anyone notice a slight grinding sound when downshifting into second or going from first to second gear. on my 04 i notice a slight grinding sound when ever i do this.

 

I don't think that's your clutch I think it's your second gear synchros. You should be under warranty. I would take it to honda and let them check the tranny fluid for particulate. I don't know how the o4 tranny is but the 2nd gear synchros are a weak spot in the tranny design of the 00-03 because of the way it engages and disengages

fltsfshr

 

Don't shift at high rpms early until you get three bars.
Could be that the fluid isn't warmed up.

 

My '02 does this sometimes, particularly when the tranny is cold. It also only happens on the 1-->2 shift. Try shifting into 2nd just a split moment slower, and see if that helps. On mine, if I shift from 1-->2 quickly and the tranny is cold, I risk grinding. If I shift slowly and gently, I won't grind, but I sometimes feel resistance for about a second before the stick slides in easily. This all stops once the tranny is fully warmed up.

 

Great,

Honda "Fixed" this for the MY04 - or not.

You are not the 1st MY04 owner to have this happen, and it is a problem on pre 04 models.
Sad to see Honda supposedly fix it, then not.

Good luck at the stealerships, they deny too many legitimate claims.

 

I couldn't agree more....

 

I have a My04 too and notice the 2nd gear synchros need to be warmed up before you start jamming on them. For the first 1/2 to 1 mile drive your car like a baby and do real slow shifts. After that, you're tranny should work fine unless it's real cold out. I try to go through all the gears once or twice gently before I consider the car warmed up. Have fun. Engine temp alone won't let you know that your car is warmed up.

 

I had this problem with my '03 for about 5000 miles. Now at 10,000 miles it's 99% gone.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by WebGod

 

wow i have a MY03 and i never had this grinding problem (knock on wood). i have ~5k miles now.

i guess it depends on how well the tranny was put together in japan(if the guy was drunk from sake or not j/k ).