Hello,

I have had my car for under a week now.

It is a black on black 4 door 2008 Accord EX-L / 4 cylinder / 5 speed.

I have noticed two things with the transmission:

1. I hear a sound like a light clunk under my driver's seat when shifting from second into first. This only seems to happen when I have been in at least 3rd gear.

2. Shifting into 3rd gear can be tricky. It's as if the gear does not want to catch.

None of these items happens each time I shift but often enough. This means that they probably won't happen when I bring it in to the dealer. My previous car was a 2000 accord coupe EX 4 cylinder/manual. So I'm not new to manual Honda transmissions. I am also sure that I am pressing the clutch all the way in each time.

The 3rd gear problem seems to have been a problem in 7th generation cars. A couple of items came up when I googled it. Someone seemed to suggest that it could be due to the factory overfilling the transmission fluid.

Anyone else have or heard of these issues?


Thanks

Today I just picked up our 2008 EXL Navi with the 5 speed manual. It's white with the Ivory interior. So far I love it! There are so many features, that clearly it's going to take a while to figure out all of them. I really enjoyed saying "xm channel 6" and having it turn on that station. Not necessary really, but fun. And calling home with the hands free link was cool.

No problems with the transmission so far. It shifts very smoothly, even more smoothly than our 02 in terms of clutch action, transmission, etc. No clunks that I heard. It seems perfect.

Man, is it a big car. It's nice to have all that room, and the doors now shut with a Mercedes-like bank vault feel. My 02 LX a good car (and we're keeping it), but wow have they upped the standards on almost everything on this one. Well, I guess there are a few small little features that went away (lights on the rear doors, coin drawer to the left of the driver, but that's about it), but they have added so much. Sometimes it almost seems a bit too much, but I'm really enjoying it so far. My dealer said that someone recently turned in a Lexus on an Accord like mine (except it was an auto rather than a manual), and he said he liked the Accord even better than the Lexus. It's a pretty impressive piece of machinery.

I do think the next generation Accord, in 5 years, will probably be a shade smaller and less massive. Impressive that it gets 22 mpg in the city (based on the trip computer over just 30 miles or so) when it's so big and so new. I'm hoping maybe it'll pop up 1-2 mpg in a thousand miles or so.

Anyway, bottom line I love the Accord. And particularly my special ordered model, which may be the only one like it in the country at this point. My salesman said that some other dealerships far were trying to trade for our car, but he kept telling them sorry--this one is sold.

Today I just picked up our 2008 EXL Navi with the 5 speed manual. It's white with the Ivory interior. So far I love it! There are so many features, that clearly it's going to take a while to figure out all of them. I really enjoyed saying "xm channel 6" and having it turn on that station. Not necessary really, but fun. And calling home with the hands free link was cool.

No problems with the transmission so far. It shifts very smoothly, even more smoothly than our 02 in terms of clutch action, transmission, etc. No clunks that I heard. It seems perfect.

Man, is it a big car. It's nice to have all that room, and the doors now shut with a Mercedes-like bank vault feel. My 02 LX a good car (and we're keeping it), but wow have they upped the standards on almost everything on this one. Well, I guess there are a few small little features that went away (lights on the rear doors, coin drawer to the left of the driver, but that's about it), but they have added so much. Sometimes it almost seems a bit too much, but I'm really enjoying it so far. My dealer said that someone recently turned in a Lexus on an Accord like mine (except it was an auto rather than a manual), and he said he liked the Accord even better than the Lexus. It's a pretty impressive piece of machinery.

I do think the next generation Accord, in 5 years, will probably be a shade smaller and less massive. Impressive that it gets 22 mpg in the city (based on the trip computer over just 30 miles or so) when it's so big and so new. I'm hoping maybe it'll pop up 1-2 mpg in a thousand miles or so.

Anyway, bottom line I love the Accord. And particularly my special ordered model, which may be the only one like it in the country at this point. My salesman said that some other dealerships far were trying to trade for our car, but he kept telling them sorry--this one is sold.

Congrats to the both of you guys on the '08s! :biggrin:
I'm hoping that i'll be able to get one of the coupes soon. :D

As for the 0.P., I have also heard that the 3rd gear is because of the dealer putting too much transmission fluid.. The thing i wonder is why? If thye have noticed that the reason is because they are putting too much, why don't they just put less? :headbash:

I have about 1000 miles on my EX-L '08 4 cyl 5 spd. I have no issues with the manual transmission...I am just getting used to the clutch engagement difference vs my last auto...and the free reving 4 cyl...seems great so far.

