Hello everyone. I recently purchased a used 2015 Honda Fit Lx 6 speed. It is just about everything I want in a vehicle at the moment besides changing the audio and tint. I've driven manual before so I know how it works, but I have been experiencing some odd behavior from the shifter when moving through the gears. Especially with 1-2 and reverse. I had to adjust to adding another gear to my daily drive but I picked that up rather quickly but what is happening 85% of the time I'm driving is with the gear change.

When I'm at a dead stop or after turning on the car for a fresh start, gears 1-2 don't seem to want to glide in smoothly like the other gears. The best way I can describe it is it feels crunching shifting those gears. The trouble with reserve is having to switch through any of the other gears before it will not fight going into reverse. Again, this doesn't happen everyday but it happens more regularly than not. My car only has 38 k so I'm a little confused or just being a drama queen with the car. I already scheduled an appointment with a local Honda dealer to examine the car but I think a simple gear oil change might fix the problem.

Any insight or suggestions would be appreciated it any one else has gone through this or knows what I'm talking about.

Thanks

 

Not an expert on transmissions here but it always helps me to shift into first and then shift into reverse , which then engages reverse alot smoother than just grabbbing reverse from say neutral.
As for the first to second shift, be sure you are pressing the clutch completely to the floor before grabbing second. I have a tendency to start shifting into second before the clutch is all the way down and the shifter feels as if I am "popping" it out of gear. Kind of an uneasy feeling from the tranny.
Try these and if you still have issues then I would suggest draining your MTF and refilling with either Honda MTF or Torco MTF.

 

My '15 LX only occasionally wants to "balk" at going into first gear, but have found that if I let the clutch out a very small amount (1/2 inch perhaps), it slips right in. Have never had a problem with the other gears at all.

 

How many different manual transmissions have you driven?

For the 1st and 2nd changes, that sounds like fairly normal behavior when cold. Also possible the synchros are a bit worn or the gear oil is too slippery.

Reverse has been like that for every manual I've owned. Few cars have a synchro on the reverse gear. Couldn't tell you if the Fit transmission does or not.

 

Agree with all of the above. Doesn't sound too out of character. Especially for a front drive car with a cable operated shifter.

I do suggest changing the fluid though. No way to know how good of a driver the first owner was. They could have been abusive. Fresh fluid is never a bad idea on a used vehicle.

 

My experience riding bikes for years taught me to always "pre-load" the lever between upshifts for the gear change to happen quicker and smoother.
I also always go into second before shifting to first when at a standstill. Left-down-up. Something I have been doing since day one with all manuals I've owned.
And I never downshift to first while the car is moving.

Reverse is normally to be engaged only after the shaft stopped spinning, so it is not enough for the car just to be stationary - releasing the clutch momentarily when in neutral will ensure a smooth shift into reverse.

With my car I find that double-clutching when downshifting to third makes things feel super-smooth - other gears seem to be unaffected by this.
I also find it interesting that with the engine off and the clutch depressed I can row through all the gears in sequence except for fifth. This is my first car that does that.

 

Plenty of MT need a little "nudge" barely into another gear to make sure the teeth are aligned correctly. The synchros are supposed to take care of this for you. My advice: #1 change the MT fluid. Who knows, prior owner could have put non-Honda fluid or (ack) motor oil in there. Once that's done, decide if you can live with whatever behavior remains and if not then consider if sychros are worth it.

My experience: Honda CRV with a balky 2nd gear. Probably 1st owner liked to rush the shift. Required a very slow, almost half-pause in between 1st and 2nd. I lived with it until I sold the car. Didn't make me happy but had limited funds to perfect the car; didn't get appreciably worse between 40K and 65K miles.

 

I feel so left out; my CVT doesn't do any of that stuff. Glad to hear everyone is having so much "more fun" with their 6MT's...

To the OP, a fluid change may help. However, as you just got your Fit, in my experience, all manuals feel a little different and it may just take some time to "become one" with the transmission.

 

That too. Every manual has it's quirks. Even among the same brand and model.

 

I happen to have just driven a Fiesta ST today... and I'm afraid it had no quirks whatsoever.
With more than 60k on the odometer the transmission was pretty much perfect.
So I guess it can be done, even at a relatively low price point.

Then again, I am kinda secretly in love with that car, and since all love is blind...

 

 

Don't complain too much! A VW Bug I had about 40 years ago (no CVT!) suffered a broken shifter cable and I had to drive all the way to a repair shop, stalling the car to stop at red lights, then starting while still in gear. Not much fun....but we were giants in those days.

 

i have to do something like that most of the times with my 2019 fit , 1st gear can be a little notchy , i had an '02 civic si , did the same thing .
you have to be gentle , you can't just force it

 

 

yep, id try dat too first.

 

After 50k miles I started having the occasional "I don't want to go into 1st gear" syndrome. A quick visit to 2nd before 1st solved the issue. But overall I was very satisfied with this transmission.

 

lol you again?!? :P of course your CVT doesn't do any of that stuff, it barely does anything at all, it just sits there and whirs.

..jokes aside, reverse is the only gear i find to need some coaxing from rare-time to rare-time, as the others (and this^ CVT-er) have said, fluids most likely. If that doesn't help it's "possible" that it's the synchos, the gears, the linkages, or even the clutch pedal adjustment or disc.

 

Thanks for all the opinions and help. I went ahead with the gear oil change and it's like night and day afterwards. It's not absolutely perfect but it's almost there. No trouble with gear change and rpm doesn't drop off in the blink of an eye as before which made rolling from a stop difficult. Reserve is difficult sometimes but goes in more often on the first try. Now I'm looking for excuses to get on the road.