I had the car for about 3 weeks now and ever since day 1 ive notices this. I'll be at a red light that just turned green. when i step on the gas, it revs to about 2-3k rpm and barely moves.

I am obliged to press down harder on the gas pedal, but it doesn't seem to do much. one work around i've found is to use the paddle shifters to up-shift early. that seems to negate the sluggish effect.

Is this normal for a new car? i mean, can i expect it to fix itself over time?

 

ahhh automatic.. theres your problem. i went from a 450 HP vehicle to this one and i don't mind driving this thing at all... but i think its mainly because my fit is a manual transmission like my boosted car.... so i have a bit more control using a clutch. not to mention a manual transmissions flywheel to clutch does not lose as much power as much as the power going thru an automatic transmission to the wheels.

i always add this example that i drive a boosted V8 before this car (which is true) just to show that i am less bias of the situation.

I feel its the way you drive the car, on a different car you may feel more power at like 2k-3k RPMs... like for example my old car its very comfortable to take it n othe highway never taking it above 3k RPMs... but on a honda fit you may need to red line it feel the same effect.. and this is easily seen on how much RPM you use at cruise speed. Cruise speeds on other cars are ususaly like 2k- 2.5k RPM, but on a honda fit and a civic, and the old accords, 3k on the highway is very normal to cruise on.


i mean.. what car are you comparing too to say that the fit does not accelerate well? because even my mom's car (an accord) it has like twice the Horse power of my honda fit... but I feel like HER accord is sluggish just because that power is going thru an automatic tranmssion and i have to wait for a delay in shifting gears and gear engaging before it really takes off... and even then... with that delay i have that bias from the slow start up that it feels slower then the fit.

 

From what you're saying, NO! It doesn't sound normal to me at all. Granted, even the Fit "Sport" is no Lamborghini, or even BMW for that matter. Yet when I'm at a complete stop and I step on the gas (even barely stepping on the accelerator) I get instant response... By the time I hit even a mere 2-3k rpm I'm on my way well down the road.

Lots of people say Fits are slow... I have to disagree. Compared to cars 2-3 times it's cost... Yes. Then only slightly slower than a few in that higher price range. After a month and a half of ownership, I've come to the conclusion the Fit isn't exactly what I would call "slow" at all.

My point is, if you're not exaggerating, it sounds to me like something is wrong with your Fit. Sounds to me like how a car acts when something is slipping. I'm no mechanic, so excuse the vague, possibly wrong diagnosis.

So unless you just want a lot more power and you're exaggerating because of it, I'd have it checked out immediately if I were you.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the reply Vash. I used to have a 2000 Ford contour SE. That thing could move. It was also automatic. I never had to red line it to get it to move. When accelerating from a green light, it took a few seconds to match traffic speed.

The mileage seems practically the same when comparing the two, despite the fit having an advertised better MPG. Should i use the paddle shifters to compensate or is this normal for an automatic fit?

 

I was hoping to avoid seeing a mechanic for a long time Since the car is relatively new, would The dealer be able to check it out for me at no cost? you know, under warranty or something?

no, i wasn't exaggerating. It really does that.

 

Vash, if he isn't exaggerating, there's no way on earth his Fit is operating properly. It certainly isn't simply because he has an automatic instead of manual. Besides, I tested both AT and MT rather extensively, and there isn't all that much difference. There is a difference, granted... but only slight.

Matter of fact, I've noticed there isn't any difference at all between MT and the proper use of the paddle shifters on an AT model. I personally think the AT Sport with paddles has a few more advantages over the MT model... but again, that's just me... and that's another discussion for another time, perhaps.

If he's not simply just wanting more power and thereby going waaayyyyy overboard in his stop-to-go description, then I'd say he has possible powertrain issues.

He should get it checked out just to be safe.

 

If the car is that new you should have a warranty left on the car. I would definitely get the dealer to check it out, regardless of warranty or not. Any dealer worth visiting will diagnose your car and let you know what's wrong, if anything, without charging you. If not, run away from that dealer... run faaaaarrr and very fast away from that dealer.

Get it checked out, man. You could cause worse problems/damage if you don't. I don't mean to scare you, but it sounds like something along the lines of tranny slippage to me... I had that happen to me once before. Same exact behavior.

Of course, again, I could be wrong... and I hope for your sake (unless you have warranty) that I am.

