Automatic Transmission clunking in Honda Fit, stay away or buy?

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Mar 2, 2011
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I found a 2012 Honda Fit on Craigslist with 113,000 miles on odometer (actual mileage: 230,000+ odometer tampered with, CarFax calls this car a Branded Not Actual Mileage car.)

You can feel the clunking the slight lurch (and kinda hear it too) in various acceleration actions (though not decelerating I think.) What do you suppose the problem is? Do you think this is something I can fix short of replacing the AT?

Other than that and the fake mileage, the seller is asking for about half the cost of a typical 2012 Honda Fit, a quick VIN search on Google reveals that this car was sold at action for about a thousand less than his asking price. The seller is a Craigslist curb stoner, my guess is that they generally buy cars at auction to refurbish for sale at dealerships, but rejected this one for possible real transmission issues----this would explain why they didn't fix the minor issues such as the mirrors not working or one of the windows not working (why put more money into it right?)

Can the AT be repaired? Other than this clunking the engine accelerates very well, the CarFax reveals that the previous owner did maintenance religiously on it.
 
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Originally Posted by skyactiv
i know your not that dumb.

It is tempting to be honest, the engine is in good shape (in spite 230,000 real miles.) lol
smile.gif
 
It better be CHEAP-as in, a transmission rebuild needs to be factored into the price, along with the fact you'll never be able to resell it for anything approaching book value.
 
Originally Posted by spasm3
It's a cvt trans. I'd stay away.


No, they didn't become CVT-i-sized until 2015.

And it depends on what type of clunk you're talking about. I've had Honda automatic trannies that clunked from day one, right up until 340,000 miles. Especially going from R to D. But, if it's clunking between gears then you may have other issues. Or it could be a mount, who knows?

But, it you suspect any tampering with the mileage or anything else, RUN AWAY!
 
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Originally Posted by Char Baby
Originally Posted by spasm3
It's a cvt trans. I'd stay away.


No, they didn't become CVT-i-sized until 2015.

And it depends on what type of clunk you're talking about. I've had Honda automatic trannies that clunked from day one, right up until 340,000 miles. Especially going from R to D. But, if it's clunking between gears then you may have other issues. Or it could be a mount, who knows?

But, it you suspect any tampering with the mileage or anything else, RUN AWAY!


I stand corrected, I though they started earlier.
 
I owned a 2012 Honda Fit... and here is my story.

Reason for buying- Fuel Economy and also being able to "Fit" alot of stuff in it for our getaway picking trips.

Cons- AC is undersized and on hot days it cannot maintain a comfort zone.

Brakes- undersized, i warped one set of rotors and fried calipers in some heavy mountain driving.

Noise- Road noise is evident.. and annoying.

TIres- Odd size.. very rare to have them in stock if needed in a pinch..

Blind spots- there are a few, i had to swivel my head more than not.

MPG- I got an honest 31 due to alot of highway driving.. you have to stay in it to keep up with traffic.. engine works hard.


Sold it and got a 2012 Ford Fusion for less money than i sold my Fit for.

Ford Fusion has almost double the engine size.. AC is ice cold, Brakes are awesome, Low road noise, engine does not labor on long hauls.. and i get an honest 32 or 33 MPG


So in summary there is no real reason to own a Fit...except that you can FIT some bigger stuff in the rear cargo area..

Not to mention how sketchy that one sounds..
 
Thanks for chiming in: the Honda Fit (2nd gen.) appeals to me because it has those features that make it a great city car (I live in NYC.) It's relatively lightweight at 2600 lbs (rare nowadays,) the visibility is fantastic especially in the front but also in the side and even the rear is OK. It's fairly short so I can park with some ease, the handling is quite decent, and acceleration is about as good as a car in the compact segment (meaning Civic, Corolla)

For me the cons would be: the brakes are relatively weak, the driver's seat is astonishingly NOT height adjustable (lol.)

I have a 2007 Corolla---the FIT would be an upgrade in many ways for me (but a downgrade in a few areas too.)
 
My friends sister has one, she bought it to replace her 99 Sunfire and she complained it felt very underpowered (compared to the 2.2L auto Sunfire)!

I would stick with the 07 Corolla if I was you.
 
Originally Posted by marine65
Wow!
P.T. Barnum was right.



AMEN!

Go back and read your original post. Is there anything more condemning you could add? 230,000 miles, fraudulent mileage, AT acting up, mirrors not working, window not working, etc.

Why would you even consider THIS car? WHO would even consider purchasing THIS car?

When someone has tampered with the odometer, I am done. Period. !
 
Originally Posted by lizpat
I found a 2012 Honda Fit on Craigslist with 113,000 miles on odometer (actual mileage: 230,000+ odometer tampered with, CarFax calls this car a Branded Not Actual Mileage car.)

You can feel the clunking the slight lurch (and kinda hear it too) in various acceleration actions (though not decelerating I think.) What do you suppose the problem is? Do you think this is something I can fix short of replacing the AT?

Other than that and the fake mileage, the seller is asking for about half the cost of a typical 2012 Honda Fit, a quick VIN search on Google reveals that this car was sold at action for about a thousand less than his asking price. The seller is a Craigslist curb stoner, my guess is that they generally buy cars at auction to refurbish for sale at dealerships, but rejected this one for possible real transmission issues----this would explain why they didn't fix the minor issues such as the mirrors not working or one of the windows not working (why put more money into it right?)

Can the AT be repaired? Other than this clunking the engine accelerates very well, the CarFax reveals that the previous owner did maintenance religiously on it.

What could possibly go wrong?
 
If the mileage was tampered with I'd say run. I'm surprised it's not a salvage title vehicle.
 
I would run away fast from a Honda Fit for a myriad of other reasons.....
 
Originally Posted by lizpat
I found a 2012 Honda Fit on Craigslist with 113,000 miles on odometer (actual mileage: 230,000+ odometer tampered with, CarFax calls this car a Branded Not Actual Mileage car.)

You can feel the clunking the slight lurch (and kinda hear it too) in various acceleration actions (though not decelerating I think.) What do you suppose the problem is? Do you think this is something I can fix short of replacing the AT?

Other than that and the fake mileage, the seller is asking for about half the cost of a typical 2012 Honda Fit, a quick VIN search on Google reveals that this car was sold at action for about a thousand less than his asking price. The seller is a Craigslist curb stoner, my guess is that they generally buy cars at auction to refurbish for sale at dealerships, but rejected this one for possible real transmission issues----this would explain why they didn't fix the minor issues such as the mirrors not working or one of the windows not working (why put more money into it right?)

Can the AT be repaired? Other than this clunking the engine accelerates very well, the CarFax reveals that the previous owner did maintenance religiously on it.



Avoid it like the plague.
 
I think you have already answered your own questions.

Just in case you want to buy it, add at least another $2000 to $3000 for a new transmission or rebuilding the current transmission price.
You may be able to find a JDM shop in your area that can do it for around $1500 parts (JDM take off transmission) and labor.

Of course, it can also be just need a fluid change but it is already clunking.

Is the record include some trans fluid change? I doubt it, though.
It is mostly just oil change and bulb changes.
 
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