MS3 tranny really sucks

[dcomiskey]

While I still enoy my car (besides the CEL I still haven't had checked), I'm pretty annoyed at the quality of the transmission on our cars. I'm wondering if anyone at Mazda actually ran the car through QA testing. Second gear grind is pretty much a "feature" on every MS3. Now that it's cold as hell out, I'm having a worse problem with 3rd gear. In fact, when the car is cold, I can barely get the car into 3rd. It's like the synchs are completely messed up. I have to practically force it into gear. (notcool)

[CTGrey02]

Warm your car up before you drive it. A lot of cars have problems getting into gear when the gear box is frozen.

[tsunami]

my reg mazda3 with the mazda speed short shifter kit is a pita to get into gear with the subzero temps we have now... i would wait until summer before you get all bent outa shape...

[SwampAss]

Might be something as simple as a gear shift linkage adjustment. Mine is a little tough when it's 8F outside (as it was yesterday AM) but after a few miles it's fine.

[justa4banger]

Um you do have to push the clutch in first you know (enguard)







:D
Just jerking your chain.

By the way i haven't had any issues nor has my wife with shifting in the MS3 in near or below freezin temps. Then agin we do keep it in the garage at night.

[Garcia y Vega]

Warm your car up before you drive it. A lot of cars have problems getting into gear when the gear box is frozen.

This makes a huge difference. Im in Minnesota and it has been sub-zeros this whole last week. I'm talking -10 to -15 deg's here. Whenever I would drive my car, I would let it warm up for like 10 min before moving. The clutch always feels a lot better after. Even letting it warm up for that long, things are still kinda stiff untill I have driven for a few miles.

[dcomiskey]

This makes a huge difference. Im in Minnesota and it has been sub-zeros this whole last week. I'm talking -10 to -15 deg's here. Whenever I would drive my car, I would let it warm up for like 10 min before moving. The clutch always feels a lot better after. Even letting it warm up for that long, things are still kinda stiff untill I have driven for a few miles.

I try if I'm able to in the morning, but more often than not, I can't. I never had this problem with my VWs or other cars with manual transmissions. I think if Mazda took the time to cold test this trans, they would have done something about it. When the temp is 5 deg, it takes the car nearly 30 minutes for the car to actually warm up. What an incredible waste of gas.

[Mspeed3]

I had to go to dealership to have linkage adjusted because I couldn't get it into 1,2,or R. New gearbox bound to have issues.

[maestro]

All gear oils have an optimum operating temp range. Cars that use standard weight motor oils instead of say 75/90 gear oil have different issues.
I'm going to agree with the warm up suggestion otherwise change out the trans fluid (careful about the LSD and it's requirements).
I have not had any problems with shifting even on the mountain in the snow but the temps aren't as low as some of those listed above.

[Vermilion]

I try if I'm able to in the morning, but more often than not, I can't. I never had this problem with my VWs or other cars with manual transmissions. I think if Mazda took the time to cold test this trans, they would have done something about it. When the temp is 5 deg, it takes the car nearly 30 minutes for the car to actually warm up. What an incredible waste of gas.

Just wake up 5-10 minutes earlier in the morning.

[dcomiskey]

Just wake up 5-10 minutes earlier in the morning.

We have a 4 month old. I need every minute of sleep I can get. :D

[Olestra]

Hehe. Car starter ftw. =)

It's -20C outside today. If I go out and drive the car without warming it up, the shifter and clutch get really sluggish and I grind 3rd like crazy.

[meha11]

I believe Maestro is right.

Although my ms3 tranny seems to be smooth as silk i have been having these same issues with my jeep tj. Yesterday i put Royal Purple synthetic SAE 75w-90 GL-4/5 and it made the world of difference.

So today while the ms3 was at the dealer getting the cel checked again i had them put in the same stuff. It doesnt feel any different to me but then again there was nothing wrong with it in the first place.

I think Red Line is the best but i couldnt find it locally so settled on Royal Purple.
Mazda dealer charged $38 to change the engine and transmission oil (i supplied both oils).

