Hi,

I just bought a 2009 Sport with AT. When the shift lever is pulled down into the "S" position the trans uses different shift points( as opposed to the D mode). Also, it is my understanding that only first through fourth will be used. Again, neither of the two paddles have been touched; my car in this mode wants to hold 3rd gear to about 80 mph!! Could this be Hondas intention? I would have thought that 4th would be selected at a lower RPM. I haven't taken it to a dealer yet; any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you

 

well you should know, S mode is not made to save gas lol it wont shift until it gets around 6k. the shift points are indeed different, in fact, closer to the red zone, again this is the S mode intentions. It seems you would like it if the car shifts farther away from red zone and save gas, thats "D" mode

 

Don't bother using S-mode unless you're using the paddles.

 

i highly agree with that. also if your not going to shift around 6k, dont bother either.

 

Well,
I think the manual mentioned that S mode (with the alternate shift points ) could be chosen in stop & go type traffic { urban environs maybe } so that the tranny wasn't shifting between 3, 4, and 5 so frequently. My concept of urban driving is 5 to 35 MPH. I guess, being a 51 year-old worrywort, I'm looking for some reassurance: i.e. They ALL do that; there is nothing wrong with your new car ; Honda knows [ hell, maybe even wants ] you to wring 3rd gear dry before flicking the + paddle as you rocket past 80. Hey I can live with Hondas' choice of shift points, but I just want to see if everyone elses Fit does the same thing. So, is it time to trade the prune juice for RedBull, or is it time to ask a Honda mechanic to ride with me and "fix" something?

 

Are you pulling the lever to "S" while moving, or standing still?

 

All Fits do that in S-mode. If you are in S-mode and aren't using the paddles, your shift points will be higher than D-mode, and you won't be going past 3rd gear till you're going to the school dance with your mom who totally has the hots for you.

 

It's normal.

 

lol wtf does that mean, never going to happen?

 

after playing with the paddles i think the best mode for the GE is to leave it in drive and use the paddles in normal mode just to downshift before the turn. downshift, hit the gas to blip (revmatch) make the turn, let the car shiftup on its own and return to its normal drive mode.

 

HEY! ken you found out that the AT's can revmatch too! i did not know this until last week! i think a lot of people here don't know that the AT's can downshift!

 

I'll have to try S-mode in traffic today.. usually I use the paddle shifters to stay in 2nd during bumper to bumper traffic. I HATE when it downshifts into 1st in traffic.