I was driving my 03 S2k yesterday and accidentally pushed the shifter out of 2nd into neutral without using the clutch. I thought it was a fluke and tried it in 3rd and it happened again. There was no grinding when the shifter popped out of 2nd or 3rd, just a slight thump sound. I was only going about 20mph and my foot was depressed lightly on the gas peddle both times. This has never happened before....is there something wrong?

 

Yes. ALL manual transmissions will do this. You will NOT damage anything as long as you don't try to go back into gear without the clutch.

I've done what you described for over 30 years with all my manual transmission cars, esp. when coming to a stop sign/light....

 

this is a secret to drive manual tranny cars when clutch competely goes out for some odd reason.

you can actually put in gear by forcing slightly and giving a lil gas.
it'll grind little but it's a good trick to know.

 

Actually with practice you can shift without the clutch and no grinding (except for dead start from first). You have to give it enough gas to match the revs your engine should be at in a given gear at a given speed and it will slip right in.

And yes, it's absolutely perfectly normal.

 

The only time I use the clutch in my tractor trailer is starting from a dead stop and putting it in reverse.

 

its called clutchless shifting

 

Please don't try clutchless shifting on your S!

 

the clutch is there for a reason you know!

 

i've done it a couple times but stopped before i accidentally grind a gear. it's actually much easier to do it on kenworths, peterbilts, other trucks,etc,etc, since they have no synchronizers and you have to double-clutch each gear anyways.

 

Ive tried it a few times on my S, but I mastered it at work on RSX's.