Shifting into 3rd. Technique or bad trans?
 

After much toying around, I'm just curious if this is a transmission problem or the car is just this way.

I redline first, shift into second immediately with no problem. Redline 2nd, and I try to immediately shift to 3rd.... When I attempt this, it fidgets and doesn't want to get into third and just grinds. The next thing I tried was to allow the RPM to go down a tad. So, I redline second, press the clutch, and allow it to drop 1000 RPM before I shift into 3rd. Smooth and easy shift.

Is it just how you shift with this car? (I just got this car, so this is why I'm asking everyone else) Because I can redline third and immediately to fourth. It's just third that does this.

this happens with different gears for different people. only happens at redline. i've known 2nd to be an issue. 5th for me is an issue.

bent shift fork. or something. either way, it wont be fixed until you pull the tranny.

yeah its your technique...remember to push the clutch all the way down and engage....it happens to me too

I tried quite a few times to see if this was the case, but it wasn't.

I'm probably just going to take it to the dealership and get it fixed. Glad I got a warranty.

it happens to me when i redline 1st to 2nd

mine from 3rd to 4th. doesnt happen at 8.5k revs tho. only happens at 9k~9.2k

Your synchros/tranny is going bad. I had same issue with my Miata 10AE which has the same 6 speed as the RX8. Had to get it rebuilt and the synchros were worn. It was difficult to get it from 2nd -> 3rd at high rpms, but was fine at lower rpms. After the rebuild it was smooth again. My RX-8 has no issues going from 2nd -> 3rd at redline.

Alot of trannies are like this. My M Coupe is picky shifting from 1st to 2nd at about 6500rpm. If I shift just a shade too fast the synchros will not mesh...and get a grind. If I slow it down just a touch its all good. All other rpms are fine...all the way up to 8000.

Lucky for me, shifting at this point is not optimum for my engine's power band so its easy to stay away from it. But it's annoying just the same.

its not technique.

my 4-5 shift has ground the gears even with the clutch fully depressed in an overly exaggerated shift just for test purposes.

So your gears are ground? Like ground beef consistency? :lol:

grinded is not a real word.

afaik. ;D

my original transmission did that on 2-3 upshift. You could stand on the clutch and it would still grind. No way to avoid it besides staying under 5000 rpm when upshifting.

The fix was a new transmission (under warranty). While the new one works, it has never felt as smooth or nice as the old one. It's functional, but the original one was like butter. I miss it.

Mine also grinds from 2nd to 3rd even if the clutch is pinned to the floor :banghead:

+1.

I can grind gears only if I accidentally limp-wrist the shift like a weakling. I practice the special fingertip-contact, webbing-contact, and sometimes straight palm shifting techniques, and if not used correctly can lead to a limp-wrist shift. So unless you are limp-wristing it, please have it looked at before more and more damage happens.

Mine use to grind from 3rd to 4th near redline. My synchros were bad and replaced by Mazda under warranty.

All these TSB's for our engine but they still haven't admitted we have shady ass transmissions. My car is going in tomorrow for ANOTHER throw-out bearing. I will see if I can get them to install a new 09 tranny since it bolts up. I'm sure they will swiftly say fuck you.

My 2-3 only sticks or grinds a little when the car has been sitting in the cold all night... goes away after a couple mins of driving.

Well I'll probably take it to the dealership and get it checked out, plus my car has a CEL anyways of misfires, so I'll get them to take care of that as well while I'm at it.

Mine is an 09 with less than 800KM clocked so far. I noticed that from 2--> 3 I have a tough time shifting it as well, and only from 2 --> 3. However I noticed that if I shift it from 2, then it to neutral for a split second then shift to 3, i don't get that slight grind. from that I am thinking that perhaps it is my shifting technique.


Mine doesn't grind per se, but has a bit of an uncomfortable metal click. However it goes away after a while. I will be letting the Mazda people know at my 1000km first service.

Anyone else with an 09 with this problem?

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Grinded

Grinded is a real word. :)

It starts out as a little metal "chunk" or "clink" but it will graduate into grinding, is just a matter of time. Unless u shift under 6k for rest of the cars life that is. Mine only did it above 7k rpm and took it in for warranty work. 3rd and 4th gears replaced along with few other components. Now its smoothe as silk at 9k rpm. Our tranny's are just pretty weak, there are TONS of threads/posts about this exact issue BTW. Its well documented

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grinded

:kiss:

wow mine does not do this at all but I am on my second transmission so maybe that's helping out some

If it's under warranty still and if you decide to take it to a dealership, make sure to have them drop the transmission even if they can't "replicate" the problem. Even offer to pay for them to drop it as they will find some issues in there if still under warranty.

I am having a shit of time trying to get them to cover it just out of warranty period but only at 57k miles through some goodwill or breach of warranty because I complained about the same damn issue documented 4 times when it was under warranty.

They know there are transmission problems especially with the '04s but they are trying to avoid going through the right albeit expensive fix. It's a shame, you'd think a reputable company would like to do what's in the long-term best interest for the customer since they are likely to be repeat customers in the future. CX9 and Mazda6 were in the short list of secondary cars that are now in jeopardy of being snubbed off that list.

I had a consistent issue w/ 3 to 4 when driving "spirited"
That went away w/ a lube change to amsoil.
But yes I also have a 2 to 3 grind when rushing.
But only when rushing.