well, i called my dealer today. my service advisor is on vacation so i had talked to her assistant and she was about as useful as a box of condoms to a 6 yr old. so i talked to the service manager. he basically told me to bring it in tuesday and they will test drive it and they will go from there. he also said if it was nothing major they would put an additive that would help the tranny out. im not too sure how i feel about them adding an additive thought.

 

well, went to my mazda dealership today. all they did was test drive it. seriously. the tech said he didnt notice any problems and they let it sit there for about 5 hours while trying to find any service bullentons about the transmission. all in all a waste of time and gas.

so onto plan B. im just going to buy some Redline MT-90 and change the fluid myself.

 

Im having similar 3rd to 4th gear resistance followed by grinds at high (above 7k) rpms. Its only on the upshift. I can put it in nuetral then rev up to 7+k then shift into fourth and no grind.

I want to take it to the dealership. But how am I going to get them to aknowledge the problem? By the time youre up to fourth gear youre well above the speed limit, and I also dont want them saving Ive been abusing it.

 

I just started reading this thread and realized that the problems I've been experiencing everyone has had for a while. I started complaining that my trans. was overheating first (approximately around 40k). Than it became that 4th gear would grind going in (but just slightly around 55-57k), than second gear gave up completely and will bounce out every time I shift unless I either pull it down hard in or slide it all the way against the left rail. I work at a Mazda Dealer and they have told me time and time again that that’s just what’s supposed to happen. "The way it goes so to speak." After the mechanic kept saying he never felt 4th gear I took him out in it to experience 2nd (about 64k), just wanting to know if I had to buy another trans. They ended up talking to Mazda about how long I had been complaining about it. So Mazda is giving me a trans. for a lower cost, but I will still have to pay for the new clutch and flywheel being that they are normal wear and tear items. I did add the Axial Flow short throw shifter to my upgrade list as well. All of which is going on right now and will be installed this coming weekend. I will have about 67k miles on it by next weekend when I get it installed. Hope this can be helpful.

 

Well, I'm having kinda the same problem, when the car is in any gear it gives this grinding noise, really loud, when I press the clutch it goes away, 2nd gear is really hard to get it, I really have to work on it to get 2nd gear... I have 60k on my car, don't know if warranty will cover this...??

 

Redline MT90
nuff said

 

I wish that was "nuff said". My last resort is the Mazsport clutch bracket. Well, technically my last resort is Mazda actually FIXING the stupid thing. I swapped the tranny fluid with RP MaxGear 75w90, and even swapped the RP short shifter out and I'm back to stock (feels strange). I took out the short shifter after the first dealer I took it to blamed in on the short shifter. My car has 37,200 miles on it now, I've had it for a year, and I've only put 5000 on the car. Short shifter installed about 4000 miles ago. I'm making yet another appointment tomorrow. My Mazsport bracket support will hopefully arrive this week, although it still hasn't shipped. I might be overly optimistic expecting it to arrive (ordered
7/11/08)

2nd gear only, no other issues with any other gears at all. None.

 

Spoke to the dealership yet again today. He said they can't diagnose the transmission problem with a bad clutch, so I have to replace the clutch ($1200) and I can not replace with an aftermarket clutch, because then they will not be able to diagnose the issue correctly. Asked if they would reimburse or pay for the labor if/when the clutch was deemed to be NOT the issue, and he said no.

So basically, I'll pay for a clutch that's only been on the car 8000 miles, can't potentially upgrade that clutch, and be stuck with a $1200 tab when it doesn't fix the 2nd gear issue, which then MIGHT be covered under warranty. I'm smelling a potentially trade-in, which sucks, as I really like this car. (I'll still see if the clutch bracket support resolves the issue, but I'm going on 3 weeks waiting for that...)

 

^You might want to go to another dealer or contact mazda too.

 

Well your problem is most definitely the RP max gear. Search other threads and you will find that is a highly leading cause to second gear grinding. Switch to redline MT-90 like recommended and i bet you that and the bracket helps if not completely fixes the problem.

 

I actually just put the maxgear in 2 weeks (and about 50 miles) ago, and the issue didn't change for the better or worse. At this point, I've been to 3 different dealers: one didn't have a tranny tech, one didn't drive it, and the last one, the tech drive the car, said it was the syncros...only to have the service manager call me back to say that he knows the history of my car and that it's definitely the clutch. This is the same dealer that replaced the clutch 8,000 miles ago, more than likely for the same problem (before I purchased the car). I called Mazda customer service, and the @#%^@%$ on the phone said they stand behind their service managers 100%, and there was nothing Mazda would do.

 

Go to an independent and see if they say it is the clutch. They replaced you clutch already once then? So they won't do it twice...

Did you fry the clutch?

