DarkLord7854

I hardly ever use 6th gear though, I generally stay in 5th. I did swap the fluid in mine though, can't remember what I put though.. drat..

Mazmart

iTrader: (12)

I'm always a little cautious when I encounter grinding with gearboxes. Obviously nothing I can add here isn't known to Mazda. Proper clutch engagement is essential to smooth shifts, so hopefully sufficient attention is being applied to the hydraulics as well as flywheel/clutch disc dimensions and clearances. When grinding is verified it needs to be avoided at all costs. The synchros get progressively worse if there's a problem. If the cause is outside of the gearbox, it's a shame to damage the gearbox due to it.

(An ignorant opinion perhaps)

Paul.

05rx8mazda

iTrader: (4)

My buddy had this issue with his 07

notchy and grinding in 2nd gear (sometimes) and in fifth to sixth
I adjusted the clutch pedal slightly and now his shifts are smoother and no more grinds just feels notchy

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I think the tranny failure has something to do with the clutch pedal.

Everybody, if u haven't do so. crawl down the driver's seat and check ya Clutch pedal from any weakness/cracked weld spot/ weird noise when u depress it.

If u see anything unusual, replace it ASAP and report your findings @ my thread (just search for it)

05rx8mazda

iTrader: (4)

I think it has to do with it as well..
mine was also grinding after i got my clutch pedal replaced.. I adjusted it and now all gridning issues are gone as well..

I think it cracking at the seam might cause it to grind as well ..

LPCOKIE

i too have problems with my 09. i have 3500 on it. it is like it goes over a ratchet before going into the gate but with no grinding yet. i noticed that the MX5 people had the same problem and have a long treat about it. they seem to think the clutch is not engaging right. not the clutch bracket but the clutch. what Mazmart said sound right to me, he also has much more knowlege than i. i will take mine to the dealer and asked for it to be checked. but i also know from my 05 that the clutch bracket is weak and have a bracket on my todo list

SunnyD8

My second transmission had that same "over a ratchet" feeling going into 3rd from 2nd, especially when cold. Is this what is referred to as "notchiness" or something different...Got much better as car warmed up. Took it into dealer 2 weeks ago and told it was "normal enough". I was almost willing to live with it until my 6th gear started grinding on the new transmission.

Was told late yesterday that I will be getting a *third* transmission in 1500 miles. They tried swapping transmission fluids at Mazda's recommendation but no luck. Really bummed.

Here's the kicker: my dealer wanted me to come in and return the rental so they could save a dime. As if I enjoy driving a last-gen Mazda 6 4-cylinder. Of course, I'm now completely spoiled by the RX-8 driving dynamics.

SunnyD8

Spoke with the shop foreman yesterday. Initially, Mazda recommending trying a variety of transmission fluids to solve it. No dice.

Now a Mazda engineer was dispatched to drive my car. The engineer's conclusion: Do *not* replace my transmission with another new one (even though it had already arrived to my dealership). He said that it would not solve the problem as the new transmission would also have the problem. Instead, the prognosis is to replace my sixth gear with a *near gear* that has been developed to address this known issue. He also agreed that my 3rd gear did not feel right, although 3rd gear is not part of a known broader problem and may be specific to this particular transmission. I will also be getting a new 3rd+syncros.

Sounds like Mazda has a fix. I hope this works.

PotatoSoup

Damn, sucks to hear about the issues with the '09 tranny. Now I'm definitely going to wait for an '10, hopefully they'll have the issue resolved by then.

DarkLord7854

Only a few 2009s have the problem

SunnyD8

That's good news because only a few 2009s have been built

I8U

iTrader: (1)

We were one of the first teams to receive the new '09 trannys...haven't had a problem with any of ours. And you figure you would see more problems due to ours being in a race setting.

swoope

iTrader: (5)

only a few 04s had the problem!

tranny, coils, flooding.

sorry, the engine.

beers

I8U

iTrader: (1)

Haha!

bdeitemeyer

After bringing my car in to the local dealership last week complaining about the 6th gear grind, Mazda immediately sent a corporate engineer to test-drive the car the next day. After asking me questions like "do you race the car?", "is this your first manual transmission car?", etc. they confirmed my suspicions & authorized the replacement parts.

The dealership just finished replacing 5th & 6th gear on my 09 R3 after 4500 miles, and made a note in the service paperwork saying "Mazda advises against skip-shifting with this transmission"...probably to cover their *** for some reason if people admit to going straight into 6th gear from 3rd or 4th after being warned not to.

There's a bulletin for this transmission grind dilemma now, as it's becoming more than a "needle in a haystack" randomness. I'll post that bulletin # after work.

SunnyD8

Got my car back today after the engineer drove it and "blessed it". 20 miles later I now have a grind from 5th to 4th. Back to the dealership for the third time.............

DarkLord7854

Fixed it for you

SunnyD8

Very strange. On the way to drop the car off at the dealer, 5th to 4th stopped grinding entirely and all the gears feal great now. Maybe the Mazda gods have decided that I have suffered enough and can now enjoy my lovely RX-8. Here's to hoping that the gremlin has finally left.

exsequor

iTrader: (1)

driver?

SunnyD8

maybe. Maybe you can help me out: What is this third pedal to the left of the brake?

I8U

iTrader: (1)

HAHA, third pedal left of the brake...you'd be outside the car! I got your joke though, how bout 2nd pedal from the brake. That would be the foot rest.

Back on topic though, from what I've seen around at the track...it does seem to be more driver error than anything with the new gearbox. The "feel" of it is much different than the previous gearbox. I notice it quite a bit just driving it around the paddock and running through the gears at the shop. I'm sure there might be a problem but like I said before I have yet to see one that wasn't the fault of the driver.

PotatoSoup

I don't remember if I read this here and/or elsewhere, but the 09 tranny's 6th gear is not directly straight back from 5th?

If so, and it's position is a little "off", maybe that's causing the grinding when someone pulls straight back from 5th trying to go into 6th?

DarkLord7854

It's straight back from 5th

exsequor

iTrader: (1)

lol...

any of them can have problems. i dont think year matters unless we're talkin the earlies (04-05).

PotatoSoup

Yeah, but I also want to see if they have any neat colors available for '10. Maybe a darker blue (or any nice blue really) that is available on other trims besides the R3. Otherwise it's white or silver for me, I think.