cas2themoe

My car is a automatic RX8 and I wanted to know if anyone has had any trouble with their auto RX8's? Mine for some reason seems to stay in 3rd gear for a long period of time even if I dont have the gas down hard. Then it will stay in 3rd while I have my foot on the gas then switch to 4th a few seconds after I have had my gas off the gas. What do you all think? Is it a problem orn just the computer in the car making the trans do that? PLEASE HELP

Sue Esponte

It's yearning for a clutch. ;-)

KIDDING. I'm not sure I'm following you on your post. Is it holding onto 3rd when you think it should upshift or downshift or both?

If the tranny shifts to 4th from 3rd after you let off of the gas, it might do so based on your current rate of speed. Sometimes a "sports" oriented transmission program will hold onto a lower gear if it senses you're still accelerating or driving hard. It will then shift into the higher, appropriate gear when you've settled your driving. If it shifted solely based on speed, it would continue to search for gears every time you hit the gas during a spirited drive.

-Eric

mngpao

I noticed a slight hesitation in my AT 8 before it shifts from 3rd to 4th if I accelerate rapidly to about 55 or 60mph from a stop. Otherwise, the shifting is pretty smooth and even.

sjt

That happens to me as well... I usually just get tired of waiting & burning excess gas so I slap it into "M" mode then shift it myself then slap it back into "D" a few mph after with no probs.

rodmeister

My RX-8 AT did that a few times when it was brand new. I thought it would be a major problem, but it cleared up and hasn't hesitated to shift from 3 to 4 in 4,000 miles. In my case I think the AT needed to break-in a bit.

cas2themoe

I dont know guys! Its waits then shifts for some reason when I have my foot on the gas. It feels weird, but maybe its the way the transmission is designed. I took the car in and Mazda test drove it and said nothing was wrong with the trans. I just hope that the Trans isnt giving me problems at 4000 miles. That would suck! Do they cover the trans under the warranty?

stangmatt66

Mine does this ALL the time...every shift from 3rd to 4th takes forever...I assume this is to keep the engine in it's power band...I actually like that it doesn't jump right into 4th...Sometimes I need the engine to be in it's power band when I'm driving in traffic and need to get around a car or two before I start cruisin.

I think the engine is considered part of the "powertrain" and is covered in the warranty. Just because it delays the shift does not mean it's going to ruin your transmission...don't worry about it...drive it like you stole it!!!

here's a hint, if you want it to shift into 4th faster, let off the gas a little when it hangs in 3rd...drops right into 4th everytime...

man i miss my car, she's been in the shop for over a week now... (see sig)

DrComputer

It does this by design. If you accelerate at a reasonable pace, it will move through the gears (1-4) smoothly. If you accelerate quickly, pressing the pedal hard it will assume "sport" mode and hold each gear longer with anticipation of you keeping the "pedal to the metal". If you start quickly and then let off the gas, it will still hold in 3rd just in case you were about to stomp the pedal again. Mazda could have put a Normal/Sport button like most automatics that would change the shift pattern. Instead they chose to have the transmission figure out what you are doing by monitoring how hard and fast you press the gas pedal. Once you get use to how it responds, it's pretty easy to get it to do what you want. It's all about the car learning you and you learning the characteristics of the car.

Redlinin 8

That happened when i test drove the auto.

Katchoo

What I find a bit bothersome is how long it holds onto 4th gear when slowing down or when puttering around going home...4th gear at 35 mph...hmmmm.

Saves gas I guess - lugging the engine.

Can't really complain as I am always getting 20-21 mpg.