Honda Fit

[Jayco-noslide]

I'm pretty well focused in on replacing my present dinghy with a Honda Fit, 2015-2018. Yes, I know it has to be a manual trans. Like to hear from those of you who have one. It will be our only vehicle besides the 30 ft. Class C. Any issues with the car or towing set-up? Do you have supplementary braking and if so which one? Thanks.

[TriGlider]

eheading wrote:
Is anyone towing a Fit, manual transmission with the Proximity key? I was wondering how that works. Does the Fit have a locking steering wheel? We currently have a MINI and the steering wheel doesn't lock, so we can tow it with the ignition key removed.

Ed Headington

My 17 Fit has the Keyless Ignition. You just depress the Start button once without depressing the clutch. This releases the steering lock and you’re good to go. I use an SMI braking system so in addition to unlocking the steering, I flip a switch to tun on the SMI Controller then have to lock the door manually.

Alan

[tatest]

eheading wrote:
Is anyone towing a Fit, manual transmission with the Proximity key? I was wondering how that works. Does the Fit have a locking steering wheel? We currently have a MINI and the steering wheel doesn't lock, so we can tow it with the ignition key removed.

Ed Headington

My 2012 has proximity key (Base model). The steering wheel locks when the key is pulled out, so I turn the key to OFF position and leave it in the lock. I lock the car remotely with the second key.

I've considered getting a third key, maybe valet, but that would mean juggling keys during my tow setup procedure, and the steering wheel is going to lock when I pull out the real key to put in the dummy.

[eheading]

Is anyone towing a Fit, manual transmission with the Proximity key? I was wondering how that works. Does the Fit have a locking steering wheel? We currently have a MINI and the steering wheel doesn't lock, so we can tow it with the ignition key removed.

Ed Headington

[tatest]

I have a 2012 manual transmission Fit that I tow from time to time, and use for day to day transportation. I prefer manual transmissions, the choice was not about towing, it was about finding a car I could shift myself.

Fit vs alternates like Fiesta, Focus, Cruze, Versa etc, I liked the people vs cargo flexibility of the interior, and the great visibility of the large windows, which adds to the ease of getting around in crowded places and finding parking.

I find the Fit a bit underpowered. While it can get to highway speeds on most on-ramps (driver only) it struggles with things like high-speed passing maneuvers on two lane roads, and I really feel the difference when four passengers and their luggage increase the weight by almost half a ton. 120 HP is zippy for an empty car, 160-180 HP would be more to my taste (turbochargers, anyone?).

Most recent example of the power issue, I recently made a trip to north-central North Dakota in strong winter winds. First day of the trip through Kansas, I had a tailwind pushing me, got 44 MPG for 400 miles of driving, hardly any wind noise and a soft buzz from the engine. Second day out I was on 80 MPH speed limit Interstates, 20-30 MPH northerly winds, so the car was struggling to reach the speed limit, effectively 100-110 MPH against the wind, pretty much full throttle to keep up with traffic. Of course a small car flat-out is still more efficient than a big one at the same speed, so I managed 20-22 MPG running full throttle into headwinds.

This is not just about the Fit. Most subcompact cars sold in the U.S. are similarly powered. Think about how you are going to use the car. If just around town, subcompacts are fine. If extending the usage into road trips on high speed highways, think again about the limitations. I have a long history with small cars, my first was 40 HP and it got 40 MPG, but would not overtake a car going 50 MPH in a 60 MPH speed zone, so I replaced it with a slightly larger 96 HP compact that got only 30 MPG but could make a safe pass at those speeds.

Currently looking closely at the turbo-charged sporty Civic models (180-300 HP) but I would really rather have a 160 HP Fit.

[F1bNorm]

All Honda manuals are online. Example: http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/OM/AH/AT7A1717OM/enu/AT7A1717OM.PDF#page315

This is the 2017 HRV, go to page 322 and yes, the HRV manual tranny can be flat towed.

