Can’t shift smoothly after 1 year

racer

Senior Member
First Name
Dave
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Threads
0
Messages
639
Reaction score
400
Location
Virginia
Vehicle(s)
2018 Civic Si sedan.
Country flag
Can you isolate the issue a bit more? Upshift only? Downshift? Low RPM? higher rpm? rev hang issues? Engaging from a stop on a hill?
I found the Si pretty easy to shift. The least smooth shifts were when the rev hang was obvious. Trying to shift too quickly? Maybe try slowing down your sequence.
Sponsored

 

amirza786

Senior Member
First Name
A
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Threads
87
Messages
3,854
Reaction score
3,947
Location
Northern California
Vehicle(s)
2022 Polestar 2, 2010 Lexus IS 350 Sport
Country flag
Yeah ... I am 53 ... I love the car but the shifting has become a burden to hard to over come ... the good news is ... that there are plenty of 20 somethings who don't know what we do. So I can get my money back. It's rather sad. Sad that the Ford Focus ST now offered with dual scroll turbo was eliminated in the US along with all the other cars I would like in favor of some sloppy 5 thousand pound SUV s abound in the marketplace. What a fn mess!!! Live and learn ...
The problem with the Ford Focus is (was)...it's a Ford. The good news is, there are still some good enthusiast cars out there that have gotten reliable, are fun and relatively inexpensive like the Hyundai Veloster N which quite frankly if I was 15 years younger I would consider buying (I'm 51). Did I say Hyundai?? Gulp. Yes
 

Jeremiah T

Member
First Name
Jeremiah
Joined
Oct 16, 2019
Threads
5
Messages
23
Reaction score
15
Location
Rochester NY
Vehicle(s)
2018 Civic SI Sedan
Country flag
2018 SI is my first car and therefore first manual. I've driven other manuals (2015 beetle turbo r line, and 2004 Boxter s). The only problems ive had with only the si is that sometimes i cant get it into first from neutral and it can either not go fully into gear, which i think might be might fault, or very rarely slips out of gear. Other than that, i have to problems with it. And those problems dont happen that often at all.
 

integra15

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Threads
53
Messages
594
Reaction score
265
Location
Ann Arbor
Vehicle(s)
2017 Civic SI
Country flag
Over the last year I have also been thinking how labor intensive it is to drive this car compared to my last Civic.

The forces on the shifter are too high. Getting it into gear always seems too forced. When shifting there almost always seems to be a bump in "resistance" right before I can force it into the gear. Getting it our of gear is also not smooth and sometimes feels "stuck". The clutch pedal is super stiff starting after the first year. I know we have more torque, but it seems like the rev band is narrow, meaning I have to be more picky about what gear I select. I cannot skip shift nearly as much as any other manual car I have ever driven. Finally the lag in throttle response is too high taking away the quick response Hondas were known for in the past. Honestly if they don't improve this my next Honda if at all will be an auto.
 

LittleturboSi

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2019
Threads
15
Messages
69
Reaction score
56
Location
Canada
Vehicle(s)
2019 Civic Si
Country flag
Does anyone get occasional lock out from 1st gear after stopping at traffic light? It started happening to me around 5K miles. Not a real big deal, just need to put into 2nd before slipping back into 1st. May be it's getting cold? Same for reverse.

Back to the title, I think this has to do with a bit of everything, including the driver. The light clutch with a firm stick (not a good match), the high clutch engagement point, the slower throttle response, the rev hang, the "precise robotic feel" gear shift (versus "ballet landing feel" of the 9th gen, see my other post comparing to the 9th gen if interested), and how much the driver can cope and adjust to them. To me it's ok now, at least no one complaints about my stick driving when they ride with me. I am now at least shifting as good as my 9th gen, except for the heel toe thing.
 


amirza786

Senior Member
First Name
A
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Threads
87
Messages
3,854
Reaction score
3,947
Location
Northern California
Vehicle(s)
2022 Polestar 2, 2010 Lexus IS 350 Sport
Country flag
Does anyone get occasional lock out from 1st gear after stopping at traffic light? It started happening to me around 5K miles. Not a real big deal, just need to put into 2nd before slipping back into 1st. May be it's getting cold? Same for reverse.

