Has anyone experienced transmission problems with GE Fits? I took my '09 Fit Sport automatic to the dealership, who determined a replacement transmission is needed. The symptoms include a shudder at around 40 mph and very slow RPM drops after 4th to 5th upshifts (taking around 3 seconds for the RPM to drop and find its base). And, in general, the car just felt more and more sluggish. There are no malfunction lights.

It is depressing that the transmission is going south at only 54,200 miles. I have religiously drained and filled using Z-1 and DW-1, not exceeding 10K on the intervals.

Age-wise, my Fit is a few months past the 5-year warranty period. The dealership and Honda were very kind to limit my cost to a small fraction of the total.

 

TOTAL B.S.
You need to call Honda corporate and demand they do a 100% goodwill repair. There is no freaking way your trans should fail like that.
Unless you modded or riced out your car you need to just be proactive and don't let Honda screw you.

 

Maybe a little too religiously?

I mean, the owner's manual only says to change the ATF after 60k miles initially and then every 30k miles afterwards... and that's only IF you drive on mountainous areas. Or, if its being towed, every 30k or 2 years, which ever comes first.

Otherwise, only do it when the MM indicates to do so.

And even in the service manual... a fluid change is a SINGLE drain and refill, that's it. It doesn't say to do it multiple times.

 

Thanks for the feeback, Goobers and jondotcom. The car is completely stock.

I fully admit to being overly conservative with the drain and refills. This was something simple enough for me to DIY at every other oil change. This came out to be around once a year. My '06 Accord receives the same drain and refill schedule and shifts like new.

 

Well that sucks. Exactly how much is the "small fraction of the total"?

 

changing the tranny fluid at 10k miles is sort of like changing the engine oil every 1k miles.

stop it! let the transmission actually use up some of the additives in the fluid!!

try a 20k interval if you are nutsy about preventative maintenance.


The Accord is probably fine since its a beefier transmission. I still recommend you stretch the intervals on that as well

 

Anyone using AMSOIL or REDLINE true synthetic A.T. fluids ? AMSOIL Signature Series Fuel-Efficient Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid and Red Line Synthetic Oil - Gear Oil for Manual Transmissions - D6 ATF . Would have HONDA service center do the drain and fill . There's about 34,000 miles and no light as of yet . We drive conservatively , but plenty of steep hills to climb .

 

Earlier today you jumped on grommet for changing his trans fluid at just a little past half the recommended interval.

 

I didnt mean to be harsh at all.

I personally think 20k interval is much better then a 10k interval.



As for the question of the Redline or Amsoil, I would just stick with the Honda fluid. You can find cases online for good prices and save quite a bit of money. Just make sure it is the correct fluid, as Honda has changed its automatic formula several times in the last decade lol

 

Your aggressive maintenance schedule had nothing to do with the transmission failure (it may have prolonged the thing's life unless you forgot to refill it!). Yours is the first account I've heard of a Fit auto-transmission failure; I think it was defective from the factory. Happens. Glad Honda worked with you.

Are they replacing it with a honda crate transmission or 3rd party rebuild? Are they doing a post-mortem to determine the cause and sharing the results with you?

 

What do thousands upon thousands of Honda transmission failures have in common? Honda recommended fluid.

I run oem fluid in my fit but will be adding a cooler and amsoil fluid. I did this in my Odyssey and it has been trouble-free for 60k miles.

 

they also have roads and gasoline in common...

Honda had problems in the early 00's with Odyssey/Accord v6 transmissions. They extended warranties and fixed them.

I had a 1st gen Odyssey with 225K and nothing but honda fluid. It was fine when I sold it.

I have an 03 Accord v6. Transmission is fine with 160K. Honda fluid again.

I've not heard of transmission issues on Fits (this thread is a first, I think). Couple threads on solenoid replacements but that's it. I think Fit transmission failure is rare. What do they have in common? Honda ATF...

Read your manual. Honda practically pleads with you to use Honda ATF. Not so for engine oil. I think this has more weight than "some transmissions failed that had Honda ATF in them."

 

in contrast, no AT service done on my 09 with 45K miles as of yet. absolutely no issue.

 

I flushed ATF at 50K miles with DW1 and so far no issues @68K on ODO.