Sorry everyone, this may be a repost as I started this in the wrong thread!

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forums and new to the Fit. So far, I love the car. Very efficient and not bad performance.

Being a manual transmission, I've been feeling out this machine's quirks and noticed that sometimes getting out of first gear is accompanied by three or four clicks - possibly on the driver side. I assume this is happening when the clutch is ridden ever so slightly which is some situations is unavoidable. My question is this normal in anyone else's Fit? It doesn't occur in any other gear.

Second is just a general question regarding an overall noise I experienced. Recently on the highway I hit some black ice and spun out. At about 15 miles per hour I had to pull the E-brake to try and stabalize the vehicle, but at the same time I tried to downshift but was stopped when I heard a sound that sounded like a winding mechanical click in the shifter.

Anyone have any insight in to questions 1 or 2?

Thanks!

 

mine likes to "notch" me out of 1st when making that 2nd gear shift

I also get noises, sometimes randomly, sometimes concentrated on 4th and 5th gear acceleration.

Im taking my car to honda to figure out when the first oil change is due (might be a week or two)

 

There are various bits moving around in the transmission when you shift, and they can make a few click/notch sorts of noises normally. That's true for most any manual transmission. (A grinding or ratatatatata sort of noise is different; that means that you aren't shifting deftly or clutching properly and the dogs are grinding against each other. Definitely avoid doing that.) Shifting out of first is sometimes a little unsmooth on my Fit, as is shifting into fifth at times. If the clicks you're hearing worry you, enquire about them at your dealer, especially as your car is still under warranty.

I am a bit puzzled by the assertion that it's impossible to avoid riding the clutch. If you aren't using the clutch, keep your foot off the pedal entirely, and you won't ride it. When starting out, it is of course necessary to slip the clutch a little bit to get going smoothly, but that's not riding the clutch. Regardless, I don't think riding the clutch would typically cause clicking noises.

The noise you heard in the shifter when you hit the ice perhaps may have been the ABS system trying to compensate for the rear wheels locking from the hand brake. ABS doesn't affect the hand brake, but it still senses that the wheels are locked and might attempt (necessarily without success) to modulate the hydraulic brake circuit and prevent that. That's what would happen on my previous car, at least; I haven't seen yet if the Fit behaves the same way.

(As an aside, I'm not sure that the hand brake is generally the best way to attempt to recover from a spin on ice. More effective would probably be pushing the clutch pedal and steering; you want the maximum traction from your tires to go towards getting you pointed in the right direction. Once the car's spinning is under control you can brake to try to slow it down. On glare ice, though, you're more or less just along for the ride without chains or studded tires.)

 

I've had problems shifting in all of my manual cars while sliding and especially while trying to apply the brakes on ice as well. Mechanically I can't wrap my brain around that one but as I said it's been on all of my manual trans cars.

I also have noticed that on the 1 to 2 shift if I pull on the shift leaver a little sooner than what would be considered optimal timing I get a definite click. It seems to happen more often when I shift at a lower rpm as well. I've learned to make adjustments in how I drive the car and have for the most part eliminated this.

 

That happens to me also, kinda like it tho.

 

Having trouble shifting during a slide might have something to do with motor/trans mounts flexing to the extreme and preventing you from selecting a gear.

As for the notch, I don't know what's up with that. I blamed the CDV for that one, but I just deleted the CDV tonight and it'll still notch me out of first if I'm shifting spiritedly.

 

Did you ever get your issue resolved? I am having a very similar one, with the click when upshifting from 1st to 2nd gear. It is not hard to get into the gear, but I can hear and feel a "click" when doing it.