There are 6 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2003 Acura RSX in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 6 of 6 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)WHEN TRYING TO SHIFT INTO 2ND GEAR IT GRINDS AND POPS OUT. IT IS SO BAD THAT NOW IT WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO PUT IT IN 2ND AT ALL. SYNCHROS ARE BAD...COMMON PROBLEM WITH RSX. ACURA SHOULD BE FORCED TO FIX THIS ISSUE SINCE IT IS SO COMMON IN THESE VEHICLES. *TR
EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE (ABOUT ONCE A WEEK) MY TRANSMISSION POPS OUT OF 3RD GEAR IN MY TYPE-S AFTER I PUSH IT ALL THE WAY FORWARD. I TOOK IT TO MY DEALER TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT AND THEY CONFIRMED THAT IT WAS POPPING OUT BUT I WAS TOLD IT WOULD GO AWAY. UNFORTUNATELY, IT HAS NOT GONE AWAY AND IT IS VERY INCONVENIENT WHEN YOU ARE IN ARE TRYING TO MAKE A TURN AND SHIFT AND THE CAR JUST CRAWLS THROUGH THE INTERSECTION BECAUSE YOU ARE GASSING IT IN NEUTRAL. A COUPLE OF TIMES IT HAS NOT POPPED OUT ALL OF THE WAY AND WHEN I RELEASED THE CLUTCH, MY GEARS STARTED TO GRIND. I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO PAY TO GET MY GEAR REPLACED BECAUSE THIS GEAR POPPING OUT DESTROYED MY 3RD GEAR.*AK
I HAVE A 2003 RSX BASE MODEL, IT HAS A MANUAL TRANSMISSION. IT GRINDS FROM 2ND GEAR TO 3RD GEAR ABOVE 4000 RPM. ACURA CLAIMS TO KNOW NOTHING OF MY PROBLEM DESPITE THIS BEING A REACURRING COMPLAINT IN MANY FORUMS AND PETITIONS HTTP://WWW.PETITIONONLINE.COM/RSXGRIND/PETITION.HTML ). *AK
1. DIFFICULTY, NOTCHINESS OR GRIND ON GETTING TO 2ND GEAR - VERY DANGEROUS ON INTERSECTION. 2. 3RD GEAR POPS OUT OR GRINDS. *AK
MY ACURA RSX TYPE S WAS PARKED IN A LOCAL WAL-MART PARKING LOT. IT WAS IN FIRST GEAR. AFTER MY WIFE AND I WENT INSIDE, OUR CAR ROLLED BACKWARDS THROUGH THE ENTIRE PARKING LOT, DOWN AN EMBANKMENT AND UP ON A CURB IN ANOTHER LOWER PARKING AREA. FORTUNATELY, THE CAR DID NOT HIT ANY PERSON, CAR, OR CART, BUT THERE WAS SERIOUS EXHAUST DAMAGE THAT COST UPWARDS OF $400 WHICH THE DEALERSHIP DID NOT COVER UNDER WARRANTY BECAUSE THEY ARGUED THAT THE EMERGENCY BRAKE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON, WHICH IT WASN'T. MY WIFE AND I ARGUED THAT IF THE CLUTCH WAS WORKING PROPERLY, AND THE CAR WAS INDEED "IN GEAR", IT SHOULD GO NOWHERE...LET ALONE BACKWARDS. *AK
VEHICLE: 2003 ACURA RSX-TYPE S WITH 6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. WITH ONLY 7,940 MILES AND 9 MONTHS OLD, THE TRANSMISSION IS BLOCKING OR GRINDING 1-2 AND 2-3 SHIFTS. THIS IS HAZARDOUS WHEN YOU ARE PULLING THROUGH AN INTERSECTION TRYING TO ENGAGE 2ND GEAR AND YOU CAN NOT GET THE TRANS INTO 2ND. IT HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER TWICE (12-15-03 AND 1-9-04) FOR THIS PROBLEM. THEY REPLACED SYNCHRONIZERS IN THE TRANSMISSION. THE PROBLEM STILL OCCURS. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.