Computer i-Shift indicator near-disaster

ttruijen · 11th September 2007, 14:53

Drove this morning on the freeway at a speed of approx. 90 km/h when the i-shift indicator started blinking and a warning sound occurred.

Result: gear changed to neutral, without any chance on changing it back. A sad-looking '8' appeared on my gear indicator and the only option for me was to drive right (I live in the Netherlands) and hope for the best.

As there was no emergency lane, I realised it was kind of a dangerous situation when your only option is to brake and/or turn on the alarm lights.

Nothing I (manually) did worked, but after about 15-20 sec.'s the i-shift system restored and the car went back to the right gear.

Back to the dealer:
Problem has never occurred, diagnostics showed the clutch temperature went over its limit of 300 degrees Celsius. Probably caused bij slow driving during a traffic jam earlier before.

Computer has been reset and tested, and Honda Netherlands is being contacted to discuss the issue.

The dealer will contact me for further information and possible replacement car.

Anyone heard about this problem before?

PS: Although this happened, I love driving my Civic!!!!

psykik · 11th September 2007, 15:20

ttruijen, youre a very lucky man. I might sound cautious, but i say dont drive it again until youre sure the problem is fixed. Good luck with that. First time i ever heard of this problem.

allan40alt · 11th September 2007, 15:24

The clutch in the i-Shift never seems to fully dis-engage unless you pump the footbrake a couple of times; then it seems to free it more, otherwise it's in a 'just slipping' mode an can overheat.

In traffic stops I always select neutral to stop the clutch overheating as it's held open by the computer. If you keep your foot on the brake then it's only a matter of flicking the lever from side to side. Longer stops I apply the handbrake. Yes, it's an automatic, but when I stop I treat it as if it's a manual. You wouldn't ride the clutch when stopped in a manual, would you.

Kremmen · 11th September 2007, 15:25

How long were you in that jam ?

I've been caught on our busy M25 a few times, always left it in gear, and never had a problem.

ttruijen · 11th September 2007, 15:32

jam wasn't that serious and in about 10 to 15 min. I was back on my way.

dealer just called and discussed the issue with Honda NL, but both parties agreed the Civic should handle a traffic jam all day if there was one. Honda NL is going to analyse the Civic's data more closely and they'll keep me informed. But for the time being the dealer told me to just drive my car, and if the problem will re-occur the system will automatically cool down within 15 sec.'s and immediately my Civic will be taken in for further examination.

I'm just going to drive the car as usual and see what will happen. But in long stops, I will take on allan40alt's advice for sure.

Still, I'm cautious and curious about your opinion.

Kremmen · 11th September 2007, 15:49

Like you say - it shouldn't happen.

It just makes you nervous when the next jam appears.

Brodick · 11th September 2007, 17:29

I have sat in a traffic jam lasting over 1 hr moving every so often
but I always put the system in neutral (regardless of what anyone else
says or thinks) and I never had a problem

Nick7 · 12th September 2007, 13:41

I always keep it in 'A' and foot on brake in traffic jams and lots of stop-go situations.
No issues.

vbkurutza · 18th February 2008, 23:57

I have a 2007 Civic Type S GT with the I-Shift gearbox. This car is only 4 months old and last week the I-Shift stopped working due to a computer error. Basically the entire gearbox shut down. It took our Honda dealer 2 days working with Honda corporate to reload all the software to the car and get the gearbox “working” again. We are so disappointed that this could ever happen in a 4 month old car we are now in the process of swapping the car for a Real automatic.

The I-Shift is the worse gearbox we have ever driven; even before this problem we hated it. It is just a manual without a clutch so you have all the jerkiness and less control. Parking on any incline is a nightmare and overall we can’t see the point of this gearbox.

