So the other night I was coming down the mountain with a friend behind me. We were going down it in neutral. When we got to the base and started slowing down I put the car back into drive. I gave it some gas and nothing happened. I looked down to see that I had accident shifted into reverse. I quickly put it in drive and my friend calls me saying my reverse lights came on. Since we were alone on the freeway I had him video it with his camera/phone.

I though about it after getting home and I assume nothing happened since the sport AT is tranny is computer controlled ( if you remove the air box you can see the 3 servos that are in the spot the shift linkage would normally be) and keeps the reverse gear from engaging and it is a big slip on Honda's part that we are not locked out of reverse while driving forward.

Interested if anyone else has seen this happen in their FIT or understand why it can happen

 

LUCKY it didnt engauge otherwise your tranny would be sitting on that highway

 

Why on God's good green earth would you go downhill in neutral? You aren't driving a 1922 Model T, in 1922. You leave the car in gear, whichever one is appropriate, and actually DRIVE it!! When you are in neutral you have only 1/2 of the control over the speed of your car. If you think staying in 5th will be too slow, USE THE ACCELERATOR. Y'all could have easily ended up an accident statistic instead of being merely embarassed by your shift into R.

 

One time, I was coasting in neutral as well, and accidently shifted into reverse at speed. Nothing happened, but of course, I shifted to drive as quickly as I could. Don't want to take the chance and test it out, but maybe it's smart enough to not shift the transmission if it's going too fast?

 

Why?? why would you want to accelerate? I coast down a big mountain everyday. You still have powered steering and brakes, and the transmission slips so effortlessly back into drive. I guess I don't understand what this has to do with 1922, Gas wasn't $4/gal back then and cars weren't built with safety and aerodynamics in mind.

 

One reason is the lack of engine braking. Overusing your brakes can lead to excessive brake wear, or worse brake fade [your brakes overheat and lose their ability to convert kenetic energy to heat (i.e. they quit working)]. Myself, when I descend steep grades requiring continuous braking (I live in mountainous East Tennessee), I downshift into a lower gear to reduce brake use, wear, and fade. Although it's mostly unenforceable, in Tennessee it against the law to coast in neutral or with the clutch disengaged, don't know about Hawaii or other states.

 

From what you said it sounds like your Fit was locked out of reverse due to the fact that it did not go into reverse and trash your transmission. In my 34 years of driving and car ownership, I have owned 20 cars and trucks by most major US and Japanese manufacturers (Chrysler, GM, Ford, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, and Nissan, 16 of these with automatic transmissions) and none of them have ever locked the shifter out of revsere while traveling forward. However, on all of them including my Fit Sport you had/have to depress the shifter's "release button" to move the shifter from neutral to reverse (or pull the shifter toward the driver on those with column shifters). Although I haven't driven a "base" the owners manual says this is necessary on them also. If your Fit will shift from neutral into reverse without depressing the shifter's "release button" you may have a problem needing repair.

 

Out of habit I hold down the lever.

As for going down hill... It was 3 am on a 5 lane freeway with just a few trucks here and there. It is a place I have driven hundreds of times on both cars and semi trucks. There was no danger being in neutral in fact the FIT was neither gaining nor losing speed.

Honestly the only issue with this happening is that a car behind you could freak out when your reverse lights come on. That was the case when it happened to me but it was a friend behind me at the time. I have owned mostly manual cars and do not know if this is common for most autos. I always figured that you would be completely locked out.

 

Just someone wanting to feel superior about your 'inferior' driving skills, Rekcah.

 

Good thing you weren't driving a manual! Shifting into reverse at 70mph even without releasing the clutch is not good for the tranny. I always make a point of not wrapping my fingers around the shift handle when shifting the Fit between N and D at speed, I just push it with an open hand. The car may be smart enough to ignore your commands at 70, but there is some speed where it will decide you're the boss, and if you want to shift into reverse then that's your choice.

Just be careful, you dodged a very expensive bullet with that one...

Eric

 

That was uncalled for. Sure I put it in reverse but it is also the first Auto I have driven in 15 years. Sir I have very good driving skills I have had a class A commercial license for 15 years now. My Fit is my beater car. My real car is a raced our (not riced) RSX that I both race 1/4 mile and circuit track racing.

Just because I messed up and stuck it in reverse does not mean I lack driving skill. The point that has been lost in this thread is.

1. Honda goofed up
2. All automatics do this and I just did not know because I don't own autos

Stop with the flaming and post something meaningful. Like maybe this is a recall issue on the sport auto.

 

Yes I tested it and the speed the car engages reverse is 3 mph. yes I did this in the dirt where my tires could slide if needed un like concrete.

 

Actually I think that Honda did good with this one. On every automatic that I've every driven, the only thing to prevent you frm putting the car in reverse at speed is a lockout button or on column shifts, you have to pull the lever towards you. If the driver overides that safety feature, then most cars will just do it. Years ago, a roommate of mine accidentally dropped his Belvedere wagon into reverse going around 60. The engine quit, the tranny was massively damaged, the front u-joint failed and the driveshaft torqued around and ripped half of the rear suspension loose. It would have cost quite a bit to repair, but since he had only paid $400 for the whole wagon 1 year earlier, it left on a flatbed, never to be seen again.

It was 10 years later before I owned an automatic, but that memory is what keeps my attention focused when doing the neutral thing in AT vehicles.

Eric