Civic Manual Trans issues?

[NoMoreNissans]

Sometimes I cant get my 5sp into 1st gear. It goes 2/3 of the way and its just 'blocked'. I dunno if its a bent cable or fork or something

I have to put it into 2nd real quick and try again. Usually solves it first try

Id say it happens 1 time in every 20 times i start from a complete stop

Just an update

I brought the above issue up with my dealer and they said they had just dealt with another 13 manual LX with the same issue. They called honda tech support and apparently it's 'normal' and just a natural part of the transmission since the tolerances are too close in the gearbox... or something

Dunno If I believe them since it only started since 20,000kms (I'm at 28k now) but just a heads up for anyone maybe experiencing the same thing with their 5spd

 

[W3R0]

2012 RR Si sedan just hit 60k miles had the clutch replaced after hitting 36k (covered under warranty) no problems since, about to do the 60k trans oil change

 

[Monk]

I'm glad to see this thread is bringing to light to peeps that were just considering their tranny issues to be normal, to realize that it isn't and to possibly get Honda to fix it...........

Also for Honda to consider taking another look at any of their tranny's...... and upgrade them to 1960's standards.

 

[andre12dbsi]

Before I traded my Si it had the grinding noise when letting the clutch out in 1st gear. There is at least one other thread about this. It wasn't normal. I traded the car before I had Honda fix it.

 

[RobOscar4]

Before I traded my Si it had the grinding noise when letting the clutch out in 1st gear. There is at least one other thread about this. It wasn't normal. I traded the car before I had Honda fix it.

My 2012 si was doing this exact same thing. After several runarounds with Honda Service never being able to replicate the noise (and therefore never fully believing me) despite me having two videos of it happening and a Honda service bulletin describing my issue, they finally replaced the clutch, pressure plate, flywheel and pilot bushing all under warranty right before 36k. That was 2k miles ago and I haven't heard the noise since. The shop tech even found forums and youtube videos and was on my side throughout the whole thing. Had it not been for him, I don't think Honda would have fixed it before the warranty ran out, leaving me screwed over.

 

[H0ndata]

I took my 15 SI in for a few things this past weekend,
After leaving my car there all day they said they were unable to replicate the issue of the grinding or the car jumping when putting it into first….
I do have the extended warranty that protects everything up to 100k so I’m not too worried about it, because the issue has been documented, and I will be back in a few weeks to bring the issue up again. considering the issues I have had already. I am meticulous with my vehicle and I can identify any slight change it the car.
So far, these are my issues I have had.
Bubble in front tire…. (They didn’t want to warranty it, but I spoke to service manager and the replaced it)
Crackling tweeter… (unable to replicate)
Car jumps in first while clutch is engaged…. (Unable to replicate)
Slight grind into second when accelerating quickly…. (Unable to replicate)
Bubbles in window tint…. (Replaced)
Cracked radiator shroud… (replaced)
And countless rock chips… L does the paint seem thin to anyone else?
While they were replacing the tire they also scratched my rim !!! grrrr…
So I’m going back in today to address some of these issues, I will keep you guys posted on the tranny issues, I am going to test drive the car with a master tech to replicate the issues with him in the car.

 

[Sarcras]

From my experience the grinding from 1st gear into 2nd with spirited driving was due to the clutch delay valve in the slave cylinder. I had noticed this quite a few times but after removing the cdv it has not happened even once. Other than that no issues with the transmission.

 

[Darkout]

The CDV delete is the best thing you can do for spirited shifts, it'll still happen but you gotta rip it hard and half the time it's bad timing in my experiences. It'll do it in other gears too. My car "jumps" with any gear input from a dead stop less as you increase gears ex. 1,2,3,etc. That's a little more normal but I will admit it's more pronounced with this trans than other cars I've driven. I agree 100% the paint is very soft, I wouldn't say thin cause I've screwed up my fender sanding touch up and I mean I saddddddeeeeddd. Idiot me. I try to wash and wax my hood/front bumper/fenders every weekend. Seems to help. Audio issues I would say account for the meh speakers. You ever look to see how big your sub and rear speaker magnets look like. It's a joke for a 360watt system IMO. Working as a mechanic I could see how the controversy would come up about the tire, usually it's a 12/12000 free replacement. Honda doesn't control what you hit or run over, no one but the person behind the wheel can influence the possibilities. It's like buying milk from a store and going back days later saying there's a hole in the carton bottom and you want it replaced for free. They don't know how it got there nor did they do it as it left the store ok.

