Archives

ok, what have i not done that's causing my shifter to feel very stiff, almost like it's going to be stuck in gear. i suppose i didn't do some service....

80,000 miles, 5 speed. it acts like it does when it's cold.........

Laurie,
Over time the clutch cylinder and the clutch slave cylinder fail.These are the hydraulic gadgets that actually move when your foot pushes down on the clutch pedal.The seal starts to fail,and it becomes hard to shift.They don't move the clutch-disengage it- as they should. One or the other gives out about -100,000 city miles usually.It isn't a lack of maintenance, it is just wear.

They-are filled with brake fluid usually(maybe Honda uses something else).The reservoir is under the hood, usually toward the back firewall.There is a tiny chance that one is leaking,and adding fluid would help for a while. It looks a lot like a brake fluid reservoir.

On Toyota trucks they were easy to replace,and the parts were about $100 Toyota rebuilt, or $45 Autozone crummy lifetime warranty part. It can be a DIY type job.

Fair chance I'm wrong about this, so listen to other posters.
Luck,
Charlie
80,000 miles is about right- a clutch can go out about then also. I suppose it could be a shift linkage, or maybe you can adjust the clutch pedal to get some more travel- might help for a while.
PPS I've had better luck on Autozone rebuilt parts lately-and they are worlds cheaper than Honda/Toyota-

Can you tell if the clutch engagement point is lower than it used to be? That's a sure sign that it's the clutch hydraulic system. Get it fixed before the disengagement point moves below the floor - you're always in gear then!

I've had to replace the hydraulic cylinders in my Civic. I think it was sometime around 120,000. Just last month I did the same on the 1987 Mazda truck, at 150,000.

i'm sorry, i guess i didn't explain it right. it isn't the clutch that's stiff, that's fine. it's the stick shift itself. when i try to move the stick from gear to gear, it's really hard. does that make sense?

The clutch pedal may feel fine but the clutch may not actually be disengaging the trans when you put your foot to the floor. If the engine is not disconnected from the trans by the clutch, the shifter may be hard to move.

Laurie,
When it happened to my Toyotas, the clutch action "felt' just fine. The stick shift just became "stiff" and then it became almost impossible to shift.

I'm pretty sure I could get it out of gear( when I would completely lift off the throttle) , but it was rough to get in gear.

I don't think the Hybrid has any special trickery involving the clutch, but.... I didn't notice that you had the HCHI until just now. The hybrid might take it out of the DIY category. Still it isn't a pricey repair- if it is the clutch master or slave cylinder- maybe 1 hr shop time+ part- I guess $300 would be a fair price at a dealer.

Charlie

My last Volvo did something like this, but the onset was very sudden. One day I was driving around and I couldn't shift without rev-matching. It turned out that a couple of the clutch spring fingers had collapsed, preventing complete disengagement. I think that was at 75 or 80k miles.

If rev-matching helps then there's no question, it's a clutch problem of some sort. If that's the case you should get it ASAP so that you don't wear the bejesus out of the synchros, which are doing much more work than they should.

**EDIT**
Oh, and if you do need a clutch (as opposed to just the hydraulics) replace the throwout bearing! It's a cheap wear item that often gets neglected during a clutch job.

thanks, guys, i will check into it. i doubt that i would have honda do it, because i don't trust the dealership in town, and the place i bought it is now 85 miles away....well, it didn't move, i did.

well, now it's stuck......can't even shift, and now i can't get to work.

i need to find someone in town to fix it. anyone have any luck with places like AAMCO or any of those other transmission places?

Hi Laurie;

Even though you have an MT equipped HCH, I would leverage the fact that it is a relatively "new" 2005 and in your situation I would have nobody but Honda do the job on it. Even if it is a dealer you do not trust. I too would hate that, but it is still the best of the worst in my books.

Assuming that their competence is the issue, the dealer is not the ultimate authority should they ever mess up. Then of course, you have the warranty and post service escalation of the work performed which in my experience is not only better than what an independent can provide but also a "good" footnote on your vehicle service history.

If your car was way past its warranty or was a salvaged unit I would probably consider visiting a good independent shop provided they had someone on staff that achieved Hybrid service certification... otherwise I would leave for the people who were likely trained for it.

Cheers;

MSantos

With the engine off, can you shift it?

i couldn't shift it, period......

there is a reputable service company almost right across the highway from where i live. my manager takes all his vehicles there and has for years, and highly recommends them. they can come and get it, and i am going to have them do it. i know honda could do it, and again, i don't trust the dealer in town, who is way across on the other side of town.

the car is past warranty because of the high mileage on it, so that's kind of a moot point at this stage. the original warranty was 3 years/36,000 miles......

i just HATE HATE HATE car problems.......no matter who does it, it always spells $$$.

Hi Laurie:

___This sounds like an external linkage issue from the description. I hope that is all it is but any tranny place will be able to diagnose it since it is a simple MT.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Sorry to hear that, Laurie. But I think that a local mechanic with a good reputation is at least as good as a dealer mechanic so long as they know how to work around the high voltage bits. And that's a safety issue for the tech more than it is a risk to your car.

Now that it's totally gone I think the others are right about the hydraulics being kaput.

