although i only have 10k miles on the car, my 2001 civic Dx 5speed is hard to shift into 2nd gear when the car is completely cold, for example leaving it overnight and starting it in the morning. Even when i take my time trying to shift from 1st to 2nd, there is either substantial pressure trying to place the shifter into the second-gear gate, or the shift to second is greeted with an extremely short and quiet grind. the car has not been beaten or raced excessively, and is taken care of with all scheduled maintenance. Thankfully, it is still under warranty from the factory but i wanted to check with other people to see if they have a similar problem. The funny thing is, when the car starts to get warm, the problem becomes less and less noticeable, up to the point where it disappears after a good 8-10 minutes of driving. Does anyone know what is causing this? have u experienced anything similar? is it serious?

thanks!!

 

normal operation..

Colder conditions will cause the tranny fluid to become as thick as molasses....

 

Check the cables(new civics are cable actuated) where they bolt to the tranny. Possible that there is ice buildup or just need lubricating.

 

My friends car does the same thing...like he said...check the cable for lube...if that's not it take it to honda...they usually don't give you too hard of a time, but my friend had I/H/E when he went and the warranty was voided...because they said that he was displaying a racing mentality, which could be considered driver error...

He just shifts into third until the car warms up now...