So ive been noticing that in my 6 speed, after sitting over night i go to get in the car and back out and i have to use quite a bit of extra force to get the car to shift all the way into reverse. Has anyone noticed this same thing?!?!? I havent let the clutch out when its done this so i dont know if its actually in gear or not, but im also afraid to in fear of grinding the gears.

This morning it took me a good 3 or 4 tries to get it to pull all the way back and into reverse. i did drive it forward a little bit then go back to reverse which seemed to help but i cant imagine there should be any kind of resistance going into reverse.

i donno what the proper procedure for shutting off the car but i never leave it in gear. I just set the parking brake when i get out.

Let me know if you have also noticed!!!!

 

That's not abnormal at all, nor unique to the Fit. Reverse is unsynchronized and requires actually sliding gears (the idler pinion, etc.) into position, so it needs everything to be lined up properly before falling into place.

Rather than putting a lot of pressure on the shift lever, try shifting into some forward gear and then into reverse. You may have to try one or tow different gears. Alternately, let the clutch out in neutral (with the engine running) and then push it back in and wait a second for the input shaft in the transmission to slow down to a stop or nearly so, and then shift into reverse. It should go into gear a lot more smoothly that way.

It is the usual practice to leave a manual transmission vehicle in gear when parking—either first or reverse—which locks the front wheels against the engine's compression. It's kind of the equivalent of shifting an automatic into park. That helps keep your car from rolling if the hand brake doesn't get set quite firmly or if it fails or if the back wheels slide for some reason. I usually leave it in gear for whichever direction I expect to move when I start it up, depending on how I'm parked—a habit left over from my first car, which did not have a clutch interlock for the starter.

 

maybe im just comparing it to my 2008 si. but in the si i have no problems shifting into reverse easily. In the Fit, as you said i did pull forward a little and what not to get it to go in, but it seems like it should slide in just as easily as if i was sitting still and shifting into any other gear. It does start to engage, but i can just tell that its not fully engaged by the amount of travel. Still nothing to worry about??

 

Just a shot in the dark, but try shifting into reverse with little to no pressure on the brake pedal, making sure the clutch is pressed down hard as far as it will go.

If the problem continues, take it to the dealer. Using the shift lever so hard will wear sloppiness into it.

 

Your supposed to shift the car into first then into reverse. Or just leave the car in first when its parked. The car should always be left in gear when parked.

 

I know exactly what your describing and experience it as well. As DrewE said, reverse is unsynchronized so it isn't the happiest gear. I think you should expect a degree of resistance. Only you can judge if it feels excessive. Try shifting into a forward gear first. Have you ever not been able to get it in at all, or has it ever just popped out on you? If neither of those things have happened, I wouldn't run over to the dealer and have some tech open your factory sealed transmission. More likely, they would tell you they couldn't reproduce the problem.

Read p.325 in the manual: "Depress the clutch pedal, and pause for a few seconds before shifting into R, or shift into one of the forward gears for a moment. This stops the gears so they do not “grind.”"

You're probably good.

 

It's never popped out or anything along those lines, just does feel like it "seats" all the way in gear sometimes. In reference to the waiting a few seconds I usually start up and keep my foot on the pedal until i go into reverse after starting up (i think, not something i conciously pay attention to) but in any case, ill try all these suggestions and see if it happens anymore.

 

I would wager that it will happen more, probably all the time. I just don't think what you've described is unusual or symptomatic of a problem. It is just how Reverse is.

Sometimes my R goes right in, sometimes there's some resistance. If it doesn't go in easily, I go up to 5th and then down into Reverse and it's fine.

 

Like everyone else said, there's no synchro on reverse, put it in a forward gear to get everything spinning right before you put it in reverse. It will work every time.

This is pretty normal btw, all of my M/Ts have done this from time to time.