Hi, I'm a new member, though not a new owner. Been driving this wonderful machine since November 99. Yep, I remember the ticket I got that Thanksgiving, 5:30 am. Very nice copy, said he had to go 110 to catch me, which proved nothing of course about how fast I was going. I mean, maybe he got a slow start? Luckily, he was nice enough not to show up at court, and I've been clean -- that is, careful -- since. Why haven't I gone looking on the net before? These messages are terrific.

Two techical questions. I know it's late to ask, but how long is the break-in period? I actually bought mine used with about 600 miles on it. (You guys are lucky, or I was stupid. We were actually paying 38K used in the Bay Area then.)

Secondly, I feel a "catch" or slight click when shifting. Is this characteristic of the car, or is it just mine? I took it to Oakland Honda, and they changed the transmission oil, with no effect.

Well, I look forward to lots of messages.

DSRESQ
2000 Silver/Red
1995 SL 500 Benz
1993 CE 300 Cabriolet Benz
1999 12 volt scooter, 13 mph tops

 

Welcome qtip. I have a "catch" only when shifting from 2nd to 3rd when the engine is cold and I'm driving relatively sedately. The technician that looked at this said it was "normal" and that I should just drive harder . I had a similar feeling "catch" when shifting from 1st to 2nd (NOT the grind, that's a separate issue), but that disappeared after driving the car about 3k miles. I now have nearly 15k on the car and the 2-3 "catch" is still there.

 

I had the 1-2-3 gear catch too, but its mostly gone now after 8k miles. It was really prevalent when I first had the car, but is almost completely gone now. Sometimes when the shifter is cold, I may get a little catch but thats about it...

 

Qtip, I get a "catch" sometimes when the weather is in the low 50's and the car is not warmed up. Only happens 1st to 2nd. Once the tranny is warmed up it goes away. It never happens in warmer weather.

RHES2K

 

I've had the 1st to 2cnd catch also from day one. I now have 9000 miles. Mine does seem to go away once I've been driving for about 10 to 15 minutes. This is pobably my one and only complaint about this car. I wish the shifts felt more silky smooth like my 97 ITR.

 

After viewing these posts and doing some more driving, the "catch" does seem to be limited to 1-2-3 and sometimes does recede after warmup. I went to Performance Plus in Oakland and the tech there said that some transmissions are built this way, with a catch, in order to enhance durability. But if this were the case, the complaint would be widespread. Seems like some of us have it, some of us don't.

Qtip

 

I have it. Esp. the 2-3 shift.

 

I think a lot of us have the "catch" but not everyone reports it. It usually goes away after the tranny is warmed up. I know I hgave the 1-2-3 catch. Sometimes, you can feel a clunk when shifting between these gears.

 

Just got my S2000 on saturday and the "catch" is there from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. Thankfully, I had read a lot of posts where this seems to be common. And like others above, the "catch" seems to be reduced after I have driven for about 10 minutes and things have warmed up.

I actually like the "catch" though. It lets me know I got it in gear, especially when I am ripping through them. Since I don't want to go over 5500 RPMs yet (only have 185 miles on the car), when ripping through the gears it has to be done much quicker, so I kinda like the "catch" there.

 

I've got it from 2-3... but I noticed it's only there when I shift slow... if I shift faster, it's not there...

-Shing