If my clutch goes at 6k - I will be one pissed off Honda owner and the dealer will make it right. I can't imagine that they wouldn't do the right thing.

 

Yea, mine better not crap out lol.
A- never buy a new(er) honda again.
B- I'd be at the dealer right away bein grrr.

 

If dealers refuse to cover under warranty a blown pressure plate at 6k miles on a car that hasn't been abused, you do one thing: get on the phone and call the corporate headquarters for Honda of America. You raise a stink. Make them know you are serious about this. This is a Honda.

I guarantee FROM EXPERIENCE they will get something done because Honda doesn't want their reputation trashed on the 6:00 news because they won't warranty their hot-selling small car.

 

^^words of wisdom

 

It sounds like the clutch to me. If you have the dealer take it apart it should be pretty apparent what the problem is.. Obviously if it's excessive wear they aren't going to repair it under warranty. 6000 miles is enough time to destroy the clutch if you or someone else driving the car has terrible driving habits. That's really out of the ordinary though... my last honda had 120,000 miles on the clutch when it got totaled. Hopefully it's not the clutch or its a tight clutch cable or something simple.

EDIT- I don't know if Honda Care covers it. I found this on http://www.hondacareextendedwarranty.com/ under the sample contract:

IV. WHAT IS NOT COVERED

1. Parts other than genuine HONDA or AMERICAN HONDA authorized parts; wiper blades; battery (except for the nickel- metal hydride battery in hybrid VEHICLES); cables; steering wheel; belts; radiator hoses; heater hoses and vacuum hoses; spark plugs; plug wires; distributor cap and rotor; timing belt replacement when performed as routine maintenance: exhaust system, head pipes, tailpipes, catalytic converter; mufflers; hangars; heat shields; gaskets (except for the manifold block gasket and related fastening hardware); fuel system; fuel tank straps; fuel hoses; brake system wear items such as drums/rotors, shoes/pads; clutch disc, clutch pressure plate; throw out bearing, external shift linkages; pilot bearing/bushing; glass, mirror glass, body parts; body structure (except for hood hinges, trunk hinges, door hinges and sliding door rollers), hood fenders, doors, rear hatch, trunk lid, grille, panels; bright metal; sheet metal; paint (except for covered hinges painted to match the original VEHICLE color only); bumpers; moldings; lenses; bezels; bulbs (except for instrument panel illumination bulbs); High Intensity Discharge (HID.) headlamps; sealed beams; fuses; body seals; weather-strips (except for window sash and window run channels); outside ornamentation; emblems; tires; valve stems; wheels; wheel covers/ornaments; rims; trim rings; caps; wheel studs; lug nuts; wheel locks; fastening/securing hardware for non-covered components; stripped or cross threaded fasteners (e.g., nuts, bolts, studs, screws, etc.); body seals; squeaks, rattles; buttons; carpet; dash pad; console; window handles; knobs; boots; pedals; pads; rearview mirror (except for electronic failure of the auto-dimming mirror); interior trim; upholstery; floor mats; electronic/audio accessories and cellular telephones other than AMERICAN HONDA AUTHORIZED ELECTRONIC/AUDIO ACCESSORIES/NAVIGATIONAL, DVD ENTERTAINMENT AND SECURITY SYSTEMS; Safety Restraint System fastening hardware; seat belts and airbag(s) deployed due to collision. If YOU believe there is a defect in these parts, please contact YOUR DEALER immediately.

 

my clutch was black, like it was burned up from shifting too bad, i did learn on mine, but only had a couple instances where i shift horribly. which i dont think should have destroyed my clutch.

have you been good to your clutch?

a friend of mine had a ford pick up, brand new, the clutch went bad after a few thousand miles, replaced under warranty because it was found to be defective. may be if you take yours to the dealer for the job they will find yours was defective as well. i didnt take mine to the dealer because i refused to pay their high rates if they found it wasnt a defect and was wear(which they probably would have told me even if it wasnt wear).

 

this is how u know the clutch is blown (s
NOT "when shifting from blah gear to blah gear, the clutch slips then engages...the clutch is blown (it CAN"T be to poor shifting)" lol

 

u can blow a clutch in ZERO miles NO GRINDING......in a steep driveway just hold the car in place using the clutch half engaged and revving the engine and NO BRAKES
u don't live in a hilly area and when waiting for the light to change u rock back and forth, engaging and disengaging the clutch, burning out the plates?
....could also be a bad clutch though...