Back to the title, I think this has to do with a bit of everything, including the driver. The light clutch with a firm stick (not a good match), the high clutch engagement point, the slower throttle response, the rev hang, the "precise robotic feel" gear shift (versus "ballet landing feel" of the 9th gen, see my other post comparing to the 9th gen if interested), and how much the driver can cope and adjust to them. To me it's ok now, at least no one complaints about my stick driving when they ride with me. I am now at least shifting as good as my 9th gen, except for the heel toe thing.
That actually happened to me a few times. I would remedy it by letting off the clutch and depressing it again
 

LittleturboSi

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2019
Threads
15
Messages
69
Reaction score
56
Location
Canada
Vehicle(s)
2019 Civic Si
Country flag
To OP, don't give up, try to adjust your seat 1 or even 2 notch back (not tilting the back, but move the seat horizontally). This may help with getting a "normal" and better clutch control. See my other post "Going from 10th gen to 9th gen Si" for more https://www.civicx.com/threads/going-from-10th-gen-to-9th-gen-si.35408/

FYI, I was at one point almost giving up my Si because of seat/neck pain problem. Took 1 month to figure out.
 
OP
OP

Itouchelize

New Member
First Name
Jerry
Joined
Nov 6, 2019
Threads
2
Messages
4
Reaction score
1
Location
Los angles
Vehicle(s)
Civic Si 2016
Country flag
Does anyone get occasional lock out from 1st gear after stopping at traffic light? It started happening to me around 5K miles. Not a real big deal, just need to put into 2nd before slipping back into 1st. May be it's getting cold? Same for reverse.

Back to the title, I think this has to do with a bit of everything, including the driver. The light clutch with a firm stick (not a good match), the high clutch engagement point, the slower throttle response, the rev hang, the "precise robotic feel" gear shift (versus "ballet landing feel" of the 9th gen, see my other post comparing to the 9th gen if interested), and how much the driver can cope and adjust to them. To me it's ok now, at least no one complaints about my stick driving when they ride with me. I am now at least shifting as good as my 9th gen, except for the heel toe thing.

I do sometimes get the 1st gear lockout as well. It’s the worst when the light turns green if I’m not paying attention to the other stop lights to get ready to move. When this happens I always get honked at and it’s a bitch stressful lol. I wonder why this even happens. As for shifting, I can shift smoothly with this car... The problem is being consistent with my smooth shifts all the time. Sometimes the engagement is 20% up and sometimes it’s 60%. It’s very unpredictable for me but I guess I need to keep driving
 
OP
OP

Itouchelize

New Member
First Name
Jerry
Joined
Nov 6, 2019
Threads
2
Messages
4
Reaction score
1
Location
Los angles
Vehicle(s)
Civic Si 2016
Country flag
Over the last year I have also been thinking how labor intensive it is to drive this car compared to my last Civic.

The forces on the shifter are too high. Getting it into gear always seems too forced. When shifting there almost always seems to be a bump in "resistance" right before I can force it into the gear. Getting it our of gear is also not smooth and sometimes feels "stuck". The clutch pedal is super stiff starting after the first year. I know we have more torque, but it seems like the rev band is narrow, meaning I have to be more picky about what gear I select. I cannot skip shift nearly as much as any other manual car I have ever driven. Finally the lag in throttle response is too high taking away the quick response Hondas were known for in the past. Honestly if they don't improve this my next Honda if at all will be an auto.
I hate thinking about the car in such a negative way because I know how much work the engineers put in to build this 10th gen Si. It’s really a great car. It’s just frustrating that my shifts aren’t consistently smooth. Like I’ve stated, I’ve driven other manuals and you didn’t really have to think when shifting and it was effortless. With this I really have to pay attention or else I’m gonna get a buck or jerk in either direction
 

COOL COUPE

Senior Member
Joined
May 2, 2017
Threads
47
Messages
516
Reaction score
321
Location
South Carolina
Vehicle(s)
2019 Civic SI coupe (red) Skunk 2 shift knob BOV Spacer Plate (red) K&N Panel Filter Dual Muffler Delete
Country flag
When you get locked out of first ... give some gas and go with second gear. Lock out can occur at 5 mph 4 mph and even 3.
 


R-10552

Senior Member
First Name
Russ
Joined
Feb 18, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
235
Reaction score
229
Location
NJ
Vehicle(s)
2021 Acura RDX Aspec, 2019 Civic Si (wife's)
Country flag
I hate thinking about the car in such a negative way because I know how much work the engineers put in to build this 10th gen Si. It’s really a great car. It’s just frustrating that my shifts aren’t consistently smooth. Like I’ve stated, I’ve driven other manuals and you didn’t really have to think when shifting and it was effortless. With this I really have to pay attention or else I’m gonna get a buck or jerk in either direction
I've been driving manual cars (mostly Hondas) for 20+ years and I can't shift this car smoothly to save my life. My wife has a '19 Si and every time I drive it, it's like I've never driven a manual before. I'm convinced it's the rev-hang. I can drive my CTR buttery smooth and you can barely tell I'm shifting. The CTR has significantly less rev-hang (barely any). My wife has had the Si for about 5 months and has owned a manual car for approx. 5 years and she can drive the Si much much better than I can, honestly. It's her car and she just has the timing down with the rev hang I think.

