I've been driving a six-speed manual 2015 Honda Fit for two weeks now and still haven't mastered getting the transmission into sixth gear.

Actually, I haven't tried shifting into sixth since driving it home from dealer. Back then every time I tried going from fifth to sixth I ended up back in fourth gear.

Evidently, I need to move the shift lever to the right a bit to find the sixth slot but I fear getting it in reverse by mistake.

Is there a trick to this that I'm missing?

What happens if I get it into reverse by mistake?

 

my GE only had 5 gears while my hobby cars have 6 gears. one time i brain farted and tried to get the GE into 6th (reverse) on the expressway and it just kicked me out. by dat time i remembered i wasnt in my other cars and put da car back in 5th.

if u continue to have issues going into 6th, your syncro might be defective. make sure u clutch-in all da way and slide lever into the 6th gate, do not force anything. new gearboxes are stubborn at times. also your clutch-in timing might be off for dat gear. go easy on it and try to get it into 6th gear at hwy speeds to break it in. GL

 

Don't think it's possible to get it in reverse "by mistake"....if this should happen, there's something wrong with yer trans, as R is supposed to be "locked out" when traveling fwd. I felt the same when I first got my LX about the shifting, seemed like I had to slightly angle the pull of the shifter to the right pulling down into 6th...it's second nature, now, and, no, you won't "accidentally" shift into R from 5th.

 

IDK, I rarely use 5th. I pretty much just shift from 4th to 6th

 

Fifth is the loneliest gear in my car too. Heck, sometimes I don't even use fourth, just go from third to sixth.

 

You won't get it into reverse by mistake. At least I haven't in 33,000 miles. I had the same issue getting into 6th when I first bought the car. I make the shift from 5 to 6 while keeping my right hand "palm outward". This puts just enough side load on the shifter to get 6th instead of 4th.

 

Hey Hoop,

I've been driving manual for as long as I've been able to drive, and I too was finding it difficult to shift into 6th when I first purchased the '17 GK.
I ended up switching how I gripped the stick. Instead of gripping it like a fist (thumb out), I tucked my thumb "in" under my fingers. This gave me enough leverage/angle to push the gear into 6th. Hope I helped a little. -elliot

 

Great advice, guys! Many thanks. I'll see if I can get it into sixth gear tomorrow.

 

Uncle Gary's advice is solid

 

Thanks again, guys. I got my Fit on the freeway this afternoon and had no trouble getting it into sixth gear using your method.

 

Glad we could help.

 

It is locked it says in the manual.
Also you need more force. I always just from 3rd to 6th I barely use 5th if ever. When I need to get into speed I go to 4th. I still dont get it why honda did this not fuel saving or for speed.

 

Given the flexibility and broad torque band of the engine, and the speed the car was capable of, the Fit didn't really need a six speed transmission at all. Five would have been plenty. I suspect marketing insisted on a six speed and engineering lost that fight.

That said, I really enjoy the six speed when I'm accelerating hard, like merging on the freeway. Then I won't shift into sixth until about 70 or so.

 

Yeah, I very often skip gears, and agree that your scenario works well, but.....dang, the car already gets great hwy mileage, wonder how much better it would be if 6th gear was a "proper" 6th gear? I'd put up with having to downshift to 5th to pass, whatever, for even better hwy mpg....oh, well, it is what it is......love the shifting feel - nicer than any other manual I've ever had (except my '75 Celica, but that's probably filtered through the haze of years and nostalgia....most everyone loves their first car, ya know?)

 

You shouldn't need force to get the car into gear.

That's why you don't skip gears, so the revs are such that the car just falls into gear when shifting.

Source: Only owns/drives manual cars, never have to force anything into gear.

 

Accelerating hard must be really subjective? Redline in 3rd is close to 85 MPH in my car.

 

Yes it is. Another reason why taller gearing isn't really needed. Perhaps I should say "accelerating briskly". I'm not exactly drag-racing up here.

 

Maybe it isn't needed, but it would improve the vehicle.

I like the sound of a small engine zipping to which redline, but the sound of this engine passed 4000 RPM is not pleasing or well-controlled in this car.

I used to get very good efficiency in an Integra that turned a lot of revolutions in high gear, but I still have to assume that the manual transmission car would get the better efficiency of the CVT on the highway if the top gear were revised.

 

You don't even need sound, but scan this video to see the simple technique to avoid mis-shifting for any gear.

 

Agreed, should not have to force a car into gear.....but skipping gears is perfectly acceptable, really