I've been developing this clunk that I wanna say is the weak rear motor mount causing flex when engaging the clutch from a stop. It's 100% replicable everytime with the parking brake on and 50/50 from a dead stop rolling into to gear. I would LOVE if anyone could chime in if they experience this or not. It's become apparent that a lot of shifting issues are self caused fighting the characteristics of the tranny instead of adapting but this clunk isn't something you can adapt to and if you can tell me how! Lol

 

[Gregory Dragon]

I've had the issue of it not wanting to shift into first at times, but a tiny release of the brake and rolling a few inches usually corrects that immediately. Other than that, the only issues come from me peddling the clutch faster than my hand is moving (by a minute fraction of a second) and there wouldn't be an issue there IF I wasn't so complacent and focused more. Been driving ST for 38 years so I should know better than doing what I do to it at those times.

 

[itsjustacivic]

44k miles gearbox is good other than sometimes when I take off out of 1st I get gearbox chatter.

 

[Darkout]

On the way to work this morning I had the radio down low just trying to wake up. In doing so I noticed a "whine" around 40-45 that has not been noticed prior. It's not horrendous or abnormally loud but for sure a newer noise. I have heard gearbox/diff whine since owning the car as well as Alt whine come and go and thought nothing of it but normal nowadays. Toyota 4 cylinders have a similar Alt whine. The initial gearbox whine was usually slowing down under 20 you heard a slight peep, no big deal. But now that I took time to listen to the diff today, as the noise stays the same in neutral so that eliminates any gear mesh issues 1-6, it is definitely whining through the whole speed range until road noise covers it up at higher speeds and the frequency of the whine gets higher pitched. The sound level changes depending on rpm but never goes away. Just looking to see if this is normal with these trans or if I'm the only one?

I plan on getting a street RMM to help with the sloppy shifting due to poor factory mount and hopefully eliminate the clunk/motor flex. If the clunk is still there though I may take it in (after it take the RMM off) and see if the dealer can find anything before I look into it. I'm getting a funny feeling that I hope is totally wrong that my diff preload isn't properly set causing the clunk and premature ring and pinion wear that is the usual source of diff whine.

Even easy driving with proper techniques of preloading the shifter with your hand to flow easy to the next gear as you press in the clutch I still get my gears doing a double notch that i know shouldn't happen. I assume the weak RMM could cause this and I plan to do a trans fluid swap at 10k (that may happen at 8k) to get rid of any debris from breakin, to the few gear grinds that happen from time to time as well as I don't trust how new that fluid is. I'll need to get a pic but I've mentioned how my clutch fluid color after a CDV delete and bleed is several shades clearer then my factory brake fluid at 3k miles when I did the mod, 7700 currently. Worst thing that happens is I waste money dumping out old good fluid and putting in new good fluid.

Ultimately! Anyone else have a similar diff/trans whine? Increase or decrease in speed is audible

 

[Mikeorock]

2015 si (9500mi) i have notices that sometime going into second gear quicly will result in a minor grind, but if you take your time this will not happen, imo this is an manufature defect in the gear box, so i will be taking it in, seeing as i only have 9500mi and dont drive it hard at all, the second thing i noticed was in the morning on a cold start going from netural to fist causes the car to move slightly, as if the clutch is not fully releasing...
not happy anyone else having similar issues?

Im pretty sure the reason why you grind into second only when fast shifting is because of the clutch delay valve. It slows the engage/disengagement down a little.. Thats why when u shift slower, theres no grind.. You can remove it.. Also 1st and second gears dont have carbon syncros in the tranny.. 3, 4, 5 and 6 do have carbon syncros..

