The Infamous 2nd Gear Crunch

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MisterC

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I somehow don't think there would be an 83 page thread where people repeatedly describe the same symptom under similar circumstances if every single one of them was able to entirely remediate the problem through technique. Likewise, an 83 page thread with so many disperate users in different climates and across several years of production suggests the problem is real, albeit manageable through effort.

Anyone still defending honda on this, or especially browbeating owners for not being happy, is being a dork. Honda needs to step up, and anyone being an apologist for them in this thread, especially if they too are owners, are doing themselves and us a serious disservice. Don't be surprised or stunned when rational actors aren't super polite about your behavior. We want our problem remediated, and you, by virtue of obfuscating and obstructing people who report the problem, are helping prevent this.
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I somehow don't think there would be an 83 page thread where people repeatedly describe the same symptom under similar circumstances if every single one of them was able to entirely remediate the problem through technique. Likewise, an 83 page thread with so many disperate users in different climates and across several years of production suggests the problem is real, albeit manageable through effort.

Anyone still defending honda on this, or especially browbeating owners for not being happy, is being a dork. Honda needs to step up, and anyone being an apologist for them in this thread, especially if they too are owners, are doing themselves and us a serious disservice. Don't be surprised or stunned when rational actors aren't super polite about your behavior. We want our problem remediated, and you, by virtue of obfuscating and obstructing people who report the problem, are helping prevent this.
Very well said. Thank you. I love honda and wish this problem could be fixed. I'm not going to the local autocross this weekend because of this issue. Sure i could keep grinding 2nd gear and eventually have my transmission replaced but i would rather that honda step up and put out a tsb for this issue asap ! I will say that it's unfortunate that i'm not able to enjoy this car the way honda designed it(for it's intended purpose)...currently !
 

jonasblack

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For you those that are still having this issue but don't feel like digging through all 83+ pages of this thread by starting at page 1 like I did... this comment on page 49 provides instructions to fixing the 2nd gear crunch that a lot of people are having. I no longer am experiencing the gear grind. Glad I was able to fix this myself as Honda Corporate didn't seem to want to help out. My rep stopped returning my calls around December 2018 so I had to take matters into my own hands. R-003133

I'd like to thank @Ruckus, @Fk8 4343, @PepsiJoe, @dominican, and @Froggie3kb for the time and effort they put into helping out the community through their experiences! Sorry if I missed others but these guys never let up with keeping everybody up-to-date with their issues. If you all read this and I ever meet you all (Wake the dragon event?!), I owe you all a beer!:beer:
 

EnjoyDriving

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So, you did the CDV removal and it solved your grinding issue...that's good to know, thanks for sharing :thumbsup:

For you those that are still having this issue but don't feel like digging through all 83+ pages of this thread by starting at page 1 like I did... this comment on page 49 provides instructions to fixing the 2nd gear crunch that a lot of people are having. I no longer am experiencing the gear grind. Glad I was able to fix this myself as Honda Corporate didn't seem to want to help out. My rep stopped returning my calls around December 2018 so I had to take matters into my own hands. R-003133

I'd like to thank @Ruckus, @Fk8 4343, @PepsiJoe, @dominican, and @Froggie3kb for the time and effort they put into helping out the community through their experiences! Sorry if I missed others but these guys never let up with keeping everybody up-to-date with their issues. If you all read this and I ever meet you all (Wake the dragon event?!), I owe you all a beer!:beer:
 


davemarco

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I have about 600 miles on my '19 CTR. Haven't experienced a grind yet, though I have noticed an odd resistance between 1st and 2nd gears. It's like the shifter won't move down past the middle of the two gates until I've held it against an invisible barrier for a half second. Once that brief pause is up, the invisible barrier disappears and the shifter slides perfectly into 2nd.
 

Gansan

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I have about 600 miles on my '19 CTR. Haven't experienced a grind yet, though I have noticed an odd resistance between 1st and 2nd gears. It's like the shifter won't move down past the middle of the two gates until I've held it against an invisible barrier for a half second. Once that brief pause is up, the invisible barrier disappears and the shifter slides perfectly into 2nd.
What you are describing is the action of the blocker ring, which is part of a synchronizer. The invisible barrier is the ring blocking you and as you apply pressure, it is using the resulting friction to speed up/slow down the gears to let them mate.
 

davemarco

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What you are describing is the action of the blocker ring, which is part of a synchronizer. The invisible barrier is the ring blocking you and as you apply pressure, it is using the resulting friction to speed up/slow down the gears to let them mate.
So then by logical extension, if I push harder, I should be able to get past the barrier faster (albeit with more synchro wear), correct?
 

