I have a '98 Civic DX auto. Last night we got some snow and the roads were glare ice. I didn't break 25MPH for most of my drive home. I kept the gear shifter down in "2" to reduce wheel spin when I was accelerating from a stop. At one point I decided to throw it up into "D3" obviously to get into 3rd gear. When I did this the shifter, not the transmission, made a huge clunk/snap sound. I shift between "D3" and "D4" all the time and the shifter is nice and quiet. Is this something to worry about?

 

ya i would say its somthing to worrie about

 

Do you think the 2nd to D3 part of the shifter is just not as worn out as the D3 to D4 part because its not used as often?

 

Without actually hearing it, I couldn't tell you if it was a very bad sound or just a sound to listen for in the future.

Does it drive any different? Any negative effects from it? Are you 100% sure it was the shifter itself? I've spilled soda on mine before and it became sticky, but not clicky.

 

Does it do it everytime you move it to D3?
or was it just one time that it happened?

Maybe you need to back off the gas pedal while you move it to D3 or something? (not sure if you did or not... or if it even matters)

 

I'm 99% sure it was the shifter and not the transmission. My transmission clunks when I put it from reverse to drive, drive to reverse, etc. and this noise was different. I'll make this shift a few more times this week to see if it still makes this noise. I always take my foot completely off of the gas when I shift from D3 to D4, D4 to D3 or from 2 to D3, not sure if this is necessary or not.

 

I've got an auto and it does the same thing. It makes a big clack from D2 to D3 because it's locking into place where it cannot be pulled back to D2. If you ever take the cover off the shifter housing, and go from D2 to D3, you will see why it makes the noise. Nothing at all to worry about.

And you don't have to take your foot off the gas to go from D3 to D4, I believe it's designed that way because sometimes when you're driving you need the extra power or need to slow down, you can just pull the lever back without looking or having to push the button on the side at the top. It's a very convenient feature on the autos.

 

Clack! That's a perfect word to describe it. I've figured that taking my foot off when shifting isn't necessary, but I've always done it for some reason. Good to know that its nothing to worry about.

 

yeah I beat the **** out of mine. reverse donuts are fun, and pretty much anything imaginable in the snow. good times. and my tranny just keeps working fine.

 

I go pretty easy on mine because it slips from 2nd to 3rd and it makes a lot of noise. The worst thing that I do to it is shift between D4/D3 and its designed to do that anyways.