I have a 2007 sport manual and on a recent road trip when shifting the transmission wouldn't go into any gear, it almost felt like they were all blocked off. I tried double pumping the clutch. Once I got it into gear it wouldn't come back out easily. It has ~65k miles on it, I bought it used a year ago and it had ~45k miles on it. We took it to a shop and said they wanted to put a new clutch in even though it doesn't have a ton of miles on it. We put a new clutch in (the old one wasn't fully worn) and it was still doing the same thing it was doing before, not going into gear at all. We're hoping it's a smaller issue than the transmission going since it doesn't have an excessive amount of miles on it. Has anyone heard of anything like this happening? We've been looking around online but nothing sounds like the problem we're having.

EDIT- we've replaced the transmission fluid and the car will go into gear only when the car is off. As soon as we start the car it won't go into gear without a good fight and a lot of force.

 

If I were in your shoes, I would pop the hood, remove the air intake, and inspect the shift linkage on the transmission. Make sure nothing is blocking it from functioning, make sure no damage is present.


It helps to have a second person to attempt to operate the shifter while you inspect the movement.

If movement seems stiff and "clunky" the shifter inside the car should be looked at.

If both appear fine, yet shifting is still a pain, you may need to remove the shifter cables and use a graphite lubricant on them.

Application how tos can be found online.


EDIT I assume the transmission fluid has been changed in attempt to help remove or reduce this issue. If not, drain it all out and replace with HONDA fluid. Dont bother with aftermarket offerings unless you find several success stories.

 

Check the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder, if its low I would guess the slave cylinder is leaking.

 

I suppose it is worth noting we replaced the transmission fluid after running into problems and the fluid that came out was clear, but we still can't shift so that doesn't seem to be the root of problem.

I guess it's also worth noting that the car will shift into gear when it's turned off, but as soon as we start the car it won't go into gear.

 

We had a Civic whose shifter was very stiff and notchy until we sprayed WD-40 (followed by spray Lithium grease) up & under the shifter. Seemed as if gunk and road grime got up there.



But failing that, you may be looking at replacing the synchronizers in the transmission (a rebuild)...THAT is what causes difficulty shifting during motion, but it's easy to put into any gear when stopped (or engine off).

 

So....at around 40K I had a strange noise coming from my trans at idle, clutch out in neutral...

Took it to Honda and I had 3 bearings in the trans that were out of spec. Luckily I got it all handled under warranty.

Thinking I agree with above that the Trans itself is the culprit...

 

Clutch Master ok? Pressure plate ok? Throw out bearing ok?

Did you say you were able to get it in gear by pumping the clutch twice but it was hard to get it out of gear? Just because the fluid is full or semi-full doesn't mean the master hasn't failed.

You changed the clutch? Did you inspect everything else while you had it apart? What did you see?

I don't suspect synchros or anything inside the transmission or anything that has to so with the actual movement of the shifter like linkages, etc since you can shift fine with the car off.

 

Yea that ^^^^^^^ X2

 

UPDATE: Last week when we had the car in the shop when this first started, the mechanic told us it was the clutch that needed replacing, so we took his word and replaced the clutch ourselves. When that didn't fix it, we took it to another shop and have since discovered that the front left axle popped out, and that's what was throwing off the transmission. We were sure we were going to have to rebuild the transmission, but he fixed the axle and it's running fine now. And with the new transmission fluid and brand new clutch it's shifting like buttah. So we wasted a TON of money on a rental car when this could have been fixed the day after it broke, but it was a minor fix, so I'm glad. I was so afraid it was the transmission, and after 65,000 it wasn't making any sense and I was very close to calling Honda and raising hell considering I bought this car for its reliability... Thanks for your help, this site is pretty awesome

 

So you from Boston area? "buttah"

 

I'm confused about how a loose driveshaft would have caused difficulty shifting...

How loose was it? Was trans fluid dripping on the ground?

I had an axle pop out once ('76 Accord) and the car lost drive and pooped all the fluid out of the hole...

 

I'm pretty clueless on the hows and whys of this myself, but glad it's fixed anyway. Very strange. I wouldn't expect any trouble shifting unless, like Carbuff said, all the trans fluid leaked out.

I am glad the problem was fixed and you are on your way

 

If the axle stub is not all the way in you could get excess sideways pressure on the internal parts of the differential which possibly could also send this side pressure into the transmission.