The largest Civic Type R club forum

[adamgregory5]

SGN1955, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE HONDA TO FIX UR GREABOX, WAS IT A NEW GEARBOX OR A COMPONANT? MINE WENT IN LAST WEEK AND THEY ARE SORTING.

CHEERS

[private]

I think when stu said it was a limited problem it was more in hope than fact. (not wanting to misquote).

I think its clear that there is a issue amounst FN2 owners, i dont dismiss the opnion of people who have driven the car for hours as its quite intermittent and they could believe there is no issue.

We still await a official response on this

[sgh1955]

Adam - they had my car for almost a month and gave me a bronze replacement with 3K on the clock. The box on that one was a lot better than mine but I still had occasional problems with 3rd. (The dealership even had problems on their own demo as well as having other complaints.) They didn't start work on my car for three weeks - which I know because they phoned to ask where my locking nut was because they were starting work on it - then it came back in less than a week on 4th. June. I guess it took so long to start because they were looking at the problem and trying to find a fix. My dealer told me today they have not told them what is wrong despite 2 calls and an e-mail. He thinks they are keeping it close to their chest before they will issue a bulletin to dealers sometime in the near future. On the brighter side the fix on mine works 100% - almost 4 weeks now and no problems at all.

[dogzilla]

Well you dont need a locking nut to take it on the lift and pull the gearbox out so they may well have been working on it previously.

[dphyams]

sgh1955 - Which dealer fixed the problem? I've got mine booked in, for a couple of weeks time, but "apparently" they haven't heard of this problem. In addition to pointing them in the direction of this forum (as I've already done) it would be great to have a dealers name to quote when taking it in.

Cheers

[sgh1955]

It wasn't fixed by the dealer. I had the car March 1st and complained to the dealer 4 days later. They asked me to let it run in and said they would ask Honda if there were any other reported problems, Honda just said "no" and were unresponsive. 2 weeks later it was just as bad so I phoned my dealer again - they told me they now had other complaints and their demo was iffy as well. They called Honda UK who by now had become "very interested" A friend in the trade told me to call Honda Customer Service UK direct, so I did, I said the car wasn't safe - not finding a 3rd. gear when you needed it was dangerous (very true) and that my wife wouldn't drive it because it crunched all the time (a bit of a lie) They agreed to have it back. They told me I might not get a type r as replacement so I said ok give me an S2000. (I got a type r) 2 days later they sent 2 blokes from the factory who dropped off the courtesy car at Brindley Honda. The dealer drove it to my work and took mine, and it went back to Swindon on a trailer a week later to be fixed.

[Dazmb]

I'd advise all to wait for an 'official' Honda fix.

I think it's true to say that just general fiddling with a gearbox can infact make things worse than before if it's not a focussed repair job, i.e. they know what they are looking for and how to fix it. I had my EP3 in for a notchy gear change and they fiddled and didn't fix it. I went back again and was stongly advised that if the garage kept messing around with it it would be worse than it started out. And in fact - it was!

Just a cautionary tale.

[adamgregory5]

CHEERS FOR THAT SGH, WELL THEY HAVE MINE NOW N TOLD ME IT WILL BE 4 WEEKS, BUT THEY OBVIOUSLY FOUND A FIX FOR URS AND HAVE TOLD ME ITS HAVING A NEW GEARBOX. WELL TIME WILL TELL N WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENS, THANKS AGAIN FOR UR INPUT.

[ahmefd1]

Hi im new to this forum my name is Zak.

Love the car but I have been having this 3rd gear problem since i bought my car (which is an ex demonstration model) and my car is booked in for two weeks time at CHISWICK Honda who say they havent heard about the problem before. I dont really want them fiddling around with my gear box to find the problem because they have no prior experience with this exact problem (Althought they are meant to be the biggest Honda dealer in Europe according to them and so should be more knowledgable and experienced than any of the other dealers in theory).

Do you think I should just show them the problem when I take it in and then tell them to personally phone Honda UK and find out what the exact problem and solution is, as opposed to letting them strip down the gearbox, open up the car and try to diagnose and fix the problem themselves considering it will be their first time with this issue.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Dazmb]

Hi im new to this forum my name is Zak.

Love the car but I have been having this 3rd gear problem since i bought my car (which is an ex demonstration model) and my car is booked in for two weeks time at CHISWICK Honda who say they havent heard about the problem before. I dont really want them fiddling around with my gear box to find the problem because they have no prior experience with this exact problem (Althought they are meant to be the biggest Honda dealer in Europe according to them and so should be more knowledgable and experienced than any of the other dealers in theory).

