Do any of you guys ever experience grinding going 4th to 5th? I've noticed it once or twice when it shouldn't have done it. Not bad, but it was there a little. I'm not too concerned at this point, I have plenty left in the warranty to keep an eye if it gets worse... but just wondering if anyone else ever had this.
5MT owners... question
- Thread starter jandree22
- Start date
Mazda5wannabe
Member
No, but I've found it doesn't like really fast 1st to 2nd shifts and it will knock teeth near redline. I find the throw to 5th a bit vague sometimes, but no crunch.
- :
- 2008 Mazda5 5MT Sport w/ Popular Package
Hey Jandree,
No, not a problem here.
Only thing noted is the typical "stiffness" when is extremely cold or when returning to first gear during a full stop (obviously when the car is still very slowly moving). I mention this because my Honda is much less picky on that sense so when switching cars I have to get used to those things.
Take it to the stealership when you get a chance but ask them to ride with you when happens, otherwise they may argue is a driving style issue.
Other than that, Zoom-Zooming as usual (yes)
No, not a problem here.
Only thing noted is the typical "stiffness" when is extremely cold or when returning to first gear during a full stop (obviously when the car is still very slowly moving). I mention this because my Honda is much less picky on that sense so when switching cars I have to get used to those things.
Take it to the stealership when you get a chance but ask them to ride with you when happens, otherwise they may argue is a driving style issue.
Other than that, Zoom-Zooming as usual (yes)
Last edited:
Yeah good idea on the ride along. I would HOPE that they wouldnt assume that its driving style considering it only happens on the 4-5 shift (unless youre going crazy fast), but then again tranny work isnt cheap or easy so I could see them making sure. The hard part at this point is its a once on a blue moon occurrence. I have to just pay attention if it becomes more frequent or if it was, in fact, driver error after all. Thankfully my current dealership seems to be cool with doing warranty work (never give me a hassle unless they cant replicate which is standard fare).
And yeah, I too have had the vagueness since day one. Ive had to almost consciously move forward-right-forward to make it happen but Ive gotten used to that so its a more fluid movement now.
And yeah, I too have had the vagueness since day one. Ive had to almost consciously move forward-right-forward to make it happen but Ive gotten used to that so its a more fluid movement now.
No crunch here either. But speaking of Hondas, when I bought my Protege I noticed that it wouldn't take shifts nearly as quickly as my old '88 Accord would--that was a car, 98 hp and all, that didn't mind quick shifts. For the last several years my Protege will crunch on the 1-2 shift when the engine is cold if it's under 40 degrees if the shift is taken anything over a snail's pace.
Because of that I've been used to taking my time with shifting, which I guess you're supposed to do anyway, to let the synchros catch up. I agree, 5th gear on the 5 is a little hard to find until you get used to it.
Because of that I've been used to taking my time with shifting, which I guess you're supposed to do anyway, to let the synchros catch up. I agree, 5th gear on the 5 is a little hard to find until you get used to it.
4-5 crunch
I do get this crunch once in a while. Pretty much exclusively from fourth to fifth. I feel like it happens mostly when I am a little more deliberate with the shift. It doesn't seem to occur when I shift more decisively. It is infrequent enough that I won't bother mentioning it to the dealer unless it gets worse or more frequent as I approach the end of the warranty period. I have approximately 15k on the car now.
I do get this crunch once in a while. Pretty much exclusively from fourth to fifth. I feel like it happens mostly when I am a little more deliberate with the shift. It doesn't seem to occur when I shift more decisively. It is infrequent enough that I won't bother mentioning it to the dealer unless it gets worse or more frequent as I approach the end of the warranty period. I have approximately 15k on the car now.
Commute in today was fine. Didnt happen once, shifted effortlessly like butta. I wonder if maybe this IS driver error related directly to the vagueness of the 4-5 shift. Perhaps Im so used to the snappy short distances in the first 4 (even 2-3) gears, and when I hit the 4-5 Im letting up on the clutch just a split second too early.
