I occasionally get this, but I have a habit of slipping into second before going into first and that seems to eliminate the slight unwillingness to get into first at a stop.

Is this something that you notice more when the transmission is not fully warmed up? It actually takes a while to get the tranny up to temp and 3 bars has nothing to do with tranny temp.

But my 'solution' is because of an old habit of slipping into second and I am able to snick right into first.

Also, if you want to get into first at a roll, make sure to goose the throttle!

hth

 

Richard: At the speed you were going, I'm surprised if you knew where 1st gear was! Trust me, I could duplicate the problem for you in 10 seconds flat.

Greg: Thanks for the tip. And no, my problem can be duplicated anytime - warm or cold. I drove to the dealers yesterday, and showed the mechanic what happens right away.

I am horrified to know that so many of you can accept this as part of the normal driving experience. Does this happen all the time on the Boxter, Z3, CLK? Anyone know? What amazes me is that our car has been blessed with a fantastic, highly tuned engine, and yet (according to the advice given above) we should be willing to accept a less-than-perfect gearbox. I would have thought that anyone who's had this problem should be phoning Honda America, demanding a fix and a TSB. Personally, I'm going to get mine fixed (or at least, improved) under the warranty conditions - even if it means letting them replace the entire gearbox. I'm just not prepared to alter my normal driving habits to counteract what I see is a fairly serious design deficiency.

 

I believe that this may be another symptom of the 1-2 grind problem.

When I took my car in for the seatbelt recall, I asked the mechanic to check out the clutch decel noise. He drove and I rode along. The clutch decel noise was evident, and he was willing to swap the clutch for me under warranty (TSB 00-0054), but I was reluctant to have the tranny apart just for this. I haven't had the 1-2 grind problem.

Then he noticed a resistance to go into first gear, with an audible 'clunk'. Like others in this thread, I assumed this was normal for this car. He said that this was due to the same problem as the grind, and would be gone if he did the TSB 00-055 work.

To make a long story only slightly longer, I think he's right. I've only had the car back for a day now, but first gear is much easier to get into. And the clutch noise is much, much better!

Hope this helps,

Ted

 

Could be, but I've never had the 1-2 grind. I understand 1Y2KS2K's feelings, because sometimes it's so stubborn it won't go in without Herculean effort.

I often double clutch or go into second and then first, but each time I think... what if I was letting a potential buyer test drive this car? (I know, I know...I won't sell it, but still...).

I dunno, it just seems a little odd. My bimmer never did it, and neither did my Acura. At least not to this degree.

 

"I am horrified to know that so many of you can accept this as part of the normal driving experience. Does this happen all the time on the Boxter, Z3, CLK? "

Well, it happens all the time in my M5. In fact, every high-performance car I've owned, C5, M3, M5, S2000 have exhibited this behavior to some extent. However, your case sounds strange in that it does not decrease/go away when the tranny warms up. I also wonder if the "crunch" you refer to is just the tripple synchro in first doing its job? It is more noticeable when cold.

 

Hi Guys:

Lets think this thing through:
With the engine running and the clutch out (engaged), the transmission mainshaft is spinning. It is impossible to get the transmission into (any) gear when the main shaft is spinning. (connected to the engine)

So: turn off the engine and see if it is any easier to get into gear.
Yes?: Then the main shaft isn't coming to a stop when you push in (disengage) the clutch. (Main shaft momentum will cause the clunk after any gear is selected if you don't wait long enough to let the main shaft slow by it's self after pushing in (disengaging) the clutch. 1 to 2 seconds.
No?: There might be a problem inside the transmission (no this is not part of the 1-2 grind) with the linkage.

Other diagnostic: with engine running, park brake off (make sure you will not hit something in front of the car) take your foot off the brake while having trouble engaging first gear. If the car creeps forward, then the clutch is not fully disengaging as you try to go into gear and the friction of the synchro is pushing on the gear and making the car creep forward.
I usually open the door and watch a spot on the ground.

I do learn from you guys.

Hope this helps.
Woodwork

 

Until recently, this has never been a problem for me - or not so much that I've consciously been annoyed by it. Since I got my transmission fluid changed (still the standard Honda stuff, just some fresh fluid) I've noticed a fairly pronounced difficulty in getting into first gear sometimes when the transmission's cold. However when it warms up, it shifts better than before.

 

Its funny that you mention this. I have this Reader's Digest car care book that has a lot of useful tips in it. It infact mentions this EXACT situation... it says that in some cases, the mainshaft can take up to 9 seconds to come to a stop...



[QUOTE]Originally posted by Woodwork
[B]Hi Guys:

Lets think this thing through:
With the engine running and the clutch out (engaged),

 

Oh wow, i am experiencing the same exact shifting into first characteristics as the OP. I know for a fact that I don't like it at all. I mentioned this to my friend who does not have an S and he was like... so? That's all manual transmissions. I'm like no, my VR6 GTI never did it, my 93 RX-7 never did it, my 86 RX7 never did it, my 74' Porsche 914 never did it, my 69 VW bug never did it. I could keep going but the fact is. It should not be happening on the S at all. This problem along with the MAP sensor problem jerking the car around while putting around in a garage looking for parking should not be happening either. I'm saying, as good as this car is, those two problems make the car very unpleasant to drive 15-20% of the time. Rest of the time it's awesome and so much so that I have not sold the car yet. Since both problems don't happen too often, i just accept it and get used to it and learn how to alleviate the problems using the methods described in this post. But I am not willing to accept this as normal by any means. If anyone knows how to fix this, please let me know, cause both issues are hella annoying.

 

Don't declutch. Just put it in third, then in first. Works everytime, takes a millisecond.