Sorry to hear that, Laurie. But I think that a local mechanic with a good reputation is at least as good as a dealer mechanic so long as they know how to work around the high voltage bits. And that's a safety issue for the tech more than it is a risk to your car.

Now that it's totally gone I think the others are right about the hydraulics being kaput.

is there something about the battery i should tell them before they start on it???

Naah, I don't think so. The word "Hybrid" ought to cover it. That, and they shouldn't have to touch the HV system to get at the clutch hydraulics.

If it's not too hard, flipping the switch on the HV battery pack will eliminate this hazard

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/naked_mima_copy.jpg

In this picture, it's the switch just to the left of "Junction Board" - the "i" to be exact.

Laurie,

The HCH shouldn't have any linkages, it's cable actuated. Sounds like the cables or the bushings where they attach might be binding need to be lubricated.

Also, 80k mi is a good time to change your transmission fluid. Try to see if you can get it done with a high quality synthetic.

I'd expect you are very gentle on your clutch, so it should not need to be replaced. If the pedal feels fine, I'd expect the hydraulics are fine.

shifty comes close.....it's the cables. parts have to come from california, so it won't get done until about thursday......$600/parts & labor.

$600 - a fair price. Congrats to Shifty (maybe his nom de forum gave him an advantage. )
I wonder , did the cables stretch or rust thru and nealy break -how did they "fail?" I guess maybe they could rust thru .Does Minn use salt on the roads, Despite our heavy rains ,we don't get the rust rot that cars in the NE midwest are famous for(avoid buying one of those sight unseen).

Salt on roads up there?

Good enough price for a fix.
Luck,
Charlie

$600 - a fair price. Congrats to Shifty (maybe his nom de forum gave him an advantage. )
I wonder , did the cables stretch or rust thru and nealy break -how did they "fail?" I guess maybe they could rust thru .Does Minn use salt on the roads, Despite our heavy rains ,we don't get the rust rot that cars in the NE midwest are famous for(avoid buying one of those sight unseen).

Salt on roads up there?

Good enough price for a fix.
Luck,
Charlie

lots of salt in minnesalta.......i didn't ask what happened to them, i will when i pick it up.

:( I'm sorry. That's no fun, and not cheap, either. My earlier hydraulic system fixes (replacing both master and slave cylinders) were about half that.

Hi, Laurie--IMHO, 80,000 miles is way too short a time for something as fundamental as shifter cables to fail. If I were you, I'd write a firm (not nasty) letter to Honda and explain your disappointment in such a short life for something so basic, and yet so important. Just FWIW...

Hi, Laurie--IMHO, 80,000 miles is way too short a time for something as fundamental as shifter cables to fail. If I were you, I'd write a firm (not nasty) letter to Honda and explain your disappointment in such a short life for something so basic, and yet so important. Just FWIW...

i might do that, depending on what reason is given for them failing. all i know is i had to do something this morning, since i was going nowhere fast. thank goodness they are just across the highway, they would come and get it, and someone at work has had a lot of work done there and is happy with their service. actually, when i moved to the town i am in the first time, in 1996, i got tires there and thought their customer service was quite good.

to clarify, the post office where i get my mail and my address are the same town, but now i live in a rural location right outside of town, rather than in town like i was the first time.

I agree with the note to Honda. $600 isn't a bad price for parts and labor, but usually shift cables/levers don't break. They are the sort of part you never even think of because -they don't fail- certainly not in 3 years.

My 1995 Accord's radiator started leaking at 38,000 miles -yeah, just out of warranty. The mail order honda parts gay said," boy I sell of lot of these radiators-they have been redisigned etc". Well 25 calls to Honda USA later I was $225 "richer." Honda finally paid for the radiator, but not for the 5 hours I spent installing it.

Worth a call or a letter- keep the bad parts of course.

Charlie

80k wow that is a lot of miles on a 2005.

Wonder if i'll be lucky, with my transmission slipping out of gear, being caused by cables...

80k wow that is a lot of miles on a 2005.

Wonder if i'll be lucky, with my transmission slipping out of gear, being caused by cables...

the high miles came from my almomst 100 miles a day commute the first 2-1/2 years i had it. now i do maybe 40 on a busy day, and nothing on weekends.

i got a call from the place working on my car, and the dang part is backordered and won't be in until monday or so. they are getting it from the same place that honda gets it, which made him wonder if honda isn't having some problems that they are not letting on about. i asked if he didn't think it was a little early for that kind of problem, and he agreed it was.....

so i think i am going to be making some inquiries to honda......

Yeah, backorder means Honda didn't expect to need as many replacement parts as they turned out needing. This is a fairly sure sign that they aren't "great" parts or the design isn't "great". 80,000 miles isn't "bad" but usually that sort of part never breaks for a 1st owner.

On my radiator the "Honda" customer relations person initially said" wow this is the 1st I've heard of this, but I'll check on it" over time this evolved to " well our part was good, but in the interest of making our customer happy we will spring for another one". No kidding about the 20+ calls. Honda was always polite, but short arms deep pockets.

Worth a few phone calls that is for sure.

Luck,
Charlie

I had the radiator crack on my 93 Accord. The radiator shop (specialized in just replacing rads) told me that get that all the time. It was the switch to the plastic tops that did it. I just never had any luck with my Honda's.