Civic Si Break in questions.

[R_19TX]

Hello, new 2019 Si driver here, new manual driver as well, initially learning manual on a 8th gen civic and civic SI. I have a few questions, new SI bought at less than 50 miles, now approaching 1k miles and have noticed a few things that concern me.

1) up shifts now a bit notchy instead of smooth, especially between 3 to 4
2) I initially was up shifting a bit early and the RPMS would rise, but they no longer do that (noticed overnight or so)
3) occasionally in neutral, the shifter does not move left to right all the way
4) occasionally there is resistant felt going into 1st and reverse, sometimes the shifter would get stuck midway going into 1st as well.

Can someone help me find answers or explanations to these concerns?
Thanks.

Sponsored

 

[amirza786]

I would advise you to first become good at MT and becoming a natural, then you will figure out the best way to use this shifter. After being able to drive a mt without thinking, you can search this forum, including a multiple page post from me on improving the transmission as well as making it and shifting smoother

 

[zhendexing]

I upgraded to the acuity cable bushing. Shifts are night and day difference imo. I would occasionally get stuck up/down shifting into 2nd before the upgrade.

 

[inertiadrifto86]

Yeah I had some issues with the shifter getting stuck, feeling notchy and grabby on my '17 Si. After a while it improved, but I also did some shifter upgrades as well.

My '18 Si doesn't have the all the same problems, but I bought it used at 5k and getting it into reverse is actually quite difficult sometimes.

As for the rev issue - I don't 100percent follow what you're saying, but it sounds like youre talking about rev hang. When you initially depress the clutch to shift, with your right foot off the gas, the revs tend to "blip" 100-200 Rpms up. This, as I understand it, is an emissions thing and programmed into the ECU on purpose. Are you saying that you don't see rev hang anymore?

 

[R_19TX]

Yeah I had some issues with the shifter getting stuck, feeling notchy and grabby on my '17 Si. After a while it improved, but I also did some shifter upgrades as well.

My '18 Si doesn't have the all the same problems, but I bought it used at 5k and getting it into reverse is actually quite difficult sometimes.

As for the rev issue - I don't 100percent follow what you're saying, but it sounds like youre talking about rev hang. When you initially depress the clutch to shift, with your right foot off the gas, the revs tend to "blip" 100-200 Rpms up. This, as I understand it, is an emissions thing and programmed into the ECU on purpose. Are you saying that you don't see rev hang anymore?

It would blip up after releasing the clutch after I up shifting causing a jerking motion, this went away over a day. As far as the rev hang, I do not notice one, unless its very slight?

 

[REBELXSi]

I don't want anyone to take this personally but I have never heard people complain so much about a car's shifting before. Either my nearly 20 years of driving a manual has made me a great shifter or my Civic is one of few that operates as it should lol. Either way, I don't get it.

Practice practice practice, I guess.

 

[fenix-silver]

I don't want anyone to take this personally but I have never heard people complain so much about a car's shifting before. Either my nearly 20 years of driving a manual has made me a great shifter or my Civic is one of few that operates as it should lol. Either way, I don't get it.

Practice practice practice, I guess.

This is my first manual and I haven't really had any of these issues either. Sometimes when it's cold outside it's a bit more notchy, but other than maybe a handful of times can I say I've ever had issues getting into a gear. I'm still under 1K miles, so from what I've read the shifting should get a bit smoother as well once some things get worn in.

 

[Lukifer]

It would blip up after releasing the clutch after I up shifting causing a jerking motion, this went away over a day. As far as the rev hang, I do not notice one, unless its very slight?

Sounds like you are getting better at rev matching... the better you get, the less jerkiness you will experience in your shifts.

Considering you're pretty new to manuals and don't have much experience to fall back on... you are probably over thinking it... The shifters in these Si's can be a little notchy. They are not rubbery or "buttery smooth".

Chances are, there is nothing wrong with the your brand new car and you just need time to learn the shifter and refine your technique.

