My 2002 5-speed honda civic with 90,000 miles has developed a problem. About a month ago, the stick shifter would make a squeeking sound when shifting into fourth - sometimes. Then it started squeeking other times. It sounded as if the sound was coming from inside the car and not underneath the car like it was coming from the covered area at the bottom of the shifter. Well, my shop never heard the noise as it never did it when they drove it. Then about 2 weeks ago it would feel like the stick was getting pulled through molasses as it was shifting into fourth - sometimes. At this point my shop said it might be the syncro going bad and that it was not worth fixing they said u could replace the transmission but that they would just live with it that way (again it did not do it for them when they drove it). Then a week ago it seems to go into fourth when shifting but it feels like when you pull the stick down into fourth it stops moving into position earlier than was typical for fourth gear (is that clear). I just drove it and it is getting harder to shift into 2,4 and 5 - sometimes. It has never slipped but since I had the car it was rarely reluctant to shift into reverse but if I inched the car forward and then shifted into reverse it slipped right in. Before anyone suggests that I am the problem this is my fourth manual Honda and the other three were sold with almost 200,000 miles with the original clutch, one of them also had the original tires with plenty of tread left. Any advice as to what it can be so I can go to dealer with some understanding of possibilities if they try to replace transmission?

I'm hearing a couple different things here.
The squeeking and mollasses sounds like a worn bushing in the linkage (probably at the base of the shifter, right where you said it seemed to be coming from).
The difficulty getting into gear sounds like normal wear on the disc-- time to adjust the tension (if there's any adjustment left-- if not, it's clutch time).
Bad synchronizer rings will give you a crunching sound, consistently with teh gear that has the bad ring.
I would try a different shop.

Anothert thought is that the shifter linkage either got overtightened in some past work, or took a whack somehow . . .

OK, the obvious, they checked the transmission fluid, correct?
Also, have you tried "double clutching"? Long ago (too long hardly for me to remember) they had a thing called a non-synchronous transmission. You had to shift in to neutral, let the clutch out, then shift in to the next gear-then let the clutch out. This aligned the gears for the next shift. This might prove that it is the sync bushing that is going out.
Here is another test I found for the clutch:
[www.cartalk.com]

I have a 98 civic 5 speed and the only wonkiness I have had so far was not being smart enough to check the tranny fluid until it "really needed it".
Hopefully a cheap repair. As H' says, I would get at least a 2nd opinion. Good luck!

I had a manual transmission problem with an older Honda after it came back from being stolen. The dealership and an independent shop said don't bother with having it rebuilt. They are usually stone ax reliable. If one goes bad, it likely has multiple things wrong that might not be found the first time. Find a replacement in a junkyard and have a reliable mechanic put it in if you can not do it yourself.

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In tha 360. MRF User Map

Yes sounds to me like a sticky shifter linkage. Is it cold where you live? The grease that lubricates the linkage may get hard in the cold. By the time you get to the dealer has it heated up?

I always get a Chilton manual for my vehicle so I can see how parts go together. Saves time. They show what it takes to lubricate the linkage and adjust the clutch if you can.

I got 318,000 miles on Honda 5 speed. Had the clutch replaced twice.

I found a similar question on yahoo answers and someone suggested the throw-out bearing, also a possibility.
But the more I think about this the more I wonder if the arm between the shifter and the transmission took a whack or could be bent-- do you recall any bad bottoming out incidents, or something going -whack- under the car on the highway?
Did the mechanic actually eyeball the linkage, or just drive it?

They drove it while repairing an unrelated issue.

no whacks - i know of on the highway or otherwise but sometimes the wife and au pair drive car

Finally --- someone else (and you have your choice) you can blame. And isn't that what we really need here? ;)

Well, the good news is that most of the possible causes are relatively minor things.
Anyone who jumps right to "replace the transmission" is about to take you for a ride, so to speak.
Do you have a way to get the car up and check it out yourself?
A clutch cable adjustment is the place I'd start, though. On my older civics it involved pulling an e-ring, tensioning the cable a bit more, and putting the e-ring back-- my last Civic was a 90 and I think it might have had an easier adjuster, like a threaded barrel.
If this is like every other car problem thread here, someone will post a schmatic by about the 40th response.

Sorry, I can't seem to track down a definitive answer on the web, although I found a few opinions that suggest that your clutch cable can't be adjusted (it's hydraulic and should be self-adjusting) but there is an adjustment at the pedal and also at the master cylinder.
And a few opinions that would suggest it's new clutch time.

I'm willing to bet you au-pair is from a country where they ride the clutch and down-shift?
Noone is suggesting that you're the problem
Also consider that 2002 was a major revision year for the civic, so you may be looking at "revision A syndrome".
200k miles is pretty amazing for the original clutch; 90,000 miles doesn't sound that extreme.

h'

@#$%& -- I can blame that brazilian girl living with us - sheer genius!

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h'
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Also consider that 2002 was a major revision year for the civic, so you may be looking at "revision A syndrome".

2001 was a major revision for Civic. I have a "Revision A" (Civic LX 5 speed 2001), 85l miles, rock solid so far.

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space-time

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h'
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Also consider that 2002 was a major revision year for the civic, so you may be looking at "revision A syndrome".

2001 was a major revision for Civic. I have a "Revision A" (Civic LX 5 speed 2001), 85l miles, rock solid so far.

Big oops-- I was off by a decade.