Rep Power: 278

It's happening more recently, not sure what's causing it. But when I'm stopped and I try to put the car into first, it's like the car only goes halfway into the gear. And the first few times I did it I thought it was all the way in so when I hit the gas there was a terrible grinding noise. But I find when it happens, I push and it only goes in halfway. Then if I let out on the clutch a little and let the tires rotate 1/1000 it slips right in. What would cause this?

 
Rep Power: 0

How many miles do u have ? If u have less than 25k miles, i readon the forum somewhere that the tranny has a brake up process and it usually stops doing this withn a week ... then gradually ur 2nd gear starts doing this and also the reverse... I didnt beleive it at first but i went through the same series of sticky gears man ;(

 
Rep Power: 0

One more thing, Are u sure that ur carpet isnt blocking ur clutch from being fully engaged ? that also prevents ur clutch to be fully engaged creating similar situations .

 
Rep Power: 278

Ya, Reverse is doing it too now that I think of it. But I have 42000 kilometers which is about 28000 miles maybe? 1.6 kilometers in a mile. How would the carpet stop it? The clutch plate is on the other side of the firewall so it wouldn't interfere there, and it doesn't physically stop me from pushing the pedal, I don't push it all the way to the floor anyway.

 
Rep Power: 0

it happenned to me in one of my other cars before.... i couldn't get it into first gear, well at first it was hard then it gradually got worse that it wouldn't even shift into first..... turned out to be the clutch master cylinder.

 
Rep Power: 240

i still have the same prob with about 90k miles. it seems to do it more when its cold tho. its def not the carpet in the way (atleast in my car) bc theres atleast 2 inches of dead space at the bottom of the clutch. mine only has to be engaged about an inch to completely disengage

 
Rep Power: 290

i had a similar problem, where it was a bitch to get it in first sometimes, and reverse all the time. took it to honda, they said there was something in the bell housing that needed to be cleaned, something with cables, and a pivot, but not the slave cylinder. cost was 142.80. i told them not to do it, called american honda customer service, then a week later, got it done at the stealership for free, with 46k miles on the car. they told me they cleaned whatever, and "put in new bushings" all i know is that it was free, and now it goes right into all gears.

 
Rep Power: 321

are u moving when your trying to go into first? I know for my integra, you cant go into first if your going faster then 5mph. Its a way to protect the tranny since 1st is suppose to be only to get you moving from a stop.

As for the reverse thing, it happens to me sometimes. I noticed that when that happens, if i got into 3rd then 4th, I can go into reverse no problems.

You can also try changing your transmission fluid. Sometimes that helps.

 
Rep Power: 0

This worked for me:
-cleaned shift linkages/bushings
-changed manual transmission fluid
-opened middle console and sprayed the base of the shifter assembly with grease (this alone fixed the problem when it happened a second time)

 
Rep Power: 278

I'll try that, thanks.

 
Rep Power: 0

It's probably your clutch master cylinder.

 
Rep Power: 0

Please explain?
If its the master cylinder, he would have difficulty pressing the clutch pedal. It would squeak, creak, twang, and may be quite stiff. He didn't indicate this as a symptom.

 
Rep Power: 231

i've got a similar problem, but my clutch doesn't slip or anything. when going into first, i usually put it in 2nd, then 1st will go without a problem. same thing with reverse...1st, 2nd, reverse. i've done that with three cars now and its worked for all of them (2 hondas, 1 nissan).

 
Rep Power: 353

i have the same problem. but i have an 01.

when it doesnt go into gear, all i do is shift it into second, then shift it back into first rite away...usually works...but doesnt happen much


however, my reverse sucks... i actually have to hold the reverse untill the car's engine engages into the gears then it locks and i reverse.

 
Rep Power: 249

i have this problem as well. i do the same as sl33py and it works for me. kind of a nuisance tho

 
Rep Power: 0

I have said this before, I don't know how it works, but it works. Try jiggling the steering wheel when you are stopped and it won't shift into first or reverse. It has always worked for me, it gets stuck but after a jiggling the wheel, it pops right in.

 
Rep Power: 278

My steering wheel is solid, it won't move at all.

 
Rep Power: 300

^ X2

 
Rep Power: 0

my reverse is a little tough to get into, usually creeping ahead in 1st lets me get into reverse no problems. but sometimes it will clunk into reverse.

 
Rep Power: 0

yeah. mine is a 98, and i have probs getting into reverse sometimes. i just put it into neutral, then back into reverse, and it does fine then. but of course, the car has 210K on it. so yeah.

 
Rep Power: 0

I'm not talking about the play in the steering wheel, the idea here is to actually make the tires move a little left and right, like an 8th of a trun in both directions.

 
Rep Power: 0

Hi, I'm new...

But all that jiggling around with the gear shift isn't necessary..

Just remove the foot from the clutch pedal, and press it down again..

I've got the same problem as y'all... And my mechanic friend told that it's the smartest way to do it..

-Chapster

 
Rep Power: 0

I had a similar problem when I first got my 01 Civic LX sedan. When putting the car into gear, it wouldn't go in all the way (I could tell, and there was definitely resistance) even with the clutch pushed in all the way. If I lifted up on the clutch and pressed it down again, usually it would go right into gear. It was only ever an issue with 1st gear and Reverse.

Had the clutch bled and I haven't had the problem since. The dealership was being hasty in preparing my car for me (bought it used) and it wasn't a Honda dealership. I blame them.