So I just recently purchased my new 2015 ex 6 speed manual transmission. When I shift from 1st to 2nd I get a hard buck. Anyone else have this problem?

 

the clutch is kinda mushy, i have a hard time getting used to it...it kicks back every once and a while from 1st to 2nd.

 

I have the same issue, I find a slower release better to minimize bucking. but yeah 1st--->2nd is def harsher.

 

When are you shifting? I'm shifting around 3k+ and it feels fine. Pretty smooth if you ask me

 

Hi osnickers,

Sorry to hear about your concern. We would like to review the situation with you by having the vehicle diagnosed at a Honda dealership. Manual transmission typically make noises/vibrations during shifting and would like to verify if this is a characteristic of the vehicle. If you are interested in having this resolved, please private message us with your full name, VIN, dealer and mileage so we can better assist you.


Thank you,

Jonathan

 

I'm usually shifting around 3000rpms. My car just reached 8000 miles and I'm still receiving the same issue.

 

You're shifting too early. The owners manual lists specific recommended shift points based on speed. 1st to 2nd should ideally be at 16 MPH. I personally find that I'm usually anywhere between 3500 and 3900 RPM when I reach 16 MPH. I know that seems high for an economy car, but these new direct injection engines simply don't perform the same as their predecessors. It took me a while to get used to it but I'm at 2000 miles now and I manage to almost always avoid the bucking/stutter/hesitation/whatever you want to call it.

 

It is rough when shifting, and only from first to second. Sometimes it'll happen even when I'm deliberately trying to be smooth, tough to get perfect. Had the car seven months and still not used to it. Now I feel like I should take it to a dealer to make sure nothing weird is going on, I'd be really mad if somehow damage was being done from the factory set up.

 

I am guessing it is just technique. I have nothing but smooth shifts and I shift between 2-3k to keep my MPG up. I would try a lower shift point and and possibly try different clutch engagement/throttle techniques.

 

This is likely just an unhappy combination of the car design and your particular anatomy. I had this problem with my 2nd Gen (rip) but my 2015 Fit is much better, although nowhere close to as good as my daughter's '05 Echo, or the 'speed, or a 1st-gen Integra, or any volkswagen...

When I shifted 1-2 in the old Fit, the car would almost always buck or "rubber-band" and I hated it. Just like my old subaru, the soft drivetrain mounts, relatively heavy flywheel, rapid off-throttle falloff of revs and high clutch pedal engagement point made shifting smoothly to second gear nearly impossible.
When you let the clutch out, the car gets jerked/slowed down a bit by the inertia of the flywheel and that can jostle your leg and foot, interfering with your operation of the clutch and making the problem even worse.

What can you do?

- try to plant your heel on the floor and pivot your foot without lifting your heel (dorsiflexion of the ankle), this makes a short connection between your foot, the clutch pedal and car, so the car motions don't feed back into your leg and your controlling movements.

- try different shoes and see if any particular pair is better or worse, you might find that smooth un-grippy dress shoes work better than sticky rubber-soled shoes.

 

wow. honda customer service. looks good Honda monitoring.

 

my $ is on the nanny electronics interfering. there is nothing you can do, unless you disable them... then the car works flawlessly.

 

It's mainly because 1st gear is so short, it just takes some getting used to. Just smooth out your clutch release->throttle application for 1-2. All the rest of the gears are fine. When you can start a gutless 1.5 in 2nd gear without much complaint you know the gears are short.

I see a lot of people in Fits buck pretty significantly on the 1-2 on the street.

I don't think it's worth a trip to the dealership... waste of time and they'll just tell you the car is fine.

 

...and 2nd is only 54% of 1st. That's a huge RPM drop.

 

What? My manual does not say anything about it. Could you give me the numbers about when to shift the gears.

I usually shit gears 1@2000 thats around 9 mph, 2@3000 18 mph and all aboove that at 3000. Am i doing it worng?

 

Look at the shifting section in the owner's manual that starts on page 321.
For the manual transmission look at page 324 - there's a table there showing the recommended speed at which to shift gears.

 

You're fine honestly. I've never once looked at those recommended speeds and shifting at 3k is plenty if you're just moseying along. You just need to work on the clutch a little bit. The Fit clutch is definitely "different" and takes some getting used to.

 

You may be right and what osnickers is experiencing has more to do with his clutch operation since it is "different" (as in super-soft and ambiguous).

However, I highly doubt that the recommended shift points are just arbitrary numbers. They're based on the specifications of the engine and transmission and recommended to get the ideal performance from your vehicle. I'm not saying is blasphemous to disregard those shift points, I'm just saying they're suggested for a reason (like to achieve ideal fuel efficiency). And if it just so happens that one of those reasons is to maintain the mechanical integrity of my car, you better believe I'm following them.

 

I bet you're an engineer aren't you.

I'm just giving you a hard time. I agree they aren't arbitrary numbers and there was probably a group of engineers that got together and punched some numbers in and arrived at those parameters.

What do those numbers mean though? Not much. I could floor the throttle and shift 1st-2nd and shift at 16 mph and I'll get worse fuel economy and wear the clutch down faster than if I drove gingerly and shifted at 16 mph.

Fuel efficiency and engine performance in real world driving is not something that boils down to numbers in a book. If you understand how the system works, you can get the most out of your system for any given situation with a few simple data points. A lot of people laugh at the MPG meter, but you shouldn't be thinking about it as an MPG meter, don't pay attention to the numbers exactly, think of it as an engine load meter. Just that single data point will tell you if what you're doing is good or bad for your engine, clutch, and fuel economy. The lower the number, the higher the load, adjust your driving to raise that number wherever possible. Yes, that may mean downshifting! Yes, you will probably get better fuel economy in a lower gear in some situations even at a higher RPM!

In conclusion (tl;dr), yes, I'm sure those numbers mean something and weren't just thrown in there, but the numbers by themselves mean nothing.



if you shift out of 1st at 2-3k, you can get smooth shifts if you're smooth with the clutch-throttle transition... the clutch is vague and takes some getting used to, there's no feedback and thus little cue as to when and how it's engaging. Eventually, it will come down to muscle memory and you'll know where you're at by how low or high the pedal is.

 

My Honda VFR has a seductive 11,000 rpm V4 and a gorgeous tach, but it is an unnecessary visual distraction. Back in the day my Honda XL600 motorbike didn't have a tach so I rode it eyes-up and shifted by feel, letting the engine talk to me through the handlebars and seat-of-the-pants.

The new Fit engine is pretty darned versatile, it can be short-shifted at low low rpms if there's no hurry or you can hoon it in fast traffic and it feels like a dohc from the Honda Motor Company should feel.
Trust my advice, block your view of the tach with a glove or a sock, take it for a spin and feel/listen to your motor. You'll be able to 'calibrate' yourself with the clutch without the distraction of looking at that dial.