Just purchased a new used 2007 Honda Fit Sport, manual. Didn’t notice until driving away that the cover for the shift knob was already starting to wear out. Around the seam where the rubber attaches to the plastic cover.
The car has 50K miles on it. Is this out of the range of normal wear and tear? Did the original owner drive the car extra hard or fidget with the gear shifter or??
Does anyone have any ideas on this one? Should I be concerned?
Thanks!
I think I can answer this question, even though I’m not a mechanic.
Any vehicle with a manual shift stick and with 50,000 miles will show wear on the “cover” of the shift knob. Especially if it’s made plastic or rubber. It’s not the amount of time so much on this car, it’s the amount of shifting while driving 50,000 miles.
Then, assuming the driver’s hands were not always clean and the knob wasn’t cleaned often (how often do people clean their shift knobs?) the wear is normal, in my opinion.
I wouldn’t worry about that at all. I’d be more concerned with how well the engine and other mechanical parts were maintained by the previous owner.
It’s really impossible to say. Maybe it has just worn out from normal use or maybe the previous owner liked to play with it as he drove which in turn can be bad for the transmission. If it shifts fine, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
If you want to you can replace the knob by unscrewing it