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1st Gear Clutch Noise

300K views 695 replies 184 participants last post by  Teeps 
#1 ·
Hey guys, ive had my 2012 civic si sedan for a year and half. the past 6-8 months ive noticed my clutch making a weird grinding noise. its similar to that of dragging a table across the floor. ive been driving stick my whole life so i know its not shitty shifting. it happens about 80% of the time. it only happens when i go from a dead stop and start accelerating. once the car build momentum it goes away. it only happens in 1st and between 1500-2000rpm. If i start from 2nd, i dont get the noise. Ive taken it to honda a few times already and they keep saying they cant find anything. Mostly because they dont know what to look for (because i cant seem to replicate it).


has anyone else experienced this?
any and all help would be extremely appreciated.
 
#555 ·
Hey guys, I'm having this problem in my '12 SI right now and the dealer said since its a "wear and tear" item, it won't be under warranty so they couldn't do anything for me... Should I just try another dealer and see if I can get them to help me out or?
Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
 
#556 ·
56 pages on this and no outcome of a recall or anything. What is Honda charging to fix this? Has anyone tried a stage 2 clutch? **** the stock one if its ******* up. I have 79K and I noticed it a few times. I cannot replicate this. I'm not changing my clutch either because it grabs tight and will be a waste of money.
 
#559 ·
I'm going to have to find the TSB

*but I dont think Honda will do anything about it.


**It has a to a full recall right?
*At 79K you are correct.
But, it couldn't hurt to call Honda Customer Relations and pitch your complaint.
You might get parts or labor covered, providing you sell the notion that your are a loyal customer who's retention is worth the outlay.

** Recalls are for safety issues. The best you could hope for with regard to clutch noise is, a Product Update.
Even then, at 79k miles the drive train is outside the normal warranty period. Unless the time/mileage is adjusted beyond that, your car would not qualify.

Also remember NOTHING is FREE (regardless of what bernie says), someone pays for all costs.
Whether it's the customer at the time of repair, or, the customer when they purchase their next vehicle... someone pays.
 
#561 ·
Hey guys,
i am new to si world. i bought my 2012 si less than a month ago. as much as i love it, the car and the dealership are giving me massive headaches. no problems that i speak of are causing the car not to drive. But, like many of you spoke of, you are hearing this god awful noise in first gear. well, i brought mine back to dealership (that is not close to me) and dropped it off.. the next day they call me asking to come back so i can duplicate the noise. As many of you know, this is not easy to do.

Upon some research i found this posting

"POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY

Date Reported
SEPTEMBER 27, 2013
NHTSA Reference
#10053784
TSB Reference
#SB-10-11


Description: HONDA: WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP, IN SOME VEHICLES, NOISE IS HEARD FROM CLUTCH WHILE ENGAGED IN 1ST GEAR, AND SOUNDS LIKE A SQUEAKING, OR GROANING, OR GRINDING, RUBBING OR METALLIC. MODEL 2012 CIVIC. *PE"


Sounds pretty spot on right?
Wondering if any of you guys had seen this TSB, and what your dealership ended up doing. Kind of seems hit or miss from the replies i have read...

Oh, on top of all this, my car burned thru 2 quarts of oil in 3k miles... come to find out there is also TSB on massive oil consumption.. my cars vin is included. they are asking me to pick the car up and drive for 1k miles and bring it back. i get their procedures, but boy is it annoying as shit
 
#563 ·
Pretty sure that TSB is largely what this thread is about. I think that some people have had success bringing in footage where they captured the noise with their phone (on their own time rather than on a brief drive with a tech). It is something that they're supposed to deal with if your car is in warranty, and I seem to remember someone having theirs covered out of warranty.
 
#562 ·
Hey guys, my car has made the first gear clutch noise about 5 times now. It happens very sporadically and I'm having trouble replicating the sound when I want to. I'm driving a 2013 and I have about 56k kilometers (35k miles) so I'd like to get this brought to my dealers attention as soon as possible. Any tips would be appreciated!
 
#569 ·
I notice this off and on from time to time. My Honda is certified pre owned and has a 100k power train warranty that is good til 2019. I think I would have a hard time replicating the issue in front of a tech though, it really comes and goes at weird times. Anyone had any issues due to the sound? Seems mostly just an annoyance reading backwards on this thread.
 
#570 ·
I am still dealing with this problem I am at 47700 miles and I did go to my dealer but was unable to get the noise to appear for the tech ride along. My noise has actually gotten louder as of late problem is there is no rhyme or reason as to when it will make the noise. The only consistent thing I have is the clutch needs to be warmed up for it to make noise.
 
#572 ·
Got an appointment tomorrow afternoon at the Honda up here in Clermont, going to get the sound to replicate on a test drive. I am hoping they will cover this under power train warranty, but I am betting I will have to pitch a fit with Honda corporate to get something done about it.

I can get the noise to repeat on command now, lame.
 
#573 ·
If anyone needs a video of the noise, I have a10 second video of my car doing it. I threw a fit and Honda replaced on "good will".... they said they could not see any physical damage/cause for the noise... surprise surprise, my clutch hasn't made the noise since
 
#577 ·
Hey guys, I managed to capture the sound on video and brought my car to the dealer this morning. I got a call mid-afternoon and they're going to warranty the clutch. I'm @ 58,000km. The part numbers they have listed on the invoice are 22810RPN003 - Clutch Release Bearing, 222000RX0005 - Friction Disc, and 22300RX0005 - Pressure Disc.

There was no mention of replacing the flywheel or pilot bushing. I picked the car up at the end of the day so I never got to mention this to the service advisor. Should I push to get these replaced as well?
 
#579 ·
Any of you guys that are getting it replaced under warranty modded? I have bolt-ons and I go to the dealer for oil changes every 5k so they know my car. Almost at 60k miles so i figure I better get this noise taken care of soon but i'm thinking they will deny me, I mostly do spirited driving though haha. Aside from sounding like a hoopty on take-off it doesn't bug me that much and it doesn't damage anything(or so im told) so in the end it doesn't really matter to me that much.
 
#580 ·
This exact same story that everyone is telling has occurred with me and my 2014 Si (70k miles) too.

The same sound listed in this video ---> i have experienced in my car for the past 6 months. Its frequency of occurrence has increased from a couple times a week to now every time I drive my car.

Same story, from 1000-2000 RPMs I get the sound. Sometimes in 2nd gear but mostly in 1st gear.

Took my car into the Honda dealer today. They drove it and could not experience the sound for themself.. I then drove it with two mechanics in the car with me and it almost didn't make the sound then when I needed to demonstrate! Makes no sense because it almost constantly happens otherwise.

By everyones' responses, it seems that it is the IDLER PULLEY... not the TENSIONER PULLEY. Am I correct?

I have another 30,000 on warranty so if it is not the idler pulley and the full clutch, I could get it replaced, but would rather not pay for that much labor.
 
#581 ·
The noise in that video is not a pulley. It is weak, fatigued, and now loose springs in the clutch that make that buzzing sound when first getting underway as the clutch engages.
 
#594 ·
I'm not trying to"kid myself" about the problems that exist with K series transmissions. I'm simply pointing out that jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire isn't the best idea. If Ford is your solution to a headache from Honda you may very well end up with a much more serious problem. Is it annoying that Honda cheaped out on damper springs? Sure. But I'll take a clutch that squeaks occasionally over an LSPI prone motor that will eventually strangle itself from carbon anyway.
 
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