[159john]

hy,
3 mths ago I bought a civic 1.8 ES (2006) and after performing 2 paralel parkings got the warning light that there are problems with the iShift. Took it back to the dealer and the Service Invoice terrifies me:

"carried out diagnostic test, codes P18e6 and P2787 were logged, which is clutch temperature too high. Have carried out dynamic learning to reset clutch, customer to refer to handbook on driving style under iShift to avoid further occurences. These codes are caused by erratic or aggressive driving style eg. hard acceleration orincorrect use of handbrake on hill starts, & leaving foot on break pedal when sationary in trafic."

I love my car and now am afraid to get behind the wheel because I don't want to damage it. I don't know how to drive a manual, my licence is restricited on automatic ...and I chose an automatic car so I don't have to put up with the hassle of changing gears, etc...but it turns out this is a manual car.

Have read the handbook on iShit driving style..useless, there is no information on how to drive it...a few lines of don't do this and that. All I picked up is what I already knew...what a joke..."how to start the engine", "how to use the stick", etc.

My friends live on a steep hill and parking there is a challenge, I tried parking by jiggling footbrake and acceleration or by park break and acceletarion...but as the mecanic says...the car does not like it. I would have understood if the warning light came on in that situation ...but on a paralel parking with my driving instructor in the car, helping me to park with confidence so I don't damage the car.

The break in trafic...are they joking???? by the time I put it back in A and release the park break...the gap in trafic is gone and I am still stuck at the roundabout or in front of the car that cought up with me and breaks hard not to hit me.

I am not an agressive driver, I love my car and I spent a fortune on the civic..my first car...and don't know what to do., am too scared that I will damage it and clutch repairs are expensive (I've been told). The car did not come with "how to drive the iShift for dummies"...the dealer has further humiliated me by inviting me down for someone to show me how to drive the car.

How do you park the car on a steep hill?
How do you avoid being hit in trafic because of the lag between gear changes?
How do you stay in trafic without using the break pedal?
How do you get onto a road where everyone drives with 60mph and you rarely get a long gap in trafic?
Do I abandon hope, sell the car and get a Mazda RX8 and always look back with regret about the civic I love?

Please help...for love of my car..will get humiliated by the dealer and get the "free" lesson...but cinic hat on...is there an alternative reason for blaming me for a problem with the car?...I did buy it only 3 mths ago, are they concealing an old problem with the car and use my lack of know how about the car?

Sounds to me like the not unusual problem of a Dealer trying to cover up their inadequacies by passing the buck back onto the Customer....... If your car is a 2006 it probably needs a software upgrade - mine (2007) showed the warning light and I insisted that they flash the latest software through it. The update has sped up the changes no end, and the light hasn't come on since. As far as hill starts go; I always hold the car with my left foot on the brake and release it at the same time as gently pressing the accelerator - works for me, but not sure whether it's the correct way to do it. I would take your car to another Dealer and insist they load the latest software. Prior to the upgrade mine was almost impossible (literally) to reverse it up my steep drive; and was definitely doing the clutch no good at all. Since the upgrade, it's as easy to reverse up the drive as my previous conventional automatics. The i-shift does have it's short-comings, and shouldn't ever be compared against a conventional auto; but I love mine and now I'm used to it, much prefer it to a conventional auto (although I do always drive it using the paddles because I find it hangs onto each gear for far too long in normal driving when it's in full auto).

Re putting it in neutral when stationary; as far as I'm concerned, it should be treated the same as you would a manual - if you're only going to be stationary for a short time (ie: at a junction), then hold it in Auto with the brake pedal (same effect as holding the clutch down in a manual). But if you're going to be stationary for a long time (eg: motorway traffic jam), then put it in neutral - again, the same as you would treat a fully manual car.