I am wondering if it has to do with shift pins. My old 5 litre mustang had two shift pins and one of them sheared off. I lost 1-4 but still had 5 and R. I had noticed a grinding going from 4-5 before it happened. I mean it is a shot in he double hockey sticks, I don't even know if the 5 has shift pins. The funny thing was that when it went the only gears available were 5 and R and I had the car about a mile and a half from home. My dad came, I was 18, got in the car and drove it home through two stop lights using only fifth gear, talk about clutch modulation 
.
P.S. it was a realllllly tall fifth gear, I was able to get 25 to 30 mpg highway going 80 in that car even with the V8.
. P.S. it was a realllllly tall fifth gear, I was able to get 25 to 30 mpg highway going 80 in that car even with the V8.
I'm bringing my 5 in this wednesday for this reason.
I coast the car quite a bit for fuel economy and noticed it yesterday, here's what happens:
I'm coasting along at hwy speeds (100km/60mph) in neutral with the clutch out. I then push in the clutch (all the way) and put the shifter into 5th and it'll grind. I'm not jamming or forcing the shifter in, just doing it as I normally would.
It's gotta be a bad 5th gear synchro, because if I rev up the motor before I shift it into 5th, it won't grind.
The good thing is that I can replicate this problem for the service dept.
I just hope they don't try telling me this is normal, 'cuz I really don't need the stress...
I coast the car quite a bit for fuel economy and noticed it yesterday, here's what happens:
I'm coasting along at hwy speeds (100km/60mph) in neutral with the clutch out. I then push in the clutch (all the way) and put the shifter into 5th and it'll grind. I'm not jamming or forcing the shifter in, just doing it as I normally would.
It's gotta be a bad 5th gear synchro, because if I rev up the motor before I shift it into 5th, it won't grind.
The good thing is that I can replicate this problem for the service dept.
I just hope they don't try telling me this is normal, 'cuz I really don't need the stress...
- :
- 2008 Mazda5 5MT Sport w/ Popular Package
I now own 2 since I replied back in April 07 (damn, time flies), and the 2008 feels pretty much the same as the 2006, except that the MAZDASPEED shift knob makes the shifting "feeling" more robust... and adds 17hp to the little engine, guaranteed... LOL.
Took the car in this morning and went for a ride with a mechanic to demonstrate the problem.
They have ordered parts for the transmission (5th gear, synchros and related parts I'm guessing) and will hopefully tear into it and fix it when they arrive.
I'll let you know how it comes out...
They have ordered parts for the transmission (5th gear, synchros and related parts I'm guessing) and will hopefully tear into it and fix it when they arrive.
I'll let you know how it comes out...
Well, its been a few weeks since the work was done.
The problem is much better than before, but I did manage to get it to grind once.
I think it may be a design problem with the manual trans and it needs to be treated fairly delicately, which is a nice way of saying it's not a very good transmission.
If it gets worse again, I'll end up bringing it in, but for now I'm resolved to treating it gingerly (not that I was ham fisted or abused it before...)
A friend of mine at work had problems with grinding on the 1 - 2 shift on his Mazda 3, I assume they have the same transmission as the 5.
The problem is much better than before, but I did manage to get it to grind once.
I think it may be a design problem with the manual trans and it needs to be treated fairly delicately, which is a nice way of saying it's not a very good transmission.
If it gets worse again, I'll end up bringing it in, but for now I'm resolved to treating it gingerly (not that I was ham fisted or abused it before...)
A friend of mine at work had problems with grinding on the 1 - 2 shift on his Mazda 3, I assume they have the same transmission as the 5.
To make the vehicle as efficient as possible in city driving and at highway speeds Mazda has put in a pretty tall 5 gear for highway cruising, and this makes the synchros work really hard to match shaft speeds. If the shaft speeds are not matched, than grinding will happen as the two gear sets are traveling at different speeds. For city driving, Mazda has chosen to put in a 1-2-3-4 gear set that are all really close in ratio. This makes the speed difference between the gears sets relatively small and allows for easy flawless shifting from first thru fourth. Not as much work is placed onto the synchros to get the shaft speeds equal. Hopefully next year they'll fix the problem the correct way and that is put in a 6 speed, and through in the
2.L Diesel as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_transmission#Synchromesh
2.L Diesel as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_transmission#Synchromesh
