The Official "2nd Gear Is Dead" Thread

[Ray Danger 2020]

Originally Posted by alphasaur How it happened/progressed: 2nd gear engine braking

^^This exactly

[DISIindahead]

2010 Mazdaspeed3
14,500 Miles (May 2011)
Started at random times when downshifting. Then one day went to downshift to 2nd gear, turned left onto my street and it popped out when I let the clutch out. Popped out of gear from then on at random times and actually finally went out completely when I did 1 pass at the track.
Mods at the time were, Intake, TIP, RMM, Exhaust, Downpipe, TMIC, FP Internals, stock trans fluid. No mods done to shifter parts.
Car was stocked out and sent to dealership. It was covered and transmission was rebuilt, no replaced.

Currently at 40,000 miles and no issues. I have paperwork for it, just need to find it and ill update my post with an attachment to show what was replaced.

[Lex]

Originally Posted by DISIindahead 2010 Mazdaspeed3 14,500 Miles (May 2011) Started at random times when downshifting. Then one day went to downshift to 2nd gear, turned left onto my street and it popped out when I let the clutch out. Popped out of gear from then on at random times and actually finally went out completely when I did 1 pass at the track. Mods at the time were, Intake, TIP, RMM, Exhaust, Downpipe, TMIC, FP Internals, stock trans fluid. No mods done to shifter parts. Car was stocked out and sent to dealership. It was covered and transmission was rebuilt, no replaced. Currently at 40,000 miles and no issues. I have paperwork for it, just need to find it and ill update my post with an attachment to show what was replaced.

Would be good to know what was replaced.

[dturboman]

Originally Posted by Payne Racing 67 Because it isnt an issue of power, its an issue of poorly made parts, some are lucky Sent from the Smurfmobile

50/50

poor made parts are lower quality and well weaker.

power and shock break poor quality parts even easier, which makes me think that Mazda's analysts ran an audit and found a way to save $2.25 per transmission, switched suppliers during 06-0? and in turn got lower quality parts... hence why some of us have no issues and others have shit, it was like russian roulette of which transmission you may have gotten.

[bf360]

I honestly don't remember the specifics of mine, but it happened twice, first the car wouldn't stay in second gear without holding it, eventually that led to losing second gear completely. I had that replaced under warranty the first time, then maybe 5-10k later it happened again. This time they denied any warranty work. The car had stock fluid or whatever they put in it.

[DISIindahead]

Originally Posted by Lex Would be good to know what was replaced.

Looked through all my paperwork and couldn't find it. Tomorrow morning I'm going to contact the dealership and have them email me information. As soon I get it ill post it.

[kteevan]

2012 speed3
grinded into 2nd when i shift aggressively
happened right from the dealership
bought the car with 1 mile on it
started happening before modding the car.

[mxlplx71]

Originally Posted by kteevan 2012 speed3 grinded into 2nd when i shift aggressively happened right from the dealership bought the car with 1 mile on it started happening before modding the car.

switch to FoMoCo Fluid asap

I haven't had one grind after switching

[harryclay]

I havnt read the whole thread yet but ... I will shed light on my issues. I never have problems with 2nd gear at all while driving on the street. The only time I have had issues is while autoxing. I am generally in 2nd gear for the whole course and and I am diving hard into the brakes coming into a corner it will just simply pop out of gear. If i hold my hand on the shifter i am good, but if i dont, its like a 50/50 chance it will pop out. I have a completly stock shifting setup btw.

What I have narrowed it down to is the shift counterweight. if you look at its position while in 2nd gear it is perpedicular to the direction the car is moving. So when you slam onto the brakes I think there is anough forward momemtum to couse the shiftweight to sling forward and thus popping it into neutral. I plan on trying to take the weight off at the next autox and see if there is a differance. It is hard to replicate the scenerio on the street since I am running on slicks and have alot more braking power. It will be awhile till the next race but I will post results on how it works.

indeed my issue may be differant then others since I have no problems while street driving

[harryclay]

Originally Posted by x09MS3GT 08.5 MS3 33k miles. I do not have problems popping OUT of 2nd gear, however, I DO have problems getting INTO 2nd gear if i shift anywhere under 2500 rpm from first. I've found that if i double clutch 2nd it goes in smooth without a problem. While it is a pain in the fucking ass, ive learened to just double clutch that gear without even thinking about it anymore. It's annoying as fuck. 4th seems to do it as well on occasion, but like i mentioned above, its usually when shifting into the gear below 2500 rpm.

I often double clutch while downshifting by habit but a simple rev match can deffinatly smooth things out

[skiptowncat]

December '07 3 MPS
Shifting first into second from cold is usually difficult, it's like there's no gear there. On 67k now and has done it since I bought it and fitted the jbr ssp. Once warm though it's smooth as silk, this is very common over here but as yet not one single case of a total failure.

[Haltech]

Oh my... Where do I begin..

[doublea]

Originally Posted by TheFlash 09 MS3 43k When cold 2nd will grind in if I move straight down from 1st. I have to shift in neutral and then down into 2nd to avoid the grind. No pop out issues just that nasty grind going into 2nd cold.

X2 to this. 2008 bought with 44k and have 71k now. Happened very little when I lived in AZ but happens all the time in Utah now.

[sho]

No problems on my 07 with 43k on it. I have the SURE Shortcut and FoMoCo fluid. 1st to 2nd shifts in the cold can be notchy in the cold if the car isnt fully warmed up but no issues with the gear popping out under decelleration or any grinding. I always rev match when down shifting and never rest my hand on the stick shift when cruising.

