I had this "clunk" when changing up from 2nd to 3rd, always when cold, can't remember it hapenning when everything was warmed up.

At 2,200 miles its gone, either that or I've subconsciously learnt to move the gear lever a little to the right to avoid the "clunk" as I change.

 

I am an owner of 2003 and ever since the first mile, I have "felt" the "notch" going from 2nd to 3rd. It is random (ie: not necessarily temperature sensitive). However for the most part I do not observe it when shifting above 5,000 RPM. I will keep you posted what Honda has to say or does about this.

Andy

 

I have a MY01, 4100 miles. It had the occasional 1-2 grind, and the bouncing-bumping sensation in the 2-3 shift. I changed to Redline MT90 and it eliminated the 2-3 anomaly. I think the 1-2 grind has somewhat to do with ergonomics. The short shifter and short throws encourages one to use his wrist flexion to do the 1-2 shift. I notice with the other shifts, I use more of my arm, forearm and wrist to complete the shift, probably gaining more leverage. On my car, the 1-2 shift is slightly stiff, so that I get the grind when I haven't completed the shift as quickly as I expected because the shifter just plain gets stuck in a partially shifted position, before letting the clutch back in. I corrected this by reaching slightly further over the shift knob, thereby engaging the use of my whole arm, when making the shift. Even when the shift balks midshift, I retain enough leverage to complete the shift, whereas when I tried to do this with just my wrist flexion, I had already reached the limit of that joint's motion. Anyway, I don't know if this is anyone else's experience, but I think the 1-2 shift is complicated by ergonomic factors besides the mechanical aspects.

 

I find that if I go diagonal into 3rd from 2nd it is good, if I go into neutral and then straight up then it has more notch.

 

The fundamental issue is "why does it occur and what is Honda going to do about it?" Everytime there is a notch it is creating metallic particles in the transmission. Foreign objects in the transmission or any mechanical device is not good. Yep, I can run all sorts of options on how I shift, but regardless the defect exists and as long as the defect is there, it is doing premature damage to the gear box.

 

I also have the notch between 2nd and 3rd on upshift whether the car is cold or warm. Not always, but I do notice it alot when rpms are under 5 grand or so.

I have an '03 CBR which can have lil notches shifting at lower rpm's, but it's smooth as hell at higher rpms. Safely assuming my motorcycle was designed to be shifted at higher rpms and therefore does so 'like butta' when the rpms are above 6 grand (15k redline). Maybe it's a similiar concept with the s2000?

Jon

 

Of course everyon has the "problem"! It's a normal charactistic of the car! We've had our first S2000 since November of 1999 and the second since the summer of '01 and they are both the same. This is not a problem for me or my wife since we understand that only 2nd and 3rd gear have the triple cone synchros. This is why these two gears feel different than the rest of them. The RSX-S also has this type of synchroniser and it feels exactly the same.

FWIW, my '93 MR-2 Turbo had this feel into second and that car only had double cone synchros! That car didn't rev anywhere near as high as the S2000 and it had the "Toyota heavy" flywheel and it still shifted like a truck into second when cold. BTW, did you know that if you double clutch when the car is cold is eliminates the notch into second and third?

 

Same problem here aswell. MY00 9600 miles. Though its most noticeable when the Motor/Tranny is cold..... Im due for a tranny/diff fluid change so I hope that will fix the problem.

 

I have 7600 miles on my '02. I just came from my pre-winter fluid change (engine oil. tranny, diff, clutch) and found 2-3 noticeable smoother. I also noticed an improvement after I tightened up my throttle cable (it was way out of spec). Don't know why that helped, but it was noticeable, and I don't think it was my imagination.

JonasM

 

My MY03 does it for the first 5-10 min in the morning but afterwards it disappears