I just bought a certified Pre owned 08 scion tc 5 speed. I noticed when i test drove it that it grinded downshifting to 1st gear but i figure i hadnt driven a stick shift in almost 2 years so maybe i just need to adjust to the clutch. Well its been 4 days and i had my brother drive the car who is a mechanic who specialized in toyota in school. He said that it is the 1st gear synchro is bad and to take it back to toyota and have it fixed. I took the car back today and now theyre saying theres nothing wrong with it. It doesnt grind going into any gear other than when downshifting to 1st at any speed whether it 5 mph or 15mph. As it being a certified toyota the problem shouldve been fixed to start with but what should i do as they still say there is no problem?Is it the 1st gear synchro? Is this a common problem? and what can i do to fix the grinding?

 

are you rev matching when downshifting? you shouldnt down shift to first in any occasion, unless you come to a complete stop. its always best to leave the car in gear when coming to a stop and before you bog out, throw it in neutral. its less stress on your transmission. i hardly downshift, only when needed, and when i do, its always imperative you rev match.

 

No i am not revmatching and i hardly downshift unless im in traffic (socal/LA). But does the grinding mean there is something wrong with the tranny? Because ive driven other manual transmission car(mazdaspeed3,toyota celica,) and never once did they grind

 

But MosDef brings up a good point, are you coming to a complete stop before shifting into 1st? thats the only reason i ever do. If you're crusing down the street and are approaching a redlight/stop sign/traffic/etc., you shouldnt throw it into first gear at all. Sh*t i would be afraid too! I normally do what he mentioned which was either keep it in gear until the motor almost gives out for reving too low or just throw that puppy in neutral.

 

Toyota just called and said theyre replacing the 1st and reverse gear synchros free of charge

 

Nice. I had this issue with my celica an it was the synchros.