Since this problem we have no confidence in the car at all. If we had been driving when this gearbox failed we could have been in a severe accident. I would not recommend anyone purchases a Civic with I-Shift

The dealer said this has NEVER happened before with any I-Shift. It seems they were mistaken. Glad you were not injured but I would see if you can unload this car as we are doing. The deal will bend over backwards.

Urban Tangleweed · 19th February 2008, 08:02

So, I seem to belong to a rather select group, a couple of months ago, while pulling away from some traffic lights, the car went to change from 1st to 2nd but got a bit confused about it all, drive disappeared and the display showed "8". Immediately I put the i-shift lever to manual, it considered my request, then gave manual control and slipped into gear.
It's been fine since and I haven't seen the "8" again. As disappointing as it is to say, I'm never surprised when something goes a little astray with my Civic anymore, it's my first Honda and, while I do love the car, for a modern vehicle it's not what it should be. Perhaps Swindon don't build cars as good as Japan, but with all the general niggles this model has, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was Italian !

TRUE_AVALON · 19th February 2008, 16:43

I know what happened if you had readed the owners manual you could see that this happens when the gearbox overheats and honda says stop whait 5min for it to cool down and if the i-shif lamp does not come on there is NO need to go to the service,happened to me twice when you push it hard

Nothing bad with it just a security mesure that stops it from overheating and eventualy damaging

11th September 2007, 14:53	#1 (permalink)
ttruijen Valve Cap Join Date: 13th June 2007 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	i-Shift indicator near-disaster Drove this morning on the freeway at a speed of approx. 90 km/h when the i-shift indicator started blinking and a warning sound occurred. Result: gear changed to neutral, without any chance on changing it back. A sad-looking '8' appeared on my gear indicator and the only option for me was to drive right (I live in the Netherlands) and hope for the best. As there was no emergency lane, I realised it was kind of a dangerous situation when your only option is to brake and/or turn on the alarm lights. Nothing I (manually) did worked, but after about 15-20 sec.'s the i-shift system restored and the car went back to the right gear. Back to the dealer: Problem has never occurred, diagnostics showed the clutch temperature went over its limit of 300 degrees Celsius. Probably caused bij slow driving during a traffic jam earlier before. Computer has been reset and tested, and Honda Netherlands is being contacted to discuss the issue. The dealer will contact me for further information and possible replacement car. Anyone heard about this problem before? PS: Although this happened, I love driving my Civic!!!!

19th February 2008, 08:02	#10 (permalink)
Urban Tangleweed Valve Cap Join Date: 10th December 2006 Location: Leicestershire U.K. Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I've seen the "8" ! So, I seem to belong to a rather select group, a couple of months ago, while pulling away from some traffic lights, the car went to change from 1st to 2nd but got a bit confused about it all, drive disappeared and the display showed "8". Immediately I put the i-shift lever to manual, it considered my request, then gave manual control and slipped into gear. It's been fine since and I haven't seen the "8" again. As disappointing as it is to say, I'm never surprised when something goes a little astray with my Civic anymore, it's my first Honda and, while I do love the car, for a modern vehicle it's not what it should be. Perhaps Swindon don't build cars as good as Japan, but with all the general niggles this model has, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was Italian !

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This thread is about: i-Shift indicator near-disaster, it's in Bugs, faults and irritations at the Honda Civic forum Civinfo; Drove this morning on the freeway at a speed of approx. 90 km/h when the i-shift indicator started blinking and a warning sound occurred. Result: ...

11th September 2007, 15:20	#2 (permalink)
psykik Supporter Triangular Exhaust Join Date: 28th April 2007 Posts: 447 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	ttruijen, youre a very lucky man. I might sound cautious, but i say dont drive it again until youre sure the problem is fixed. Good luck with that. First time i ever heard of this problem.

