I was driving on the freeway the other day and thought my clutch might be slipping. Here is what happened:

I downshifted to 3rd gear when there was a bit of traffic ahead. The next lane to the left was going pretty quickly so I decided to change in to that lane. I left the car in 3rd gear and gave it some gas. I noticed that the car accelerated for a second and then it would stop accelerating but the revs would climb up almost as if I was in neutral. The revs would then drop again and the car would accelerate all the while I had my foot on the gas…

This all happened while I was still in 3rd gear so I did not step on the clutch at any time. So basically what happened was…….accelerate-->free rev-->accelerate….these 3rd things happen all while I was stepping on the gas pedal…

Does this sound like a clutch problem or transmission problem??

 

sorry to say that your clutch is shot. it will only get worse.

 

Yeah I figured it might be the clutch...my catch point is also VERY high...

 

yeah, i have burned through 2 clutches in about 25 k (1 year) and that is the most common symptom.

they are not fun to change and are fairly expensive. I would shop around at a couple different shops to get the best deal if you don't end up doing it yourself. check out this thread: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread/2370517

i posted up a bunch of pics in there too.

 

hey ReddotsS2K thanks for the replies and the link...

Can you or anyone answer this for me: How would the clutch cause the car to do what it did on the freeway? I mean the car was already in 3rd gear when I accelerated...wouldn't that mean the clutch had nothing to do with it since it was not in use at the moment?


Sorry if its a dumb question but I am a total noob at driving stick and havent had a daily driven manual in about 5 years...

 

i don't know exactly how it works to be honest, but i have a general idea. When your foot is not on the clutch, the clutch is gripping the flywheel. If the clutch is worn, it will not grip...which results in slipping. In thid gear it slips a lot worse, but i am sure if you are in 2nd and hit vtec it will slip, or atleast slip going into third. I think that third gear somehow puts more stress on the clutch because i noticed that it slipped worse when i was in third.

When it slips, it still has pressure on it...so the clutch is trying to keep up with the flywheel. When the clutch is at it's first stage of going bad, it usually catches back up...which is why you said it slipped and then accelerated.

Again, i am not positive thats all correct, just my interpretation of whats going on haha.