[Clean12Coupe]

Now I know many of you have dealt with this issue and/or maybe currently dealing with it… it’s that little ‘queif’ (dunno how you spell that 😝) sound from clutch every so often typically while coming off of a stop in 1st gear.
I remember investigating and reading about this when I first purchased the car a little over a year ago, I believe people said things like it’s a design flaw and the pressure plate is to small for the housing or some weird stuff like that, others said it was a release bearing, and then there were folks whom had replaced clutch/flywheel/throwout bearing/CMC & Slave etc and the sound STILL didn’t go away.
My question is, WHAT IS IT? And what do I need to look out for or service more often or anything along those lines??
The clutch feels fine, no slipping, grabs/engages smoothly (for 167k!). Only modifications are Acuity shifter cable bushings and knob. When I first got the car it would sometimes go days/weeks without making a chirp but it’s becoming more frequent as of late maybe like 1-2 times a day but it also seems to have gotten worse with the cold weather… I’ve found that applying minimal throttle and kind of rolling into 1st gear works best for avoiding the noise

 

[2013ACURAILX]

mine does the same, esp if you feather the throttle when releasing the clutch.
still bites HARD when nailing it at takeoff.

I read its one of the springs on the clutch plate that rattles loose and rubs causing the squeal.
guessing the feathering of the throttle or the torque going into first causes more flex in the clutch plate which causes the annoying noise.
There is supposedly a TSB, but I never saw the number for Acura.

I'm not changing mine until it's toast @ about 120k miles on the original now, will upgrade to a better aftermarket version then.

 

[BWill9886]

mine does the same, esp if you feather the throttle when releasing the clutch.
still bites HARD when nailing it at takeoff.

I read its one of the springs on the clutch plate that rattles loose and rubs causing the squeal.
guessing the feathering of the throttle or the torque going into first causes more flex in the clutch plate which causes the annoying noise.
There is supposedly a TSB, but I never saw the number for Acura.

I'm not changing mine until it's toast @ about 120k miles on the original now, will upgrade to a better aftermarket version then.

Got it confirmed by a service writer for a dealer up north of me that the rusty or damaged springs are the issue (Though not if there is a TSB). They see a lot of them (his also does it).

It's random though when you might have it start happening. I've seen mileage vary all over the place.

 

[Clean12Coupe]

Got it confirmed by a service writer for a dealer up north of me that the rusty or damaged springs are the issue (Though not if there is a TSB). They see a lot of them (his also does it).

It's random though when you might have it start happening. I've seen mileage vary all over the place.

What is a TSB?

 

[2013ACURAILX]

What is a TSB?

Technical Service Bulletin

 

[2013ACURAILX]

Got it confirmed by a service writer for a dealer up north of me that the rusty or damaged springs are the issue (Though not if there is a TSB). They see a lot of them (his also does it).

It's random though when you might have it start happening. I've seen mileage vary all over the place.

I can reproduce mine 98% of the time, cold start, reverse out of the lane way, feather the gas release the clutch in first gear, wheel turned left.

 

[Clean12Coupe]

mine does the same, esp if you feather the throttle when releasing the clutch.
still bites HARD when nailing it at takeoff.

I read its one of the springs on the clutch plate that rattles loose and rubs causing the squeal.
guessing the feathering of the throttle or the torque going into first causes more flex in the clutch plate which causes the annoying noise.
There is supposedly a TSB, but I never saw the number for Acura.

I'm not changing mine until it's toast @ about 120k miles on the original now, will upgrade to a better aftermarket version then.

Yesssss exactly, its Really bad when you feather the gas a bunch of times and slowly release clutch (to be honest I’ve kind of gotten away from that anyway, when I was younger with my Bseries Honda I would give it the ricer revs when ’scooching’ forward or backward or pulling off a stop but now a days stock exhaust and just smooth equal pressure just enough to move and no need to rev it up lol)

*So basically it shouldn’t really affect the engagement of the clutch to much it’s just an annoying sound and should go away with a new clutch??