Hope you get your problems sorted, and are able to enjoy your i-shift at last. The actual clutch in an i-shift should last longer than the clutch in a manual because the electronics largely prevent you from abusing it. The only thing you have to be careful of is pulling away smartly when you haven't quite come to a standstill first. In this situation, it has a habit of hanging onto second gear and slipping the clutch (you'll hear and feel when this is happening because the revs rise rapidly without the car accelerating much at first). You can avoid this by doing any of the following:-
a) Make sure you are fully stationary before you pull away
b) Use the paddle/gearstick to manually select first gear
c) Accelerate away very gently until the clutch has fully engaged

One last thing; never ever hold the car stationary in auto without your foot on the brake pedal (which disengages the clutch). This will burn the clutch out in exactly the same way as if you were to hold a manual car 'on the clutch'. This is pretty much the only situation where you must remember that it is an automated manual and NOT a full automatic.

None of it is rocket-science; but there are some small adjustments to your driving style that can help get the best out of the i-shift (and prolong clutch life!)

John.

 

[miki_st]

hy,
3 mths ago I bought a civic 1.8 ES (2006) and after performing 2 paralel parkings got the warning light that there are problems with the iShift. Took it back to the dealer and the Service Invoice terrifies me:

"carried out diagnostic test, codes P18e6 and P2787 were logged, which is clutch temperature too high. Have carried out dynamic learning to reset clutch, customer to refer to handbook on driving style under iShift to avoid further occurences. These codes are caused by erratic or aggressive driving style eg. hard acceleration orincorrect use of handbrake on hill starts, & leaving foot on break pedal when sationary in trafic."

I love my car and now am afraid to get behind the wheel because I don't want to damage it. I don't know how to drive a manual, my licence is restricited on automatic ...and I chose an automatic car so I don't have to put up with the hassle of changing gears, etc...but it turns out this is a manual car.

Have read the handbook on iShit driving style..useless, there is no information on how to drive it...a few lines of don't do this and that. All I picked up is what I already knew...what a joke..."how to start the engine", "how to use the stick", etc.

My friends live on a steep hill and parking there is a challenge, I tried parking by jiggling footbrake and acceleration or by park break and acceletarion...but as the mecanic says...the car does not like it. I would have understood if the warning light came on in that situation ...but on a paralel parking with my driving instructor in the car, helping me to park with confidence so I don't damage the car.

The break in trafic...are they joking???? by the time I put it back in A and release the park break...the gap in trafic is gone and I am still stuck at the roundabout or in front of the car that cought up with me and breaks hard not to hit me.

I am not an agressive driver, I love my car and I spent a fortune on the civic..my first car...and don't know what to do., am too scared that I will damage it and clutch repairs are expensive (I've been told). The car did not come with "how to drive the iShift for dummies"...the dealer has further humiliated me by inviting me down for someone to show me how to drive the car.

How do you park the car on a steep hill?
How do you avoid being hit in trafic because of the lag between gear changes?
How do you stay in trafic without using the break pedal?
How do you get onto a road where everyone drives with 60mph and you rarely get a long gap in trafic?
Do I abandon hope, sell the car and get a Mazda RX8 and always look back with regret about the civic I love?

Please help...for love of my car..will get humiliated by the dealer and get the "free" lesson...but cinic hat on...is there an alternative reason for blaming me for a problem with the car?...I did buy it only 3 mths ago, are they concealing an old problem with the car and use my lack of know how about the car?

This is new.

I have the I-shift, one problem had with it, and that was reset of the software, there is a problem with I-shift, he is jerky, he is slow, he is annoying, but it"s automated manual gearbox and by that he has the same rules like the manual box but those restrictions are delusional.

By pressing the brake you disengage the clutch. When you are stational on uphill you can fry the clucth by not pressing the brake pedal, and balanced it with gas pedal. You can fry her if you are skidding with your wheels , and other situations like you can expect with manual box.

Hard acceleration ? ***.

I don"t know, too bad that is 06" year of production, because you are out of warranty, but can you find the other Honda dealer ?

Obviously this is factory fault by the Civ.


P.S. A year ago there was a member who warned us about "i-shift burning cluthes", but he said that every i-shift (will) had that problem.

