I've never felt right driving a car that started itself, real men/women do not do such things!

Starting a Model A with the hand crank was once as common as driving one. It seems hand cranking has become nearly a lost art over the decades. Following a few basic rules, hand cranking is perfectly safe and quite simple. The hand crank should be one of the most useful tools in your toolbox!
The following list outlines the procedures for starting your Model A with the hand crank. The specifics apply to a properly tuned engine. Some variations may be required and are discussed later.

1. Set the emergency brake and be sure the shifter is in neutral.
2. Retard the spark by raising the left (spark) lever to the top of it's quadrant.
3. Lower the throttle lever approximately three notches, or until the gas pedal lowers very slightly.
4. Adjust the mixture on the dash to the setting appropriate for the conditions.
5. With the ignition OFF, hold the choke out (fully closed). This will require either a helper, a pull cord from the lever on the carburetor to the front of the vehicle, or one of those modern undersized and sticky choke rod grommets.
6. Carefully position the crank in place engaging the ratchet with the crank left of center in the lower of the two possible positions. Grasp the crank as shown in the photo above, paying close attention to the thumb position below the handle. Pull the crank to the top briskly but carefully. Repeat with a second pull. At this point there should be gas running slightly from the carburetor to the floor.
   
7. Release the choke and turn ON the ignition.
8. One more pull of the crank and the engine should start. NEVER push the crank down the right side of the rotation with the key on!
9. Advance the spark lever about half way down the quadrant and adjust the throttle speed.

Other considerations: Although there is no serious risk of injury when handling the crank as shown, it's startling when a kickback occurs. Most kickbacks occur when the choke is closed. The probability varies depending on the position of the crank ratchet relative to top dead center. Leaving the switch off during the choking step almost eliminates the chance of kickbacks. With a low battery the engine will fire more quickly by hand than with the starter because the starter isn't starving the ignition system.
Variations: The car should start similar by hand as it does with the starter. For example, using the starter I always start my cold A's with the choke pulled for exactly two compression strokes or one turn of the crankshaft. At that point I release the choke and the engine fires. I NEVER hold the choke until it fires as suggested in the "Model 'A' Instruction Book".
If your car REQUIRES the choke to be held more than two compression strokes with the starter, you may need to adjust step #6 similarly.
Experiment with a good battery so if you have difficulty starting, you can use the starter to determine if the problem is too much or too little gas. Be conservative with the choke. It is much easier to repeat the process than to hand start a flooded engine. A flooded engine is guaranteed to provide more exercize than you desire!
If your hand crank binds when inserted through the starting crank bushing and into the crank ratchet, don't crank start your car. Too much bind will prevent the crank from releasing from the ratchet. See Front Engine Support for more information.

 

I aged 20 years in 2 minutes yesterday. Walked out of the elevator in the garage at work and the car next to it started. There was no one in it.

I looked around to see if anyone was watching me and walked over to make sure no one was on the floor trying to start it. There wasn't.

Then it turned off and started itself again.

Luckily the owner stepped out of the elevator after I had gotten in my car. Turning that key is becoming a nuisance.

 

Was it an MT

 

I don't think they do remote starters on MTs, do they? Besides, Jake, it's Atlanta.

 

I thought everyone wanted a KITT as their own car!

 

I'm surprised to see so much M/T hate from an enthusiast forum....now you guys have me nervous. :/

 

No no no, not hate just a little fun JIm 0311

 

eeep. besides, with 90% of car sales (including the Fit based on availability of MTs) being automatics, a little bit of auto-tranny fanboy behavior is mandatory.

Seriously, it's the biggest choice of options on the Fit. Not price-wise, but style/engineering. choose carefully. (get the mt, she'll learn to love it if you do.)

 

I haul a set of two year old twins in mine. Plenty of room.

 

i've seen remote starters for MTs online, but they require a specific shut down sequence (luckily for me, its the same sequence I shut down anyway)...but another quirk is that if you open the door to grab something after doing the sequence, you have to do it all over again to "re-arm" it.

 

There is a small chance I might be heading to the dealership to put my order in tomorrow

Might drive a 2011 auto (they have one on the lot) one more time to see if I find the automatic acceptable (I'd order a 2012 regardless). If not, I just might put in an order for an Orangeburst Metallic M/T, or maybe a Polished Metal Metallic depending on what mood I am in at the time

 

This is a personal choice, AT or MT. I have been driving AT and its kinda boring and make my eyes sleepy just by pressing gas and you go like that. Right now I am waiting for my 2012 JAZZ Comfort edition and it is MT. I talk to the dealer and they said that I need to wait for 2 months for getting it on MT. He said that it is WORTH the wait if you really love what you want on YOUR car... Never listen to others about this matter, just choose what you want and you wont regret it... Have fun buying

 

If you ever want to do a CAI I would go manual

 

I have a 2010 Fit Sport with manual transmission and I absolutely love it. M/T is very easy to live with and currently I am teaching my girlfriend how to drive a manual. A friend of mine who owns 2010 Fit Sport with automatic transmission has let me drive his vehicle not that long ago and in all honestly that A/T to me was dreadful. For some reason my Fit with M/T feels much more responsive and faster. That A/T was absolutely dreadful. Just my $0.02.

 

1) Hands down, I vote Manual. They gave me an automatic (2009 Sport, same as mine), and it has no guts. Granted, it was a rental, and had been beaten on. Trying to kick it down to 50, when merging into traffic was lackluster.
Regarding your wife - if she's willing to learn, the Fit's clutch is forgiving. I'm no mechanic, so that's my layman's description. :-)

2) I believe the Navi version also comes with better traction control, or something. I can't recall. I learned that after exploring how my car handles on fresh, wet snow.
I don't have the Navi, so I can't comment on whether it's worth it. I have a Garmin that lives in the glovebox, and I have gps on my phone. Nor am I a satellite radio addict. So, for me, the extra $1800 was not appealing or worthwhile.

3) I would wait for the one you want. I got on a couple waiting lists for mine. I got lucky. One dealer had an extra manual, so my dealer made a trade with them. I had my car within a few months of hopping on waiting lists. ^_^ Totally worth the wait!

 

Skip the nav, for that money you can get an aftermarket unit (stand alone or headunit) or upgrade your phone and use that lol (cuz honestly the chances of you using the nav every single day will be slim)

Get the manual, as a fellow stick driver you won't regret it and teaching your wife on it won't be as hard as it would be on some (I taught my little sister and best friend on late 90s Chrysler manuals and those clutches were rough)

All the 2012s come with traction control and audio controls on the wheels now (along with blacked out headlight bezels, I'm a little jealous of that last one).

As for child seats, there is plenty of room in the rear plus the rear doors open to almost 90 degrees making loading and unloading of seats easier