5-Speed Manual Transmission - Honda 2001 Civic Manual

00/08/10 12:19:35 31S5P600_181

5-speed Manual Transmission

The manual transmission is syn-
chronized in all forward gears for
smooth operation. It has a lockout so
you cannot shift directly from Fifth
to Reverse. When shifting up or
down, make sure you push the clutch
pedal down all the way, shift to the
next gear, and let the pedal up
gradually. When you are not shifting,
do not rest your foot on the clutch
pedal. This can cause your clutch to
wear out faster.
178
Driving
Come to a full stop before you shift
into Reverse. You can damage the
transmission by trying to shift into
Reverse with the car moving. Push
down the clutch pedal, and pause for
a few seconds before shifting into
Reverse, or shift into one of the
forward gears for a moment. This
stops the gears so they won't ''grind.''
When slowing down, you can get
extra braking from the engine by
shifting to a lower gear. This extra
braking can help you maintain a safe
speed and prevent your brakes from
overheating while going down a
steep hill. Before downshifting,
make sure the vehicle speed is low
enough that you will not activate the
engine speed limiter in the lower
gear. On HX, LX, and EX models in
the U.S., and LX and Si models in
Canada, make sure the engine speed
will not go into the tachometer's red
zone in the lower gear before
downshifting.
Rapid slowing or speeding-up
can cause loss of control on
slippery surfaces. If you crash,
you can be injured.
Use extra care when driving on
slippery surfaces.