 

I also think your clutch is the problem. For some reason, probably the surface condition, the clutch plate is slipping on the disc when you 'rev' it up.
More than likely, either the clutch is badly out of alignment or the surface is worn badly. Have you been doing a lot of drag starts?
Your Honda Care warranty should tend to this unless you have abused the clutch.

 

i say bad clutch.

 

i agree bad clutch... if you have not been abusing it as you say, then i would guess its defective... make them fix it for free. i have almost 12k on mine, im not gentle on my clutch (i dont abuse it) but i do drive agressively every now and then and ahve done a few hard launches. i also learned on my car. clutch is still solid and i expect it to be solid for a long time. and i agree 1500 for a clutch on this car is ridic, screw going to honda for that, i was pricing it out and looking at an aftermarket clutch and light weight flywheel im looking at 1500 with install, stock should be able to get it done for 800....

 

The clutch could not be going bad at 6k unless you grind every single shift...

I have 7k and I've grinded like 15-20 times total between 6k and 7k (no grinds before 6k), mostly 3rd gear and sometimes 2nd...never stalled though. Stopped grinding since I put in Mugen shifter.

Who says you need your gas foot off when pushing in clutch? I just balance the cars' squat when I shift, not completely off the gas. I don't like to see my passenger's head bob forward.

 

the griding is not your clutch though... it's from the collar trying to engage
the side of the gear but your syncro can't speed up up the collar fast enough
resulting in that grinding noise. it has nothing to do with the actual gear teeth
either.

sucks to hear 6k miles and a bad clutch. i have about 10k+miles on mine
and i driver the FitS spiritedly with heel and toe downshifts all the time. ive
never had a clutch go bad on any of my MT cars.

ck out HowStuffWorks - Learn How Everything Works!

 

need more input in this thread! This is my first manual and I think i'm treating her right.
i love reading threads about manuals to make sure i'm doing it correctly.

 

Grinding gears has absolutely ZERO to do with a slipping clutch dude.

Do you understand how a manual transmission works?

Slipping the clutch is what wears it out. In other words, giving it gas with the clutch semi-engaged.

 

You disengage the clutch plate with engine speed loafing to relieve pressure on the synchronizers. Refusing to do that means premature wear and difficulty in engaging different gears.
What is balancing the car's squat? When you use the clutch and gearbox properly there should be no change in the vehicle's stance. That goes for engaging the new gear as well.

Here's a test for you: really good drivers can shift WITHOUT using the clutch at all because they know how to match engine speeds with gear speeds such that the synchronizers are not used at all. The transistion is so smooth it feels like a really good automatic. Unless you're that good disengage the clutch when you back off the throttle. You have to release the throttle but don't keep it down either. Change rpm with the clutch disengaged. When you get good you can match the rpm to to the gearbox rpm of the next gear.. Simple to say, difficult to accomplish.

 

My 2008 Sport Fit Clutch went at 6000 miles as well. Never experienced anything like this in my 15+ years driving a manual transmission. The service consultant at the dealership said he had never seen a clutch so blue in his years at the shop. After having it fixed, it happened again at 17,800 miles. Ridiculous!!! Honda needs to take responsibility for their shotty vehicles. There are more and more of these cases surfacing on the web. After having my case reopened Honda said that these vehicles have had problems with the Slave Cylinder and the Master Cylinder. Even though these parts are covered under warranty they still refuse to pay for repairs.

 

OP:
I can't think of any other cause but a fault somewhere in the clutch assembly. Like Kylerwho says it's likely it's a bad pressure plate.

If that's the case, the throttle pedal has an indirect contribution to it because it's spinning the flywheel too quickly for the faulty pressure plate to keep the clutch mated to it, hence loss of drive.

Could be wrong though

 

I vote for bad clutch material, either bad by compostion,thickness, or by contamination by oil or somesuch. It 'grabs' some but only at low rpm.
A possible fault is the clutch circuit; check to see that the clutch lever at the transmission really does go all the way forward when the clutch pedal is pressed but I can't see that when the clutch engages at low rpm but not high.
It needs replacing NOW and since its covered by manufacturers warranty fully (forget any additional warranty) you should have it done quickly before you get stranded somewhere.

 

No problems in 60K miles here, knock wood. But I'm concerned nonetheless; I had hoped this car would go a few 100K for me, and clutches are not a cheap fix.

If anyone has more information on problems with the slave/master cylinders, or any other hard information related to premature clutch failure, I would love to hear about it.