I just picked up my new 6 Speed last week, and being that this is my first standard car, I had a question. When putting the car into first when at a stop light for example, it seems to require a decent push to get it into gear. I only have 350 miles so far, so unless it is abnormal, I assume it will loosen up. The other gears all slide in much easier and so I wanted to make sure this was normal. Other than that, the car is great, and it really is an easy car to learn on. Only a few more stalls Ill be shifting like a pro..haha

:-)

 

It's normal for it to be a little harder (but just a tiny bit) to get into gear from a stop then when rolling. It takes a little more foot finese too.

I would guess that your car is fine, but take it in for a check if it is really bugging you.

Keep practicing and it'll soon be effortless.

 

I have this same problem on mine. It's gotten better as I've put miles on my 6spd (2350 miles now). I'm hopeing that it'll go away by the time I get my oil changed at 7500 miles, but if it doesn't I'll have the dealer look at it. First requires a definite push to get it into gear. It's almost like there is a notch that you have to get past.

Someone mentioned in another thread that the syncro's in the tranny may need time for manufactoring "burrs" to wear down

 

Oops - maybe I was confusing 'a-new-manual-driver-having-problems-slipping-into-first-from-a-stop' from an actual notchiness into first.

I don't have to make an extra effort to actually shift the gear into first. Maybe greenmonster had the right answer. Sorry to mislead.

 

I dont think you have a problem, but then again im no mechanic. Its a little tougher than normal, but im pretty sure its just the way the car is setup...but like they said...if its bothering you that much, take it back and have them look at it....

 

Mr. Slimey: you should have seen me drive away at the dealership when I picked up my CLS. Even tho' I've been driving sticks for years, for some reason I just pushed the stick foward (into third) and wondered why I was stalling it

Figured that out real quick tho', but I did stall it out in first quite a few time the first couple of days. The clutch pedal action is kinda weird at first, but you get used to it easy enough.

There's a stop light near my house that I hope to be the 1st car in line at a red light so I can practice my "drop the clutch w/o spinning the stock tires too bad" routine. Hafta practice so I don't look too bad when I head up to New Engand Speedway (1/4 mile track) in NH next spring

 

I wholeheartedly agree that this stick/clutch was not the easiest to use at first. It took me some getting used to as well (and I'd been driving stick for 20+ years). I stalled it as well during the first week.

I'm surprised that there are some buying this car for their first experience with a manual gearbox. I guess you got to start somewhere...

 

I bought this car as my first manual, however I traded up from an 02 CL....I loved the car except for the auto tranny. I knew all about the clutch from reading reviews on this site. The car is what sold me..Im getting te feel pretty quickly...

 

Hey Jeremy....I picked up my '03 CL-S MT two weeks ago and it does take a while to "learn the clutch" as my dad would have said. If you keep the shifter in the 1st gear position (instead of putting it in to 1st at the last second....) and keep the RPM's up while letting the clutch out you wont notice that "notchy" feeling revs up a bit when Once you have some time with it you will love this new MT CL-S. One thing about this design is that you don't need to give the engine that little rev. when shifting because I notice when you push the clutch in it revs the engine a bit to make the shifting smoother. Also, this MT seems most happy shifting at between 2000 and 2750 RPM . Oh yeah....be exctra careful about the short and narrow shift gates **finding 3rd gear and NOT back up into 1st is more possible with this car than other Honda MT's** The shifter feel is so precise and effortless that you don't need to really "throw" the shifter....just flip it or "tick it" around with a few fingers.

 

Well put...