(I’ve tried searching but haven’t found anyone with this particular situation.)

My 2016 Honda Fit doesn’t acknowledge when it’s in park or reverse.

When in park:
1) the dash board does not show a “P”
2) to start it, I have to use the shift lock override to put it in neutral to start it.
3) the radio/head unit does not turn off when the engine is stopped—start/stop button blinks green
4) the door lock and emergency horn buttons on the fob do not work, exterior door lock buttons do not work, and doors to not unlock when fob is near (yes, it has a fresh battery)

In reverse:
1) It drives in reverse but doesn’t show an “R” on dashboard
2) no review camera
3) no backup lights

Any guesses on what the culprit might be?

I checked every fuse in the engine fuse box. I haven’t done the same for interior fuse box, but none of them would appear to be related to my problems. However, I certainly could be wrong.

Thanks for reading and for any advice or information you might be able to share!

 

Check the transmission range switch (on top of the transmission where the shifter cable attaches) and the wiring connected to it.
Pin 4 (purple wire at the switch, changes to red when it leaves the engine harness) is the park signal which runs back to the PCM (pin A10), the MICU (Q22) and the Keyless Access Control Unit (C10). Pin 3 (tan wire at the switch, changes to purple) is the reverse signal, which runs to the PCM (A9) and MICU (Q23). All of the range switch contacts share a common ground on pin 5 (black wire, grounds to the cylinder head). Since the car starts in neutral, the ground should be okay - it wouldn't start in any position if the ground were bad.

I'm betting rodent damage near the switch connector, or a bad range switch.

Edit: Honda unhelpfully calls the part "Sensor, position". Part number for the 2016 Fit is 28900-R9L-004, it's not cheap at $130, so double-check the wiring first. Fitment includes lots of CVT-equipped 2014-2023 Civics, Fits and HR-Vs if you're junkyard-savvy.

 

Yes that’s makes a lot of sense. Thank you!

I suspected that some sort of sensor was not working correctly. I just hadn’t yet come across the method/mechanism that the Fit uses. Your post was very helpful.

Will investigate and update in the hopes that the thread may be helpful for others, asap. But with a one year old toddling around and as an educator preparing for students to return in just a couple days, it may not happen until the weekend.

 

Well, I got the switch sensor out and checked continuity based on instructions found elsewhere (I’ll try to link below).
Continuity came out just as the chart shows.

No visible issues on the female side of the plug or the very little bit of the wires that I could see.


I guess I’ll investigate how I might be ablow to get to and inspect the wires, but if it’s too much trouble, I may wave the white flag and take it into the dealer.

 

Some meters have a very... lenient concept of continuity. What kind of resistance values were you seeing?

Next step would be to test continuity between the dash fuse box/MICU terminals and the switch connector.

 

If all things fail disconnect the battery and reboot.

 

If all things fail, disconnect the battery and reboot.

 

I’ve been disconnecting the battery as it’s the only way I’ve found to turn the “radio” head unit off to prevent draining the battery.

For 12 bucks I ordered a probably inferior/non-honda switch online. I swapped it in and the car has still the exact same issues, so I’m guessing it’s not the switch. (I figured even if it was junk, it’d either fail in different ways or work for a while before crapping out.)

I really don’t think we can spare the $1k+ to have the wiring system replaced.
I guess I’ll be stuck in this routine of starting in neutral and disconnecting the battery when parking for a while longer than I’d hoped as I do some more research and investigation.

 

This is one of Honda Corp's major failings in recent decades IMO. I talked to the parts desk guys a few years ago - with the exception of exterior lighting connectors (commonly damaged in accidents) they can't get replacement connector housings, crimp terminals and such. They couldn't do a proper wire-replacement job even if they wanted to. I'm sure it's great for parts sales' bottom line, but terrible for everyone else. Every $1000 harness they throw in the bin is value (arguably wealth) they took away from the customer. Even completely ignoring how that affects the customer's opinion of the brand, that's $1000 less the customer has available to spend on a newer Honda. If the customer decides they don't want to deal with the problem, that's still $1000+ off the car's trade-in value which limits the new car sale. Ugh... The disposable economy is lunacy.