P500 Won't shift after a 40 minute ride.

[BuffaloJo]

Bought 2017 "500" new and have just over 1000 miles on it. Last year the transmission would not shift out of neutral so I used the wrench to get to third gear and limped home. After it sat for 30 minutes or so it started to shift normal. Took it to a dealer and he said one of the battery terminals wires were loose. Worked fine till this year (didn't drive it much till last few months) Was at Moab last week and it pulled the same thing again, would not shift, used the wrench and limped back to camp. Again it sat for a while and it worked as normal. Took it to Honda dealer at Monticello, UT. The very nice owner adjusted the clutch and of course it worked just fine.
The following day back at Moab after about 45 minutes on the trail had to open a gate so I shifted to neutral, opened the gate and guess what it wouldn't shift. Got the wrench and limped back to camp. Let it set for about an hour and of course it worked. Battery is fully charged as I checked it all three times. (I have 2 batteries that I can tie together in case the main battery goes down of which I did and made no difference.)
What gives on this piece of junk ? When I am at Moab I am by myself and often out of cell phone service, I do carry a Garmin Inreach for emergency. I would be happy to take it to the dealer but since it is one of those part time problems I feel I would be wasting my time. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[JenElio]

Bought 2017 "500" new and have just over 1000 miles on it. Last year the transmission would not shift out of neutral so I used the wrench to get to third gear and limped home. After it sat for 30 minutes or so it started to shift normal. Took it to a dealer and he said one of the battery terminals wires were loose. Worked fine till this year (didn't drive it much till last few months) Was at Moab last week and it pulled the same thing again, would not shift, used the wrench and limped back to camp. Again it sat for a while and it worked as normal. Took it to Honda dealer at Monticello, UT. The very nice owner adjusted the clutch and of course it worked just fine.
The following day back at Moab after about 45 minutes on the trail had to open a gate so I shifted to neutral, opened the gate and guess what it wouldn't shift. Got the wrench and limped back to camp. Let it set for about an hour and of course it worked. Battery is fully charged as I checked it all three times. (I have 2 batteries that I can tie together in case the main battery goes down of which I did and made no difference.)
What gives on this piece of junk ? When I am at Moab I am by myself and often out of cell phone service, I do carry a Garmin Inreach for emergency. I would be happy to take it to the dealer but since it is one of those part time problems I feel I would be wasting my time. Anyone have any ideas?

Sorry to hear of your troubles that definitely sucks when you can recreate the issue. I'm not familiar with the P5s at all but I'm sure one of these guys will chime in soon enough. Good luck 🤞

And keep us posted when you get to the bottom of it, helps the next guy down the line 🤘

@trigger, @lee or @JACKAL might have some thoughts 🤷‍♂️

 

[Mudder]

Sorry to hear that. Sorry for the lengthy reply but… Over the years have read post about clutch adjustment, low oil, low voltage, high idle, poor frame ground off battery box, and shifter as possible culprits.
As a prior clutch adjustment worked before (same on mine), wonder if the locking nut has let adjustment slip, try the simple fix again, adjust, and check tightness to rule that out. Check treads on adjuster are good, not compromised from prior adjustments over tightening. Would carry that 14mm wrench and screw driver on future trips for a try as a quick fix, and hopefully a faster travel than just the emergency tool.
Maybe @906UP would have more advice also. You likely have seen clutch adjustment videos, but just in case not, here’s one. Best of luck.

 

[906UP]

Had a similar issue on Donkey 1.0, I replaced the shift motor and it's been fine ever since. You can get them off Amazon for under $50 vs $250 from Honda. I'd give that a try.

 

[BuffaloJo]

Thanks 906UP and Mudder for your helpful info. The clutch appears to be adjusted as it should be. Will order the shift motor and will report back on what happens. May be a while as wife has many projects lined out for me.

 

[Remington]

Thanks 906UP and Mudder for your helpful info. The clutch appears to be adjusted as it should be. Will order the shift motor and will report back on what happens. May be a while as wife has many projects lined out for me.

If its a 2017 and on the original battery, Im willing to bet you have a partial or dead cell in it as well. Time to upgrade it anyway. These things like full clean plower like when your dealer found a loose connection. Also check, clean and tighten all grounds. Should be doing this even if u change that shift motor

 

[906UP]

If its a 2017 and on the original battery, Im willing to bet you have a partial or dead cell in it as well. Time to upgrade it anyway. These things like full clean plower like when your dealer found a loose connection. Also check, clean and tighten all grounds. Should be doing this even if u change that shift motor

Always a good idea Rem but the P5s don't seem as finicky to the battery as the DCT models.

 

[BuffaloJo]

If its a 2017 and on the original battery, Im willing to bet you have a partial or dead cell in it as well. Time to upgrade it anyway. These things like full clean plower like when your dealer found a loose connection. Also check, clean and tighten all grounds. Should be doing this even if u change that shift motor

Thanks, on my third battery now, this one was on a maintainer since day one, it's about a year old.

 

[Remington]

Thanks, on my third battery now, this one was on a maintainer since day one, it's about a year old.

Clean and check the grounds good fo sho!
Just good practice when these issues come arround

 

[Jason W]

This is true on any off road machine,.stuff gets beat up, shaken, bumpy. I had a guy replace pcm, ecm refresh all for an intermittent issue on a 16 JK, didnt fix it, looked at it and fixed it with a 10mm wrench in 2 mins, he was floored

 

[oldfortyfive]

This is true on any off road machine,.stuff gets beat up, shaken, bumpy. I had a guy replace pcm, ecm refresh all for an intermittent issue on a 16 JK, didnt fix it, looked at it and fixed it with a 10mm wrench in 2 mins, he was floored

So what was the actual problem?

 

[Jerryg]

So what was the actual problem?

It's not the belt

JAH