I noticed yesterday that shifting into second at high rpms is very difficult to do. The funny thing is once the car is run for a little while I have no problem shifting it into second even at 9.5k rpm, but if I'm driving the car for only 5 minutes or so even with clutch completely depressed it grinds like crazy going into second at anything past 8-8.5k rpms.

I thought it may be a problem so I wanted to see if i could consistenly recreate the problem before I took it into the shop. But after it did 2x out of 3 shifts last night (which was within the first 5-10 minutes of driving, first time it grinds, second went in fine, third with clutch pressed in to the floor and a slow shift it still grinds), it would shift into 2 silky smooth EVERY TIME and would do nothing more than chirp the tires and go. No grinding, nothing.

It doesn't seem to make any sense other than maybe the tranny fluid isn't warmed up enough to be able to shift like that right aways?

What are your thoughts?

 

I've heard of this before. First, you're not supposed to be doing 9.5k rpms on a cold engine. Regardless of engine speed, from what I've heard, it's normal for the shifting to be difficult while the car's cold. First to second is supposedly harder because you still have a huge torque multiplier in those lowest gears.

 

Well I'm not doing this on a cold engine. At least not according to the temperature gauge. I've also noticed that it's doing it more often now. It did it to me on Saturday after being on the highway for over an hour. So if my engine wasn't warm then, I'm not sure when it would be warm. I made an appointment for a regular maintenance and I'm also going to have them check out the tranny and my squealing brakes while it's in there.

 

I have the same problem with my 3-4 shift.. anytime i'm above 6k rpms.. the Dealer called mazda and mazda is telling them to replace all the shift forks in my tranny and replace any damaged parts. I'm waiting for parts now.. You may have the same problem with your 1/2 shift fork. They are replacing them all because apparently they are now made to different specifications.

 

Any idea how long it's gonna take for you?

 

It will take a couple weeks just to get the parts! They let me have my car back in the meantime. However, it may take another week or so to do the repair (not sure).. I'll get a loaner while they have it tho..

I'm going to call the dealer to check on the parts now..

 

Man that sucks. Well I can hardly wait to see what kind of loaner I'm gonna get.

 

Well mazda told the shop that it's probably the shift forks, but for some reason the shop thinks it's the clutch. Either way, they will be pulling the tranny tomorrow.

 

Mine does the same thing. I have been able to avoid it by pressing the clutch all the way to the floor before even pulling it out of first. Seems to work every time and the expense of a relatively slow shift that is completely intollerant of mistakes.

I may take it in for service as well. Rotary Performance sells a stainless braid hose that 'helps' they say.

 

I had the same problem. The tranny doesn't like when you try the 1-2 shift fast. If I wait the split second it takes to get the clutch all of the way to the floor, I don't have a problem with it grinding.

 

Damn, I though I was just off my game today. 45 minutes to the "good" road, and every friggin' time I grab second on an up shift it grinds, even with the clutch all the way in. Guess it's time to get the airbag recall taken care of, and make sure they do the 'M' flash and check my tranny. Gotta get my 7 back on the road first.

 

*Update* My shift forks are being replaced this week. After having the car a few days and doing some tests, they determined that that was the problem. It's going in tomorrow and will hopefully be done by the end of the week.

 

wow i too have the 2nd gear dilemma i thought i f***ed something up but im glad im not the only one with this problem. So they replaced the forks for free, under warranty right?

 

heh - you sound a bit like me - I was gonna go for a drive yesterday and at the last minute I though 'well I'll take the 7 our for a spin, I havent driven it for a while' - I stop to get gas as smoke billows out from under the hood... turns out my minor oil leak around the turbos just got a little less minor. Now it's up on jackstands and I have stuff to do on the weekend now !

I used to have hard 1-2 shifts, but now (13k miles) I only ever get them when I mess up the clutch/shift timing.

Simon.

 

Well they actually didn't replace the shift forks after all. The car went in for one day. All they did was tighten things down from what they told me. They said they tightened the PPF, differential and few other things that I don't remember. Fixed the problem beautifully. I have NO grinding AT ALL.