Ghost Shift

A year or so ago I started having shift problems.

When down shifting from 3rd gear to 2nd it seemed to shift correctly. When I would accelerate it would clunk fully into gear.
I brought it to the Honda dealer in Ft Walton, FL and they said they could reproduce the problem but I should wait until it was real bad and maybe Honda would cover it.

I brought it back a second time and they had a regional Honda rep ride it and he said to have the clutch fluid change. I did this even though I had recently changed it. He then said that it was shifting normal.

I got pissed and brought it to the Honda dealer in St Louis where I bought the bike (Big St Charles) they fought with Honda. The bike had to have the engine removed and the case split to diagnose the problem. The shift dogs failed and needed to be replaced. I was already in for $1500.00 to have them put it back together with the bad shift problem. I told them to go ahead and fix it and I would fight with Honda. They said Honda should cover it and fought for me but in the end Honda did not cover the repair.

$3500.00 My transmission failed under warranty and Honda did not cover it.

Stevenolts

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Originally Posted by stevenolts

A year or so ago I started having shift problems.

When down shifting from 3rd gear to 2nd it seemed to shift correctly. When I would accelerate it would clunk fully into gear.
I brought it to the Honda dealer in Ft Walton, FL and they said they could reproduce the problem but I should wait until it was real bad and maybe Honda would cover it.

I brought it back a second time and they had a regional Honda rep ride it and he said to have the clutch fluid change. I did this even though I had recently changed it. He then said that it was shifting normal.

I got pissed and brought it to the Honda dealer in St Louis where I bought the bike (Big St Charles) they fought with Honda. The bike had to have the engine removed and the case split to diagnose the problem. The shift dogs failed and needed to be replaced. I was already in for $1500.00 to have them put it back together with the bad shift problem. I told them to go ahead and fix it and I would fight with Honda. They said Honda should cover it and fought for me but in the end Honda did not cover the repair.

$3500.00 My transmission failed under warranty and Honda did not cover it.

Stevenolts

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If it's still under warranty I'd take them to court, that's a large repair bill to have to shell out for a manufacture's defect.

That's terrible. This isn't the first time I've heard about Honda refusing to cover what clearly was their defect. It was a factor in my decision not to purchase their extended warranty.

Here's how a warranty should work: Last spring I was changing the oil on the wife's 2017 Ford Escape. I noticed a slight seepage (not a drip) of oil on one of the front axle boots. I called for an appointment to have it checked out, and they had an opening the next day. If I'd been willing to wait a week they would have provided a free loaner car.

It turned out to be a defective power takeoff unit, which is basically a transfer case. They had a new one shipped in the next day and the car was ready that afternoon. I had purchased the extended warranty and expected to pay the $200 deductible since it was over 36 months, but they covered it in full under the longer powertrain warranty. That's the kind of warranty coverage that brings customers back to the showroom.

What was mother Honda’s reason for not honoring the warranty? You had 2 separate dealers batting for you.

Honda said it was not the transmission it was the shift dogs and they were not covered
some lame excuse like that.
Stevenolts

The shift dogs are not part of the transmission? They're part of the gears! What's going on at Honda?!

Out of curiosity, what year is your bike?

2013s are reported to be more common for ghosts. 2014+ had a design change that was supposed to eliminate the problem. Some folks report that it fixed the issue, some report that it did not.

Honda did not cover the repair since it was not pre-authorized by them. Your dealer screwed you by promising something they could not deliver.

I know I know, ghost thread on ghost shifting revived by a ghost member.... Anyway, I'm having a similar issue with my 15. I'm TDY in SoCal and rode her down from the PNW with no issues. One morning on my way to work she seemed to pop out of gear and lugged for a sec and then slowly slammed back in like a sticking clutch. I thought maybe I has miss shifted but a few days ago she did it twice back to back. She's only got 41K and was serviced with no issues about a month before I came down. Any suggestions?

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Originally Posted by 3Chief

I know I know, ghost thread on ghost shifting revived by a ghost member.... Anyway, I'm having a similar issue with my 15. I'm TDY in SoCal and rode her down from the PNW with no issues. One morning on my way to work she seemed to pop out of gear and lugged for a sec and then slowly slammed back in like a sticking clutch. I thought maybe I has miss shifted but a few days ago she did it twice back to back. She's only got 41K and was serviced with no issues about a month before I came down. Any suggestions?

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So something I keyed on in your post was "was serviced with no issues". Did you service it or did someone else? Have you checked the oil?

Shift with authority. There is not much else you are going to be able to check if there is indeed something wrong with your transmission in this bike.

My 13 did it a few times while I was getting used to it.
Now I shift it with a full stroke. Its a habit, and so far no more problems.
The bike had 8500 miles when it was doing it. It now has 27k.

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Originally Posted by willtill

So something I keyed on in your post was "was serviced with no issues". Did you service it or did someone else? Have you checked the oil?

Shift with authority. There is not much else you are going to be able to check if there is indeed something wrong with your transmission in this bike.

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I took it in as new tires were needed. She got a clean bill of health after her 36k servicing, and no issues were found. Hopefully she holds together for a few more weeks.