I apologize in advance - this is a long posting:
I have a '03 model and first experienced the 1-2 upshift grind at around 1200-1500 miles (coincidentally, shortly after I noticed the transmission fluid color - from the factory - was way too dark - and changed it). The grind typically occurred above 7000 RPM (at first) or occasionally when the car was cold. I had the occasional grind at any given RPM as well, typically when the transmission was warm

 

the MY04's also have the 2nd gear notchy issue....you don't mean actually your gears are grinding correct???

grinding = bad
notchy = very common issue on S2000

 

Oh yes, the 'gears' were grinding (actually your synchros grind - the gears are always meshed).
I understand the difference between notchy and grinding, and it's a certified grind.
The '04 models are still a little notchy, but don't experience the grinding as much as the '00-'03 model years.
I was aware of the notchy nature of the S2000 before I bought the car.

 

weird...i have an my01 and dont have any grinding problems...even when repeatedly shifting at 9k...notchy sometimes though

 

I seldomly have this griding/notchy problem on my 02. Gets annoying.

 

Since this is such a common occurance, why don't all S owners just do a 1-3 shift during casual driving (if there is such a thing as casual driving in an S)? Seriously, in a tranny with such close ratios and an engine with such range you could probably spend most of the time going 1-3-5-6. Not being an owner, I admit this is just theory for me, but in my 2000 Si I could drive all day like that without lugging the engine (well 1-3-5 anyhow, sure could have used a 6) and save the sequential stuff for when I was hot-footing it. I know this is a little out of context for your thread but wanted to throw it out there for people not having a problem. Just a thought. Good luck.

 

no offense...but try improving your technique, many of my friends have MY03 s2000's with no problems. it seems a little odd that your first transmission and then you new transmission both have grinding problems, or it could just be pure coincidence.

 

For me I actually have to pause a .1-.2 of a second or I get a small grind. Not very noticeable but it is there maybe 5% of the time and only when I shift at over 8.6k. Hope they will get this problem fixed for you. I at least have another story of the grind to watch my tranny for.

 

I noticed a service bulletin listed on this site for the 1-2 intermittent grinding, but it only applied to certain MY00 cars. I've got an 02 and I get a really awful grind in 2nd when I'm shifting at high RPM's. No other gear does it and I'm pretty sure I shift the same way through all the gears, but there's a chance it could be me. It doesn't happen all the time, but I've been trying to notice under which circumstances it happens so I can tell the Honda service department how to "reproduce" the problem. Still under warranty and will be for a while, so I'm not really too worried about it, but if it's a problem with the transmission, I'd like to get it resolved one way or another.

 

Sorry you're having so many problems with your transmission. I have heard similar complaints, but my '01 works perfectly. So did my '02 RSX-S, which I bought as soon as they came out, and many people had the same complaint about that transmission- mine always worked perfectly on that car, though.

Honestly, it seems like performance cars have more manual trans problems- 350Zs, G35s, EVOs, WRXs, Boxsters, Celica GTSs, even the old 1G and 2G Eclipses. If you go on any enthusiast website for those cars you will read tons of posts about how terrible the transmission design is. I never accuse anyone I don't know of being a ham-fisted shifter, but I have to wonder if driving technique has something to do with it. This is the big reason that Honda is so hesitant to release performance models in this country- people beat them up and then complain when they break.