 

sorry for the misinterpretation, yeah i thought he was exaggerating and making it sound worst then it is..

well.. then.. for a serious response from me.. i would take it to the dealer and drive the person around that sold it to me, and ask them if they felt as if what it was doing is normal...

and sorry about earlyer.. because i thought when you said "barely moving at 2-3k RPMs.. i didn't think in anyway you were serious because that is almost undriveable if that is the case.




again iam sorry for my misconception.


and yeah... the test drive car i drove to try out the fit (so i could wait on my manual to ship in) was automatic.. and i agree with you. the engine feels basicaly the same while accelerating and the car is already set within a gear. and yeah.. if there was a difference it would be slight. Maybe i should let the fellow automatic members answer this question, because my view of the fit may be really different as i shift gears fairly late compared to an automatic, i hear my vtech on a daily bases from how high i take the RPMs all the time.

 

No reason to be sorry, bud! It happens on forums all of the time.

On the MT? There IS a difference when considering you get to rev it higher between shifts, which may get you a couple of secs better time from 0-60. I can punch it 0-60 in straight AT, and then paddles and get 1-2-3 seconds better time, depending on the circumstances. I was only saying it really isn't that significant of a difference between AT and MT.

I guess 1-2-3 seconds in a race is pretty darned significant at that! For normal use it's not huge though... you don't even notice the difference once you get used to whatever you drive.

 

Thanks again for the replies, annunC8 and Vash. I called a local Honda dealer and spoke with the service manager. He said they would take a look at it. I explained to him that I think the transmission is slipping. He says I should bring it in and it will be covered under warranty.

There hours are from 6:30am to midnight, so I'll get an early head start before work. They are currently busy on a Sunday.

Perhaps I am exaggerating, but one thing I do know is that I’m getting terrible mileage. The LCD readout shows 17.2 avg mpg. Perhaps they will find something.

 

Hmm....I have an new automatic sport and I'd say given your horrible mileage and described problem with acceleration it's not normal.

I'm getting older, and saving gas is important to me, so from most stop lights, most of the time I'm trying to accelerate smoothly if not quickly...BUT the Fit does it just fine, and the times I want to "punch it"- it responds well. What you are describing doesn't sound normal to me.

Good Luck.

 

yeah, i just bought my fit last sunday and its running pretty good to me, i had a slight race with my friend's ep3 and it ran fine o.O

 

yeah that's pretty bad...even a lead foot should be able to get mid to high 20's...just keep in mind that the auto is a lot slower than the manual. I think it was 3 seconds slower in 0-60 times....regardless it sounds like you have something else going on. Maybe a faulty spark plug??

 

Brakes sticking or maybe parking brake is engaged?

 

I know you didn't race during break-in

 

technically not race, it was kind of a slow race =X i wanted to keep my avg mpg high, so we just raced off a red light till about 45 and i didnt use sports mode so i wouldnt rev too high lol

 

Ok, here’s the update. I brought it in to my local Honda dealer today stating my concerns. He told me off the bat that it's too early to judge mileage within the time frame I have the car. He called me in the afternoon and told me that they hooked up the computer to it, did a test drive and checked the MPG rating. Everything checks out fine...

maybe I was exaggerating, who knows... I'll wait a little while longer with the car and see if it improves. Perhaps this is part of the break in period.

 

Don't be afraid to put your foot down. The AT will downshift for you to get up to highway speeds. I redline most every time entering the highway. It's not a bad thing.

 

I agree with baylorbro. This car is has to be stomped on to get going. It has no low end tq and its hp sweet spot is between 4.5-5.5K rpm. If your not getting on it..it won't move. I get on it all the time and still average 30 city driving.
This car acceleration is different than many cars on the road. My TSX sweet spot is 3K rpm. Being the Fit has a smaller engine you need to get on it a little more to match the performance of a bigger engine. Where we reap the benefits is at cruising speeds. We sip gas where the bigger engines chug gas.

Being that its a new car it will need to be properly broken in. You will see a big difference in mpg once you get some miles under your belt.

Good luck.

 

My recommendation is to go top off your gas tanks, reset the trip meter (select the trip meter then hold down the button until it resets), then go for a nice long drive on the freeway driving mellow, and report back how your average looks.

First tank of gas on mine was really bad...was 28 or something. I think it was due to the 9 miles on it before I bought it. Now I get 32mpg mixed driving mellow but not using any black magic . A mellow drive of freeway only yields well over 35 too.