A bunch of Honda owners are mad because they think Honda should issue a recall on their cars due to their transmission, things like randomly deciding to pop out of third gear into neutral and not fully engaging. When these owners confront Honda, the car company kept saying “we’ve never heard of the problem before,” despite numerous complaints being sent in, and dealers say they “can’t replicate” the problem. There’s a writeup of the whole problem at AutomotiveTech.org, a list of message board forum members with the problem, and now, Fox 6 San Diego picked up on it after angry owners organized a protest at a local dealership. Suddenly, Honda’s tune has changed, and they’re “aware of the problem” and “investigating.” Video after the jump.
(Thanks to Robert!)
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“Honda” doesn’t. A particular few models do. I have a civic with 170k miles on it and the tranny is fine. Most civics are like that, and accords too. It’s not a systemic problem, it’s just a faulty design on a particular line of cars.
I bet you could say that about a lot of car manufacturers but people tend to lump bad things together into one giant group of generalization. Of course you’d probably never own another “American” car because they all suck.
Just a hunch.
I am having the exact same problem!! my 2007 honda civic si always pops out of 3rd gear or grinds when i try and put it into 3rd! i thought it was just me being lazy and not putting the clutch in all the way! im going to take it back to the dealer next week and have them fix it!
I was one of the owners at the protest at Honda of Escondido and I must say I am amazed at how now Honda admitted on national television that they are aware of the problem. I wish they could have informed their customer service case managers about this, instead of wasting my time explaining the problem to Honda America. Instead of finding a solution to my third gear problem, I was treated like I was the cause of the problem.After reading “sergiosend”‘s story about arbitration, I am glad I cancelled my hearing and instead decided to file a lawsuit against them.Thanks honda for ignoring customer complaints and your welcome for my crew putting you on blast.
“That 6-speed is in the RSX and TSX too.”
No it’s not. Before you assume that every K-series 6 speed is the same, please check your facts. The TSX has a transmission which is built in Japan, the 8G Si’s transmission is assembled in Canada. The TSX variant has a magnesium transmission case (vs aluminum on the Civic) and different gear ratios than the 6 speed found in the 8th gen Civic Si and the RSX. (Gear ratios on the 8G Si (1-6): 3.267, 2.130, 1.517, 1.147, 0.921, 0.659, vs Gear ratios on the TSX (1-6): 3.27, 1.88, 1.36, 1.03, 0.83, 0.66).
I owned a 2002 RSX Type-S with a 6 speed trans. The car had 40K on it when I bought it and around 70K when I traded it in. I put that car through it’s paces, and never had a third gear problem. I’m aware some do, but from what I saw when I owned mine it was usually the 05-06 ones which had the problem.
My current 07 TSX with a 6-speed manual has been treated a bit better than the RSX was, but I’ve still never experienced any problems with the trans. It’s been butter smooth in temps from 100+F to 20 below 0F. (I live in MI).
I do feel bad for everyone having the problem, but before anyone assumes before knowing better, please don’t spew”facts” about something which you obviously know nothing about.
I had a 2001 LX sedan. 79,000 miles on it, and the transmission went up like a house a-fire. The clutch blew and took out everything internal. After doing some research, I found out that 2001 Civics had transmission issues right off the line. I still had over two years of payments left, and that was the first Honda I’ve owned (I’ve been driving Hondas for over 10 years) that I will actually call a bitch.
Instead of getting it fixed…because we swear that the 2001 was CURSED…I traded the hunk for a 2004 EX sedan. Hopefully, this transmission will hold out.
Especially since I’m now stuck with a six year loan.
I have a 2008 Si and it does it too.
Finally… it only took a month, but I guess Beggars cannot be choosers. The original complaint was sent to you guys by Bob9 who says he still can’t comment, but appreciates that Consumerist finally got around to this after many complaints. he is now the proud owner of a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt T/C SS after honda bought back his car.
I had a 2003 RSX-S, and I’m sure the current tranny is an iteration of the older one, and I remember 3rd gear was sometimes choppy, not as smooth to get into as the other gears.