Hi, I have an 04 Civic lx sedan with 5 speed. The car has 44000 miles on it. I commute about 28 miles one way. Every morning when I get to the bottom of the off ramp (the light is always red). I go to take off when it is green, and the clutch grabs suddenly, almost feels like I am spinning the tires on that slippery white crosswalk paint (but there is no crosswalk there and the road is dry). After that, the rest of the ride to work is fine. The ride home it doesn't do it either. Sometimes in the morning on the weekends on local roads at stops it does it again. I am baffled by this problem. Do you think I should bleed the clutch? It would seem unlikely that it need bleeding being a newer car, but maybe? Thanks for any input!
2004 Honda Civic Clutch -strange occurance
- Thread starter Jeepster_nut
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When this happens.....is the engine/clutch/trans fully warmed up or still cold when this happens?
Is it chatter? Mine did that for a while (when cold), then went away and never came back. (93 Mazda)
My '04 Civic does the same. And I've heard of others with the same complaint. It's clutch chatter. I'm not sure why but the amount of chatter is directly related to the relative humidity. Higher the humidity the more the chatter. And if the car sits for several days the chatter is worse until it warms up. Seems that the clutch disc absorbs moisture and until it dries out it chatters. And I suspect the only way to fix it is to replace the clutch disc.
I agree it's very annoying but once warmed up the clutch is fine.
I agree it's very annoying but once warmed up the clutch is fine.
Thanks for the replies, the tires arent spinning and it is fully warmed up, its funny that you mention the humidity playing a part, because when it is raining it does it alot. I bled it lastnight after I posted this message, and it didnt do it this morning after the 28 mile drive in to work. It wasn't raining though... You would think that a Honda of all cars wouldnt do this...
Have you ever flushed the clutch fluid before last night? It is stupid that Honda doesn't specify a service point for clutch fluid but it sees 10x more duty than brake fluid and it has such a TINY reservoir. Change it every year or two MAX. That should help. Along with quick launch from a stop by revving up to 4k and letting the clutch out in such a way as to not let the tire spin too much and not let the clutch burn up. It takes a few tries to master but I found that my 99 Civic (174k miles) likes to be driven hard to avoid clutch/brake glazing and compression rings sticking.
No, I havent flushed it before lastnight. I didn't completely flush it , I just performed a pump and hold/bleed 3 or 4 times. The fluid was kinda brown that came out. I am hoping it helps, the pedal feels better (more firm).
If this indeed worked please post back and I'll try the same with mine.
Will do. It didnt do it this morning either. I usually see it more on Monday morning after the car has sat in my garage all weekend ( I drive my Cherokee on the weekends). I will let you know.
The fluid level in the reservoir of a hydraulically operated clutch should be checked weekly and the fluid should be replaced annually because it is hygroscopic and water causes corrosion.
Update: It didn't chatter this morning either. It sat for the weekend in my garage. I don't know if bleeding it fixed it or not, but the 10 minutes it takes to bleed it is worth a shot. Time will tell if it comes back in the future. Good luck!
Thanks for the feedback! I will give this a try this weekend and see if I get the same result.
A full flush if the brake/clutch fluid is more than 2 years old is highly recommended. I have a MityVac hand pump and reservoir. For the $25 investment, it makes one man brake/clutch flushing much easier. Just have to keep an eye on the reseroir level. Stop the vacuum if level gets too low, add more, then pump some more. Be patient. You will not do a better flush job with the pedal pump-hold-bleed method.
I picked up a Mity Vac today. I have heard of these and didn't realize they were that affordable. Now the brakes and clutch on the Civic are getting the royal treatment. I will do my Jeep and Wife's Xterra as well!
Once done sucking out the old brake fluid, close the lid, start the car, and make sure to pump the brake pedal a few times before driving. The pedal will sink the first time you depress it and you will panic think "I can't stop the car". It happens to me every now and then
Bleed the brakes per your car's service manual, or longest line to shortest (for my 99 Civic it is RR->LR->RF->LF).
Oh and one last thing, a nice trick I came up with is to use some hair gel or similar on the bleed nipple threads to prevent any bubbles from getting sucked in as you crack the nipple open. Even if you do see bubbles, they are not going into the caliper so no worries. It is just nicer to have an air tight connection. I used grease before but it was too thick.
Well I finally got around to bleeding the clutch today along with a routine oil change. I haven't noticed any difference in the clutch pedal action but I haven't driven it much yet. Hopefully it will eliminate the very intermittent chatter.
Jeepster Nut....has your clutch action been OK since performing the bleed?
Jeepster Nut....has your clutch action been OK since performing the bleed?
After several days of use the verdict is in. The clutch engagement is much more precise and direct. But the best news is the cold chatter is gone!
Absolutely smooth engagement every time.
I think I'm going to make this a maintenance item to do every 6 months or so to keep it that way. Something this simple can make a huge difference.
I think I'm going to make this a maintenance item to do every 6 months or so to keep it that way. Something this simple can make a huge difference.
Good for you. What fluid are you planning to use? I went from the factory fill to ATE 200 to Valvoline Synpower to Prestone. I think the Prestone is the best for everyday use and has cured the master/slave cylinder "groan" that occured with the previous fluids, expecially when it is humid/raining. Prestone is also more readily available and resonably priced.
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