 

Nope, I just have the typical 2nd gear grind. No issues in any other gear. The clutch was put on at the dealer before I bought the car, and has had it since the day I bought it. I've now had it in 5 times to 3 different dealerships (2 times the dealer could not duplicate until magically, the clutch warranty was up. Then they could duplicate it.) I'm so ticked off at Mazda anyway that I'm probably getting rid of the car at this point. Not much fun driving a sports car I can't put into 2nd gear.

 

MNAO said the same thing to me. wouldnt even help one bit. I ended up paying 1900 for my second gear because they said my midpipe showed them signs of abuse, even though my car is still under warranty they wouldnt cover a dime.... i suggest you get out before something like that happens to you as well

 

i have a transmission for sale if anyone is in need. No its not brand new (75k) but it sure beats paying 1900 dollars like gr3ddy did... and cheaper labor to just swap a tranny and keep the old one for parts than to just pay mazda for rebuild and service to your old one

 

^75k seems like pretty high mileage for one of these trannys, they seem pretty fragile...

huzer, I don't know what to tell, my tranny started grinding in almost all gears and they just flat out replaced it no questions asked.

 

At this point, MNAO is standing behind the dealer, giving me the same speech they've given everyone else "independently owned and operated, nothing we can do, blah, blah, blah". I did go to test drive other vehicles last night, but just like the RX-8 more. Damn, I'm finally in a car I want to keep, and it pisses me off every time I think about it! I've even offered to go ahead and pay for the clutch replacement, but if that didn't fix the problem, I wanted to, at a minimum, get reimbursed for labor. Both the dealer and MNAO told me no.

If only the dealers and Mazda would work as hard at keeping customers happy as they did at denying warranty service.

 

If you have the money and like the car enough, I would just cut them out of the picture.

 

Need some help...
06 almost 9K on odo, bought new with about 200 on it, daily driver, car sat/was started ocasionally for 8 months

First heard noise after spirited driving with original fluids and after long highway drives. When I stopped and started to go again it seemed like something was sticking or dragging cause more friction and sound than normal and when I turned into my driveway (lht) car made a rattle/gurgle noise.

Changed both tranny and diff to redline and installed short throw, sound seemed to go away.

Today after running some errands the sound was really noticable. I really made it when I had the clutch pressed in and the shifter out of gear just rolling into my drive way. Sounded like the clutch or tranny was making the noise.

Any ideas? Comments?

Thanks

 

hey im getting the same problem at high rpm in second gear i cant push first past 40 km or it greats in secong just wanted to know how much u pay to do all that

 

The wheels on the bus go round and round...

Brief synopsis of last two weeks. One dealer says it's the clutch. I say I'll pay for clutch, and if it doesn't fix (I know it won't), they reimburse me for labor, and fix whatever's left under warranty. They say no. I call MNAO, and they say no, and recommend I get a 2nd opinion. In the meantime, they contact the dealer to get their take on the situation. I go to 2nd dealer, they say no way is it your clutch, it's your synro, and they move forward with replacing the tranny. District manager steps in and says no, tranny must be rebuilt, not replaced. Ok...but the dealer doesn't have a certified tranny tech. So the one dealer that agrees with me, can't do the work. Just found that out about 3 hours ago.

Fast forward to now, and original dealer that says it's the clutch calls me, to let me know Mazda contacted them. Now he's calling the district manager and is going to call me back. With what info, I dunno. So I've got the battle of 2 Service Managers that claim 2 different issues. (one I agree with, as do 2 independent shops...and one I don't agree with).

So involved now on the Mazda side is MNAO, the District Customer Service Manager, and 2 Service Managers. Hmm, who else can I drag into this?

 

Well, I am heading to the dealership to pickup my car. They are not going to warranty my tranny, saying that the clutch going out caused the synchro problem with 2nd. Which is funny since the clutch went out because of a bad clutch pedal and they warrantied the pedal but not the damaged caused by it.

 

That just seems wrong.

I just received a call from the 4th (and hopefully final) dealership my car has been to. They verified it was not a clutch issue, and they were going to either repair/replace the tranny. Furthest I've been in the now 11 months I've been dealing with this issue. I'll either have my car back on Friday, or sometime next week.

 

has anybody had a worn input shaft? my pilot bearing has some play on it.

don't know its effect on the tranny, but also, in the winter my box was stuck and wouldn't go into any gear, i was forced to ram it in gear (2nd) and since then my clutch was complete crap and grinded when going in at high rpms in 2nd and third, sometimes reverse too. recently got clutch replaced, feels really nice now, but i suspect input shaft is messing it up again

 

And for the time being, my case is now successfully closed! The 4th dealership was able to repair the problem under warranty. Replaced 2nd gear, 1-2 syncro hub and ring, and the shift fork. No more grind. Now I just need to get the clutch pedal bracket reinforcement.