After rassIing shitmobiles for most of my 20s, I finally elevated vibrationally and discovered Honda.

My first late-90s Accord was revelatory. I didn't have to install a fuel pump switch to prevent flooding or drop into neutral and rev the gas at stops. But the thing that really impressed was the FWD transaxle's performance in snow. I used to work in Yellowstone National Park - having to punch out through an unplowed fresh foot was as likely as not at the end of each summer season.

On to the Silver Machine. A 2015 Fit EX (Sport no Nav), I got her with just over 30,000 miles and the dealer's remark that she could make 300K. She's about to turn 180,000 and they've been characteristically hard miles: I took her to Yellowstone for three winters at Old Faithful. They close the roads to wheeled vehicles - one year she sat on warm thermal soil for 3 months, the other times I left her in town, and had to dig out of a few feet of snow before going anywhere. About this time I discovered "3 mountain" snow tires. In Montana and Wyoming, where winter has the decency to stay cold, I'd blast down snowy and icy roads confidently at 70. The only issue she ever had out there was the time coming back from Butte with a new puppy - it was -42F that morning and I tapped the window switch to crack it. Of course it's that "roll it clear down all at once," button. Well, she wouldn't come back up. A common electric motor just gives up at that temp. The automatic door-openers at Safeway didn't work, either. But you don't go through shitmobiles without doing some on-the-fly repairs and it wasn't too difficult to tear the inside of the door open and lift it back up. The ONLY other problem was when the pushbutton start went out, a widespread issue fixed under warranty.

And now, a chapter I call "Survival of the Fit." Because she's just shrugged at everything I threw her way so far, the Universe rewarded us both with a fresh challenge tougher than we've faced. Owing to the vagaries of capitalism and my very particular needs work-wise, The Silver Machine and I now live 75 miles from my job, which is literally on top of a mountain. That's because it’s a ski resort. In the Cascades, where winter DOES NOT have the decency to stay cold. Forget the swirling snow-snakes on the road, get ready for heavy slabs of wet snow dumping out of clouds you can't see because you're IN them. On a stormy winter day, I might find two fresh feet in the parking lot after work. The 150 miles and 4500 feet up and down is a wear challenge of the worst sort. My snow tires ground to bald before the winter season was over and the couple times I had to chain-up didn't end well. I love my job, but I'm adding about 3K up/down miles weekly, +/- 45K a year.

I'd like to lift the suspension a tad via Odyssey springs and stuff, the struts are surely toast by now, maybe I'll catch that before winter. I'm also going to get some legit studded tires - they don't make then in 185/55/R16s but word is 205/50/R16s will fit the stock rims, and they'll take studs. There's bound to be a decent option with lots of bite. I'll probably eschew the Les Schwab treatment this time and have a local llanteria mount them on the fronts only. The big stores I've checked sniveled about liability and tried to lecture me on the risk of "fishtailing," if I didn't buy all 4. Come on guys, the thing's hardly longer than it is wide, and besides, it's essentially a Segway dragging a sheetmetal cart behind.

At this typically late date, I've seen the light and am trying to change my ways - about maintenance, if not driving style. I drive pretty briskly - my default highway speed lands around 82. As I've vowed to DIY most maintenance, I've learned a lot on forums like this about issues specific to our beloved little cars. I've got a 2015 that was hecho en Mexico, so I think about the CVT a lot.

At 177k her life is evermore in my hands and mine alone. Here are my thoughts, tell me if I'm crazy: I've always had what I call the "Flywheel approach," with 4-bangers. It fell into place driving the Datsun 210, archetypally lightweight and underpowered, with a 1.2L engine yielding all of 69 hp. I'll always appreciate a friend who counseled me to "keep 'er wound up." Indeed, "wind it and find it," (It being the power band) is the only way to compensate for such paltry displacement. It quickly became apparent that the whole game is about momentum - internal, keeping the R's up with room to pull some more oomph on a downshift, as well as topographical momentum needed to roll up the next hill under power.

Under power. That's been my motto since I got the Silver Machine and she taught me how she likes to be driven. It's my belief that the best thing for both the engine and CVT is to either be coasting or else definitively applying gas. I never, ever, pussyfoot about in that indecisive zone where Rs are low and the torque converter is slack. In traffic, I tend to move in a series of spurts, zooming from coast directly into the +2K RPM safe zone. From a stop is pretty similar - firm pressure for the half second it takes the torque converter to tighten up, then increasingly firm pressure as the power band opens.

