2007 HONDA FIT Owners Manual

These indicators on the instrument
panel show which position the shif t
lever is in.
The ‘‘D’’ indicator comes on f or a
f ew seconds when you turn the
ignition switch to the ON (II)
position. If it f lashes while driving (in
any shif t position), it indicates a
possible problem in the transmission.If the malf unction indicator lamp
comes on along with the ‘‘D’’
indicator, there is a problem in the
automatic transmission control
system. Avoid rapid acceleration, and
have the transmission checked by
your dealer as soon as possible.
To shif t f rom any position, press
f irmly on the brake pedal and press
the release button on the front of the
shif t lever, then pull the lever. You
cannot shif t out of Park when the
ignition switch is in the LOCK (0) or
the ACCESSORY (I) position.
CONT INUED
Shif t L ever Position Indicators
Shif ting
Automatic Transmission
Driving
151
SHIFT LEVER
RELEASE BUTTON
Sport model All models except Sport Sport model is shown

µ This position mechani-
cally locks the transmission. Use
Park whenever you are turning off or
starting the engine. To shift out of
Park, you must press on the brake
pedal and have your foot off the
accelerator pedal. Press the release
buttononthefrontoftheshiftlever
to move it.
If you have done all of the above and
still cannot move the lever out of
Park, see on
page .
To avoid transmission damage, come
to a complete stop bef ore shif ting
into Park. You must also press the
release button to shift into Park. The
shif t lever must be in Park bef ore
you can remove the key f rom the
ignition switch. 155
Do this:
Press the brake pedal, and
press the shift lever release
button.
Press the shift lever release
button.
Move the shift lever. To shift from:
PtoR
RtoP
NtoR DtoS
StoD
DtoN
NtoD RtoN Do this:
Press the brake pedal, and
press the shift lever release
button.
Press the shift lever release
button.
Move the shift lever.
To shift from:
PtoR
RtoP
NtoR
Dto2 2to1
1to2
2toD
DtoD DtoN
DtoD NtoDRtoN
3
3
3
3
All models except Sport Sport modelPark (P)
Shif t L ock Release
Automatic Transmission
152

µ
µ µ
µ µ
CONT INUED
Press the brake
pedal and press the release button
on the f ront of the shif t lever to shif t
f rom Park to reverse. To shif t f rom
reverse to neutral, come to a
completestop,andthenshift.Press
the release button bef ore shif ting
into reverse f rom neutral.
Use neutral if you
need to restart a stalled engine, or if
it is necessary to stop brief ly with
the engine idling. Shif t to the Park
position if you need to leave your
vehicle for any reason. Press on the
brake pedal when you are moving
the shift lever from neutral to
another gear. Use this position f or
your normal driving. The
transmission automatically selects a
suitable gear (1 through 5) f or your
speed and acceleration. You may
notice the transmission shif ting up at
higher engine speeds when the
engine is cold. This helps the engine
warm up f aster.
This position is similar
to D, except only the first three
gears are selected. Use D to provide
engine braking when going down a
steep hill. D can also keep the
transmission f rom cycling between
third and f ourth gears in stop-and-go
driving. To shif t to second,
pressthereleasebuttononthefront
of the shif t lever. This position locks
the transmission in second gear. It
does not downshif t to f irst gear
when you come to a stop.
Use second gear: For more power when climbing.
To increase engine braking when
going down steep hills.
For starting out on a slippery
surf ace or in deep snow.
To help reduce wheel spin.
3
3
All models except Sport All models except Sport
Automatic Transmission
Reverse (R)
Neutral (N)
Drive (D)
Drive (D )Second (2)
3Driving
153

µ
µ To shift into the S
position, press the release button on
the front of the shift lever, and move
the lever to S. This position is similar
to D, except only gears from first to
fourth are selected. S position keep
the transmission from cycling
between fourth and fifth gears in
stop-and-go driving.
To
shift from second to
first, press the release button on the
front of the shift lever. This position
locks the transmission in first gear.
By upshifting and downshifting
through 1, 2, D , and D, you can
operate the transmission much like a
manual transmission without a
clutch pedal.
With the shift lever in D or S, you
canalsouse thepaddleshiftersto
shift the transmission up or down.
With the paddle shifters, you can
operate the transmission much like a
manual transmission without a
clutch pedal. For more inf ormation
of driving with the paddle shif ters,
see page . If you exceed the maximum speed
f or the gear you are in, the engine
speed will enter into the tachometer’s
red zone. If this occurs, you may f eel
the engine cut in and out. This is
caused by a limiter in the engine’s
computer controls. The engine will
run normally when you reduce the
rpm below the red zone.
156
3
All models except Sport On Sport model
S position (S)
First (1) Engine Speed L imiter
Automatic Transmission
154

