Yesterday, a YouTuber who goes by the name FlyinGato sent us a video that documents what appeared to be a pretty gnarly grind between first and second gear on his new 2017 Honda Civic Type R. FlynGato also showed what looked like gear grinding in the cars of two other YouTubers. Suffice to say, it didn’t sound good.



FlyinGato wasn’t the only one to report grinding in that model; at least a couple others across the internet have seen it as well, and a few have also emailed us about the problem. So what’s going on with the new performance flagship from a company that’s famous for its manual gearboxes?


Gear grinding can happen for a lot of reasons, though most often happens with older transmissions, as the clutch and synchronizers and gear teeth all start to wear out. It shouldn’t be happening in a brand new 2017 Type R, in other words, though can still happen for drivers who don’t fully engage the clutch while changing gears. (For his part, FlyinGato says that he’s an experienced driver of manual transmissions.)

In a statement, Honda said that they’ve received a “small number” of complaints, but that, so far, “there is no indication at this time of a specific mechanical problem within those transmissions.”




The statement also said that, in some cases, drivers may be at fault, though did acknowledge that some grinding can happen if the transmission is cold.

More from Honda:

When a transmission is cold, not fully warmed up, some gear grind between 1st and 2nd gear is considered normal in many manual transmissions and is manageable by using care when shifting. Once the transmission is warmed up, the driver should not experience a grind if the shift is performed properly. Also, please note: As the speed of shifting increases with any car, so does the chance of not fully disengaging the clutch and potentially grinding gears. Even the best drivers occasionally get the timing wrong, but that is not necessarily an indication of a problem with the vehicle. [...] We encourage any owner who is experiencing a problem to bring their vehicle to an authorized Honda dealer for diagnosis. Through this process, we will be better able to gather actual vehicle data and determine if there is an issue that could affect other vehicles.

While the statement leaves open the possibility that there could be a more widespread issue at play, Honda hasn’t seen evidence of it yet.

If you’ve had problems with your new Civic Type R doing this, let us know in the comments.