Gear grinding to 2nd

mar6o

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2018
Threads
3
Messages
123
Reaction score
87
Location
Tallinn, Estonia
Vehicle(s)
Civic 5D Elegance Navi MT 1.0
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
Coming up to 14k miles on mine, still grinding.

Sometimes (rarely) it will shift smoothly though, esp when the car's warm and you engage 2nd in lower rpm.
Sponsored

 

eha1988

Senior Member
First Name
Eric
Joined
Apr 27, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
123
Reaction score
50
Location
Wisconsin
Vehicle(s)
2018 WOP Civic Hatchback Sport
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
Coming up to 14k miles on mine, still grinding.

Sometimes (rarely) it will shift smoothly though, esp when the car's warm and you engage 2nd in lower rpm.
I get this as well, not really a grind but more of a crunchy positive feel. Double clutching does help it go away.
 

Dark-R

Senior Member
First Name
vincent
Joined
Mar 13, 2018
Threads
14
Messages
64
Reaction score
11
Location
USA
Vehicle(s)
Civic Type R
Country flag
My 2nd gear always crunchy and I grind my 2nd gear about 10x since I got the car with 7000 miles.

it has been very frustrated, but I think I resolved this issue. First of all, I think the original shift knob is too small and slippery. Considering that 2nd gear is crunchy, it requires a bit more effort to engage 2nd gear at times. when this happens, my hand slip off the shifter knob, 2nd gear was not fully engage and grinds.

Recently, I got a bigger shift knob with much better grip. In addition, I went to autocross and power shifting from 1st to 2nd all day. I feel that my transmission is much smoother now, maybe it has been broken in. Now with a better grip shift knob, I haven't experience any issue yet.
 

Axatax

Banned
Banned
Joined
Apr 23, 2017
Threads
8
Messages
840
Reaction score
514
Location
In Malkuth, surrounded by evil, low on gas.
Vehicle(s)
2K Civic DX Coupe B18C5 (swap), 2017 Civic LX Coupe 6MT
Country flag
LX manual. I've never had the 1-2 grind, but when the car was very new, I had the shifter get stuck between 5 and 6 a bunch of times. "Stuck" as in can't move the stick at all, incl. neutral.

Eventually it worked itself out and all is good. It's probably just burs or imperfect machining that eventually get's worn off.
 

AndreyL

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Threads
0
Messages
119
Reaction score
60
Location
Bethesda
Vehicle(s)
2017 Civic Si
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
Even gears are definitely super crunchy in my ‘17 Si. 2nd being the worst. I can’t pinpoint what causes it since it doesn’t happen every time, but definitely enough to be annoying.
 


RunningHot2017

20 years. Smashing gears.
First Name
Jared
Joined
Jan 4, 2018
Threads
4
Messages
181
Reaction score
113
Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic Si
Country flag
I have found that using a lame, pseudo-double clutch technique eliminates the grind (crunch). A lot of people believe its the synchros and I can agree. So when I'm driving granny style, I will get my RPMs up in first and very quickly push the clutch in, put the car in neutral, let out on the clutch, push the clutch in, smack the stick into second, and take off.

Like I said before either here or in another forum, its like the synchros on this car think they belong in a 5 ton truck. There is a 20000lb International tractor with a 10 speed Eaton transmission that is not synchronized at my workplace that often shifts cleaner than this car tbh.

I do wonder if its not the synchros or imperfect machining. Could the gear grind be caused by the CDV not allowing the clutch to come all the way off the Flywheel before some people shift? I know many people on this forum try to drive this car like the older generations. Which usually means that they (myself included) drop the clutch and slam that sucker into the next gear as quick as possible.
 

David Harper

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2016
Threads
64
Messages
884
Reaction score
420
Location
Crystal Lake, Il.
Vehicle(s)
2016 Civic coupe
Country flag
the only issue with my 6mt is notchy shifting. so what fix, specifically, would cure this?
 

Robin

Member
First Name
Les
Joined
Oct 27, 2018
Threads
0
Messages
13
Reaction score
4
Location
Ontario
Vehicle(s)
Civic Hatchback
Country flag
the only issue with my 6mt is notchy shifting. so what fix, specifically, would cure this?
I avoid crunch by shifting out of gear, waiting a moment and the guiding the gear stick into the next gear. Works for me. Also, over time the notchiness has decreased.
 
OP
OP

Gagerr

Energy green ;)
First Name
Gage
Joined
Feb 27, 2018
Threads
35
Messages
226
Reaction score
91
Location
OH
Vehicle(s)
Honda Civic Si Coupe
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
the only issue with my 6mt is notchy shifting. so what fix, specifically, would cure this?
I thought notchy was good. It feels sporty. You're saying you want a dampened shift feel?
 

David Harper

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2016
Threads
64
Messages
884
Reaction score
420
Location
Crystal Lake, Il.
Vehicle(s)
2016 Civic coupe
Country flag
I wish it was smoother going from gear to gear, especially 2nd to third, when if I try to shift fast it sometimes gets locked out of third. really infuriating.
 


Karl_Shroff

New Member
First Name
Karl
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Threads
0
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Location
Raleigh, NC
Vehicle(s)
2019 Civic Si Coupe
Country flag
I heard that a weighted shift knob and acuity upgrades help with the grinding in second. What is a good looking good quality part that matches the interior?
 

Idkmang

Member
First Name
Bryce
Joined
Aug 19, 2019
Threads
1
Messages
17
Reaction score
6
Location
United states
Vehicle(s)
20018 civic lx
Country flag
I had the cronchy 2nd and 4th issue, it went away after i deleted the CDV.
 


 


Top