The answers to you questions

How do you park the car on a steep hill?
Handbrake , leave it in A
How do you avoid being hit in trafic because of the lag between gear changes?
Manual mode
How do you stay in trafic without using the break pedal?
What? You must hit the break pedal, or you can roll on torque
How do you get onto a road where everyone drives with 60mph and you rarely get a long gap in trafic?
Hit brake pad, wait for the gap

Do I abandon hope, sell the car and get a Mazda RX8 and always look back with regret about the civic I love?
Trade it for full automated version , or pray for this one or buy a Zed instead

Good luck mate

 

[Kremmen]

When you have your foot on the brake pedal it does disengage the clutch. This was one of the issues I had trying to reverse cleanly into my garage and a manoeuvre that caused the kangarooing. Accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake, etc.

I think if you are going to be stationary for more than 2 or so minutes then it is advisable to drop it into neutral, especially if you use the handbrake as it is apparently slightly slipping the clutch.

I can only sympathise with parallel parking, especially on an incline as this gearbox is not designed for very slow speeds that you need to do during this exercise.

I can confirm that the full auto now available is superb in comparison and well worth the additional 2mpg hit.

 

[mmw109]

I'm not sure how steep a hill you're talking about. However, I've been drv=iving my Civic iSift for over 3 years now, without being particularly careful at all.

I rarely take it out of gear , and sit on the foot brake quite a lot, without issue. I do sometimes remember to use netural in really bad traffic.

However, changing into gear and setting off is never too slow, and pretty seamless in my experience. Joining fast moving traffic is a cinch, and I can run the car right up to 80 (ahem ... allegedly ...) on the slip road, still in third , without issue. If you do want to set off quick, you either have to put your foot down quickly, so the car changes down a gear on it's own, or change down first your self, switching back to auto, once you're up to speed. This is not driving aggressively, it's what the car was designed for

If yours is a 2006, I would check that it's had the software update done, as this made quite a difference, back in early 2007. I don't know about the more recent update. However, some Honda Dealers do seem to vary, so maybe get hte opinion from some othe more helpful dealers on this forum.

One comment above that's about right, is to ease off the accelerator just before the car changes up a gear, I do this wihtout thinking now (you can tell because the car doesn't jerk as much). The civic isn't that bad really, if you've ever driven a smart car, it practially stops between gear changes, it's that much worse.

 

[mmw109]

I've just looked on your profile - you live just down the road from me !

My experience of the Grays Dealers, is rather mixed. They were hopeless at selling me the car in the first place (made appointments for test drives, but got ignored when I turned up - didn't even have auto available ...) . So I bought from Brown's honda in Enfield - these guys seemed better , although they still had some flannel.

On the whole for aftercare though, the gray's dealers have been quite good, although luckily I haven't had any major mechanical faults yet (just the hand brake recall a few years ago, and a few sat nav DVD reader errors ).

 

[Nick7]

One comment above that's about right, is to ease off the accelerator just before the car changes up a gear, I do this wihtout thinking now (you can tell because the car doesn't jerk as much). The civic isn't that bad really, if you've ever driven a smart car, it practially stops between gear changes, it's that much worse.

No need to fiddle with throttle when it's changing gears, at it does it automagically.

One 'thing' that people do wrong -> is exactly that. Adding/releasing throttle, etc.. which confuses ECU, and than starts weirdly changing gears.
While accelerating, press throttle as much you need too, and there's no need to lift off on gear changes.

 

[miki_st]

. The civic isn't that bad really, if you've ever driven a smart car, it practially stops between gear changes, it's that much worse.

The I-shift is good, but the automated manual gearbox of Smart car is BETTER, i own also a Smart ( 84 hp version ) .

It"s more decisive gearbox, it"s slow like i-shift, but it feels firmer and more pleasant to drive gearbox.

Honda needs to upgrade softw. once again and make shift more quicker. Now i have the change with in half of second ( when we bought the car it was second and above, gearchange was awful, you cash the car 20 k pounds, and you get I-sh*t not i-shift ).

When that update come then i will be fully satisfied with I-shift

 

[miki_st]

No need to fiddle with throttle when it's changing gears, at it does it automagically.

