I have a 2004 civic EX with 222,000 miles on it. I got a new clutch put in about 6 months ago. Since then it has developed a problem that feels like the clutch is slipping when starting in 1st gear or changing to 2nd gear. The front end has some major vibration/bucking. I took it back to the shop that did the work (a great, reputable shop BTW, really good people I trust) and they seem to think its an ignition problem, not the clutch. So they took the plugs & coils out, everything physically looked fine, so they put it back together and the problem went away.

They didn't charge me anything so I took it back home. The next day the problem returned. I replaced the plugs, but that did not help. I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on coils as they are pretty expensive.

I'm still not convinced it isn't the clutch, since it only seems to happen when the clutch is engaging. If its already in gear, the problem doesn't happen. But I'm not sure why this would happen on a fairly new clutch. The car doesn't get driven hard. I should also note that the problem isn't always present. Some days it drives perfectly normal. Any ideas?

I should also point out that my automatic Ford Ranger once had a similar problem. I was convinced that 3rd gear was slipping, but it turned out to be a bad coil pack.

 

This is actually a pretty common issue. The friction surfaces of the flywheel and pressure plate are not quite getting along, and chattering during the slip engagement. Normally after sitting for a while cooling off or sitting after a moist day can trigger this, and as time goes on driving the engagement becomes smoother. I have had many civics do this, and my nissan truck does it. Not cast in stone but I'm fairly certain it wil not be corrected unless the clutch is gone through again ! New or resurfaced flywheel, and possibly a different brand clutch.

 

update... The problem seems to have gone away on its own again. I'm not real sure what to think about that. Haven't had any problems for the past 2 weeks.

 

Sounds exactly like typical "clutch chatter". Almost every manual I have ever drove did that every now and then (especially when going from hot to cold weather).