Honda Car Forum

Hi - I have a 1993 Honda Accord - manual transmission - mileage is about 180K.

About 2 days ago, I noticed I was having problems getting the car in and out of gear while the engine was running, and that the clutch had a bit of a different feeling to it - doesn't spring back from the floor like I'm used to. (This happened right after the weather turned really cold here, so I have a feeling that the two are related, but I can't be sure).

When the car is idling with clutch engage while 1st gear, it acts (about 60% of the time) as if the clutch isn't fully engaged - rough idle + car moves forward under engine power if I'm not firmly stepped on the brake, and will often stall within a matter of seconds if I don't give it gas. (None of this is a problem while idling in neutral). Once the car is moving, shifting to 2nd,3rd, etc.. feels stiff sometimes, but usually isn't too difficult. There's no grinding sound associated with shifting.

The first thing I did was take the car someplace to evacuate and refill the transmission fluid. This *sorta* seemed to help, but it is difficult to tell because the problem is intermittent - sometimes its easy to shift, and sometimes its difficult/not possible.

I'm definitely no car expert, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what the problem is - hoping it's something inexpensive, of course. (I read on another site about a similar sounding problem being due to clutch cable, so I was wondering if this was possible)
Thanks! -Curtis

Your car might have a hydraulic clutch that is low on fluid.Open the hood and
look on the fire wall where the clutch goes through.If you have a small round canister check the fluid level.
It does sound like the clutch is not releasing when pushed in.I had a problem about the same,but i had a broken spring on the clutch plate.It would shift fine with the car off and not at all when running.
If your car is a cable operated clutch you can find the clutch cable and follow it down to the transmission,turn the black knob to adjust.Mark