Tanilroy

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I somehow don't think there would be an 83 page thread where people repeatedly describe the same symptom under similar circumstances if every single one of them was able to entirely remediate the problem through technique. Likewise, an 83 page thread with so many disperate users in different climates and across several years of production suggests the problem is real, albeit manageable through effort.

Anyone still defending honda on this, or especially browbeating owners for not being happy, is being a dork. Honda needs to step up, and anyone being an apologist for them in this thread, especially if they too are owners, are doing themselves and us a serious disservice. Don't be surprised or stunned when rational actors aren't super polite about your behavior. We want our problem remediated, and you, by virtue of obfuscating and obstructing people who report the problem, are helping prevent this.
I have experienced some 2nd gear grinding too, with 3 instances over 2000 miles driven since purchasing a 2019 in Feb. Did not experience this in various other quality Honda experiences of owning from my 93 NSX, or 99 SI, or 04 S2k. Honestly and maybe its just me- while I adore the FK8- I am a touch disappointed that the Type R shifting not at least as slick feeling IMHO as the ap2 s2k... that was my fave Honda transmission and I was optimistic a 2019 type R would recreate or beat that feeling from 2004... I can’t say that has happened. Oh well. No such thing as a perfect car; meanwhile, the type R is pretty amazing and perhaps as good as it gets < $40k. And, if Honda has a fix for us it would only exponentiate loyalty.
 


veehexx

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i've had shifting issues (iirc 2nd gear was most prevalent, standstill 1st gear was also stiff) about 14months/10-12k miles old on my FK2. got a clutch warranty and that fixed it - no excessive wear on the clutch.
identical symptoms about 14months later than that so in it goes for another warranty. this time they denied.
let it progress and the entire box gets stiff and started to get lockouts on other gears. Goes in a few times before they finally accept there's an issue. They strip 'box, find 2nd gear is very slightly burred, try warranty but denied. I'm in the hole for a gearbox repair.
since the 'box was out and the problems weren't soly down to 2nd gear, i throw in the Xtreme SMF clutch kit. SMF was always on the cards, just not so early in it's life.
it's only been 4-5 months but so far so good. definate improvement to shifting and not had a single issue with it. based on past duration, I've another 10months before something might show itself but i'm mostly confident my problems were clutch related. it just didnt 'feel' like hydralics or gearbox mechanical.

fwiw, during the let it progress period i went with others advice on this thread; CDV removal, clutch bleeding, even took the opportunity to go braided clutch line, and none of those made much of a difference, if any.
I've also got the acuity gearbox bushes replaced. that made a subtle but positive improvement to engagement feel. Will be fitting the shift base bushes this weekend if weather is nice.
 

davemarco

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i've had shifting issues (iirc 2nd gear was most prevalent, standstill 1st gear was also stiff) about 14months/10-12k miles old on my FK2. got a clutch warranty and that fixed it - no excessive wear on the clutch.
identical symptoms about 14months later than that so in it goes for another warranty. this time they denied.
let it progress and the entire box gets stiff and started to get lockouts on other gears. Goes in a few times before they finally accept there's an issue. They strip 'box, find 2nd gear is very slightly burred, try warranty but denied. I'm in the hole for a gearbox repair.
since the 'box was out and the problems weren't soly down to 2nd gear, i throw in the Xtreme SMF clutch kit. SMF was always on the cards, just not so early in it's life.
it's only been 4-5 months but so far so good. definate improvement to shifting and not had a single issue with it. based on past duration, I've another 10months before something might show itself but i'm mostly confident my problems were clutch related. it just didnt 'feel' like hydralics or gearbox mechanical.

fwiw, during the let it progress period i went with others advice on this thread; CDV removal, clutch bleeding, even took the opportunity to go braided clutch line, and none of those made much of a difference, if any.
I've also got the acuity gearbox bushes replaced. that made a subtle but positive improvement to engagement feel. Will be fitting the shift base bushes this weekend if weather is nice.
Does the FK2 not come with a SMF stock like the FK8?
 

tinyman392

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Whelp, after so many thousands of miles of no issue, mine came back. I noticed it only happens when I shift aggressively and quickly. So the shorter the length of the shifter (or in this case the knob) and the more aggressive I shift, the more likely it is to occur. I had it happen on both a 5-4 downshift and a 1-2 upshift tonight.
 

jsyar

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I did the CDV removal and I can attest that it definitely improved the drivability. It’s a much smoother transition between gears. Time will tell if this solves the 2nd gear grind, but I’m hopeful.
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