When I do concentrate and try to shift smoothly it usually ends up with me being patient and not shifting to quickly. The revs hang so long that if you shift too quickly you are at the wrong (too high) rpm. If get the timing where the rpms fall right where they need to be then it's a smooth shift. Where most other cars, by the time you get your clutch work and shifter work done, the rpms are where they need to be. In the Si it takes longer than that so you need to adjust your timing, I've found.
 

Maroco

Senior Member
First Name
Martin
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Threads
4
Messages
624
Reaction score
552
Location
Tulsa Oklahoma
Vehicle(s)
2012 Honda civic lx 2020 civic si
Country flag
I've been driving manual cars (mostly Hondas) for 20+ years and I can't shift this car smoothly to save my life. My wife has a '19 Si and every time I drive it, it's like I've never driven a manual before. I'm convinced it's the rev-hang. I can drive my CTR buttery smooth and you can barely tell I'm shifting. The CTR has significantly less rev-hang (barely any). My wife has had the Si for about 5 months and has owned a manual car for approx. 5 years and she can drive the Si much much better than I can, honestly. It's her car and she just has the timing down with the rev hang I think.

When I do concentrate and try to shift smoothly it usually ends up with me being patient and not shifting to quickly. The revs hang so long that if you shift too quickly you are at the wrong (too high) rpm. If get the timing where the rpms fall right where they need to be then it's a smooth shift. Where most other cars, by the time you get your clutch work and shifter work done, the rpms are where they need to be. In the Si it takes longer than that so you need to adjust your timing, I've found.
Not all heroes wear capes my friend. I got my 2020 a few days ago and have been scratching my head on how to get my 1-2 shift smooth until i can cdv delete and tune. Your reccomendation got me shifting smooth! Just gotta wait slow down and wait for the revs to drop before you start releasing the clutch
 

R-10552

Senior Member
First Name
Russ
Joined
Feb 18, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
235
Reaction score
229
Location
NJ
Vehicle(s)
2021 Acura RDX Aspec, 2019 Civic Si (wife's)
Country flag
Not all heroes wear capes my friend. I got my 2020 a few days ago and have been scratching my head on how to get my 1-2 shift smooth until i can cdv delete and tune. Your reccomendation got me shifting smooth! Just gotta wait slow down and wait for the revs to drop before you start releasing the clutch
Glad I could help!
 

amirza786

Senior Member
First Name
A
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Threads
87
Messages
3,854
Reaction score
3,947
Location
Northern California
Vehicle(s)
2022 Polestar 2, 2010 Lexus IS 350 Sport
Country flag
I've been driving manual cars (mostly Hondas) for 20+ years and I can't shift this car smoothly to save my life. My wife has a '19 Si and every time I drive it, it's like I've never driven a manual before. I'm convinced it's the rev-hang. I can drive my CTR buttery smooth and you can barely tell I'm shifting. The CTR has significantly less rev-hang (barely any). My wife has had the Si for about 5 months and has owned a manual car for approx. 5 years and she can drive the Si much much better than I can, honestly. It's her car and she just has the timing down with the rev hang I think.

When I do concentrate and try to shift smoothly it usually ends up with me being patient and not shifting to quickly. The revs hang so long that if you shift too quickly you are at the wrong (too high) rpm. If get the timing where the rpms fall right where they need to be then it's a smooth shift. Where most other cars, by the time you get your clutch work and shifter work done, the rpms are where they need to be. In the Si it takes longer than that so you need to adjust your timing, I've found.
I have to honestly tell you rev hang is 100 percent mental. It's a perception that people have that they can't shift or will grind the gears while the revs are hanging, they hesitate and mis shift. Once you get over this, you will find rev hang is nothing more than an annoyance. It's a nothing burger
 

R-10552

Senior Member
First Name
Russ
Joined
Feb 18, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
235
Reaction score
229
Location
NJ
Vehicle(s)
2021 Acura RDX Aspec, 2019 Civic Si (wife's)
Country flag
I have to honestly tell you rev hang is 100 percent mental. It's a perception that people have that they can't shift or will grind the gears while the revs are hanging, they hesitate and mis shift. Once you get over this, you will find rev hang is nothing more than an annoyance. It's a nothing burger
Well not exactly. Rev hang isn't mental, it does exist. OP never stated that he couldn't shift or it grinds or he mis shifts. Said he couldn't shift smoothly. To which I said you could address this by slowing down your shifting to allow the rev hang to wear off and the revs to drop.

I agree with you that rev hang is annoying, but that's about it.
Sponsored

 


 


Top