Any manual fit drivers out there have a rough reverse? Not every time, but sometimes my fit seems rough or choppy when reversing. Not sure if that's normal and I'm not used to it, or what. Will probably take to dealer soon to show someone, but it's strange. Like I said, it's not consistent and mostly first thing after turning car on. I have tried using clutch only, and also giving it some gas. Thoughts?

 

Like you said, get it checked out to be sure. My M/T reverse seems to work like most my other past M/T reverses. It sure shifts in reverse easier than my Fiesta did.

When going in reverse, for me, I really like to hear the engine so I have a better feel for it. I reverse slowly for safety reasons.

 

By rough do you mean rough driving, rough sounding, or rough shifting?

Reverse gears sometimes whine a bit but a Honda should be slick-shifting and should reverse as smoothly as they go forward in first gear.

 

It seems to be fine for me.

 

Now that you mention it, it does whine a bit, I thought it was the rubber from the low rolling resistance tires making a weird whine. It shifts fine, just the reverse power transmission is a little clunky when I first turn on the car. For instance, I filled up my tank at the gas station. Car is off for a few minutes. I turn it back on and it acts rough in reverse. It's fairly minor, but noticeable. I'm going to keep my eye on it and take it to the dealer at some point soon. I will experiment and see if I can find the reason why it does this on occasion. It almost seems like the clutch is transmitting power in spurts.

 

Virtually every transmission whines when reversing. The reason is that some of the gears are operating in the opposite direction to which they designed. It's normal.

Rough operation, grinding, etc. are not.

 

It sounds to me like possibly you're noticing lash in the gearing, which is normal and unavoidable to some extent. It is caused by the existence of a certain amount of "dead space," so to speak, in the transitions between the gearing being loaded by the engine and driving the wheels, and the gearing being driven by the wheels and driving the engine (i.e. engine braking/coasting). Worn engine mounts will add to the overall lash in the system.

It might also be that you're not revving the engine sufficiently and/or not slipping the clutch quite smoothly enough when reversing, and the engine is lugging as a result. Particularly if your plugs or coil packs are getting worn, it could stumble a bit. (Of course, there is such a thing as revving too much and slipping the clutch too much; moderation is key.)

 

There is no synchro on the reverse gear. Sometimes you have to throw it in a synchro'd gear first to get everything spinning right.

Try shifting into 4th before reverse, it should go straight in with little effort after you do this.

That's also why it whines it's completely normal.

 

We'll this info doesn't bode well for Jonh21031's argument against the CVT. Lol

 

Good info guys, thanks for the explanations. I am not having the problem today, smooth reversing. I am also being more deliberate and precise with my clutch. I've been driving stick for six years, and there's still room for improvement! I'm concentrating specifically on my first gear starts, trying to be smooth yet quick and give as little gas as possible to prolong my clutch life. Normally I give revs to about 2.5 or so, aiming for 1.5. Which is just barely touching the gas pedal. It's tough for me, I guess. And I'm not burning out or anything, just a habit to avoid stalling out, held over from my learning days.

Tmfit, everything is great with my car, seems like operator error/learning a new vehicle.

 

is your Fit rougher in reverse than a previous manaul car you've had?

from wiki:

most reverse gears are spur (straight teeth) gears in order to allow for the sliding engagement of the idler, which is difficult with helical gears. The teeth of spur gears clatter together when the gears spin, generating a characteristic whine.

 

As in my earlier posts, it is a minor and inconsistent roughness, likely engine lugging or lash. Read the thread and you'll find good info from some great members. My other car I was likely just much more used to. This is my second car in six years, I don't have a ton of experience.

 

Bump for the manual transmission thread.

Same here! I learned on a Mazda B series pickup and used to rev the hell out of it in first gear. I find the throttle in the fit to be a little touchy. I too aim for 1.5 in first and find myself over 2 with just a tap on the accelerator. When rev matching in motion, same story; I touch the gas and over rev, or I touch the gas and it doesn't rev like I though it would. In either scenario, I am just holding the clutch to the floor until I can match the revs. It is so NOT ideal, but i figure holding it to the floor and wearing my bearing is better than dropping in at the wrong RPM and wearing the plates (or something... I don't know).

As for reverse, I read this thread and then hopped in mine and reversed. I find that reverse requires next to NO throttle to move the car. If i give it any throttle before the clutch is fully out, it jerks and grinds a little bit. If i just smoothly get to the catch point on the clutch though, it goes back nice and smooth.