Tom R

One thing to note is that I've only ever heard 7th gen V6 owners complaining about 3rd gear (I was one of them). The 5MT never seemed to get anyone much grief. I'd definitely take it back and have the dealer techs look at it, especially if you can easily reproduce the problem. Good luck!

1. I hear a sound like a light clunk under my driver's seat when shifting from second into first. This only seems to happen when I have been in at least 3rd gear.

2. Shifting into 3rd gear can be tricky. It's as if the gear does not want to catch.


Some misc thoughts . . .

The 2nd -> 1st shift is always rough in manual transmisison unless you're near or at a complete stop. Mentioning that its only after 3rd gear implies the 3 - 2- 1 shift is after the car has gotten up to speed. Are you forcing the 2->1 shift? If so, the clunk could just be the exhaust shifting or the suspension diving when the 2->1 shift suddenly slows the car. :dunno:

Is this clunk more audible (do you hear it) or is it more of a THUD (and you feel it)?

Make sure the floor mats are not bunched up under the pedals. They might have creeped up there which could prevent the clutch pedal from being fully engaged.

I've never had any issues with the manual trans in my Hondas (other than creaking clutch pedals). So far, my 6sp has been flawless. No third gear issues or trouble getting into first.

My accord had problems shifting into 3rd! It did not go into third very easily and when I first got the car I grinded it for a split second about 4 times maybe over the course of a few weeks.

one point of note is that it always happened right after i started the car, the problem disappeared after a couple of shifts initially...

Now i've had it for 2 months and it has about 2,900 miles, no longer any problems going into third. maybe the trans fluid was too high but its low enough now...

Hopefully it will go away sooner than later. I'm careful each time so I don't grind too many gears.

Thanks

I think there may be something wrong with your transmission. Assuming you are experienced in driving a manual, it should not be tricky in any way, and should never grind.

I would say my 08 manual is probably the easiest to shift of any of the manuals I've driven extensively over the years. All of them have been pretty easy--66 VW bug & 69 VW bus that my parents owned and that I learned to drive on, 79 Datsun 210, 86 Mazda B2000, 87 Jetta, 00 Focus, 02 Accord....I just think the 08 is the easiest.

Where was your transmission made? I was surprised looking at my sticker that mine was made in the Philippines. My 02 manual was made in Japan. Both of our Accords were assembled in Ohio.

Anyway, if your transmission is giving you trouble, I really think you should take it in, and if they don't help you, you should consider starting the lemon law thing (not that I really know how it works). I don't think a manual transmission really needs to be broken in. It should function well on day one, and never grind unless you are not using it properly.

On the 6th gens there was a TSB for the 5th gear shift fork being out of alignment and causing some issues, especially a hard time getting into 5th and a grind sometimes. This might be what's happening here since we see more than one car with the issue. The easiest way to tell if yours has a problem is to go drive one or two other cars similar to yours.

I picked up my 08 EXL NAVI MT on Saturday (After ordering it in August)!
This car was definately worth the wait!

My brother has a 2006 twin and the only gripe he has had is with a squeek in the clutch when it gets colder. He's brought it into the dealer twice for this, the first time they lubed it and the 2nd time they changed the clutch cylender which i believe fixed the problem.

This tranny is silky smoth, just as smooth as my 2000 A4 I had a while back (2 cars ago). My last car was an 04 Infiniti FX35 (my first Automatic) and let me tell you i couldn't wait to go back to a MT..... will never switch to an Auto again.

GL everyone with these awesome Whips!

- Andy

ahhh 3rd gear shifting continues for the accord. rsx and civic si's have trouble with shifting into third gear too. would the atf be the old one? i think i remember reading a post where honda made a new atf to help shift gears. some kind of synchromesh?

I've never had a problem with 3rd gear on my '03 I4 LX, even when powershifting with the Neuspeed short-throw.

i thought i had the same problem as well, so i bought it into the shop. they said everything was fine. the fluids, the transmission, etc. i guess this new honda just has a different style of shifting?

ahhh 3rd gear shifting continues for the accord. rsx and civic si's have trouble with shifting into third gear too. would the atf be the old one? i think i remember reading a post where honda made a new atf to help shift gears. some kind of synchromesh?

