2005 Honda Civic Owner's Manual - Page 135

Manual Transmission Come to a full stop before you shift into Reverse. You can damage the transmission by trying to shift into Reverse with the vehicle 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 all models except U.S. DX and Value Package, 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. The manual transmission is synchronized 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. 136