I am having problems with my 2003 CL Type-S Manual Transmission (MT) too. I do have a lot of miles (75K) on the car since it is a 2003 that was sold in 2002, but I don’t consider it high miles for a Honda product. I've driven a stick for over 20 years and this is my third Honda product. I put 225K on an Accord and 150K miles on an Integra with no clutch related problems or replacements required.

The first time I noticed something feeling strange was at about 70K miles. It only seems to happen when I am taking off after a stop in first gear and also when I am attempting to shift into second gear. The clutch pedal either feels like I’m pushing my 1978 Z-28 non-hydraulic clutch pedal or it goes all the way to the floor and feels like a brake pedal does when there is air in the brake line, when I am slowly releasing it. Today was the worst so far because I started to ease the pedal after being stopped at a light and could tell something was wrong. I pushed the pedal in to shift into second gear and I was pushing lead and couldn't shift into second. I drifted onto the side of the road and pushed the clutch pedal in several times hoping to finally feel it "feel" right. I have had no problems when I am in the higher gears or when I am down shifting. I took it to dealership and the one tech said that it was "too heavy" and that a bearing was probably binding.....another one said it felt fine. They flushed and replaced the trans fluid hoping that lubrication was going to fix the problem. Well it didn’t and instead of the problem being an occasional one, it has become more frequent and severe.


If anyone else has experienced clutch/manual trans problem with a 2002-2003 Type S CL or TL, please let me know. By the way, I have registered a complaint on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)...in hopes that there will be enough complaints to warrant an investigation and possible recall.

Thanks,
Carol