'04 civic ex shakes when shifting

bigst79 · #1 02-24-2009, 01:06 PM

Hi, i have a 2004 honda civic ex manual transmission. i bought it used in the spring time 3 years ago, and it seems that each winter since then, when it gets cold out, my car shakes when shifting gears. if i don't give it gas inbetween shifting, it won't shake, but then the transfer between gears isn't as smooth, which i don't think should be done anyway.

any ideas why this might be happening? or is it just a civic thing? not sure why it would only happen in colder weather. pretty much anything 50 degrees or below. unless it's just a weird coincidence.

thebrad04 · #2 12-23-2009, 07:59 AM

Yea mine is doing the same thing im gonna change the spark plugs and see if that helps but im not sure what else to do

bigst79 · #3 12-23-2009, 08:15 AM

yea, mine still does it. i took it in to a shop and mentioned it to the guy and he tried tightening up all the nuts and bolts around the engine and front end, but it's still doing it. Going on 4 years now, so it doesn't seem to be a safety threat...more of an annoyance.

Can you let me know if changing the spark plug works out for you?

tubais · #4 12-25-2009, 03:28 PM

does it seem to be during the clutch engagement... has anyone noticed... does it get better with engine temp? cold temps tires harder, shocks are slower. just thoughts

bigst79 · #5 12-25-2009, 08:37 PM

It occurs as i release the clutch in between shifting. it's more noticeable in 1st and 2nd gears, sometimes in 3rd, and pretty much never 4th or 5th. i'm pretty sure it's clutch related. It doesn't matter if the engine is warmed up or not, the car will still shudder in colder weather. But for some reason i don't have this problem in the warmer months.

tubais · #6 12-26-2009, 02:00 PM

sure sounds like clutch chatter is it better or worse if you slip the clutch

DownToGround · #7 12-28-2009, 11:57 AM

our si with the c5 does the same thing. when we first put the motor in it was really noticable, mostly on a hard pull. eventually the stock type r clutch broke, the clutch disc broke. put an act extreme plate with a type r disc. it stopped for awhile, but i was just noticing it again. (clutch is now about2.5 years old) i would say its clutch related..

bigst79 · #8 01-08-2010, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubais

sure sounds like clutch chatter is it better or worse if you slip the clutch

it is much worse the slower you slip the clutch. it's only avoidable by virtually dropping the clutch completely. if i slipped the clutch 1/2 way and held it there the car will shake non stop until i fully release it.

i'm afraid to take the car into the shop (i'm not handy with cars) and the guy replaces the clutch and i still have a problem. would my best bet be to take it to a honda dealership? dealerships are much more expensive i find, but i feel they'd be more knowledgable about the problem. thoughts?

DownToGround · #9 01-14-2010, 01:59 PM

it could be the pilot bearing????

bear80 · #10 12-23-2011, 11:12 AM

I know this conversation was a while ago, but I have the exact same car (assuming yours was a coupe), and just started experiencing the exact same problem. FYI, I'm just over 100K, and I live in SF, so it doesn't get THAT cold.

A friend suggested I check the manual tranny fluid, but I can't find it... I'm a girl (I don't know if that's a valid excuse), and I haven't yet gotten out my service manual to find it (that might be a better excuse?).

I'm assuming at this point you've either discovered the problem, your car is still shuddering, or it magically went away by itself?

Would love a concrete answer before my clutch gives way, or I cause any other serious damage to my engine.

THANKS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

POST REPLY TO THIS THREAD