Boy, do I love driving the Si. Its shifts are short and only require a light touch to rein in its 197 horses. It's definitely a car whose capabilities are best realized on curvy canyon roads. But every time I've driven it, I notice that unless I shove the gear into 3rd, the stickshift won't snick into place causing me to grind the gear...
Also, to get on the bandwagon with regards to the climate controls of a long-term test car. I found that when leaving the Si out in the hot sun for an hour, even when the climate control is set on "MAX A/C" the cool air didn't really come out until I was on the highway -- causing my passenger to say, "This air conditioner sucks." And it didn't seem like this slowness to cool down was due to the engine not being warmed up enough since I was driving around town for a good 15 minutes before hitting the freeway. However, once that cold air did come on, sweet relief from the blistering heat was mine.
11,205 miles -- Caroline Pardilla, Production Editor
mptlptr says:
06:18 PM, 07/24/06
Had the 3rd gear problem occasionally with my 6-speed Acura TL, and also noticed a slightly ineffective A/C. Maybe it's a Honda thing.
mykeey says:
10:53 PM, 07/24/06
Yes, the black interior leaves the car hot for me too. And I agree it takes time for the AC to cool off the car. You would think such a small car with cool off fast.
Concerning the 3rd gear, I thought was my clumsyness that made me too shift hard into third. hmmm......
xhawkeye says:
08:19 AM, 07/25/06
On my 3rd Honda, while driving around Dallas the last 16 years, and there's a reason all have been white and have had tinted windows. Honda's a/c is as all weak as their motors are great. Once the temps are 95 or higher your goose is cooked.
Find shade anywhere one can. Park in the 100 deg sun and the a/c will not come off of max until the sun sets. Been much happier since I have had a house with a garage and I can park against the east side of the building at work.
The a/c will not cool off a hot car sitting in traffic, need to be doing 45+ to have enough air flowing thru the condenser.
My '02 Civic Si is better then my '94 GS-R was but it only improved from very slow to just plain slow.
actualsize says:
02:19 PM, 07/26/06
Al of the Civics and CRXs I've ever owned suffered the same problem. Actually, the cars were fine - it was me and my passnegers who suffered.
The new Civic sure has a lot glass, much of it nearly horizontal. The resulting massive sun-load sure can't help.
Curiously, my *ahem* my wife's Odyssey minivan is much better than any Honda car I've been in.
thebigal says:
10:40 PM, 07/27/06
interestingly enough I have found that the A/C's in most new cars take a long while to cool off. My wife's brand new car's A/C doesn't work near as well as my 6 year old trucks does and the only thing I have done to it is have the A/C compressor replaced about 3 years ago. But it gets cold quick and even in 100 plus temps it get's cold enough that I have to turn it down. Maybe it's a new car phemomenon true to all makes ?
billt9 says:
12:04 PM, 07/30/06
my 2000 Civic had crap A/C from day 1, as everyone has mentioned. It takes an extremely long time to cool down, perhaps 5-10 minutes.
Compare to a Camry's near instant A/C.
Honda does have bad A/C.
hondacura4 says:
03:58 PM, 07/30/06
I know a few 06 Si owners and some have complained about the 3 gear grind but from what Ive gathered, it goes away after it racks up some mileage. Also there is a ECU update I beleive for the rev hang issue thats so damn annoying. I dont know if its out yet but I know Honda was working on it.
I dont think its the A/C , the problem is that the fan is too small, and it doesnt blow hard enough. This was the usual problem in all my Hondas/Acuras ( Ive owned 8) with the exception of my wifes 05 Odyssey Touring , my 03 Acura CL-Type S 6 speed, and our 02 S2000. My 95 Civic sedan was stripped of its A/C because of weight savings (hardcore I know).
dotsara says:
09:47 AM, 07/31/06
Huh; I notice the Si's A/C doesn't get painfully cold as fast as the A/C in my '97 Grand Cherokee. Having said that: it doesn't take all that long. The last few weeks with this ridiculous heat: open the windows and sun roof to let out the hot, stale air, turn on the A/C and go. It's much cooler and more comfortable within just a couple of minutes.
Also: do you all use sun shades? I'm not trying to be smart, I just see very few cars actually using them. They help immensely.
heydave says:
07:08 AM, 08/ 2/06
I have the same 3rd gear problem with my '05 Accord 6-speed coupe. The problem is intermittant, but on the 3rd visit to the dealership (Randy Kuehl Honda), I finally got the service writer to duplicate the problem. He said I just did not know how to shift so therefore there was no problem to fix. What?! I've been driving manual transmissions longer than he's been alive. From what I could find on the 'net, this 3rd gear problem appears to be indicative of Acura/Honda 6-speeds.
kevin07si says:
01:15 PM, 10/25/06
I have had my 07 Si for almost a month now (about 1K miles) and I noticed the sticky 3rd gear problem. Glad to know there are others experiencing this and its not only my gearbox. Is there any fix or planned fix for this?
mhattrup says:
11:05 PM, 11/ 6/06
It is kind of reassuring to hear that others are doing the can't find it grind it boogie... It only happens about once a week - usually when it's cold (i.e. first shift from second to third) that I have to back off a second and double clutch. It would be nice to see a TSB come out but for now I'm just glad my tranny doesn't seem to have a unique problem.
drr10n says:
03:41 PM, 03/ 2/07
yeah i have the 3rd gear problem too. it just doesn't want to go in as nicely/smoothly as the others... but like mhattrup said i am happy to know that its not just my car... i was getting worried about it and was going to take it in but if theres nothing that can be done im glad that its not a unique problem as well. thanks for all the comments
civic11 says:
12:23 PM, 11/14/08
well not that its a good thing about third gear ,but im glad im not the only one this happens to,for a while there i thought i was just a retard and was screwing up....whew!