I own a 2004 HCH-I with 5 speed manual and roughly 75,000 mi.

I got stuck in traffic down in Providence on Saturday, and then when I got back up to highway speed, it starts revving like crazy. The upshift light comes on -- when I'm in 5th gear (I've got no more gears, sorry!) I couldn't get it above 30 MPH without redlining the engine.

I got off the highway and it was revving in every gear. It felt like even though the clutch pedal was fully out, it was stuck pushed in or something. I pulled over to check it out. I opened the hood and saw nothing, but I smelled a nasty smell like burning rubber. I was almost to where I was going, so I tried to pull out, but the car would not move. It kept redlining in first gear and not moving at all.

I called Triple A and had to wait an hour for the tow truck, and had to have someone drive me home... they won't even look at it until today (I need to call the garage). Fortunately it has been relatively nice weather, so I've been riding my motorcycle as substitute transportation.

I suspect, from people I've talked to, that the clutch is shot and I'll need to have it replaced. And since it was towed to a mechanic I didn't know, as I was in Providence, they can bend me over. I have no idea what I did wrong, and this happened with NO warning signs whatsoever -- just that I was caught in traffic and therefore shifting a lot.

The only time I ever really ground the gears much was when I first got the car and was still learning how to drive stick, but after a few months I got pretty good at it. Has anyone with an HCH-I 5MT had to have this kind of problem? What's going on?

Thanks.

 

Well, it's official. The mechanic called me and said I need a new clutch, and possibly a new flywheel. It's going to run me about $1,000 "if you need a new flywheel too."

There goes my next paycheck. It will allegedly be finished on Friday. It's supposed to rain later in the week so I'll need to rent a car too. (I can ride the motorcycle in the rain, I just don't like to and would rather avoid it.)

 

You should have practiced on a beater. BTW... grinding gears doesn't mean you are wearing down the clutch. Wearing the clutch is caused by not letting go of the clutch pedal properly. You are using the clutch too much when shifting gears (the worst case is from rest going into 1st gear).

A clutch especially any clutch from honda will last the life of the car if used correctly.

 

It's pretty hard to practice on a beater when all your friends with stick-shifts say "no way, you'll wreck the clutch." I ended up finding I think the one driving school in the entire state that still teaches stick, and boy, was that car ever beat up.

I got the hybrid after I had an *ahem* unfortunate altercation with an 18-wheeler in my old car, about six months after finishing my stick-shift lessons. I opted for a stick because of the lower cost, and, at the time, I'd heard that the HCH CVT's were kind of... well... unreliable.

I don't think I ride the clutch much, except in stop-and-go traffic when I'm constantly going between 1st and neutral. I also keep my foot on the clutch when it's in neutral and I'm stopped at a light, because, well, that's the way I learned.

 

If you watch these video's and take them to heart, I think it would be next to impossible to burn out a clutch...

http://www.standardshift.com/videos.html

Riding the clutch, not fully engaging and/or disengaging, letting up too slowly, etc, all can cause premature clutch wear.

 

I have 75k miles on my '04 HCH MT. I think I am pretty easy on the clutch. We'll see. I did invest in the extended warranty (to 100k), so I am protected until then. Most of my miles are in 5th gear at 65 mph, so maybe the life of my clutch will be a bit longer.

Also, my instincts tell me that gear grinding and such are more a synchro issue, but I can't be sure.

As well as EZ2beGreen's link, try www.7thgencivic.com they have some interesting dicusssions on shifting. They have a different focus on that site, but I have been able to grab some nice insights on the Civic model from them. You don't have to want to mod your car to learn alot about the car from people who have mod it.

Good luck!

 

On a flat surface, you should be able at IDLE (no gas) to disengage the clutch, put the transmission into 1st gear, engage the clutch in under 2 seconds (1 mississippi, 2 mississippi) and not stall the car. Once you can do that, then you know how to drive a manual correctly.

--edit

To avoid confusion:

1. Find flat parking lot.
2. From a complete stop and engine at idle speed.
3. Push clutch pedal in (disengage clutch (actual clutch)... or engage clutch pedal, whatever term you like)
4. Select 1st gear.
5. Release clutch pedal in under 2 seconds. (engage clutch... or disengage clutch pedal, again you choose the term).
6. Don't stall or buck.
7. You win.

 

I'm very confused. That sounds like a sure-fire way to not only stall the car but grind the gears as well.

 

Flywheel? Maybe the mechanic is using the wrong terminology, but in a Honda hybrid the IMA motor also acts as the flywheel doesn't it? Flywheels don't, as a rule go bad. Maybe there is some hardware on the flywheel that might need to be replaced along with the worn or damaged clutch parts. You need to make sure the mechanic is very specific about what parts he is replacing and why. Is the car at a Honda dealership? If it was my car I think I'd be looking for a second opinion before I let that mechanic go any further.

The three things most likely to fail in a manual transmission are the clutch plate, pressure plate and throw-out bearing, in that order.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm

From your description, it sounds like the clutch was not fully engaging causing it to slip and burning the clutch plate, which caused the burning rubber smell you experienced.

 

Yeah, that set off my bullshit detector at first, too, because I though a flywheel had something to do with the ignition, not the clutch. Then I looked at "Clutch" on Wikipedia and then found your howstuffworks link.

I *am* looking for a second opinion, and he said the flywheel only *might* have to be replaced. The car's so far out of warranty that it doesn't pay to bring it to the dealer anyway.