My fixation with keeping the Rs up is naturally a remnant from the manual transmission days. While I kept the Datsun screaming, I have a friend who owned a wee Hyundai manual at one time. I tried to transmit the lesson I'd received, but he just couldn't hear it. The idea of seriously, decisively revving the engine never felt right to him, so I shut up and watched him lug it down. I wasn't with him when he threw a rod, but he sure did. I suspect many people drive CVTs with a similar inability to commit and thus let it flop around in the fragile zone both when starting off and cruising under minimum power. My Fit weighs more than the Datsun, and the 130hp it coaxes from the 1.5L really is impressive, but RPM management is just as important.

At highway speed, I always use cruise to avoid that semi-engaged zone between coast and power. I figure the engine/CVT duo know what they're about, if they want to drop to 1800 RPM I'll let 'em - cruising is always smooth and consistent. Not sure it's a real worry with these engines, either - anyone heard of a blown fit engine from a mis-driven manual? But the Gen 3 cruise is dope. Once mastered, it’s like playing a musical instrument during highway traffic - tap the center button to coast for a half-second, then roll to resume, a few taps uo or down...

Having been decidedly bit by the DIY bug, I finally got an OBD dashboard. Wow, that thing's great! The CVT Temp was the first thing I started watching. I suspected, but now know, that the 4500ft climb in the morning brings the transmission fluid to a bit over 200F for the last 20 minutes or so. That's with clear summer roads. In winter, it's a grind with 1001 slow-ass Subies in front of me. And when it gets steep, they slow down even more. With a carful o' buddies and gear, their CVTs are prolly screming, but I hang out in that awful zone of having to power uphill at intervals. Kinda the worst situation for a 1.5. I do everything I can to buy momentum when I can, but dropping a gear and blasting up is often the only way. And, it turns out, the other end of the return drive is just as bad. After sailing down the mountain, it's two towns with low speed limits and too many stoplights, followed by an interstate jam uphill that may or not end in a mess of stop-n-go angst. Before I can get on the nice state highway for the last 15 miles home, there's a final bridge, heavily congested, that climbs as sharply as the cars slow down there. My CVT was at 212F by the time I got home yesterday. Yes, I know the operating range supposedly goes to 225F. It's supposedly lifetime fluid, too.

I'm putting in an auxiliary transmission cooler before the snow tires go on. Since enrolling in the daily death-race a year ago, I've replaced the serp. belt and idler, adjusted the valves, cleaned the throttle body, changed CVT oil and its filter a couple times, swapped O2 and Mass airflow sensors, switched plugs and coils, replaced front brake rotors and pads as well as the dreaded rear drums, upgraded headlamps and added an Acura switched light for the rear so I can turn it off and leave the hatch open. Hopefully I got enough grease on the parking cables to keep the drums from seizing on the hill like they did last winter. I'm seeing real improvement in idle quality after running Techron intake cleaner - the intake vales were indeed crusty when I had the cover off, but not crying for walnut shells just yet. I do come close to redline once or twice on almost every drive and have good highway stretched. The New Bad News from the scan-gadget is high exhaust temps. I'v had an 0420 engine light for at least a year. I got a Christmas miracle when the last few palladium molecules held hands for a final kumbaya and the light briefly went out. I was already a couple months out of registration, so I jammed over to DEQ and she cleared! But there's no longer any Schrodinger uncertainty about the catalytic converter - that Cat's dead. I'm concerned about backpressure, and pondering my next move. I think I'll run another intake cleaner and then give Cataclean a shot. Anyone used a junkyard cat? Thanks in advance.

Best car I've ever owned.



West gate, Yellowstone Park.

Geologist hammer works best for the wheel wells.

Up to the wells.

All the way under. Step one - get the door open.



The "Country" half of my daily commute.

 

I would strongly encourage that you get four snow tires. I know, I know, you have it all figured out, but on this matter you're wrong. Potentially dead wrong given the road conditions you apparently like to speed through.

Momentum is great. Going backwards off the side of a mountain road is not. Your back tires aren't just there for keeping the rear bumper off the ground. Traction is your friend, and having equal traction at the front and rear of your car is never a bad thing, especially in poor winter conditions and especially especially on curvy mountain roads.

I can't definitively say much about your CVT driving style as I have never experienced that transmission, but my gut says that long-term thrashing any mechanical device isn't ideal. I did have a coworker test drive a 4-cyl A/T car I was selling who used your technique of either 0 or 100% throttle application and it quickly made me seasick. He ended up buying the car, and I later found that he averaged over 30% worse fuel economy than I did on the same roads, which might be important to you as a long-distance commuter.