 

[Mikeorock]

On the way to work this morning I had the radio down low just trying to wake up. In doing so I noticed a "whine" around 40-45 that has not been noticed prior. It's not horrendous or abnormally loud but for sure a newer noise. I have heard gearbox/diff whine since owning the car as well as Alt whine come and go and thought nothing of it but normal nowadays. Toyota 4 cylinders have a similar Alt whine. The initial gearbox whine was usually slowing down under 20 you heard a slight peep, no big deal. But now that I took time to listen to the diff today, as the noise stays the same in neutral so that eliminates any gear mesh issues 1-6, it is definitely whining through the whole speed range until road noise covers it up at higher speeds and the frequency of the whine gets higher pitched. The sound level changes depending on rpm but never goes away. Just looking to see if this is normal with these trans or if I'm the only one?

I plan on getting a street RMM to help with the sloppy shifting due to poor factory mount and hopefully eliminate the clunk/motor flex. If the clunk is still there though I may take it in (after it take the RMM off) and see if the dealer can find anything before I look into it. I'm getting a funny feeling that I hope is totally wrong that my diff preload isn't properly set causing the clunk and premature ring and pinion wear that is the usual source of diff whine.

Even easy driving with proper techniques of preloading the shifter with your hand to flow easy to the next gear as you press in the clutch I still get my gears doing a double notch that i know shouldn't happen. I assume the weak RMM could cause this and I plan to do a trans fluid swap at 10k (that may happen at 8k) to get rid of any debris from breakin, to the few gear grinds that happen from time to time as well as I don't trust how new that fluid is. I'll need to get a pic but I've mentioned how my clutch fluid color after a CDV delete and bleed is several shades clearer then my factory brake fluid at 3k miles when I did the mod, 7700 currently. Worst thing that happens is I waste money dumping out old good fluid and putting in new good fluid.

Ultimately! Anyone else have a similar diff/trans whine? Increase or decrease in speed is audible

I had a trans wine.. But i only noticed it after i put in strong motor mounts all around.. I think its normal. You hear alot more with stiffer mounts. I actually heard it was normal from prl..
But i actually just broke something in the diff recently.. I think it might be the final drive.. I wonder if the wine was a warning sound...
Also, the cdv didnt get rid of the stick notchiness?? I put hybrid base bushings and cable bushings in and it definetly helped but not 100% but pretty damn good..

 

[Darkout]

I got HR cable bushings and the cdv delete helped with pedal feel but trans still shifts the same. The cable bushings have felt great honestly but I've been curious since i got them installed if I had gotten a meh batch. The amount of play didn't really change so some is still there. It might be normal just not what i was expecting is all, still great product.

I've learned the stock knob weight plays a big factor in "smooth" feeling shifts. Similar to a handle or extended shifter helps numb the engagement feel aka nothciness. I might go back to the mini light weight nub knob I had cause that made it feel like an arcade shifter and was kind of enjoyable but really a challenge to get smooth feeling shifts. I'm starting to think the rev hang is my main issue now. If rpms dropped normally, the time it would take your hand to travel from gear to gear allows rpms to drop enough to get a more natural mesh. The rev hang doesn't allow that to happen so a lot of time if you don't wait to shift it'll be harder for everything to mesh and results in funky shifts. Of course this applies to more higher rpm shifts but have felt it time to time in the lower rpms. Another way I came to that conclusions is down shifting is always way smoother than than up shifting since I can control rpms and catch point easier than trying to time it with the computer. I ALSO have learned that no clutch shifting is a pain due to the rev hang.

I hope the whine isn't a warning but I am hard on the car so it's possible. The drive line shock I get on take off is the main thing I'm worried about right now. Been happening since 50-100 miles of the car, way before it saw any rpms. I'm just lazy and stubborn to take it in since I am a technician, just need someone in the car to replicate it with the e-brake on so I can pin point it. Half think the RMM might help this if the torque is causing things to flop back and forth to easy with the stock. But the best part is that I only hear AND feel it under lighter shifting/take offs. Higher rpms shifting will give a "rattle/spring bouncing" sound. Assuming just the clutch abosrobing the shock but I think I'm the only one that's noticed it. It's fairly loud and sounds almost gear grinding like but as I think I've said before it's always after the gear is fully engaged.

