mine seems notchy and not so smooth going into 3rd gear from 2nd gear.. and 4th from 3rd.. every other gear is just fine and smooth... is there a TSB for this?

also if i depress the clutch all the way there is sometimes a little "clunk" sound i can hear... is that normal??

 

I had hoped Honda had this issue resolved,but with 50 miles on the car first to second in my04 feels the same as it did in my02,UUGGGHHHHHHH!
If you can't find um grind um.

 

My '02 will sometimes grind when upshifting into 2nd, especially when either the tranny or the weather is cold (ambient temperature does seem to make a difference).

I can minimize the occurence of grinds by shifting into 2nd slowly and deliberately - after pushing in the clutch pedal, I consciously hesitate for a split second before shifting. However, even when shifting slowly, I can still feel notchiness and resistance, and still grind every once in a while. This all improves after the car has had maybe 15 minutes to warm up.

Interestingly, the grinding and general notchiness do not seem to occur at high RPMs or when downshifting into 2nd. They are most noticeable when upshifting into 2nd at around 4k RPMs.

From reading http://www.my350z.com/, it seems that the 350Z's also have a similar issue...

I changed my tranny fluid a few weeks ago, and that didn't improve this issue any. Has anyone successfully eliminated the grind by changing the clutch fluid? I saw a few isolated mentions of this in the S2Ki.com archives.

 

I guess everyone has this problem. I would have thought for sure that the 04 would have corrected this mystery problem.

 

Damn its sucks that it did not get solved with MY04. That is disappointing. Its weird how some S' do it and others don't. Is it the drivers or cars?

 

i have it too and it is almost random, in that not always does it happen when cold, but it is more likely to happen when cold, to deal with it i simple shift a little slower, making the 1- 2 shift a 1-neutral-2 shift, as it would be going into 3nrd from 2nd...this allows a split second more time and somehow it eliminates the grind...also if you drive the car just a litttle it seems to go away...so shift with care and you will not notice a problem...and it does not happen when the engine is under load in higher rpms, ever. i think it normal for this to happen when cold.

 

I think the main problem is that the shift throw is so short compared to most other cars. In this car, you have to pause before completing the shift, or the synchros won't have enough time to get ready for the next gear. I also give a little pressure to the left while shifting.

So pull out of first, wait a bit in between, then enter second. You can still pull off shifts in under a second without grinding.

Having new clutch fluid also helps.

///Robin

 

i have never grinded into 2nd gear and my car has almost 6k miles on it!(MTF change at 3k miles)

 

Wait, there's a third pedal? I thought that was the rear brake.

 

I believe this is a problem on some, but not all S2000's. I have driven new 2003 and 2004 models (each with less than 30 miles) and found no issue going into 2nd or 3rd gear. They shifted into 2nd as smoothly as others typically shift from 3rd to 4th.

This problem was not corrected on all 2004 models. I have a 2004 that is so tight going into 2nd gear that I can never go 1st to 2nd without some binding or 'clunking' feel. You have to hesitate a little between 1st and 2nd and still as you start into the gate for 2nd there is much resistance. It feels as though you have to force your way past a very heavy spring and when it goes into 2nd it does so with more of a clunk than a grind.

I'm convinced that this is not an issue with how I shift because I have driven some S2K's that have no problem going into 2nd and others that have the problem every time. The issue is more pronounced when cold but does not go away when completely up to normal operating temperature.