One 'thing' that people do wrong -> is exactly that. Adding/releasing throttle, etc.. which confuses ECU, and than starts weirdly changing gears.
While accelerating, press throttle as much you need too, and there's no need to lift off on gear changes.

True, you need to be careful with your foot on gas pedal, and then are shift much smoother, the slight release of the pedal is also a good solution for smooth gearchange.

Honestly i manage using that technique to drop the gear change from 4k RPM to 3,5k RPM on A mode with foot static on gas pedal. Besides the higher MPG it"s more pleasant for your ears, because on 4k RPM starts the "noise" on 1.8

 

[159john]

Honestly i manage using that technique to drop the gear change from 4k RPM to 3,5k RPM on A mode with foot static on gas pedal. Besides the higher MPG it"s more pleasant for your ears, because on 4k RPM starts the "noise" on 1.8

That's exactly the reason I never drive my car in Auto mode; even 3.5k RPM is too high if you're not accelerating hard. Using the paddles, my car will happily drop into 6th at 34MPH. It's my only real gripe with the i-shift - and not exactly major as I don't find it much of a hardship having to flex a finger to change gear!

 

[Nick7]

Besides the higher MPG it"s more pleasant for your ears, because on 4k RPM starts the "noise" on 1.8

Upgrade exhaust

 

[miki_st]

Upgrade exhaust

400 pounds

Maybe next month

 

[Nick7]

400 pounds

Maybe next month

Not cheap.. but stock, engine is just 'noisy'.
I did get just new exhaust - Remus, and difference is really nice... now it's actually fun to rev engine

 

[miha_ela1800]

A big thank you to all your good advice, have taken it on board and practiced for a while before replying.

Took the embarassing "lesson" from the dealer... and learned to keep it in N if stationery for more than 2 min, the other thing : Patience (I have'nt got any).

My Honda had the i-shift "reset" and software upgrade (although the dealer claimed it already had the software upgrade). The cost was complimentary covered by the Honda Dealership and must admit, I felt the difference the upgrade made: the lag between changes is slightly shorter and it feels different/smother when driven.

I haven't had any problems since, learned to be a bit more patient (for love of my car) and got used to driving the i-shift on a steep hill.

About putting my foot down to take advantage of a short gap in trafic...it still does'nt work. My car hates that, in the majority of cases it revs very loudly, barely moves for 2 sec, does not change gears and I have to pray to dear "car gods" to get me moving (before I get hit) or for the other car to be able to stop in time. I've learned my lesson...a bit more patience and no hesitation.

Reading your posts am a bit confused about one thing though: When learning to drive I understood that if you are parked facing uphill you must turn your wheels away from the curve, leave it in A and apply the park break, switch off engine. Since my Honda is a semi-automatic and the general advice is/was not to leave it in gear for too long because it burns the clutch...should I leave it in A or not ??? when parked facing uphill.

Thank you so much for your generous advice.

Mihaela

 

[159john]

A big thank you to all your good advice, have taken it on board and practiced for a while before replying.

Took the embarassing "lesson" from the dealer... and learned to keep it in N if stationery for more than 2 min, the other thing : Patience (I have'nt got any).

My Honda had the i-shift "reset" and software upgrade (although the dealer claimed it already had the software upgrade). The cost was complimentary covered by the Honda Dealership and must admit, I felt the difference the upgrade made: the lag between changes is slightly shorter and it feels different/smother when driven.

I haven't had any problems since, learned to be a bit more patient (for love of my car) and got used to driving the i-shift on a steep hill.

About putting my foot down to take advantage of a short gap in trafic...it still does'nt work. My car hates that, in the majority of cases it revs very loudly, barely moves for 2 sec, does not change gears and I have to pray to dear "car gods" to get me moving (before I get hit) or for the other car to be able to stop in time. I've learned my lesson...a bit more patience and no hesitation.

Reading your posts am a bit confused about one thing though: When learning to drive I understood that if you are parked facing uphill you must turn your wheels away from the curve, leave it in A and apply the park break, switch off engine. Since my Honda is a semi-automatic and the general advice is/was not to leave it in gear for too long because it burns the clutch...should I leave it in A or not ??? when parked facing uphill.

