My 2004 Civic 1.6SE VTEC suffers from a severe transmission jerk. This is most noticeable while travelling in heavy traffic moving at walking pace, driving mainly in 1st or 2nd gear. It is nigh on impossible to manage a smooth drive at this sort of speed. Careful 'riding' on the clutch helps, but does not eradicate entirely.
I have owned the car from new, it has covered 23000miles, and has been regularly serviced. The car has been checked for this problem 3 times now by a Honda main dealer who cannot find a fault with it. An independent garage suggested it could be down to the type of clutch fitted.
Could this possibly be a problem inherent with VTEC engines? Has anyone else experienced this symptom? Would welcome any advice.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 06/11/2007 at 18:48
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I suspect the snatchiness is disguised in the default Japanese and US transmission choice of torque converter auto. Thus not developed out for Euro use (the last bastion of DIY gearboxes). Same iraitating trait on the 2.0 petrol engine. Not very easy to drive in town, but I rarely have to, so avoid the issue, I'm afraid.
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Japanese manual transmissions are generally very well designed - better than most European manuals in fact.
I suspect this problem has more to do with the engine than the transmission. The throttle should (I think...) be fitted with a throttle damper to limit rate of closure of throttle which is usually the problem if you find on-off throttle jerkiness in traffic.
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It's not an Auto, he selects gears and rides the clutch to try and overcome the problem. However Aprilia's comment regarding the throttle damper has some maileage in it, no pun intended, and could trigger this erratic movement as the tickover stepper andf the damper fight each other. Regards Peter
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I'm sure you are right re the engine throttle repsonse Aprilia. I meant to emphasis that both the 2 liter and 1,6 seem have the same snatchiness at traffic speeds, when in gear, trying to operate the throttle smoothly. Dont think anything is wrong with transmission: just the nature of the engine at these low speeds.
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Noticed this when I had an 02 1.6 SE VTEC, almost to the point of kangerooing in traffic queues. I also noticed a squeaky clutch and so lubricated the release bearing via the square rubber covered hole where the clutch fork meets the hydraulic cylinder. It did not eradicate the problem, but it became far less noticable. But I did the dealer try this as a sticky clutch pedal is an known Civic problem? Does your clutch pedal feel notchy or stiff?
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Many thanks for your responses and advice. 'Kangerooing' sums it up perfectly. The clutch pedal doesn't feel notchy or stiff to me, except that reversing (eg out of my drive) can be quite a juddery affair.
I explained all the symptons, including the reversing issue, to my Honda dealer, when I collected the car back I was told "everything had been checked", and "no fault found on roadtest". From that I assumed that the jerkiness was accepted as the norm by Honda.
I had previously always owned Toyotas with which I never had this problem, so don't think it's down to my driving! I've also driven the latest model Civic without problem.
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From that I assumed that the jerkiness was accepted as the norm by Honda.
I try not to get too wound up by these things - if Honda think it's fine for everyone who travels in the car to experience its jerkiness and therefore come away thinking Honda's are rubbish, then more fool them.
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replace your accelerator cable & this will cure your kangerooing !!. ive seen this fault numerous times on civic`s at work. to confirm this fault,try pushing down the accel pedal (with engine off ) & see if you can do it slowly & smoothly without any grabbing or notchyness on the pedal !!
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if it aint broke don`t fix it
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Yes, I would go along with the above. I reckon its the throttle operation that's at the root of your problem.
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Thanks Mr.Greasemonkey. Just tried your suggestion and, although the throttle cable doesn't feel particularly notchy, it doesn't feel particularly smooth either. I'll get it checked out.
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