when im in 5th gear, on the highway, i try to upshift to 6th gear, but it doesnt go in. so i have to go back into neutral and then back into 6th...

this only happens sometimes.

what could be the problem?

 

Your technique?
Any problem doing it on the driveway/stationary?

 

You are leaving the stick too long in neutral in between the path from 5th to 6th.

 

I suspect that the clutch pedal isn't being pushed in enough for you to shift into sixth gear. Sometimes when I'm on the highway, I get a little too relaxed (highway hypnosis), which makes for lazy clutch pedal operation, and stubborn upshifts.

 

A trick I found helps: when you shift on the left plane (1st and 2nd), hold the shifter from the right side. When shifting into the middle plane (3rd and 4th), let it go to the middle (neutral) point, and just move up and down (forward/aft). When shifting on the right plane (5th and 6th), I hold the shifter backhanded (hand on the left side of the shifter). I never have any problems hitting the gears!

 

^^^^ Thats how I do it too.

But I have missed 4th once....

 

Ditto! When I first test drove a TSX 6-speed I was very hesitant about shifting into sixth. It wasn't a natural motion and I was paranoid about shifting it into reverse. But I figured out the backhanded technique and have had no problems since. It's interesting to see that many of us use the same method.

 

Same here. The tranny does have a reverse lockout from what I understand, but the backhanded method is the way to go.

 

Nice suggestion
I do the same and the shifts are smooth. I did end up grinding gears a couple of times but that is only because I was messing around to see how quick I can shift.

 

i do the back-handed method sometimes as well. But for the most part, I don't have problems finding my gears. I know exactly how and where my hand needs to move, and the stick moves there precisely. I'm just an intellectual person lol...I actually have to stop and think for the back-handed method, and I end up not moving it exactly into the slot (when shifting regularly, I always land it in the center so it feels so smooth)

 

I guess if you've been driving the car this way, your arm/hand knows how to get into the gears...

 

You might also be shifting into 6th too early and too slowly.

Try reaching speeds greater than 60mph and shift into 6th faster than you'd shift into 2nd.

The lower the rpm, the crappier the shift feels.