It's also about time for my 10k self service. I'll be changing the mtf fluid as well as oil, brake/clutch to dot 4, tb/induction clean (as the chemicals are free), air/cabin. I'll need new tires by 15k lol

 

[Mikeorock]

I got HR cable bushings and the cdv delete helped with pedal feel but trans still shifts the same. The cable bushings have felt great honestly but I've been curious since i got them installed if I had gotten a meh batch. The amount of play didn't really change so some is still there. It might be normal just not what i was expecting is all, still great product.

I've learned the stock knob weight plays a big factor in "smooth" feeling shifts. Similar to a handle or extended shifter helps numb the engagement feel aka nothciness. I might go back to the mini light weight nub knob I had cause that made it feel like an arcade shifter and was kind of enjoyable but really a challenge to get smooth feeling shifts. I'm starting to think the rev hang is my main issue now. If rpms dropped normally, the time it would take your hand to travel from gear to gear allows rpms to drop enough to get a more natural mesh. The rev hang doesn't allow that to happen so a lot of time if you don't wait to shift it'll be harder for everything to mesh and results in funky shifts. Of course this applies to more higher rpm shifts but have felt it time to time in the lower rpms. Another way I came to that conclusions is down shifting is always way smoother than than up shifting since I can control rpms and catch point easier than trying to time it with the computer. I ALSO have learned that no clutch shifting is a pain due to the rev hang.

I hope the whine isn't a warning but I am hard on the car so it's possible. The drive line shock I get on take off is the main thing I'm worried about right now. Been happening since 50-100 miles of the car, way before it saw any rpms. I'm just lazy and stubborn to take it in since I am a technician, just need someone in the car to replicate it with the e-brake on so I can pin point it. Half think the RMM might help this if the torque is causing things to flop back and forth to easy with the stock. But the best part is that I only hear AND feel it under lighter shifting/take offs. Higher rpms shifting will give a "rattle/spring bouncing" sound. Assuming just the clutch abosrobing the shock but I think I'm the only one that's noticed it. It's fairly loud and sounds almost gear grinding like but as I think I've said before it's always after the gear is fully engaged.

It's also about time for my 10k self service. I'll be changing the mtf fluid as well as oil, brake/clutch to dot 4, tb/induction clean (as the chemicals are free), air/cabin. I'll need new tires by 15k lol

Yea. Well good luck man.. That notchy feeling was the first thing that i didnt like since i bought the car.. I changed mtf fluid, cable and base bushings and got a weights shift knob.. The cdv was

 

[Mikeorock]

Yea. Well good luck man.. That notchy feeling was the first thing that i didnt like since i bought the car.. I changed mtf fluid, cable and base bushings and got a weights shift knob.. The cdv was

My next move.. But all made a little difference... When i did the cable bushings it felt good. But when i did the base bushings next it was real good. I think the 2 combined really helps.. I feel like the notchiness came back just a little after the bushings wore in

 

[Darkout]

My next move.. But all made a little difference... When i did the cable bushings it felt good. But when i did the base bushings next it was real good. I think the 2 combined really helps.. I feel like the notchiness came back just a little after the bushings wore in

The one notch feeling it gives I actually really like and the little light weight nub emphasis that which is cool. But makes these weird double and sometimes triple notchs where you can feel each part engage. Happens with any nob but I'm used to it now, it's that dam drive line noise that's got me bonkers.

 

[Mikeorock]

The one notch feeling it gives I actually really like and the little light weight nub emphasis that which is cool. But makes these weird double and sometimes triple notchs where you can feel each part engage. Happens with any nob but I'm used to it now, it's that dam drive line noise that's got me bonkers.

Haha yea sorry bro.. Just wanted to share my "wine" noise i get from after i installed the mounts.. You never know what can help. I kinda like it tho.. But i guess we have different issues.. I just sent my car to the shop today for a broken something in the trans.. I hope you dont have to go through the same thing

 

[Darkout]

Haha yea sorry bro.. Just wanted to share my "wine" noise i get from after i installed the mounts.. You never know what can help. I kinda like it tho.. But i guess we have different issues.. I just sent my car to the shop today for a broken something in the trans.. I hope you dont have to go through the same thing

Your right, problems can be very layered. I hope I don't have to but my gut feeling says otherwise. GL in getting it fixed!

 

[Mikeorock]

Thanks