This allows you to move the shif t
lever out of Park if the normal
method of pushing on the brake
pedal and pressing the release
button does not work.Set the parking brake.
Remove the key from the ignition
switch.
Push down on the key while you
pressthereleasebuttononthe
shif t lever and move the shif t lever
out of Park to neutral. Insert the key in the shift lock
release slot.Remove the key from the shift
lock release slot, then reinstall the
cover. Make sure the notch on the
cover is on the lef t side. Press the
brake pedal, and restart the engine.
If you need to use the shif t lock
release, it means your vehicle is
developing a problem. Have it
checked by your dealer.
Putaclothonthenotchof the
shif t lock release slot cover. Using
a small f lat-tipped screwdriver or a
metal f ingernail f ile, caref ully pry
on the notch of the cover to
remove it.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.6.
Shif t L ock Release
Automatic Transmission
Driving
155
COVER
RELEASE
BUTTON
SHIFT LOCK RELEASE SLOT
NOTCH

´
µ
´
µ
CONT INUED
Each time you pull the (right), the
transmission shif ts to a higher gear.
Pull the (lef t) to downshif t. You
will see the selected gear number on
the instrument panel. Downshif ting with the paddle shif ter allows you to increase the engine
braking when going down steep or
long hills, and provides more power
when climbing uphills. You can
upshif t the transmission manually to
reduce the rpm. Driving in the
higher gear helps f uel economy. When the transmission returns to
drive mode (D), the displayed gear
number goes out.
When you pull either paddle shif ter,
the gear position indicator shows you
the selected gear number.
When you are driving in D position,
you can shif t the transmission up or
down manually with the paddle
shif ters.
To shif t up or down, use the
(right) or (lef t) paddle shif ter on
each side of the steering wheel.
Driving with the Paddle Shif ters (Sport only)
Using the Paddle Shif ters in D
position (D-Paddle Shif t Mode)
156
GEAR POSITION INDICATOR

The transmission downshif ts to f irst
gear and returns to drive mode (D)
when the vehicle comes to a
complete stop and the vehicle speed
is about 6 mph (10 km/h).
You cannot downshif t with the
paddle shif ter bef ore the engine
speed reaches the upper limit of the
lower gear. If you try to do this, the
gear position indicator will f lash the
numberof thelowergearseveral
times, then return to a higher gear
position.
Also, you cannot upshif t with the
paddle shif ter bef ore the engine
speed reaches the lower limit of the
higher gear.
The transmission remains in the
selected gear if you do not accelerate. The transmission control system
monitors the accelerator pedal use
and your driving conditions. When
you press the accelerator pedal as in
the normal driving, the system
judges that you are driving at a
constant cruising speed without
using the paddle shif ters. Under
these conditions, D-paddle shif t
mode is cancelled, and the
transmission automatically returns to
drive mode(D).
Each time you pull either paddle
shif ter, the transmission shif ts one
gear up or down. If you want to shif t
up or down more than two gears, pull
the paddle shif ter twice, pause, and
then pull it again. If there is a problem in the
transmission while you are driving
with the paddle shifters, the D
indicator f lashes, the D-paddle shif t
mode is canceled, and the
transmission returns to drive mode
(D).
Driving with the Paddle Shif ters (Sport only)
Driving
157

´µ
When you move the shif t lever f rom
‘‘D’’ to ‘‘S’’ position and pull either
paddle shif ter, the gear position
indicator displays on ‘‘M’’ along with
the selected gear number.
To upshif t, pull the (right) paddle
shif ter. To downshif t, pull the
(lef t) paddle shif ter. When you accelerate f rom a stop,
the transmission starts in f irst gear,
and you must manually upshif t
between f irst and f if th gears. Make
sure you upshift before the engine
speed reaches the tachometer’s red
zone.
The transmission remains in the
selected gear (5,4,3,2, or 1). There is
no automatic downshif t when you
push the accelerator pedal to the
f loor.
When you are driving in 4th or 5th
gear, the transmission downshifts to
the lower gear under the f ollowing
conditions:
The vehicle slows down to a
certain speed.
You press the brake pedal.
With the shif t lever in S position, you
can manually shif t up or down with
thepaddleshifters.The
transmission goes into the sequential
shif t mode and holds the selected
gear.
To enter the sequential shif t mode,
pressthereleasebuttononthefront
of the shift lever, move the lever to
the S position, then pull either paddle
shif ter. To return to drive mode (D),
move the shif t lever to the D position.
While you are driving in the
sequential shif t mode, the
transmission will not automatically
return to drive mode (D).
Driving with the Paddle Shif ters (Sport only)
Using the Paddle Shif t in S
position (Sequential Shif t Mode)
158
‘‘M’’ INDICATOR
GEAR POSITION INDICATOR