Honda Civic (Mk8) Gear Knob and Shift Gaiter Replacement

Select a gaiter and knob before starting. An Audi TT boot is a common match and comes in leather, suede or Alcantara with a range of stitching colours; genuine Honda, Nissan 350Z, Richbrook and Skunk2 knobs are all used successfully. Most knobs simply thread onto the standard shift shaft, but confirm the fitting method first: some clamp with three grub screws instead of screwing on, and a few will not run fully down the thread. If you want the gaiter to stay retained neatly, a genuine Honda knob has a plastic lip moulded to hold the boot in place.

With the handbrake on, take hold of the factory knob and turn it anticlockwise until it spins free of the shift shaft; it releases by hand and needs no tools. Set it aside. On cars with a smooth-topped shaft, note whether a lock nut is present so you can reuse or replace it later.

The silver trim around the shifter unclips, but on many cars it is stubborn, so work carefully to avoid scratching it. The reliable method is to slide a plastic wedge or one or two old credit cards under the trim from the opening where the shaft passes through, rather than levering from the outer edge, then ease the panel up. Free the upper end first (opening the cubby above can help), then work down; a retaining tab at the lower rounded end is the last point to come loose. Keep metal screwdrivers away from the visible silver surface, as they mark it easily.

For a threaded knob, wind it on clockwise until snug and facing forward. If it stops a fraction of a turn out of alignment, thread a lock nut onto the shaft first, seat the knob to the desired position, then run the nut up against the knob's base to lock the angle; alternatively, pack a folded strip of thin card into the knob's cavity so it tightens square. For a grub-screw type such as a Richbrook, slide it on and tighten the three bolts a little at a time in rotation rather than fully seating one before the others, otherwise it will not clamp evenly on a slim shaft.

Feed the gaiter down over the shaft. To stop it sagging, cinch a cable tie around the boot where the shaft necks down to its narrower diameter. If the boot has slipped for you before, keep adding ties progressively down the shaft until you reach the wider section lower down, where the gaiter can no longer drop past; using a thicker tie or two at the top and smaller ties below works well. Trim the tail off each tie flush.

Tuck the lower edge of the gaiter neatly under the trim and clip the panel back, engaging the lower tab last. If the leather thickness stops the panel snapping fully home, trim roughly 15mm off the bottom edge of the gaiter, leaving small tabs at intervals, and rotate the boot so its seam does not sit over the panel's retaining tab; both let the surround seat flush again. Check the knob orientation and gaiter tension, then confirm the trim is level.