When I first bought the car, I loved it, but certain things are popping out that I am a little worried about, since this is my first manual car.

This morning on my way into work, I noticed that while approaching a stop, I have the clutch pressed, and in prep of leaving the intersection, I try to put it back into first (clutch still depressed) Well, until this morning, I've been able to do it. Now, when I start to slide the shifter into 1st while moving, I feel and hear grinding. I tried the double clutch thing, and it still does it. Only when I fully stop can I put it into first again. I have no problems dropping it to second gear while rolling as well. Is this normal, and if so, why could I go into 1st before this morning? Thanks.

Also, yes, I can shift and don't kill it or chirp tires, but my girl is still learning, only have 160 miles on the odometer. Thanks.

 

i have the same issue, so i only put my car in 1st at a complete dead stop. my old GTI and 240sx had this same problem with 1st and reverse gears.

sometimes it doesnt go into first, so i have to put it into 3rd or 4th before it can slide into 1st. i dont know what thats about.

 

I noticed my baby doesn't like to always go into reverse, but she only has 300+miles, so i'm guessing its new car gremlines. If I have it at 1k miles, then I'll start buggering Toyota.

 

Well, my habits of being a noob is I put the shifter in all the slots on the way down to first (i'm rarely in 5th anyways) That would explain why I didn't get it until this morning when I was dropping from 4th to first.

 

If you learn to revmatch properly, it makes the transition into first a lot easier. I always find that if I try to downshift into first (while driving very agressively) it is difficult to get into 1st, unless I revmatch, if I am going faster than 15mph. I think it might be a safety so that you dont miss-shift.

I have 10500 on my car now and sometimes reverse still gets stuck. Try putting it in 4th and then back into reverse. This helps almost all of the time.

All I can say is keep practicing and you'll get the hang of it.

 

My tc has about 3000 miles. With reverse and 1st gear, I need to be at a full stop. Like he said before, if I revmatch, then I can hit 1st gear at about 10 mph or so w/o a problem.

 

Sounds good, thanks guys. Made me feel better.

 

Mine was like this also on 1st gear, but as time went on it got a lot easier to slide it into 1st.

 

I have the reverse issue too. It happens about 20% of the time, and shifting into some other gears solves the problem. This is a common issue, or rather non-issue (in most cases) in a lot of cars.

First is hard for me to get into if I am going above 5mph, anything slower and I usually slides in just fine. I have 750 miles on my '06.

 

well i was told "that's the way it is" on my old civic as well.. until the day that all the synchronizers died and had to have the manual transmission rebuilt.. then magically guess what? No more problems shifting into 1st gear! If this continues to do this, it's a synchronizer problem with the gears.. and you would have to "match revs" to get it to work, that's the old school trick to get a manual transmission with a bad synchronizer to work properly..

the car is new.. no you shouldn't have to put up with that.. as I've posted here before, when i test drove some manuals i saw the same exact thing, and people have had their ENTIRE transmission replaced because of these issues.. try the dealer if this keeps up with first..

now for reverse, that's a different story.. that gear does not have a synchro so what will happen is gridning.. best way to do it.. put it in first and then reverse.. if that doesn't work, try moving forward a little in 1st and then put it in reverse.. no grinding

 

^^^ What he said!

It's a Synchronizer issue...

Mine is the same way.. if I'm stopped and try to put it into First from Neutral, it Will grand most of the time... that's why I put it into 2nd and then back up to first and it works.. but it's bothering me so at my next oil change I'll go to the dealer and have them look at the synchro's cuz I know that's what the problem is

-Emo

 

this,car is a stubborn shifting s.o.b to be sure! ive been driving stick since i was 14 i am 33 now ,ive driven old subarus pick ups of just about all brands, 2 generations of civics and on occasion ive had some cars that just didnt shift well, but this car!! it hates to shift i am constantly tugging away on it ,2nd to 3rd and to 4th aint so bad but the rest! especially downshifting ,and that was before the b&m short shifter! now... forget it...iam taking the short shifter off its just to stiff,and going back to stock which aint great either! dont get me wrong i like this car, but the shifting is its worst feature imo.

 

I don't know how everyone is shifting, but I've been driving sticks for 27 years and my Tc has no problems shifting. I have noticed that first is geared real low and you should stop the car before shifting into it. I only down shift when needed and never downshift when I know I'll be stoping. Brakes are cheaper then a clutch. The last 2 toyota's I've had each reached 160,000 miles on original clutch. I see most the younger kids fast shifting and downshifting. Red lining the rpm's all the time. This is only going to case problems once you start getting into higher miles. Toyota makes a great long lasting car if properly cared for and driven. But like all cars , if you run them hard they will wear out faster. If you having problems getting into first I would say your still moving. Just rememeber each time your grinding the gears your wearing them out. If your stoped and it's still grinding. Then somethings wrong. With only 2300 miles on mine I haven't had the time to see if it has the adjustment screw at the clutch peedle. I'm assuming it's a self adjusting clutch, but I used to adjust mine down so it catches lower to the floor. Going to check it out this weekend.

Enjoy. jjp

 

iam glad yours shifts good, my problem isnt grinding gears nor do i redline shift, no my issue is the notcheness of the shifter its self ,it is not smooth,my 2000 civic was alot smoother , which suprised me when i first got this car, long throws and notchy as hell, which forces me too shift it real slow and deliberate ...dont know if its just mine or what ,but my dealer said everything looks a ok.

 

Maybe , if you can talk the dealer into letting you drive another one and see if there is a difference. After driving to work this morning I payed more attention the smoothness of the shifter and it's pretty smooth. I had to convince the dealer to turn on the A/C in another one to prove my point mine wasn't as cold as it should be. Even though they tested it and said it's at the temp it should be. After we took a test drive in one they had on the lot they relized mine did not cool down that well. Turned out to be a O ring in the system was leaking. Hope you can get eveything worked out. In my experiance dealers don't want to do anymore then they have to and will screw you anytime they can. Be persistent and even call the regional Scion manager to get it fixed. All sticks are different but I don't beleive it should feel as notchy as your describing.

Good luck, jjp

 

sounds like mine has a problem , thanks ill be taking to my dealer now.

 

ok, simply put, when you want to get it into first, make sure your around 10 mph. depress the clutch, position the stick to get into first and lightly push on it towards first, it should fall into place once you get under 10 mph.

 

I always thought not being able to shift into first unless stopped was a safety feature.
It was the exact same in my old GSX. It is like this in my week old tC also.

Plus, I never have to go into 1st unless I am at a stop. As long as you are rolling a little already, you can pretty much go from 2nd. Under 5mph 1st is the way to go, but I can usualy get it into 1st once I am going under 5mph

 

My understanding is most cars lack synchro-mesh on first and reverse gears.

Synchro-mesh being the thing that allows the two sets of gears to slot together easily even when spinning.

I have to agree with jjp735i about first gear being geared very low. IMHO if you're not at a stand still or virtual standstill, the tc's torque will be plenty.

 

correct! the 1st gear is relatively low. If you are travelling above 4 mph, I wouldnt suggest trying to use 1st gear to continue movement. Your first gear is designed to get the vehicle moving from dead stop. I agree for this vehicle it is too aggressive. On the contrary, the torque of the vehicle is what compliments the fact to use 2nd gear at 4 mph. It will not lug the engine and will offer smoother acceleration. Remember that your 1st gear is spinning at a ratio of 3.54, and the synchromesh system is usually best operated under upshifting conditions. Forcing the gear before the synchros can fully synchronize the rotating gears will cause premature wear on the syncrhos and gear grinding.