markpenske

I've read so many different opinions on the gear grinding & notchy shifting problems. The peole who have it, it's a real problem. THe one's who dont have it feel it's a rare problem.
Is this a problem with the 2000 model only? What's the real deal here????
Thanks

bayarea408

[QUOTE]Originally posted by markpenske
[B]I've read so many different opinions on the gear grinding & notchy shifting problems. The peole who have it, it's a real problem. THe one's who dont have it feel it's a rare problem.
Is this a problem with the 2000 model only?

S2k_fever

This problem is in no way a driver related error. It is a flaw with the transmission. People have shifted with the clutch all the way in and they still get the grind sometimes. The transmission on this car needs alot of improvement in terms of smoothness and the grind problem. Do a search on the 1-2 grind and you'll see how many owners have experienced this problem. The ones who don't have it always think it's a driver related error!

bayarea408

s2k_fever,

if there is a flaw with the tranny, then how come some people dont get the grind at all??? if there was a tranny flaw, then everyone should get the grind right? i am not saying its a driver error or even a tranny error... i think its car specific, because there are a lot of people on here that doesnt experience the 1-2 grind at all in all years 00-02. personally, if i were to have the 1-2 grind at high RPM shifts, i would be SERIOUSLY PISSED!!! and ANNOYED. i have an 01 and can rev to redline and shift as fast as i want and not get any grind/notchiness. even the 02 which supposidly has an updated tranny still grinds 1-2 for some people.



just my .02

S2k_fever

I agree with you 100% it is car specific and is something AHM should address. This in my opinion is a transmission that has a design flaw somewhere. Some cars have it and some don't. I'm not the only one complaining about the transmission. There are many other owners on this board that have very similar problems. Some people have gotten lucky and receieved perfect transmissions with their s2000 but there are others that have the notchy transmission, myself being one of them. I have gotten the 1-2 grind once and it really pissed me off because I was shifting perfectly, clutch all the way in etc... I love this car and if I were to do it again I would buy the same car but the transmission is something I would test out before the purchase. Hopefully by the MY 2003 they will fix all the trany problems. I have driven other manual cars since I purchased my s2000 and all of them have blown me away in terms of smoothness when compared to my s2000.

TWOK

I had the fix done in Sept '00. I think that is before the TSB.

It is really black and white. It only occurs when the car is up to operating temp. That is at least 20 Mins of fairly constand 60KPH (35MPH).

Some changes you will only feel a small snig as the syncro is having a hard time. other changes are a full on grind.


My fellow members at the Honda Sports Car Club (Victoria Australia) suggested that I try using the left hand pedal when changing

Here is my gearbox:

boiler

It sounds to me like you have a problem with your specific car. I think that I would take it to my dealer and let them repair it. AHM has done this for numerous owners and has even definied and corrected the problem for many owners.

The transmission in my MY2001 is the slickest , smoothest shifting manual transmission that I have EVER used. PERIOD! I would say that if you take a look at the total number of cars built versus the number of cars that are having problems with their transmission, you would find that the percentage is very small. I believe that some owners have a problem with the transmission and it isn't the way that they are driving. That is why Honda developed a fix for this problem.

jschmidt

Here's my take on it (with my car): It seems really easy to overdrive the transmission when quick shifting. It's not a question of force per se, for me it seems to be a question of lever speed. A little too fast and I get the notchy crunch. I don't have a full on grind but I can easily see how it might develop into that. It never happens if the transmission is warm and I shift for casual driving.

There is a perfect speed to move the lever (that is pretty fast but not my fastest) where the shift is pretty smooth. It definitely seems to be a weakness in the transmission's ability to syncronize.

Also, we now have a copy of the 4th gear grind recall notice. It should be posted soon.

netwiz

Actually, it doesn't matter how you shift. Sometimes the 2nd gear syncros just don't line up. I had the TSB done, but now, after about 7000 miles, it's coming right back. I think the new fix now is to have the '02 tranny swapped in (which I'm going to do) but I'm really afraid that it's not going to help significantly. Oh well.

cdelena

Honda did not put out a TSB and spend millions of dollars replacing gear sets because people were 'overdriving the transmissions'. There is a documented 'stacking tolerance problem' that effectively shortcuts the synchro action by forcing engagement of second gear prematurely. On many cars (even with the TSB parts) it is worse when the transmission is very hot and the gear grinds regardless of rpm or how fast the lever is moved. It is simply a flaw in many cars that has not been fully addressed, and probably won't be.