Lent my newish 2011 Accord 5spd to my bro-in-law, car feels weird now

[edi sucks]

This was the absolute last thing I wanted to do, but my other car was having mechanical issues and they wanted to go out for decorations for my wife's baby shower over the weekend - I was in the middle of taking a final exam online so I couldn't chauffeur. I know he sporadically drove his parent's stickshift car, so I figured how bad could it be.

Anyway, the first warning sign was when my bro-in-law calls me telling me he can't start the car. I asked if they clutched in...they said yeah but still couldn't start it. By the time I got down they got it started and were about to leave.

When he got back he asked me if I start off in 1st or 2nd gear...WTF kind of question is that? It could be psychological haha, but it feels slower and louder now. Clutch definitely isn't sticky anymore and the engagement point is all the way at the top. Popped the hood today when the car was idling and I'm hearing a loud ticking sound from the engine.

It's a 2011 Accord EX btw, with around 23k miles. Oil reminder says I'm at 20% and need to go in for an oil change soon. I'll bring it up with the dealership, any thoughts as to what it could be?

 

[phucheneh]

With 23k the engine shouldn't really tick. Any tappet noise should be pretty subtle. If he did anything that's causing noise, it's probably in the clutch disk itself. Like a broken spring in the center dampening portion.

Otherwise, I don't see what he could have done short of totally smoking the clutch. Hydraulic system shouldn't be any different than you left it, so if it seems to engage at a different point, it would have to be, again, in the clutch itself. I would guess that maybe he slipped the piss out of the clutch a few times...not enough to really devastate it, but enough to get it nice and hot and glazed. Now there is less friction and more clamping force is needed [pedal higher] before the car starts moving.

As a rule, I don't loan manual cars. Period. If limited driving is a must, there is a very short list of people I would trust, and they've all daily driven stickshifts before.

 

[leper84]

As a rule, I don't loan manual cars. Period. If limited driving is a must, there is a very short list of people I would trust, and they've all daily driven stickshifts before.

This x 100.

 

[Zor Prime]

I'm betting that tick sound is the injectors. You can sorta notice the noise in my 11 Insight's cabin if you're idle, but open the hood and holy hell it's loud.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

Is your cousin the type to hoon your car? Generally, even if you're bad at stick, it would be okay if you're being careful and not beat the crap out of it.

 

[996GT2]

Does the ticking make the car sound like a diesel when cold?

Is the ticking worst when the engine is cold and gets better/goes away once warmed up?

If yes, it could be piston slap. It's pretty common with Hondas, and a lot of other manufacturers.

 

[nerp]

Maybe he screwed the clutch up and there's something bouncing around in there because he jammed it into gear without pushing the clutch pedal. Or perhaps he redlined it for too long and didn't shift into a higher gear on the highway? Who knows. Nothing worse than something like this happening.

 

[michal1980]

Maybe he screwed the clutch up and there's something bouncing around in there because he jammed it into gear without pushing the clutch pedal. Or perhaps he redlined it for too long and didn't shift into a higher gear on the highway? Who knows. Nothing worse than something like this happening.

2011 Honda has a redline but the only way to exceed it to cause damage is to downshift and blow past the limiter.

If your just driving and forget to upshift, sure you could be right at redline, but that wont cause much damage.

 

[sze5003]

I think it could be the clutch. Honda clutches are pretty easy to handle. My lancer gts has an even easier clutch for some reason. When I bought the car new, the engagement point was not until the pedal was almost out anyway. Nearly 60k miles later, after driving in bumper to bumper traffic for hours every day, the clutch does feel softer, but it also has a similar engagement point. Sometimes it feels like I can let it out half and add gas, go smoothly whereas if I'm stuck in traffic a lot, it needs to be more than halfway out before it engages.

I also notice the faster I let it out, the quicker it will engage. But I'm not sure what the ticking could be with that low mileage you have.

Does your clutch get hot quickly now?

 

[JCH13]

Sounds like a roasted clutch. A shot throw-out bearing can also cause a tick.

The few times I've let my brother drive my cars (when I was in them) I noticed he'd just leave his left foot on the clutch (and asked him not to). Riding the clutch like that is a rookie thing to do, and with a high engagement point clutch it can easily cause the clutch to slip just a little bit all the time. Heat build up can roast the clutch and throw-out bearing pretty quickly too.

Though the other explanations for ticking like piston slap, injectors, etc. are also quite plausible.

 

[thescreensavers]

Fuel Injectors tick maybe, many people think its something bad but its just the injectors opening and closing

 

[who?]

My mother claimed that after I borrowed her car it always wanted to go fast.

 

[nerp]

My mother claimed that after I borrowed her car it always wanted to go fast.

That is highly likely, depending on the car. Transmissions can adjust based on the driver. Drive it hard, it adjusts the shift points and increases throttle response. Drive like a granny, it all softens.

 

[tweakmonkey]

If he burned the clutch up that bad, you can probably smell the aftermath. Take a whiff under the hood near the transmission and below the car near the transmission. I'd find out if he was serious about starting in 2nd gear. Maybe he was just messing with you, but if he was seriously starting in 2nd and isn't an experienced manual driver, he probably slipped the hell out of it.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Next time give him 50$ to go rent a car for a day. Much cheaper than a clutch job...

 

[Ferzerp]

Next time give him 50$ to go rent a car for a day. Much cheaper than a clutch job...

This would have made a nice joke if he'd have scraped the wheels up a bit.

 

[ProchargeMe]

Sounds like a roasted clutch. A shot throw-out bearing can also cause a tick.

The few times I've let my brother drive my cars (when I was in them) I noticed he'd just leave his left foot on the clutch (and asked him not to). Riding the clutch like that is a rookie thing to do, and with a high engagement point clutch it can easily cause the clutch to slip just a little bit all the time. Heat build up can roast the clutch and throw-out bearing pretty quickly too.

Though the other explanations for ticking like piston slap, injectors, etc. are also quite plausible.

From personal experience (had to replace it twice) the throwout bearing makes more of an oscillating low volume squeal of sorts, almost like sneakers on a gym floor but constant until any amount of pressure is applied to the clutch pedal then it stops. It sounds like you might need to get your flywheel resurfaced and your engagement point reset, and have a good look at all the pressure plate, etc... clutch maintenance.

 

[edi sucks]

Haha thanks guys. I've been driving it and it's grabbing better (I guess the glaze is wearing off)? It's not what it used to be but 100% my fault for not saying no to the wife's family. Lesson learned, never trust anyone with your MT even if they say they can drive it.

The worst part is I finally looked at the old beater Maxima, and realized low ps steering fluid was to blame. It looks like I have a leak, but had I known I could have filled it before lending it out to them. Oh well.

 

[edi sucks]

From personal experience (had to replace it twice) the throwout bearing makes more of an oscillating low volume squeal of sorts, almost like sneakers on a gym floor but constant until any amount of pressure is applied to the clutch pedal then it stops. It sounds like you might need to get your flywheel resurfaced and your engagement point reset, and have a good look at all the pressure plate, etc... clutch maintenance.

Huh that's interesting. I had a squeak that sounded exactly like that (sneakers on a gym floor) when I dropped the clutch to the floor and mentioned it to the dealer when I dropped the car off for an oil change. They lubricated the clutch and so far so good, but I'll keep what you said in mind.

 

[bigi]

Don't lend car or wife to anyone, brothers included.

If such happens, it or she may not seem the same anymore.

Old rule.