Hello, I am new to this site and hope someone will be able to help me with this very frustrating issue. When my car is cold (i.e. when I first start it in the morning) and I shift from 1st to 2nd gear, it shifts very rough and sometimes I will hear a slight grinding noise. After I have shifted a few times from 1st to 2nd, it seems to get much smoother and I do not hear the noise anymore. Does anyone else seem to have this problem or know what could be causing it?

 

Mine does that too. Sometimes I can't get it into reverse either - I have to put it into 2nd then reverse to get it into reverse.

 

depending on how cold it is outside my old car used to do this when it was really cold out...in the morning i would go and get the same problem...what it is is just your tranny fluid isn't warm yet and is a bit thicker so the coating is good which means your shifting won't be as smooth either...what i did to prevent it was just let it warm up a little bit and then head on to work or school or wherever you head off to in the morning...hope this helps

-X

 

I have not experienced the 1st-2nd thing but not being able to get it in reverse is normal- I believe it is designed to prevent you from putting the car in reverse while going forward. I am positive this happens in most other cars- I used to work Valet- Best job evar!

 

I have the same problems with my tC.

For reverse I usually just double clutch (for those who dont know what that means, it means that you push and release the clutch and then hit the clutch again) that will usually let it into reverse.

The shifting thing I have a feeling is normal. But if you think that you can reproduce it for the dealer then I would definately put that warrenty to work! That is what it is there for.

 

:?:

Hmmm... haven't had that problem... :? I warm my car up though too! Try that...

 

Warming your car up does help the 1-2 shift problem......but the reverse thing happens all the time.

 

to help with the reverse thing put the car in 4th gear then into reverse...this helps becasue the synchros in the 4th gear are the closest to reverse in than any other gear in the transmission...if you do this shifting in to reverse will be a hell of a lot smoother....i used to work at saab and they were notorious for that so this little 4th to R helped a lot

 

related issue...

often when shifting into 2nd and 3rd, it feels a bit "clunky." basically as i'm shifting it into the gear, it feels through the shift lever like it's clicking or something right before it gets all the way into gear. does this make any sense? is this something to be concerned about AT ALL? my last car was an automatic, so it's been a while since i owned a manual car. so, i can't remember if that's just how most manuals feel or not.

 

I have had my Scion TC for 4 months and it used to have a clunking sound sometimes when going into 3rd gear. But now that my car has over 2000 miles, the clunking sound when going into 3rd gear is gone and it seems to shift a lot smoother now then it did when it was new.

 

that happends in very cold weather. just wait a minute or two for the fluid to warm up.

hey if your intristed come on to the eastern forum and hook up with the scioNRG team! Pm me for details

congrats on your tC!!!

 

I don't know about you guys, but I have had manual's all my life and have never had one not go into reverse (except my last car did it b/c the synchro's were screwed up). I am taking it into the dealership asap b/c this morning it took 5 tries to get it into reverse and going into 2nd didn't even help this time.

 

did you double-clutch? it says it even in the manual you may need to double-clutch to get it into reverse, probably something about the safety mech that prohibits you from shifting to reverse by mistake.

just a thought.

 

I have an automatic, and I'm also noticing a rough upshift when the car is not warmed up. I actually logged onto the site today just to search for this. Also, I've noticed a slow downshift from 2nd to 1st if the car is cold too.

Should this happen in the auto as for the same reasons as the manual? I've been a little concerned...

 

My old 94' toyota pickup did the same thing on cold winter mornings. A tranny mechanic suggested redline synthetic transmission fluid. Haven't had a problem since....

 

Funny you mention that. I drive a '94 Toyota Pickup at the moment (with 173k miles and ticking). I changed out the old tranny fluid for Amsoil full synthetic, and shifting action is much smoother.

To the original question: a hard 1st-2nd upshift is very common for manual transmissions on a cold morning. Just be nice to it until the fluid warms up. Do not force it into gear, but simply be patient for the synchro to do its job. No biggy.

 

mine does the same thing initially when it is cold out. what you say about reverse is normal. its a protective thing. doubleclutching helps.

reverse doesnt have any syncros... so make sure you come to a complete stop before shifting into reverse... otherwise it will grind

 

it does that some times with mine as well but when a push the clutch all the way in and drive it like a grand mother it dosnt do it

 

I've found if you just turn the car on and cycle through the gears a few times before taking off, the trans fluid seems to warm up enough. Autos already circulate trans fluit from the turn on, but manuals need some pushing to warm up.

 

i haven't had the problem with rough shifting from 1st to 2nd. i think it's because i tend to take my time and let the car warm up a minute or 2 before i go.
now, for reverse...yes, i have this problem everyonce in a while. when i first got my car, it wouldn't let me put it in reverse 1 out of 3 times. all you got do is release the clutch in neutral and try again.
also, watch it when your driving. of course they put a guard on reverse so you don't accidentally pop into it. well, i was forcefull, i was going about 55 mph in 5th, i was coming up on a hill, so i wanted to put it in 4th, well, it wouldn't go in gear...so i forced it, well, i heard a metallic robot sound for a half second, then i managed to pull the shifter into neutral.
i almost put it in reverse at 55mph. be careful, the gears are so close on the shifter, sometimes i mistake 5th gear for 3rd,