As I'm sure anyone who has been curious about this knows, the US Fits were never sold with auto HVAC controls in the vehicle. Only the Canadian EX-Ls came with that luxury. Found this out a few years ago but the idea has always come back to nag me... Could swapping it over to the USDM Fit be done? I know someone did on the 2nd gen. And with the Android stereo I have, the sleek black look of the digitized HVAC controls would fit so much better in the interior (quickly adjusting temps, etc. is a problem I'm willing to live with).
I keep coming back to the idea and finally decided to do it. I was able to score a used auto climate control module from a Canadian wrecker and also found all the wiring diagrams for the Fit HVAC systems (both manual and auto) to work with. Spent quite a lot of time comparing diagrams and part numbers between the Canada EX-L via Toronto Honda Parts and a US Honda parts site and have what I believe to be a pretty comprehensive list of the servos, sensors, wire changes, etc. that need to be done to make this fully functional. Interestingly (but not surprisingly) the HR-V shares a lot of the exact parts, and was available in the US with auto climate control on the higher trims, albeit with a different control unit. So as I scavenge parts and start tracing wires in the body harness we'll see how this comes together. Crossing fingers for a relatively painless project!

 

If you can find a salvage HR-V this will save you a lot of work and possibly having to make a wire harness at all!
Parts list I have determined are needed (so far) - I've found a lot on eBay or from salvage yards. Sucks there's no HR-V EX/EXL near me to go scavenge from. Lots of parts are identical to the HR-Vs w/ auto AC and can be ordered from US Honda dealers or found pretty commonly as used parts.

✔️ Main Control Unit: 79602-T5R-C82 - Canada Only
✔️ Bezel (surround with push-to-start button socket): 79601-T5R-C81ZA - Canada Only
✔️ Blower Motor Transistor: 79330-TY0-941 (HRV same) - Not blower resistor, which is t5r
✔️ Sub-Wire (?): 80650-T5R-A41 Not sure what this is for but it probably connects the servos together into a larger harness. Could try HRV p/n 80650-T7W-A40, though it has 1 extra plug. May not even be necessary if I make my own harness from scratch, more on the connectors later.
✔️ Motor - Fresh/Recirc: 79350-T5R-A41 (HRV same)
✔️ Motor - Blend Door: 79160-T5R-A41 (HRV Same)
✔️ Motor - Mode: 79140-T5R-A41 (HRV same)
✔️ Aspirator - 80534-SAA-941 (HRV/CRZ same)
✔️ Humidity Sensor - 80590-TR0-A01 (HRV same)
✔️ Aspirator Hose to Sensor - 80533-T5R-C41 (I will try HRV 80533-T7W-A41 since it's coming attached with the humidity sensor I ordered.) EDIT: The HR-V tube is too short by a couple inches. It seems the official p/n has disappeared from any Honda parts website, so using the HR-V one with an extension will have to do, or a longer OEM one like the one found on the 18-20 Accord.
✔️ In-car sensor garnish? - 80531-T5R-C40 This clips over the humidity sensor and lets it snap into the dash. The HR-V humidity sensor I ordered is also coming with the HR-V version of this (80531-T7J-H40) so we'll see if I can mod it to fit. EDIT: The HR-V variant fits good with some trimming.

✔️ Heater Sub-Assembly - 79106-T7W-A41 (HRV only)
✔️ Blower Sub-Assembly - 79305-T7W-A01 (HRV only)
These last two parts are needed to replace the Fit heater and blower motor sub-assemblies. While they are extremely similar, the Fit only has mounting points for the Mode servo motor on the heater sub-assembly. The mounts for the other two motors are not present (the blower sub-assembly has mounts that are the right size, but they are in the wrong location and orientation, and the Fit linkage on the end is the wrong shape.). Using the HR-V parts also grants the aspirator cutout on the driver's side, no cutting of the Fit one necessary.

This comprises all the possible parts differences I could find between the US LX and CAN EX-L w/ auto A/C. The long and short of it is, if you can find an HR-V with auto A/C in a wrecking yard near you, you can probably remove it's entire HVAC system and cut out 90% of that harness for the transplant. The pinout for the 32-pin connector on the Canada Fit's HVAC control unit is identical to the HR-V's unit so if you're lucky enough to get a complete body harness out of one it should work with almost no modification. I will be making my own with OE connectors for the majority of it, and removable taps for the extra wires such as the CAN lines and signals from the sensors in the engine bay. Most everything else needed is already present. Will continue to update as parts show up and I start to wire things together!

 

Except every current Honda has automatic HVAC controls. The heat and AC do turn on when the car is on. The only difference is just digital vs manual controls. Digital controls just allow more precise fan speeds. And switching the vehicle to digital is a complete waste of time. They all do the exact same thing. Heat and cool your interior. With digital buttons/parts never lasting as long as OG knobs do.

 

That same analogy can be used to 'prove' that all Honda's came with an automatic transmission... 'The transmission does work whenever the car is driving. The only difference is just digital vs manual controls. Digital controls just allow more precise gear control... They all do the exact same thing. Transmit power from the engine to the wheels. With CVT parts never lasting as long as OG stick shifts do.'

Saying the controls all US Fits come with are 'automatic' is not really accurate, because of course everything in the car turns on when you turn the car on. The US HVAC controls don't automatically adjust fan speed, or change mix modes, without user input. You have to do it manually by turning the knob which pulls a physical cable. The true auto controls let you pick an ideal interior temperature and they will change the fan speed/blend door/air temp mix automatically to keep the temperature in the cabin the same regardless of exterior conditions. It's not quite fair to say the manual and auto controls do the exact same thing. And I've seen plenty of issues with physical knobs, cables, gears that you couldn't have with a solid state digital device.

Anyway, I don't care much to argue. I'm doing this for a combination of upgraded functionality, and better aesthetic flow with the rest of my interior. If it's a waste of time for you, simple solution - don't do it. But I am doing it, because I want to, and I enjoy the challenge of recreating the system in a car not originally equipped with it. This purpose of this thread is to document the process, not to give people a chance to say why it shouldn't be done. Plenty of other posts here on FF, as well as other Honda model forums, that say it's a waste of time and no one should ever try this. Oh well.

 

Good luck on all of that. You wasting money and time there...

 

Definitely going to try this as soon as i gathered all the parts. Thank you Nick!

 

You got it. Personally I'm most of the way through the swap and so far most all of the parts listed above are working/fitting as I had hoped. I'm going to do a more in-depth write up of exactly what pieces to use, how to mod and install them, when I get the whole setup finished. Full custom wire harness is needed.

 

Did you ever make headway on this idea? nevermind the bewilderingly pleasant NWCH's of the world! lol I am new to the Fit scene and am also interested in upfitting mine

 

I ended up having to sell my GK last year for personal reasons. I did keep all the swap parts and harnesses I have made though. Would love to revive this project in the future as I have a relative that owns a 2016. If I can get it wrapped up 100% I will be doing a full walkthrough video on my YT channel HondaGarage_ID.

 

Been there before, keep me in mind if you get the chance to revisit the project or decide to sell what you have so far-Best of Luck to you