Hi everyone. I am French so please be patient with my English.

Bought a 2002 S2000 2 months ago. I can't believe how great it is.

I have an issue concerning the way the car reacts when I am stuck in traffic.

In stop and go situations, the clutch seems to stick and the car shakes back and forth.

Please don't call me an idot because it does this no matter how much I rev the engine before changing gears.

For example, if I start in first gear and rev up to 4000RPM and then simply let go the gas down to 2500-3000RPMs, the car shakes back and forth.

Is this normal or is there somwthing I don't know?

Thanks to all

 

If the problem you have is a bad vibration or loud noise from your clutch, there is a TSB for your clutch when in deceleration:

https://www.s2ki.com/article/articleview/92/1/1/

If it violently shakes back and forth it could be just bogging real bad on a hot day (we've all experienced that) or you may want to do some research on MAP sensors. Some people are having problems with theirs.

Good luck.

 

I agree. I think you may need to look into the TSB for the clutch. I had a similar sort of sensation before I had that TSB done.

Just so you know, the TSB is different for us up here in Canada, but your dealer should be able to find it for you.

And your english is great! Much, much better than a lot of people that claim english to be their first language.

 

hardypa,

First of all, I see nothing wrong with your English. In fact, it's better than many on this board, whose first language is English!

As for the violent shaking, I don't think there's a problem with your car, but the way you drive.

Try slipping the clutch more, with less throttle. Don't rev up the engine so high; rather, keep your throttle input minimal and steady, while modulating with the clutch.

Let the clutch do its job and you should be fine.

 

If the shaking is really the car lurching ahead a couple of feet then practically stopping and lurching again, it's your clutch work.

Let the clutch slip more or push down harder on the gas.

When the car goes forward, you get pushed back in the seat and your foot gets lighter on the pedal. The car then slows down and you go forward, your foot pushing harder on the pedal which causes the car to lurch forward and the whole process repeats itself.

You need to break the cycle by pushing a little bit on the clutch and letting it slip more or simply push the clutch to the floor and attempt the clutch engagement again.

 

Hey everyone, thanks for you help! I will try to train more on my clutch work!

I sometimes wish that everyone could afford such a roadster. That would make it less rare but...

Thanks...

 

I agree with the "clutch work" advice. This issue has been dubbed "bucking" or "kangarooing" by other posters. Run a search on these words and you'll see that this is quite a common occurence. It's not just this car that does it. I can make almost any modern day ECU controlled car do this - my old Corvettes and Viper for example.
However, it is also a well known fact that the MAP sensor on the S2000 was obtained out of a Cracker Jack box, so the customary "MAP whack" won't hurt either. (Take a rubber handled screwdriver and tap the MAP several times with the handle.)

 

Check to make sure your throttle foot is stable. That was my problem. If your car "lurches" forward, your gas foot will react to the movement of the car and lift off. Your foot is then forced back onto the gas. This produced that back and forth effect in my car.

 

That is weird, i drove my friends s2k the other day and it did that exact thing once. But it happened to me when i was goin to second gear so my foot was completely off the clutch. I was like dude, thats not me hahaha.

 

This tends to happen when there is a lot of heat soak, i.e. slow moving traffic on a hot summer day. The beating-of-the-MAP-sensor trick works sometimes, and is just a problem you may have to deal with. I found that shifting early to 2nd often alleviates the problem.

Actually I found that the MAP sensor misbehaves again right after a fast lap on the Nurburgring, when I'm back in the carpark. Odd, as the high speeds should keep engine temp at bay, and I always cool down my car to a stop on the final straight.

///Robin