I just bought a 2009 Honda and I love it. First new car ever. However, also first automatic ever. My problem is it seems to take a couple seconds for the clutch to kick in when I give it gas from 0. If I give it gas slowly, its like the gas is burning and then finally the clutch decides to get into action. If I give it gas quickly it goes quickly enough I suppose. If I give it gas super slowly it has time to kick in to gear. Is it normal to have this delay in kicking into gear from standstill when you just give it a normal amount of gas? I had driven a VW Rabbit before and it used to love to jump into gear. I didn’t really notice this in the Hondas since I only decided to get the automatic at the last minute, but I just assumed it would also kick in quickly. Is this normal or should I ask the dealer about it?
Test drive another car just like yours (pretend you are a potential car buyer. When you take your car in for service, you’ll be prepared when they say, “Oh, they all do that”.
I recently bought a 09 civic automatic sedan. I haven’t noticed the issue you are having but I DO KNOW that these engines/trans don’t like to be cold. I let my civic warm up until the tach goes down to around 1200rpm or lower before shifting into gear. If it is cold and I shift into gear, my engine will rev up a few hundred rpms, go into gear then settle down. It will not do that if it is warmed up first. Just give it 3 minutes to warm up.
Also, I agree with hellkit…test drive another new civic same model. I did the same thing because I thought the engine/trans ‘‘whirring’’ noise was my car only. Not so. The other civic I test drove made that same sound. Sounds like a timing chain tensioner was bad. Just normal. and, it does take a while for my trans to kick in to 2nd gear even when warm. Hope this helps and enjoy your new car!
I remember people in 2003 mentioning this characteristic,some thought it was dangerous (mainly backing up) nothing ever came of it (I worked at a Honda Dealer)
Thanks for all the great suggestions. Just went through a lot of car shopping so would rather not go back again, but will if I have to. I was just wondering if others had that experience. I guess its annoying because it feels not as responsive as I’d like and also it feels like I’m wasting gas - giving gas with no kick initially. Sometimes I wonder if I should have got a Honda Hybrid … but others suggested that the technology wasn’t quite there yet for Honda and I didn’t want a prius.