Norm

[Gjac]

Called the local Honda dealer in town and they told me they have no HRV manuals and could not order one which is too bad because it looks like it would be a good tow car.

[ccchuck]

Gjac wrote:

ccchuck wrote:

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28362130/srt/pa/pging/1/page/2.cfm

Thanks for the link. Is this link for the 2018 models or for an older model HRV?

This content is the same for 2017 and 2018 owner's manuals, which,btw, are available online.


The HRV manual trans is only available in FWD, and the color section is, for same reason?, limited.

[Gjac]

ccchuck wrote:
"Are you sure an HRV can be flat towed? From what I see none of the new Honda's can be flat towed auto or manual trans."


try here:
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28362130/srt/pa/pging/1/page/2.cfm

Thanks for the link. Is this link for the 2018 models or for an older model HRV?

[ccchuck]

"Are you sure an HRV can be flat towed? From what I see none of the new Honda's can be flat towed auto or manual trans."


try here:
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28362130/srt/pa/pging/1/page/2.cfm

[Gjac]

ccchuck wrote:

Jayco-noslide wrote:
I'm pretty well focused in on replacing my present dinghy with a Honda Fit, 2015-2018. Yes, I know it has to be a manual trans. Like to hear from those of you who have one. It will be our only vehicle

.. I'm a forever Honda guy, and we are looking to replace our 1998 CRV (manual), looked at the fit, but we are going with the HRV, little larger, higher, cost a little more, if you haven't looked at it you might consider it (manual trans required for flat tow).

Are you sure an HRV can be flat towed? From what I see none of the new Honda's can be flat towed auto or manual trans.

[TriGlider]

We tow a 2017 Fit with our 2016 Navion 24M. I installed the Roadmaster baseplate and Sterling Towbar myself. For a brake system I installed the SMI Stay and Play Duo. About a 5 minute setup to connect the car and flip the switch on the brake controller and go. Couldn't be any easier. Still get near 15mpg with the motor home while towing the Fit. Fit is a 6 speed stick and gets anywhere from 35 to 42 mpg.

[BarryG20]

I made a noise comment in my post. It is not obscenely loud but Hondas in general are a bit noisy. I was driving an 01 Dodge diesel when I bought it as a second vehicle for commuting when diesel got well above $4/gal here and up to $5/gal. I drive about 35k a year so that adds up. The truck got 20mpg but the fit avg 40mpg and I was able to take that 35k a year and put 25ish k on the fit reducing my fuel bill substantially not to mention wear and tear on the truck. Which I finally sold with 350k on it and bought a new one last year. All that to say that the truck was pretty loud inside the cab and I had become a noise nazi in my vehicles. The fit was on the border for me as far as noise any louder and even as it was I considered doing some noise abatement to it. I did find that the stock tires that came with it were definitely a part of the problem when they wore out and I put a different set on it helped enough that I never did any other noise abatement. There is just very little sound deadening on the vehicle at least that year no idea how they are now.
If I had proceeded with my noise abatement project on it it would have been a couple hundred dollars and a day of time. And if it worked as well as it did in my truck would have been quite happy.

[Jayco-noslide]

I'm 5ft. 6in. and wife maybe 5-2 and we've towed a Chevy Sonic for over 4 years. I'm not concerned about it being too small. I am a little concerned about comments about noise. My other choice would be a Ford Focus hatchback but the repair record isn't good at all compared to years of Fit reliability.

[ccchuck]

Jayco-noslide wrote:
I'm pretty well focused in on replacing my present dinghy with a Honda Fit, 2015-2018. Yes, I know it has to be a manual trans. Like to hear from those of you who have one. It will be our only vehicle

.. I'm a forever Honda guy, and we are looking to replace our 1998 CRV (manual), looked at the fit, but we are going with the HRV, little larger, higher, cost a little more, if you haven't looked at it you might consider it (manual trans required for flat tow).