I'm not sure about your idea that cruise control "avoid that semi-engaged zone between coast and power." Any speed you pick uses the same RPM, regardless of whether cruise control is engaged or you're operating the gas pedal yourself, right?

High exhaust temperatures come from pushing your car really hard and are not surprising given your description of your preferred driving style.

Regardless, you're certainly testing (and so far) proving the overall reliability of the Fit. Good luck.

 

I'd be a jerk if I said anything other than "I appreciate your concern for the safety of myself and other drivers." The old question "Would you rather be right, or happy?" never made sense to me. If I'm wrong, I can't be happy. I'll see if the NTSB has anything to say on the matter, and as my summer tires are pretty new, it would make sense to do a full swap.
To clarify, "definitively applying gas," does NOT mean throttle wide open. It just means commitment to strong, steady gas flow to keep the CVT tight and rolling forward. See attached mileage readouts.
"Any speed you pick uses the same RPM, regardless of whether cruise control is engaged or you're operating the gas pedal yourself, right?" Wrong. I'll use manual downshift or even full sport mode to intentionally keep the RPMs higher than they would have been, especially when going slowly uphill behind other cars.
I'll record exhaust temps and see if they go down when I get around to swapping out the cat. I am trying to moderate some of my driving style in the interest of vehicle longevity - the addition of the OBD reader gives me data to know when to ease off.
Appreciate ya.


Stopped for gas on the way home after coming down the mountain. Prior trip was full 75 mile/4500 foot morning commute. 34 mpg's not bad, considering.

Long-term proofs, a short town trip in the middle. I've detailed the interior siunce, thanks.

 

Regarding road safety, I would rather be alive than right. Or happy. In this case, I have zero doubt that I'm right but I encourage you to do your own research.

Even if you're the best driver on the road, there will come a day when you or someone else will make a mistake and having a full set of winter tires will allow you to safely make an evasive maneuver or panic stop (or both). Keeping yourself and potentially other road users safe is worth far more than the cost difference between two vs four winter tires.

I misunderstood your driving example - there's nothing wrong with keeping the RPMs up (within reason) when you're putting a heavy load on the engine. Especially a smaller 4-cylinder. To be a bit contrarian, I will note that if you're moving slowly behind traffic you're not really putting a heavy load on the engine, even on an uphill.

Your efficiency looks good. Have you compared your car output to a pump calculation? I know on the second generation Fit many people see a large discrepancy between the car and pump mpg. My 2010 is generally within 1-2 mpg of the pump calculation, although there doesn't seem to be a pattern as to when it will be higher or lower. I'm not sure if the third generation Fit has the same issue with the trip computer.

 

Ha! I love it.

 

Surely you mean 3K miles per month, not per week.

 

Surely you are correct. 150*20=3,000. Thanks!

 

I definitely agree having four snow tires is best. Owned a tire shop for 12 yrs. Our Fit is our daily driver. Do all my own work on my fleet of 8 cars including five Porsches. The cost difference between two and four snows isn't worth the gamble to me for my safety and that of others. Don't want to think about losing control on a Rocky Mountain switchback in January. Agree having identical traction at all four corners is a good thing. Think about braking as well as being able to go ahead. Got a set of steel wheels for the snows so no remounting issues. Grew up in Minnesota, winters there not as bad as Yellowstone I'll admit but still it ain't Missouri. Been to Yellowstone multiple times including 2x in winter so love your photos of deep snow. Now in Rochester NY in the Lake Ontario snowbelt. Serious lake effect, annual snowfall about 100" so still use four Michelin X-Ice snow tires on my 2007 Fit Sport M/T. I've test driven automatic Fit's and they were way too anemic for my tastes. My car is WAY more fun to drive. I suggest you try a manual Fit and you might convert. I'm approaching the 300,000 miles you mentioned a dealer suggested was attainable. I agree. Car is still using only about 1 qt of 5W-20 Mobil 1 per 6000 miles. I change oil about every 25,000 miles. Mobil's attorneys only let them claim 15,000 mile change intervals, they are way too conservative. Buy the best oil filters available ie. K&N or Mobil 1 at about $15. Been doing that forever. Gas mileage hasn't budged in the last 200,000 miles. I do a pump calc from a 3x5 card I use every fillup. Once card is full, I do the calcs. One reason for this anal behavior is when mileage starts to drop it might be time for new Iridium plugs, clean mass air flow sensor, etc. Ir last longer than Pt. My big complaint about the Fit besides seats not comfy for a 900 mile trip in one day is it's beginning to show rust issues. They salt the snow away around here if it's less than about 6". Only then will plows come out. Wish they wouldn't do that :-(