11th September 2007, 15:24	#3 (permalink)
allan40alt Supporter Civinfo guru Join Date: 6th August 2006 Location: Rugby, Warwickshire. Posts: 2,145 Thanks: 8 Thanked 28 Times in 27 Posts	The clutch in the i-Shift never seems to fully dis-engage unless you pump the footbrake a couple of times; then it seems to free it more, otherwise it's in a 'just slipping' mode an can overheat. In traffic stops I always select neutral to stop the clutch overheating as it's held open by the computer. If you keep your foot on the brake then it's only a matter of flicking the lever from side to side. Longer stops I apply the handbrake. Yes, it's an automatic, but when I stop I treat it as if it's a manual. You wouldn't ride the clutch when stopped in a manual, would you.

11th September 2007, 15:25	#4 (permalink)
Kremmen Krem de la Krem Civinfo guru Join Date: 7th January 2007 Location: West London Posts: 2,419 Thanks: 3 Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts	How long were you in that jam ? I've been caught on our busy M25 a few times, always left it in gear, and never had a problem.

11th September 2007, 15:32	#5 (permalink)
ttruijen Valve Cap Join Date: 13th June 2007 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	jam wasn't that serious and in about 10 to 15 min. I was back on my way. dealer just called and discussed the issue with Honda NL, but both parties agreed the Civic should handle a traffic jam all day if there was one. Honda NL is going to analyse the Civic's data more closely and they'll keep me informed. But for the time being the dealer told me to just drive my car, and if the problem will re-occur the system will automatically cool down within 15 sec.'s and immediately my Civic will be taken in for further examination. I'm just going to drive the car as usual and see what will happen. But in long stops, I will take on allan40alt's advice for sure. Still, I'm cautious and curious about your opinion.

11th September 2007, 15:49	#6 (permalink)
Kremmen Krem de la Krem Civinfo guru Join Date: 7th January 2007 Location: West London Posts: 2,419 Thanks: 3 Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts	Like you say - it shouldn't happen. It just makes you nervous when the next jam appears.

11th September 2007, 17:29	#7 (permalink)
Brodick Perfect Guy! Rocketship door handle Join Date: 2nd December 2006 Location: Central Scotland Posts: 1,657 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	I have sat in a traffic jam lasting over 1 hr moving every so often but I always put the system in neutral (regardless of what anyone else says or thinks) and I never had a problem

12th September 2007, 13:41	#8 (permalink)
Nick7 Supporter Triangular Exhaust Join Date: 10th August 2006 Location: Croatia Posts: 444 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I always keep it in 'A' and foot on brake in traffic jams and lots of stop-go situations. No issues.

18th February 2008, 23:57	#9 (permalink)
vbkurutza Valve Cap Join Date: 15th February 2008 Location: London, UK Posts: 13 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I have a 2007 Civic Type S GT with the I-Shift gearbox. This car is only 4 months old and last week the I-Shift stopped working due to a computer error. Basically the entire gearbox shut down. It took our Honda dealer 2 days working with Honda corporate to reload all the software to the car and get the gearbox “working” again. We are so disappointed that this could ever happen in a 4 month old car we are now in the process of swapping the car for a Real automatic. The I-Shift is the worse gearbox we have ever driven; even before this problem we hated it. It is just a manual without a clutch so you have all the jerkiness and less control. Parking on any incline is a nightmare and overall we can’t see the point of this gearbox. Since this problem we have no confidence in the car at all. If we had been driving when this gearbox failed we could have been in a severe accident. I would not recommend anyone purchases a Civic with I-Shift The dealer said this has NEVER happened before with any I-Shift. It seems they were mistaken. Glad you were not injured but I would see if you can unload this car as we are doing. The deal will bend over backwards.

19th February 2008, 16:43	#11 (permalink)
TRUE_AVALON Valve Cap Join Date: 10th November 2007 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I know what happened if you had readed the owners manual you could see that this happens when the gearbox overheats and honda says stop whait 5min for it to cool down and if the i-shif lamp does not come on there is NO need to go to the service,happened to me twice when you push it hard Nothing bad with it just a security mesure that stops it from overheating and eventualy damaging