Do you think I should just show them the problem when I take it in and then tell them to personally phone Honda UK and find out what the exact problem and solution is, as opposed to letting them strip down the gearbox, open up the car and try to diagnose and fix the problem themselves considering it will be their first time with this issue.

Any help would be much appreciated.

If they don't have an official fix from Honda which it sounds like there isn't yet, then my advice as I said two posts back is DON'T let them aimlessly fiddle around with the gearbox! It could be that without new parts they won't be able to improve the gearchange response anyway. I would wait. Register the problem with them and hassle them to hassle Honda. That way we get an official fix.

[obsessionz]

ok guys does the 3rd gear notchiness get better after the car warms up? at all say 15mins driving??

[sgh1955]

On my car, when it was happening at first I thought it was my fault and moved the seat, tried not pulling too far laterally, tried not pushing the stick hard, etc etc etc but my experience over a month was it happened randomly at any time in all conditions. The only way I could be sure I would get 3rd. without a problem was to plant the clutch to the floor and leave it there while I pushed the stick and if it did then hit the second notch then to push even harder, a bit like driving a tractor not a performance car.

[dphyams]

It wasn't fixed by the dealer. I had the car March 1st and complained to the dealer 4 days later. They asked me to let it run in and said they would ask Honda if there were any other reported problems, Honda just said "no" and were unresponsive. 2 weeks later it was just as bad so I phoned my dealer again - they told me they now had other complaints and their demo was iffy as well. They called Honda UK who by now had become "very interested" A friend in the trade told me to call Honda Customer Service UK direct, so I did, I said the car wasn't safe - not finding a 3rd. gear when you needed it was dangerous (very true) and that my wife wouldn't drive it because it crunched all the time (a bit of a lie) They agreed to have it back. They told me I might not get a type r as replacement so I said ok give me an S2000. (I got a type r) 2 days later they sent 2 blokes from the factory who dropped off the courtesy car at Brindley Honda. The dealer drove it to my work and took mine, and it went back to Swindon on a trailer a week later to be fixed.

Cheers for the info SGH. Maybe I'll give Honda UK just before I take mine in a call to see if there's any official update........

[stuart1bike]

seams to only happen when you are driving slow giving it the beans third feels fine.

[dphyams]

HONDA UK UPDATE....

I've just had a call back from Honda UK regarding this and apparently the problem is due to the 3rd gear carbon rod fracturing. They say (as they would) this is only a problem with a very limited number and hope to have a fix in 3-4 weeks.

At least they're admitting there's a problem without any fuss....I'd suggest giving them a call asap if you're having a problem rather than speaking to your dealer.

Honda UK Customer Services: 01753 590760

They have also offered me either a free service or £400 of accessories!!!!! Sweeeetttt!!! :thumbup:

[Ken H]

For what its worth my Ep3 had 2nd gear problems and so did many others,some had it looked at with very few good results,infact some results were worse.I decided to leave mine go and I have to say it improved hugely as soon as the miles went on it.Infact i forgot all about this problem until reading this thread.Live with it for awhile is what I say and see how things go!

[illeagalhunter]

HONDA UK UPDATE....

I've just had a call back from Honda UK regarding this and apparently the problem is due to the 3rd gear carbon rod fracturing. They say (as they would) this is only a problem with a very limited number and hope to have a fix in 3-4 weeks.

At least they're admitting there's a problem without any fuss....I'd suggest giving them a call asap if you're having a problem rather than speaking to your dealer.

Honda UK Customer Services: 01753 590760

They have also offered me either a free service or £400 of accessories!!!!! Sweeeetttt!!! :thumbup:

WOW £400 OF STUFF RESULT THERE THEN

[ahmefd1]

Hi i just called Honda UK and they told me the exact same thing. Something to do with Carbon rod that sits on the gear splits and comes away. They are currently doing a durability test on a different material. Said they will know in 3-4 weeks if test has been successful. By the way all they would offer me was a free service.

[whitedot]

If/when there is a fix for this will we be able to take our cars in ASAP or will they leave it until the first service to carry it out?

[dphyams]

If/when there is a fix for this will we be able to take our cars in ASAP or will they leave it until the first service to carry it out?

Once a fix is found you'll be able to take your car into your dealer and get it fixed straight away. I'd suggest calling Honda UK and getting your name on the list so they can inform you as soon as a fix is found.

As I said they offered me a free service or accessories so it's definitely worth speaking to them.....