My stubborn 3rd gear thread- with updates

[Qshooter151]

i've owned my Si for just about a year and a half and i love the car. bought it brand new on sept 2, 06. started having problems getting it into 3rd gear around 3k mi. i thought it was just me, lazy shifting or not engaging the clutch all the way. lil things like that. however, the problem only got worse and by 5k mi, i realize it's not me. so i just learn to "deal" with it and shift around it, i guess you could say.

my shifting issue is this: when trying to shift into 3rd gear, sometimes it will not go all the way in. if i release the clutch at this point of being "half in 3rd" it will grind and kick the shifter back at me. my choices when shifting into 3rd are- A. keep pressure on thre shifter till it goes in, or B. go back into neutral, reclutch and try going in again.

then honda says, put in our "new and improved" mtf. this took place at 10k mi. it did help and shifting was improved for about 2k mi. then, right back like it was.

i am now approaching 24k and have just been dealing with the issue while reading about it, asking questions and even gaining a solid contact in American Honda. funny thing is he also owns an Si and has the same issues but was unaware the rest of the world did...lol. he's an engineer in the atv division. i'm waiting on a response from him to see what he can dig up.

at this point i'm considering getting rid of the car cuz it bothers me that much. so the last time i had my oil changed, only at honda, i asked the tranny tech to take it for a ride. well when he returned, i heard it happened to him as well. only on the downshift, but it happened. it was suggested that i make an appt for further inspection. i made that appt today. i will be dropping my car off at the dealer on feb 8th. i will be sure to post up all updates and new info that i receive here.



Join the fight against Honda. Digg it HERE



had this printed out from a friend at honda...

[Special Ringpop]

Good find. I'm going to print that out and shove it in my dealer's face.

They'll then tell me I have no right to have that piece of information and they can't find anything on their system that says that even exists, thereby allowing them to deny me service.

I'm so used to their game by now I can predict their every move.

[SiNISTER SiNDY]

Well Jordan, since I got the same response when I dropped mine off, I'd love to see what the further inspection brings!

[siracergrl]

i have the problem alot too shifting into 3rd from 2nd and even downshifting into 3rd it gives me that BS and it even did it in the black si i owned too...grrr

[rednek]

I think all of us friendly guys should show up the same day and see what happens.

[osohormiguerro]

Originally Posted by siracergrl

i have the problem alot too shifting into 3rd from 2nd and even downshifting into 3rd it gives me that BS and it even did it in the black si i owned too...grrr

i feel you dude. everytime i shift into 3rd, i always question myself first . bs

[siracergrl]

Originally Posted by osohormiguerro

i feel you dude. everytime i shift into 3rd, i always question myself first . bs

wen i had my 1st fg2 i thought it was my driving cuz i learned in that car but now i got the blue one i kno its not me and its the car

[xmx250]

my third is very notchy. luckily it doesnt grind. but i wont be surprised if it starts too


I also met a guy in black Si in yonkers that came up to just to complain about his third gear. Even at a STANDSTILL his car would grind going into third...

[Qshooter151]

ooooOoOoOo, that's no good.

[Special Ringpop]

Originally Posted by xmx250

I also met a guy in black Si in yonkers that came up to just to complain about his third gear. Even at a STANDSTILL his car would grind going into third...

Mine doesn't grind going in, but you can definitely hear some weird resistance going on (clunking or thudding) and it doesn't want to go into third as smoothly as it should, based on the other 5 gears.

Ridiculous. It's even more ridiculous that some people seem think that more confident shifting will fix this. Hopefully they'll remove the giant H from their ass and wise up.

Still...there are Si's without this problem. It's really weird. I wonder what dictates whether the car is going to have it or not?

[Qshooter151]

Originally Posted by Special Ringpop

Mine doesn't grind going in, but you can definitely hear some weird resistance going on (clunking or thudding) and it doesn't want to go into third as smoothly as it should, based on the other 5 gears.

Ridiculous. It's even more ridiculous that some people seem think that more confident shifting will fix this. Hopefully they'll remove the giant H from their ass and wise up.

Still...there are Si's without this problem. It's really weird. I wonder what dictates whether the car is going to have it or not?

my problem is shifting into third, both upshifting and downshifting. it goes half way in and if i let out the clutch, it will grind and pop out. sometimes i have to hold it there till it goes in or i just pull back and try again hoping for a smooth engagement.

[Qshooter151]

got an update from my contact at Honda. they are taking the tranny out of his car to investigate the problem. i'm not talking about a local dealership. this is at American Honda R&D. hopefully i get some good answers...

my car goes to my local dealership tomorrow for further inspection. i'll update when i have more info on either car...

[Xtreme Thunder]

Originally Posted by Qshooter151

my problem is shifting into third, both upshifting and downshifting. it goes half way in and if i let out the clutch, it will grind and pop out. sometimes i have to hold it there till it goes in or i just pull back and try again hoping for a smooth engagement.

Hey Jordan. We have spoke about this extensively on many occasions.

You seem to have the problem ALOT more than I do. When mine happens (rarely, but does), it never goes into gear, so the term "popping out" may not be the correct verbage.

I would discribe it as a partial engagement, such as a piece of metal in the way even when the clutch is fully pressed. By then your mind wants to think it went in, clutch is released and it grinds. It only grinds because it never went into gear and it is partially engaged hence kicking back > "popping out". I think this is what everyone who has the issue is experiencing.

Using the term "popping out" to a tech/ engineer would mean the gear fully engages and comes out after the clutch it released after "x" time. Example: Car is in third, then 30 seconds later it "pops out". That is not what is happening.

[Qshooter151]

lol, that's exactly what i'm saying Joe. by "pop out" i mean kick back, and it does this cuz it's not all the way in third. lemme find my post in a different thread where i said exactly what you just said.

[se7engen_ride]

cant wait till what they say. i got that problem too. but when i downshift, it always goes into 3rd gear smoothly. or even racing....everything is fine. my 3rd gear sometimes wont go in all the way when i am driving normally.

[lionelp]

Took my car into Acura today and one of the shop foremans came a long... I was able to reproduce the problem and from there he said he's gonna do some research and make some calls. He said he'll give me a call and make an appointment to inspect the transmission. I'll update all of you when I know what happens next.

Picture saved as well... Good find!
+1 to you my friend

[realxlai]

When i first got my car it grinded 3rd at about 800ish miles. it only did it 2 times. since winter hit i have accumulated roughly 6000miles and i noticed 3rd would be really notchy and require more effort to shove it in. now at about 7500 miles ive been noticing it occur a lot more often. has nothing to do with temperature because the instances that it's occured have been after driving for more than half an hour and the car is fully warmed up to its normal.

hope u get this resolved dude. cuz if it keeps going like that its gonna be a must to get it fixed.. not just something ima live with and put up with everyday

do you think you could upload the whole document your friend printed out for you so we can all have some nice evidence

[Qshooter151]

yep, fluid temp has nothing to do with it. happens to me wether the car is warm or not. it's random and TOO often, that's for sure.


yeah, i can upload that. it's basically showing what to look for when inspecting the parts.

[NIGHTHAWKSI]

^mines going in on the 18th for the tranmission/LSD whining noise...not third gear...but definatly interested to see what happens with yours so i might know what to expect.

[Phalanx]

I had the 'partial engagement' (pop-out) happen to me for the first time yesterday But i felt like i let the clutch out too early so thats why I think it happened. My 3rd gear is very knotchy though, it has been for a couple weeks. However, i dont get any grinding... but im sure its soon to come.