viseshv

Hey everyone, completely new to the forum and a not a car guy at all.

I recently purchased a 2012 scion tc rs (after driving my 92' Honda accord for an eternity).

This is my first manual transmission car and i learned pretty fast. Im a really conservative driver and dont do any crazy racy driving with my tC.

Well my question is, when i come to a stop at a red light or watever i put it in neutral. and then when im ready to go i shift to 1st and then i start to go. But sometimes. My shifter doesnt go into 1st (yes the clutch is completely depressed). I have to play around with it. while having the clutch in, i shift from 2nd to 3rd and then try again to go to 1st. if it still doesnt work, i just keep shifting through gears till it finally goes into 1st.

If it really doesnt go to 1st, i just start going in 2nd. since thats all im left with (cant just sit in the middle of the street forever

I only have about 1200 miles on it. Now i practiced in a parking lot for a month. had my dad teach me who drove a stick for nearly 46 years.

Only happens about 4/10 times.

Open to any and all knowledge to this problem.

Thanks

Voltagedriver

The only time I have issues with first is if I have to stop from a high gear and can't down shift in time, but it's really rare.

my06tc

iTrader: (2)

sometimes you might have to play with the shifter,like move it side by side in neutral like 2 times or so,then go into first,sometimes the synchro in 1st is not properly lined up thats why you would have to go through the gears,just make sure your going all the way to the left and up,

just remeber never go into 1st gear unless the car is at a complete stop,1st is just to get the car rolling

draxcaliber

yeah, even my BMW sometimes has some resistence going into 1st. best thing to do is put the shifter back to neutral, and release and depress the clutch pedal again.

Do not try to move away from a stop in 2nd gear regularly. it is bad for the transmission.

TC-Maverick

^^^ x2

viseshv

Alright everyone, thanks for the replies. Its always a good feeling when your brand new car isnt a faulty

Ill check back with everyone with more questions and hopefully some answers aswell.

Peace

ashtc2

the same thing happens to me. I just push in the clutch again and wiggle the **** in neutral. After that its ready to go

MrMexi2011TC

to me starting off in second to my knowledge will not cause any damage to the internal parts in trans. you can burn up your clutch faster that way though. ive had the same problem at times.

johndeo11

i guess all our MT are same.

same problem, same what to do... lolz

MrMexi2011TC

you can always rev match downshift into 1st gear and just hold the clutch pedal till its time to keep going. there would be no issue there but it works. it takes some practice because you have to rev match it.

VVTinme

Double-clutch, not single-clutch rev-match. I don't think the OP is ready for such techniques, especially since if not done right he's much more likely to damage his 1st-gear synchro doing this versus engaging first at a crawl or when stopped.

donsun

yeah.. downshifting into first seems pretty unnecessary and i don't think you need to double clutch on cars with synchros since that's the purpose of a synchro. but whenever you're shifting down, rev-matching is good to do especially at the lower gears.

For me after I installed my short shifter/bushings/weighted ****, it only happens maybe once a month at most that the last time it happened it surprised me because I had forgotten about it.

If you stop at a light, you could get into the habit of holding the clutch down and shifting into 2nd then 1st, and that will probably get rid of that problem by lining up the synchros.

MrMexi2011TC

i mean there of different ways of doing it. and thanks. yes double clutching downshift. but even though it has syncros still does not mean it wont happen. if the syncros dont mesh with the dog teeth(dont line up) it will not let you in first. going down from 2nd and then putting it in first sometimes does not work. if it becomes an issue just go talk to a toyota tech. btw does anyone have issues with shifting into second at times? like it grinds going it (you feel it thru shfter but dont hear it)??

MrMexi2011TC

if my reply dont make sense let me know. typing in hurry at work....... LOLZ

PEwilly9

keys to shifting your stick without issues:

1.) make sure your stick is good and warm, you dont wanna play with a cold stick

2.) wiggle, tug, slide your stick side to side before you shift

3.) If you play with your stick enough, youll get it to pop just as you need!

there you go! now go get em tiger!

fyi- girls dont like when you shift to early so be smooth, get things good and warm, the BAM! let it fly!

TC-Maverick

where do i find one of these Stick warmers? Or how do I warm my stick without playing with it?
LOL

draxcaliber

it puts a lot of strain on the teeth for that gear. Also the owner's manual for the 05 advises not to do that. I'm sure the 2011 would probably say the same.

MrMexi2011TC

it would cause more strain in higher gears but not that much strain. like say if you try and start it from 3 or fourth because of the ratio from a dead stop. the reason it is said in the owners manuals is so you wont do it. but trust me when i say if you start it in second you will just start slower, the gears were made to withstand more than what stock power is. you will not cause any damage to the gears or synchros. the clutch will take the abuse but your trans will not....its like almost coming to a dead stop but you keep going you just put it 2nd gear, you dont put it back into first.

plus if the parts were to fail there is no way for them to say that you came of the stop in second gear and not cover it by factory.

Blackedout011TC

iTrader: (2)

The colder the weather, the worse mine gets. A cold start on a 30F day, it is almost impossible to put the car into 1st or 2nd for at least 20 minutes. It is still a pita even after it is fullly warmed up. The gear oil feels too thick, like peanut butter. This is my 2nd winter and I was hoping the problem would have improved with a years worth of use... Nope! Anyone know what a good synnthetic gear oil is that may help? Could it be the shifter base bushings and cable need lubing? This is the worst shifting manual tranny I have owned in 17 years. My shifter mods did not help or make the problem worse.

encity5

I bought a new 2012 scion tc as well and have encountered the problem. Was kinda scared at first, this also being the first time I learned to drive manual. What I found out that worked for me was just let it back to neutral, let off then press the clutch again and shift. That's always done it for me whenever it happened.

Also good to know I wasn't the only one. But recently for the past 2 months the issue had disappeared. So I credited the problem to me being newb. (i have less than 700miles on my tc)