Before buying my 2012 skyactiv MT, I test drove 2 separate MT cars (as well as two AT), before I finally had my MT shipped in from the next state (so now I have driven 3 MTs altogether). I found I would occasionally feel some notchiness getting into 1st and 4th gear in each of them. I believe it may have been more pronounced when first starting off with a cold car.
Fast forward to today in my new hatchback, 400 miles on the odo, I was at a light that turned green, and I simply could not get into first gear. I had to shift to neutral, clutch out and back in, and then was able to shift to first. I didn't try cramming it into first before the trip to neutral, as I try to show some mechanical empathy, but I did verify that it wasn't just a matter of applying a bit of extra pressure towards 1st for a second.
This is pretty disheartening for me, as one of the significant reasons I traded in my 2004 WRX was because I was sick of (very) occasionally getting stuck at a green light and having to fiddle to get the thing into first gear.
I think on the test drives that I assumed it must just be a cold tranny issue, after reading all of the smooth-as-butter reviews of the tranny, but today the car was very fully warmed up when it happened.
One thing that crossed my mind is that Mazda is likely trying to squeeze every last MPG out of the car, and so maybe they went with a lightweight tranny fluid just like they went with an extra light motor oil weight. I can't find any reference to the recommended tranny fluid weight in the owners manual. I was thinking of doing an engine and tranny fluid change somewhere in the 500-1000 mile range, to get any metal particulate out of the fluid (as I said, I try to have mechanical empathy for my cars). So I'm wondering what kind of tranny fluid they come with from the factory, and the pros/cons of modifying this mixture a minimal amount. I found that the synchros on my WRX were hugely more cooperative with a blend of ~25% synchromesh and 75% 75-90 fluid. I want to do a great job in supporting the longevity of the synchros/tranny, but I would sure like to avoid getting stuck getting it into first gear again. It really pisses me off to have to put up with that on a brand new car, after 6 years of doing so in the WRX I had bought used.
I'm no expert, but my guess is that synchros do not have any significant break-in process to where this is likely to smooth out in the future as-is.
Anyone have info on the tranny fluid the cars ship with, or longevity impacts of a minor blend (maybe 10%?) synchromesh or the like?
Also - anyone know if the tranny plug from the factory is magnetic? And if not, is there one available from Mazda from perhaps another model (e.g. the MS3)?
thanks!
Fast forward to today in my new hatchback, 400 miles on the odo, I was at a light that turned green, and I simply could not get into first gear. I had to shift to neutral, clutch out and back in, and then was able to shift to first. I didn't try cramming it into first before the trip to neutral, as I try to show some mechanical empathy, but I did verify that it wasn't just a matter of applying a bit of extra pressure towards 1st for a second.
This is pretty disheartening for me, as one of the significant reasons I traded in my 2004 WRX was because I was sick of (very) occasionally getting stuck at a green light and having to fiddle to get the thing into first gear.
I think on the test drives that I assumed it must just be a cold tranny issue, after reading all of the smooth-as-butter reviews of the tranny, but today the car was very fully warmed up when it happened.
One thing that crossed my mind is that Mazda is likely trying to squeeze every last MPG out of the car, and so maybe they went with a lightweight tranny fluid just like they went with an extra light motor oil weight. I can't find any reference to the recommended tranny fluid weight in the owners manual. I was thinking of doing an engine and tranny fluid change somewhere in the 500-1000 mile range, to get any metal particulate out of the fluid (as I said, I try to have mechanical empathy for my cars). So I'm wondering what kind of tranny fluid they come with from the factory, and the pros/cons of modifying this mixture a minimal amount. I found that the synchros on my WRX were hugely more cooperative with a blend of ~25% synchromesh and 75% 75-90 fluid. I want to do a great job in supporting the longevity of the synchros/tranny, but I would sure like to avoid getting stuck getting it into first gear again. It really pisses me off to have to put up with that on a brand new car, after 6 years of doing so in the WRX I had bought used.
I'm no expert, but my guess is that synchros do not have any significant break-in process to where this is likely to smooth out in the future as-is.
Anyone have info on the tranny fluid the cars ship with, or longevity impacts of a minor blend (maybe 10%?) synchromesh or the like?
Also - anyone know if the tranny plug from the factory is magnetic? And if not, is there one available from Mazda from perhaps another model (e.g. the MS3)?
thanks!