Manual transmission cars are typically known to be MUCH more reliable than automatics because they are simpler in their design and operation... you basically have a direct connection to the transmission through a lever... so it's normal for it to feel a little mechanical and clunky.

Don't worry about it so much! You'll get used to it.

 

[BPF129]

I don't want anyone to take this personally but I have never heard people complain so much about a car's shifting before. Either my nearly 20 years of driving a manual has made me a great shifter or my Civic is one of few that operates as it should lol. Either way, I don't get it.

Practice practice practice, I guess.

I don't think you should be worried about offending anyone with this statement at all. I too haven't heard of so many complaints and I had fun with the terrible manual transmission in an 08 scion tc a decade ago. That thing felt like I was driving a standard for the first time! Ugh! I think it's got a similar feel to the 05 Mini Cooper S I had with the 'GETRAG' transmission, which initially felt very choppy, but once you learned that it was part of the 'sport' feel, feeling the gear engage so it didn't feel like a bowl of marshmallows...it was great. I don't feel anything wrong with my Si's transmission...knock on wood I guess. Or just take some time and as you said, practice, practice, practice! All transmissions are able to be learned and driven smoothly.

 

[R_19TX]

Sounds like you are getting better at rev matching... the better you get, the less jerkiness you will experience in your shifts.

Considering you're pretty new to manuals and don't have much experience to fall back on... you are probably over thinking it... The shifters in these Si's can be a little notchy. They are not rubbery or "buttery smooth".

Chances are, there is nothing wrong with the your brand new car and you just need time to learn the shifter and refine your technique.

Manual transmission cars are typically known to be MUCH more reliable than automatics because they are simpler in their design and operation... you basically have a direct connection to the transmission through a lever... so it's normal for it to feel a little mechanical and clunky.

Don't worry about it so much! You'll get used to it.

The odd part is that I noticed these things as I continued to drive it, I did not notice these things at the beginning. I thought it would be the opposite, that as the car would become smoother and less notchy as the car broke in?

 

[amirza786]

The odd part is that I noticed these things as I continued to drive it, I did not notice these things at the beginning. I thought it would be the opposite, that as the car would become smoother and less notchy as the car broke in?

Just get more natural at it, then when shifting is second nature, check out my post on changing out the OEM MT fluid, which makes the transmission much smoother, including shifting

 

[Design]

You are simply becoming more in tune with your car the more you drive it. A few notes:

• Shifting to 2, 4 and 6 require "pushing" the shift cable and connected hardware. The result is a slightly more spongy feel, regardless of upgrades.
• Shifting to 3 and 5 will always feel more precise.
• Under normal driving, give yourself an extra half second to shift gears, in order for the syncros to engage. Things should normalize after a few thousand miles (providing you aren't constantly forcing your upshifts).
• The resistance you're feeling could be stiff return spring(s), which lessen with increased use. But it shouldn't prevent you from finding the 1st or reverse gates on either side.
• Going into first/reverse from neutral can sometimes result in some resistance. This is because the transmission gears aren't rotating, which is what allows the syncros to line up. Quickly cycle the clutch pedal, and you should be able to easily get in gear.

 

[Lukifer]

The odd part is that I noticed these things as I continued to drive it, I did not notice these things at the beginning. I thought it would be the opposite, that as the car would become smoother and less notchy as the car broke in?

Not necessarily... The car really won't feel any different as you break it in... the exhaust might start to sound a little deeper, but that's probably about it. You really shouldn't notice any difference in the way the car drives... There are a lot of factors that can affect the way a car "feels" or behaves (ambient temperature and internal temperature are large contributors). When my car is warmed up all the way, or I've been driving it a lot on a particular day, the shifter will feel softer and push into gears more easily compared to when you first start it up in the morning and everything is cold. Perhaps the car had been driven around already when you first test drove so the trans / shifter had already been warmed up?