Thank you so much for your generous advice.

Mihaela

When parking an i-shift; treat it exactly as if it were a manual - leave in D if facing uphill or Reverse if facing downhill. As the engine isn't running, this will not burn the clutch out.

 

[Nick7]

Took the embarassing "lesson" from the dealer... and learned to keep it in N if stationery for more than 2 min, the other thing : Patience (I have'nt got any).

This is not required. You *can* stay on brake even for longer period of time, as clutch is disengaged, so no 'burning' of clutch.
Of course, this is meant if you're 'sitting on brake'.
Often issue that *would* burn your clutch is if it's slight uphill, and you release brake, and car is still stationary, as it's balancing it on clutch. Doing so *will* burn your clutch.
Being stationary in gear, with depressed brake will not.

About putting my foot down to take advantage of a short gap in trafic...it still does'nt work. My car hates that, in the majority of cases it revs very loudly, barely moves for 2 sec, does not change gears and I have to pray to dear "car gods" to get me moving (before I get hit) or for the other car to be able to stop in time. I've learned my lesson...a bit more patience and no hesitation.

Another big issue in automatic mode, but mostly to fault of driver:
When you floor it, it revs engine and downshifts.
Now, here's the problem: some people let go of throttle a bit when engine revs, which causes ECU to go bozo and actually again try to change a gear a bit higher, as driver 'requires less power'.
In auto mode be decisive, if you floor it, keep it floored. Fiddling with throttle pedal all the time will make Auto mode your nightmare.
Also, if not sure... you have even paddle on steering wheel.. flick it few times..

Reading your posts am a bit confused about one thing though: When learning to drive I understood that if you are parked facing uphill you must turn your wheels away from the curve, leave it in A and apply the park break, switch off engine. Since my Honda is a semi-automatic and the general advice is/was not to leave it in gear for too long because it burns the clutch...should I leave it in A or not ??? when parked facing uphill.

As was said, always leave it in gear when turning off engine. Keep it in 1/A when facing uphill, keep it in R when being downhill.

 

[Kremmen]

This is one area where the i-shift is a real pain.

My driveway is also on a slope, only very slight, upwards towards the garage, but enough to counter the 'auto creep' on auto boxes. The car just stands still and needs coaxing via the throttle to move backwards.

Unfortunately the i-shift cuts the drive link when you apply the footbrake to slow down so you come to a complete stop. You then need to apply a little bit of throttle to re-engage the clutch, at which point it lurches too fast for this type of manoeuvre.

Even though I have over 40 years driving experience, most of it with auto boxes, I couldn't reverse into my garage gracefully with the i-shift. I kangarooed in and the neighbours wondered what I was doing.

Since getting the full auto it's now a delicate controlled graceful manoeuvre.

 

[Busby]

Hi i bought a 57 plate 1.8 ishift last january how do i check it has the latest software as im finding the gear changes very slow.

 

[delta0]

Hi i bought a 57 plate 1.8 ishift last january how do i check it has the latest software as im finding the gear changes very slow.

The dealer can check it when they connect it to their machine. Very quick to do and get the update. It makes a huge difference.

 

[Shark888]

The dealer can check it when they connect it to their machine. Very quick to do and get the update. It makes a huge difference.

My local chiswick dealer wants £60 to check, and if theres no update you still pay the 60!

ill pay £20 if no update.. maybe £30.. but the full £60 just to know there isnt

 

[delta0]

My local chiswick dealer wants £60 to check, and if theres no update you still pay the 60!

ill pay £20 if no update.. maybe £30.. but the full £60 just to know there isnt

I had mine done on the service, might be the way to go and get the check for free.

A few things change, the most notable:
The gear change is quicker (especially 1st to 2nd).
When at low speed and you go to accelerate it will hold 2nd rather than drop to 1st. This is most notable when you approach a roundabout at a speed around 10mph or often less and you press the accelerator to go and it stops accelerating to change the gear down to 1st. Instead it will hold 2nd gear and allow you to accelerate without delay.