Long story short I bought a used '08 Si and the 3rd gear is difficult to shift into/slight grind when cold. 45k on the odometer so it still has factory powertrain warranty on it but dealing with Honda on this issue is like talking to a brick wall.

I have already dealt with a trans rebuild through a dealer on an '01 Civic 5 speed years ago, but since this is a different animal altogether I'm curious as to what I would roughly spend out of pocket.

Before it gets asked the trans felt great when I test drove it, but the last few days its been cooler out (upper 70*) and now the issues are starting to occur during the lower temps.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Check out the recent Honda Tuning issues. The project car, an '08 Si had the same issue. I'm not sure if they mentioned the price in the magazine, but you could contact the owner of the car to ask.

 

Call corporate Honda and bitch and keep bitching till you get what you want customers do it all the time at the dealership I work at and get a lot of things covered under warranty.

 

Talk to the service manager. If he won't help you, then (only then) go over his contact and contact Honda directly. It should trickle down and either have the SM change his mind or get the ASM involved which could either be good or bad for you. I would never pay to have a trans repaired by a dealership though. No offense intended to techs who do a good job, but most trannys I get in that were touched by a dealership were done incorrectly.

 

This. I've been in two or three previously serviced by Honda/Acura technicians and each one had something done improperly - one included diff thrust clearance set to -.012".

 

Well I have to go in to my local dealer on Monday. We'll see what the outcome is.

 

You should be able to get it covered, especially since it's still under the powertrain warranty.

But if you had to pay out of pocket i would expect a bill ~12 hours of labor for the removal of the trans, replacement of the 3rd gear set, trans install and alignment check afterwards. Most dealers will have $100+ per hour. I would expect around ~1600+tax with parts.

 

I'm more worried about the whole "duplicate the problem" issue.

It hasn't been as bad lately, but since this service writer is a good friend's friend then hopefully he can work around it.

 

I opened a K20 and found the top mainshaft bearing completely missing. Glad the customer never put it in his car before bringing it to me.

 

Used to work at Honda: I once saw a tech forget to put the shim and spring washer on the bottom of the mainshaft on a K-series 6 speed and had the whole thing lock up and burn 3rd gear on the hoist.

 

First step is to atleast take it in and have it documented on paper.

 

UPDATE: Took it in today and a few hours later I got a call from Honda saying they couldn't replicate the problem...

As my stomach churned they went on to say that it's such a common issue that they're just going to warranty it anyway.

SCORE!!!!!

So now the parts are on order and I should have it back on either Saturday or Monday. While they're in there I may have them replace the clutch if it looks worn. Hopefully I won't get a call Thursday saying that they decided not to warranty it while the car is in pieces.

I'll keep y'all updated.

 

UPDATE #2:

Took the car in and warranty work was performed. Car shifts like a champ. Still a bit notchy but higher rev shifting is much improved.

Although I did haver to take it back this evening because upon first start up I was hearing a clanking noise. Turns out a stabilizer bracket was loose. All is tightened and is good.

Didn't even have to make a stink about it. This puts my faith back into Honda... slightly.

 

Good to hear that it got fixed.

A lot of manual trans stuff can be easy for warranty to deny, since it relies on user input. Bent shift forks, worn out synchros, ect. It's hard to blame a grinding third gear on the customer, though. First or second will always tend to go out before third gets a problem.

What did they end up replacing? Just a wearable part like a blocking ring, or was it something trickier?

 

Glad to hear that the issue was resolved and that Honda came through for you. It sounds like you had very good customer service.

 

They replaced the "third gear set", which I think was just the synchros. I haven't actually sat down and read over the bill yet. Too busy driving.