I was going to say "wait until winter when the temp drops down to freezing or below... the clutch and gear box feel very strange after a cold start"... but I see you live in Texas so this probably doesn't apply to you, lol.

 

[inertiadrifto86]

I don't want anyone to take this personally but I have never heard people complain so much about a car's shifting before. Either my nearly 20 years of driving a manual has made me a great shifter or my Civic is one of few that operates as it should lol. Either way, I don't get it.

Practice practice practice, I guess.

I don't think you should be worried about offending anyone with this statement at all. I too haven't heard of so many complaints and I had fun with the terrible manual transmission in an 08 scion tc a decade ago. That thing felt like I was driving a standard for the first time! Ugh! I think it's got a similar feel to the 05 Mini Cooper S I had with the 'GETRAG' transmission, which initially felt very choppy, but once you learned that it was part of the 'sport' feel, feeling the gear engage so it didn't feel like a bowl of marshmallows...it was great. I don't feel anything wrong with my Si's transmission...knock on wood I guess. Or just take some time and as you said, practice, practice, practice! All transmissions are able to be learned and driven smoothly.

I think there are some assumptions being made here.

Instead of "lol newbs learn how to shift" maybe consider the fact that the complaints are so prominent, perhaps there is something to the complaints themselves - instead of judging others and assuming they don't know how to shift.

I've stated this before, I learned to drive on a 30 year old beater POS Chevy truck and the clutch and gear shifter on that were not only easier to learn on but smoother and more consistent in operation.

Perhaps it's simply a matter of break in. It's been said multiple times that the gear shifter smoothes out over time, and the people on this forum aren't the only ones to complain about the clutch and rev hang. Simply do a Google search for 10th gen Civic rev hang. It's well known at this point.

Also, every gearbox and transmission is different. Some may require a long break in, some may experience issues where others will not.

 

[BPF129]

I think there are some assumptions being made here.

Instead of "lol newbs learn how to shift" maybe consider the fact that the complaints are so prominent, perhaps there is something to the complaints themselves - instead of judging others and assuming they don't know how to shift.

I've stated this before, I learned to drive on a 30 year old beater POS Chevy truck and the clutch and gear shifter on that were not only easier to learn on but smoother and more consistent in operation.

Perhaps it's simply a matter of break in. It's been said multiple times that the gear shifter smoothes out over time, and the people on this forum aren't the only ones to complain about the clutch and rev hang. Simply do a Google search for 10th gen Civic rev hang. It's well known at this point.

Woah...Who's the one assuming?

At no point did either of us rag on the OP or anybody for being a 'newb that needs to learn how to shift' of any sort. I think that would be absolutely disgraceful...especially considering that we've all had to learn the joys of MT's at some point in our lives. The OP stated they are new to the game with a little learning under their belt on a different model Si. When I first got '19 Si coming from an AT '16 Tacoma...it took a couple days to get back into the groove of making the shifts feel smooth again.

All manual transmissions are different. My '05 Mini Cooper S felt very precise with each engagement...my '08 Scion tC had the worst finicky transmission ever...my '03 Audi A4 was super smooth all around...my '07 Si felt spongy compared to this '19. The '94 Ford Escort that I learned on 20 years ago felt as though it would've been easier to learn on than this Si...but it wasn't meant to be a sportier vehicle. I mean hell, you could shift that thing from 3rd to 4th without even having to push the clutch in and it didn't even make the car jump at any point...not to mention the grabbing point on the clutch was in a range of 4-6 inches. The thing was a piece...but an easy piece!

Perhaps this other person and I just happen to have 2 oddball Civics that haven't dealt with any of these issues that many people are complaining about...that doesn't mean we're saying they don't exist. I've certainly read a bunch of threads on here complaining about the shifts and what people have done...just in case I happen to start noticing these things. I'm about to hit 1k miles myself so you can certainly bet that I'm taking notes just in case.

Sponsored