Hey,

I'm having issues when shifting in my wife's Civic. It seems the shifter can't seem to get into 3rd, 4th and 5th gear properly. It feels like there's something getting in the way when trying to slide the shifter into position, sometimes the shifter even pops out after the clutch is engaged. I've also noticed that wiggling the shifter seems to get into position a lot easier, but then makes it almost impossible to put it shift back into another gear (going from 3rd to 4th).

It's been an intermittent problem, but now it's steadily getting worse and happening almost all the time when shifting. I want to think it's a bushing problem, but I can't be sure, hence why I'm posting on here. Otherwise the car runs perfectly fine with 127K kms. We're the original owners of the car, so I know it's been maintained well and hasn't been beaten on. The clutch seems to grab fine aswell, it's just the actual shifter/shift linkage that we're having issues with.

Has anyone ever experienced this issue or knows what I could do to trouble shoot this properly?

 

anyone?

 

hmm ive only had a problem with mine poping out of 3rd a few times
but nothing like what your describing you shud take out the center console and make sure everything is in place other than that i really dont know what to tell you
maybe sum of the other guys here can help you

 

I had this same EXACT problem. Can you even hear a sort of squeaking noise while trying to force it into gear?

Here's the solution:

Take out your center console, there should be 2 clips holding it on the front (careful, they are FRAGILE). And 2 screws holding it on back i think.

Unclip where the shift boot leather meets the shifter.

Following the shifter, look down into the mechanism and you will see the off-whitish colored ball at the base of the shifter.

This is the bugger that is sticking and causing you a hassle while trying to shift.

I sprayed some wd-40 down there and worked it nicely by running through the gears while spraying. Haven't had a problem since!

Try it out and this should remedy the problem.

 

awesome! I'll give that a shot tomorrow when I get home from work. I'll let u know if it solves the issue.


Thanks!

 

would that not just make the issue come back when the lube wears off?

 

also you should use silicone not wd-40 as wd-40 attracts A LOT of dirt. Silicone is safer to use and does not attract dirt.

 

How dirty can the shifter assembly get (isolated inside the car)? I fixed my issue about 2 years ago and it hasn't worn off. I guess the permanent solution (if it indeed wore off eventually) would have to be Lithium grease.

 

well this world has a lot of dirt. It's always good to take precautions even when it won't hurt. hehe. Yeah that grease will do the job too. But silicone is way better over wd-40 and you can get different thickness in the silicone spray.

 

Alright. So I did exactly what was posted above, only I used lithium grease and it completely fixed the problem.

Again, Honda-tech>all

 

SHWEET!

 

I have a 2001 Civic EX. I have been having problems shifting into second gear. It is the only gear, but have to pretty much jam it in. Every once in awhile, if I'm not paying attention, it may not go in and the gears grind a little. I have noticed that it is starting to happen more often also. A couple times while down shifting from 3rd to 2nd, it has slipped out of gear. Do you think the lubrication solution would work for me too?

Also, I have heard of manual transmissions "losing" a gear. How exactly does this happen? I'm guessing from rough driving and a lot of grinding, but I very rarely grind. Do you think this is something I should worry about?

Thanks,
JB

 

Give the lubrication process a shot. Worse comes to worse, you'll have a delightful smell of lithium grease for a few days while u drive