I think you mean MTF ;).

I'd be very surprised if a fluid change didn't take care of your problem. The K-series transmissions are notorious for their 3rd gear. Most of us just swapped to GM Syncromesh or another MTF. Some dealers here won't even install Honda MTF.

I had that issue on my RSX. Didn't get around to switching the MTF before I traded it.

I notice a very oh-so-slight blocking every once in a while when shifting into 3rd. Sometimes I realize it's just because I was shifting lazy, but once I had to disengage the clutch and re-engage for it to drop into 3rd gear.

As far as I know the new Honda MTF would have been used in the '08s from the factory, but I'm not positive (just makes sense since the new MTF came out before the '08s were even built for production).

I won't be taking it in to have the techs look at it unless it gets worse than my RSX was. It does seem that all of Honda's 6MTs have this issue (not sure about S2K).

I had that issue on my RSX. Didn't get around to switching the MTF before I traded it.

I notice a very oh-so-slight blocking every once in a while when shifting into 3rd. Sometimes I realize it's just because I was shifting lazy, but once I had to disengage the clutch and re-engage for it to drop into 3rd gear.

As far as I know the new Honda MTF would have been used in the '08s from the factory, but I'm not positive (just makes sense since the new MTF came out before the '08s were even built for production).

I won't be taking it in to have the techs look at it unless it gets worse than my RSX was. It does seem that all of Honda's 6MTs have this issue (not sure about S2K).

I was looking at your avatar and was thinking how sad it was Heath Ledger passed away this morning :(.

k, I'm back on topic.

that 3rd gear issue is the reason why i've been grindin my gears. i get scared everytime i go into third because im afraid it wont fully go in and it'll grind the gear plates again. so what's the solution again? changing the transmission fluid? is that somethin you could do urself? and if so, what mtf do u guys recommend? also, is it a problem that usually goes away after the car gets a couple of miles on it? sorry if this was already mentioned before. i just wanna double check.

also, i grinded my gears (gears didn't go in all the way) probably about almost 10 times. should i be concerned about the transmission? i know it's bad but i'm still practicin stick and that stupid 3rd gear is the culprit. i dont wanna be anymore concerned than i have to be. i also make sure i shift carefully from now on.

what i did when mine used to act up...put some muscle into it. really slam it into 3rd gear so it goes all the way in before you take the clutch petal off. really put some muscle into it, because it will feel like its in, but in reality it always has to bump to the right slightly, go around something, and go up a little more...

glad mine doesn't do this so bad anymore.

2. Shifting into 3rd gear can be tricky. It's as if the gear does not want to catch.

I have this as well, 3rd requires a more "deliberate" movement, almost like there's and extra catch in there or something (best I can describe it). :dunno: I've "ground" 3rd more times then I like to admit. :mad:

It's far worse when cold, and overall doesn't effect my love of the car, but you can be sure I'll be mentioning it at my first oil change service.

Knock on wood. I haven't had any issues at all with my 6sp. No grinding. No popping out. Its been a bit firm first thing in the morning during the 20 degree temps but its fine after a few minutes of driving.

I posted this over the the Edmunds Town Hall Accord board to see if we can glean any more info.

I took my car into the dealer. I mentioned possible high transmission fluid level and/or replacing it with another brand fluid.

The mechanic didn't have any issues when he drove the car. I was in the passenger seat at the time.

He told me to wait a bit and see if it gets better.

My first shift into 3rd was difficult on my way home from the dealer.

My problems occur when the car is hot and cold. They occur about 10-20% of the time I shift up and down of third. I rarely grind the gears because I'm careful each time.

Anyone who has this issue should post a comment here. I'll eventually use comments as ammunition against Honda.

I would also recommend you take the car into the dealership and save the work authorization sheet that asks them to look into your tranny problem. There is therefore a record of the problem.

Otherwise, I'm happy with the car.

Thanks

Nobody listens......take it to the dealer and change the fluid. Dunno how more simple I can make it. If you don't believe me scour the internet for RSX-S transmission problems and fixes. Proof's in the pudding.

Mmm....pudding...

the local dealership's chargin 85 bucks for the fluid change, even if i do provide the fluid.i left it with them all day and they said they can't replicate the problem. straight up bs.
im gonna change the fluid with gm synchromesh and ill let u know how it goes.