zoltiz

My girlfriend has a 5spd xA and when I drive it I catch myself grinding first gear when I stop at the stop signs. Looks like I have to wait for the clutch plate to stop spinning before putting it in first - otherwise I get the grind. Either that or be very very very slow putting it in first. Never had a chance to drive another 5spd xA, so it might be just a cheap transmission, but if it's just her car with an issue - I'll get the local dealer working on it ASAP...

casper07tc

ive actually had that same problem on my tc.. i just try not to do it, so i dont do any damage to my transmission

zoltiz

I've never had this issue in the tC (or any other manual I've driven).

DriverXa

I don't have a grinding issue goin into first. But first is a PIA to shift into. I find either if I try to go into first it just won't go in and I'll have to back off n try again or other times the damn shifter will slide in with zero effort. I'm pretty sure 1st gear is synchro'd, but I'm guessing it may be that 1st gear is just so damn tall.

superboxcarxb

i dont have a problem with my gears, just that reverse is hard to get into and i have to try about 5 times in the morning to get it into reverse. that's about it.

vintage42

My xB goes into 1st smooth as butter. Maybe your 1st gear syncros have been hurt by downshifting into 1st. I find almost no reason to downshift into 1st gear. The VVT engine pulls in 2nd from a rolling stop.

I have to go into reverse several times a day to get into my garage. The car must be stopped dead with one foot on the brake, while the other uses the clutch and the hand selects reverse. Otherwise the transmission will not willingly go into reverse, and could have been damaged by trying.

zoltiz

The 1st gear issue was there from day one. Even when the car is fully stopped (for 2-3 seconds, like at the stop sign), there is a pretty high probability of grinding. We don't even try to put it in 1st while slowing down, as this will make it grind 100% of the time. With both tC and Z I never experienced that and honestly starting in 2nd in the xA is a very different experience than starting in 2nd in the Z or even tC - first gear is very important when you have 100hp.

Dispatcher138

I have never heard the the grinding on mine buts funny because some days its a pain to shift into first at others it goes in smooth....

vintage42

The xA/xB engine does not have enough torque for starting in 2nd gear. But the VVT allows it to pull well in 2nd from a rolling stop.

zoltiz

I don't downshift to first if I'm rolling, but the damn thing grinds when I'm at a complete stop. Well, oil change is due this week, so I'll have them look at it just in case.

HeathenBrewing

I am assuming you still have the OEM trans fluid in there? Whatever the factory fill is, it is crap. Try the Reedline MT90. My 5spd is like butter now, smoother and faster into gears.

I noticed the 1st was a bit tricky at times (cold fluid), but the RL made it much, much better.

Dispatcher138

now what do you mean it grind when you downshift into first.....because I dont understand how the gears are grinding if your shifting while the clutch is in............

zoltiz

When I stop at the stop sign (especially with no other vehicles present) I put it in first immediately and get ready to drive off. So as the car stops moving, clutch is depressed, the layshaft will still be spinning (inertia), so if I put it in first at that time, the synchro is supposed to slow down the layshaft to a stop and at that time dogteeth engage and the car is in first.

So somehow the layshaft is not slowing down fast enough (I do shift into first immediately after the clutch is depressed and the car is stopped) and I get the grind. It's not an every time thing - can happen once a day or so - all depends on timing. It's just that this never happened with the tC or the Z.

zoltiz

Well, girl's driving a Camry LE for the next week or so - getting a new transaxle for the xA. Service adviser could not recreate the issue, but one of the techs did grind 1st while pulling the car in for an oil change.

hotbox05

no synchro

should shift fine when stopped

put in redline

brambling

That's not completely true I've gotten moving from a dead stop in 2nd by mistake a couple times...

There is no reason to be shifting into first for anything other than a dead stop anyway...unless you are trying to DORIFTO

vintage42

Let me rephrase. It does not have enough torque to make starting off in 2nd gear a practice. Of course you can do it with a little clutch slip, but you can't just start off properly in 2nd like you can in 1st.
But the VVT does allow the xB to pull off gently and smoothly from a rolling stop in 2nd gear, as a regular practice, which my 2.6L Mazda truck cannot do without shuddering. The truck is a 1991 with no VVT.

frogbox

HMMMMMM..... I can down shift into 1st without grinding, always have. I can't believe that you guys say that our trannys 1st is built without a syncro , i'll have to ask someone with a little knowledge ( my personal ASE certified Mechanic , funny cause I taught him) and see what he says, having a hard time believeing the " shade tree mechanics here lately
( as well as a few mechanics that have shops that post here )

OmegA-62

first off any one experiancing grinding while down shifting into first should wait till they come to a complete stop, trannys have a safty feature that wont let you put it in first, if it does you breaking it. Also to comment first gear sucks any ways.
Also that first gear needs to be lenghtened its to short.

Has any one thought that a 6spd would help on the highway, at 65mph and about 3.5k rpm I feel like I'm winding out.

zoltiz

I got the car back yesterday with a new transaxle. Mechanic found pieces of a syncro in the tranny oil, so yeah - it was busted.

On the bright side - it was warranty including rental and now it shifts like a charm. Going to take it easy for the first 500 miles or so to break in the thing, but other than that it's a night and day difference.

OmegA - if you read my original post - I did come to a complete stop before shifting in first. It did not help.