?

 

I've driven about 12 tons of manual cars and the Fit I test drove was by far the sloppiest shifting car I've ever laid hands on. It felt like I'd never driven a manual before. First front wheel drive was a '78 VW Scirocco. Last front wheel drive was an '88 Citroen BX with several FWD VWs and Toyotas in between. I gave up manuals after moving to Atlanta in '96 but thought it would be fun to get a manual Fit (obviously I thought different after test driving one). I don't think it's you. (I get my MT fix from my son's '95 Miata now).

Weird creaking sound is probably a dry bushing. Honda offered to replace the control arms. I demurred and bought a can of 3m spray silicone. That was 4 years ago.

 

I don't think its a great manual, but relative to most I've driven its a solid transmission.

That said, if you've never liked how it shifted, maybe you shouldn't have bought the car?

 

I've read nothing but favorable reviews about the Fit's MT, even comparing it to the S2000's. The box itself is probably fine, but the linkage is very springy. Combined with the clutch delay valve and throttle hang it was unfun. Maybe that's how all FWD cars are these days...

 

It's not the nicest manual I've driven but I've never felt that it was that bad. The throws are long and the shifter is pretty light and sort of sloppy in regards to side to side play and "crispness" but it's definitely functional. The only real problem I've had is that Fifth gear is kind of far away and i sometimes lose my grip on the shift knob.

It felt a lot better after i added a weighted shift knob and at some point i might upgrade to a short shifter or the Mugen shift kit with the hard mount kit from HFit.

Edit: Or maybe not since HFit is apparently going out of business and i don't feel like purchasing right now.

 

Yeah that's not normal.

 

both my old '08 i had a while back, and my current '12 feel great. like a toggle switch gate entry feel. while the throw is on the longer side, it's fine in stock form for me (i hate the stock knob, so got the factory leather knob). pretty much been driving MT's all my life. heel and toe and other acrobatics work fine on this car. i like the gearbox.

 

I have such a hard time using heel toe in my '13. It just doesn't "feel" right since the clutch delay and the throttle hang make it so hard to predict. I usually have to be looking at my tach to pull it off smoothly which isn't really where i want to be looking in any situation that i would choose to use a heel toe downshift. I've been driving it for over a year now and i still find it difficult. Did it take you a while to get it down?

I remember in my old '91 civic i could heel toe all day with the cable clutch, cable throttle, and metal shift linkage. Maybe i just need to practice it more.

 

Practice practice.

I get it right about 75% of the time and i've been driving the car for three years almost. Sometimes the gas pedal just doesn't react fast enough, i'm thinking of trying a throttle controller so I don't have to press the throttle as low to get it to rev as fast and high as I need it to. The clutch delay doesn't bother me, it's the throttle that annoys me.

You are right though I do find myself glancing at the tach sometimes if it's noisy in the cabin to make sure the throttle actually did something productive

 

What is a clutch delay valve and how does it affect shifting? I have a 2013 Base with 5 M/T, had it about a month now. My first stick car in 14 years (drove sticks all my life before). It has taken me all this time to finally get some (some) good shifts. Geez!

I noticed right off the bat that the RPM's stayed up a bit after I put the clutch in to shift. It doesn't do that much if you shift "fast" (faster than normal, but not speed shifting). Starting off from 1st gear, I hardly have to give it any gas at all to get going. If I'm driving down a quiet street, I just take my time shifting, and all is well. If I'm in traffic, I notice that I'll tend to take off a little faster (keep up with traffic) and I am usually getting lousy shifts (1st to 2nd) when I do that. After I'm in 2nd, then things smooth out (usually). Sometimes I can hear that RPM hangup even going into 4th and 5th. arghh

Sometimes I can't shift to save my life. Really frustrating, cuz I remember how easy my other stick cars were, especially my 86 Civic Si hatch. Well, I just think it's the way Honda designs things, and probably for emmisions control (or whatever). Love my Fit, but shifting is a learning process.

 

The rev hang is part of how the computer is programmed, and indeed is for emissions control. The best way I've found to get smooth shifts with it is to just take my foot off the gas a skosh before pushing the clutch pedal. The timing did take awhile to get used to. (Also, the hang is a bit reduced when the AC is running, presumably because of the greater load on the engine.)

The clutch delay valve is a gizmo that prevents the clutch from engaging instantaneously, a little bit akin to the air cylinder retarders used to keep screen doors from slamming. It's not really a factor in normal street driving IMHO.

I gather that these two things are common to a great many cars these days, not just Hondas (and certainly not just Fits).

 

yah, these cars are programmed to burn off fuel after throttle up (EPA reasons?) so you do need to get use to it. but once you get the hang of the timing, it's very smooth and fairly consistent.


i think the MT's are great.