If your out of warranty then this could be a cheap fix, defiantly worth a try.

[Wes]

California weather FTW!

[Hypnotized]

I have only had my car for a couple days but its been pretty cold here in CT and I havent had any issues with getting in to gear or grinding. I do warm my car up every morning so maybe that helps a bit but I wouldnt expect it to be happening to you after its been warmed up. My MSP would give me some issues going into reverse on cocld days but never while I was driving. My advice to yu would be to try warming it up and see if it makes a difference and if it doesnt take it to Mazda.

[turbofever]

I have the same issue. Grrrrrrrr....

[MadOzodi]

Don't you mean, Brrrrrrrr....?

:D

[jcrystal]

I try if I'm able to in the morning, but more often than not, I can't. I never had this problem with my VWs or other cars with manual transmissions. I think if Mazda took the time to cold test this trans, they would have done something about it. When the temp is 5 deg, it takes the car nearly 30 minutes for the car to actually warm up. What an incredible waste of gas.
Hmmmm. Generally not good advice to let the car idle to warm for extended periods. It's been below zero here in Vermont, and I find I idle for about 30 seconds, duriing which time I step on the clutch and run thru the gears a couple of times, then drive off. Shifting is just fine, and the car is warm in under 5 minutes..... I had considered switching to REDLINE MTL, but haven't yet found it necessary.

[Olestra]

How do you run through the gears before driving off.... I'm assuming you mean you keep the clutch down and move the shifter?

[B1GHAM]

How do you run through the gears before driving off.... I'm assuming you mean you keep the clutch down and move the shifter?

yeah he said that in his post :p

I usually let my car warm for ~ 1-2 minutes or so and do the same to my shifter (although I usually just wiggle back and forth in neutral)

[Olestra]

yeah he said that in his post :p

I usually let my car warm for ~ 1-2 minutes or so and do the same to my shifter (although I usually just wiggle back and forth in neutral)

Hehe, yeah I guess that's a habit that I have too. My remote start is set to 15 minutes (that's the minimum) but I usually try to get in at around 5-10 minutes. By then my shifter is pretty smooth.

If I'm in a hurry and didn't have time to warm my car up, I just end up shifting slow. Sometimes I get impatient and grind my gears up. =)

[Funkycoldg]

Yeah I have let mine warm up (sometimes for 10min) but it still does it till I have actually driven it for alittle. I have no clue why. Anyone else getting loud noises form the shocks and what not. I let my car warm up and I still hear that sound for awhile. It seems like the car is really having trouble in the coldcold temps.

~John

[chaos4]

I have no shifting problems with my MS3. 3000 miles since Dec 27th delivery. Temps running near zero the past week.
Suggest you calmly tell the dealer of the problem and ask if he can check the linkage adjustment.
Good luck!

[ClickHeRe]

It's -40C here with the windchill and yes it's hard to get going the first few shifts in the morning. Just don't push it like crazy. After a few shifts it's back to smooth as butter. The only "grinding" I have is from first to second gear most of the time.

I'll be putting synth gear oil next week (Amsoil SVG 2000 series) and when it's a bit hotter I'll change my shifter bushings to the new TWM I got last week.

Next in line will probably be the AWR mounts.

[mcb]

its been under -10c all last month and few days at -40c and i dont any problem with gears grinding... i usually let it warm for 30 sec then go.

just dont push it trough gears. Let the syncs do their work.

i get a lot of noise from the shocks too when its cold. When you run the car for about 5 min everything is back to normal.

Some dealers around here claimed that like the rx-8, the ms3 its not a ''winter'' car. But, they dont know a jack about the car, they never tried it :P

[Damian]

I don't have problems getting the car into any gear. No grinding or anything similar. However, it just isn't a very good shifter. I think that's the problem more than anything. If you've driven a BMW, VW, Honda - hell, even my P5 - They all have smoother, more accurate shift linkages that just go where they should go and they feel like putting a hot knife through butter. The MS3 shifter is sloppy and rough, but not so awful as to be unbearable. Perhaps some adjustments could be done to improve the performance, but I honestly don't know.