 

[Clean12Coupe]

Technical Service Bulletin

Damnit! I was gona guess that but didn’t wana be wrong 😆

 

[Clean12Coupe]

I can reproduce mine 98% of the time, cold start, reverse out of the lane way, feather the gas release the clutch in first gear, wheel turned left.

Why when wheel turned left? That’s an odd one lol…
Mine is upon feathering throttle to much while slowly releasing clutch pedal from a stop. And also when I’m driving slow like with my kid in the car and I’m trying extra hard to be slow and smooth - ie; super slow release of he clutch pedal, mines even done it in second gear once or twice

 

[2013ACURAILX]

im guessing from the additional torque on the outside drivers axle shaft.

it does it going straight as well, but not 98% of the time!

 

[Clean12Coupe]

New clutch ‘should’ fix the problem though yea?
I really want an Exedy stg 1 but I don’t think I’ll have Hondata by the time I need a clutch so I’ll prolly just go Exedy OEM replacement

 

[BWill9886]

I can reproduce mine 98% of the time, cold start, reverse out of the lane way, feather the gas release the clutch in first gear, wheel turned left.

I was apparently very fortunate and it only started doing it on mine around 80,000 miles when I was already looking at replacing it for something to hold more power. Even then, it was pretty rare. It loved doing it on 1st gear feathering when going up the parking garage ramp at my work. As you said in your other post, anything that places additional load seemed to trigger it.

*So basically it shouldn’t really affect the engagement of the clutch to much it’s just an annoying sound and should go away with a new clutch??

You got it!

 

[zwal1902]

My car has this issue, however I don’t think it’s an issue with springs in the clutch. I replaced the clutch on my car with an ACT HDSS and it still does it. Not right away, but after 25,000 miles or so. Maybe both clutches have the same issue? If you’re careful usually it doesn’t make any noise or chatter though, stock or aftermarket clutch.

 

[zwal1902]

New clutch ‘should’ fix the problem though yea?
I really want an Exedy stg 1 but I don’t think I’ll have Hondata by the time I need a clutch so I’ll prolly just go Exedy OEM replacement

Only for a little while. The noise probably will come back after the clutch sees some miles.

 

[Chattanooga civic]

Mine was doing this too and I actually made a spring completely pop out of mine....it was resting inside the clutch and would make this mild scraping sound that I could hear but passengers didn't really notice. But it made the little screech sound when shifting for two years or more before I replaced clutch and flywheel. I planned on replacing flywheel anyways and purchased one from action clutch in California (highly recommend) and it turned out they would not have been able to resurface mine because the spring dug a trench in flywheel. The mechanic said he had not ever seen a spring completely pop out of clutch plate. My throw out bearing also seized and began making a whining sound at idle that was really loud (thats when I finally replaced everything) anyways to answer questions about the queef sound going away yes it does after I replaced flywheel and new clutch kit, it does not make any kind of sound at all and shifts fine. I was amazed after seeing the flywheel and clutch and throw out bearing that I had been driving for two years and able to shift through all gears. Mechanic said damage was from me driving it hard. I do drive it sporty but hey its more fun that way. I bought a stainless steel stock flywheel and replaced with a factory equivalent clutch kit that mechanic shop gave me 3 year warranty on. Cost me 1400 total for repair. I've attached picture of bearing, damaged flywheel and new one I bought along with clutch missing the spring.

 

[Clean12Coupe]

Only for a little while. The noise probably will come back after the clutch sees some miles.

Yea see I think your right and this brings me back to the ‘design flaw’ comment someone made to me months ago - the way these parts were designed and assembled have this one major flaw so even with new parts it seems inevitable the wear on them will be premature because of the conjunction in which they are working together.
You know what’s the most odd about this is, I’ve driven A LOT of manual cars and this gearbox/ratio/drivetrain used in these cars is really superb. They are so smooth and effortless and just such a pleasure to drive

 

[Uziel S]

My 2014 SI coupe does the same noise while getting out of first gear. Thanks for the post, now I know it's not the transmission itself.

 

[Clean12Coupe]

My 2014 SI coupe does the same noise while getting out of first gear. Thanks for the post, now I know it's not the transmission itself.

For sure man - were all basically dealing with this problem at some point or another!