[MS_Driver]

2010 MS3
Happened the first time around 8k miles - popping out of gear. Took it in at 10k miles and recieved a new transmission.

Started happening again around 19k miles. Took it in @ 22k and the rebuilt/replaced broken parts

Started popping out of gear while turning under decel, then when downshifting and releasing the clutch. Wouldn't pop out when rev-matching downshifts.

First time: Only mod was CS RMM inserts
Second time: Mods in sig

Stock fluid both times.

Stocked out except for springs the first time. Second time I left springs, SRI/TIP and shifter bushings

I get a slight grind going into second when she is cold, other than that shifts just fine. I DON'T DOWNSHIFT TO SECOND WITHOUT REV MATCHING anymore. I'm hoping that will keep it going longer. I have 100k powertrain warranty, but IDK if they will fix for a third time. I'll switch to FoMoCo fluid here soon. Seems TMM doesn't really make a difference either.

AutoXing seems to have a negative impact on it and Drags not as much. I'm hoping to get a track day or two coming up here, but I'm probably going to keep it pretty tame.

[h.h.sk1nny]

2007 MS6. Been doing 2nd gear pop outs since we bought it with 52k; now 98456. Car almost always pops out of gear when downshifting, or when in 2nd gear and just getting off the throttle. Fully bolted now, but did it when it was stock. I just hold it in 2nd when I'm in that gear

[Kellerspeed3]

Once in a blue moon it seems it wants to pop out when I shift to third, not often enough for me to worry about, well till now anyways. Thanks! Lol

[reko]

I don't have the exact problem as you guys, but somehow I think it's related. I bought the car at 88000 kms (54600 miles) and had it inspected by Mazda prior to the transaction. They said everything was A1 and all the recall had been done. It's a 2007 Mazdaspeed3 and production date is May 2007 / in service since september 2007. Here in Canada we don't have 2 versions, only one which comes completely equipped.

I'd say 2 weeks after I bought it, I noticed that sometimes 2nd gear doesn't engage. I do 1, then shift in 2 and when I release the clutch, it's like I'm in neutral, but I can hear the transmission chattering. And YES, I'm 100% sure it's shifted properly. I have to put it back to neutral and then shift in 2nd gear for it to completely engage. I'd say it does this 2-3 times a week. Cold start or not, it doesn't matter. Also, I felt some resistance from 1st to 2nd and from 3rd to 4th, so I brought it to my local dealer (which gave me the crapiest service ever TWICE - not going back for sure!!!) and the "tech" did a test drive, and came back saying everything was fine. As I told him, it's not something happening all the time, therefore it was possible that it didn't happened to him.

Anyway, brought it into the garage and switch the tranny oil for MT-90. Cold starts were clunky (I work 1.5-2 miles away from home so it wasn't enough for the tranny fluid to heats up), so I did my research over here and switched to FOMOCO fluid I'd say 10,000 kms later (6200 miles). Ever since, the clunks are gone, LSD is quitter, and my trouble with 2nd gear that doesn't completely engage is somehow less frequent.

Forgot to mention, upshift or downshift, it can do it anyway. No mods on the tranny yet, but I do have a SURE R3 RMM, SSP and Counterweight waiting to be install in March when it gets out of storage.

[amoosenamedhank]

Originally Posted by MS_Driver I DON'T DOWNSHIFT TO SECOND WITHOUT REV MATCHING anymore. I'm hoping that will keep it going longer.

This sentence right here makes me wonder how much of this is operator error.... Why in the hell would you ever down shift with out rev matching in any gear?

[ibcrusn]

car:2010

mileage: Purchased w/ ~26k, now have 36k

How it happened/progressed: Normal driving

When it happened ie down/upshifting: Up shifting from 1 > 2. No issues yet downshifting 2 > 1, rev match nearly all the time speed dependent.

Stock? or what mods? Shifter parts ie sts, knob, etc.: Have had JBR SSP w/ weight and shifter bushings but have recently removed the SSP and use the lighter weight.

Using FoMoCo fluid?: Amsoil

Was it covered/repaired: Will be contacting the dealer next week after I stock out.

Did it happen again?: Remains to be seen

I noticed the issue randomly when up shifting from 1 > 2 shortly after I purchased the car and didn't think much about it then. It happens when cold (even in summer) all the time and even once warmed to operating temp it'll grind shifting 1 > 2 unless double clutched or shifted slowly. I now have 36k and it is more pronounced.

After I removed the SSP and reinstalled the lighter weight it does shift better but still grinds shifting 1 > 2 cold and warm. As much as I dislike the stock long throw I'll live with it for smoother shifting. I may also reinstall the stock weight and see how it drives but I'm not holding my breath.

[rigor]

if you bang any gear in this car plan on changing it, that is one reason i don't want to race it,
cause i turn into animal and start banging gears with a vengeance it wouldn't last a day with me lol
its like 800 in parts for 1 gear 1 fork, slider, sincro ect, it all gets fucked up it is some dinky shit and wont take any abuse at all

ps ive got over 25000 on my big turbo at 26 psi

[802MS3]

I dunno...downshifting you gotta rev match. Just seems logical to me. Anything else and it feels like any trans would hate that, unless its a corolla or civic, they are made so women can drive them ha.

personally, I beat the shit out of my car when I drive it hard. Many days at NHMS. 52k mi. I'm not the only one who drives damn hard at the track either. These trans hold power, plain and simple.

[IshiKage]

Originally Posted by mxlplx71 36000 miles lost plastic pads on 1st 2nd gear fork paid to fix myself, voided warranty for catless exhaust. damn dealers local trans shop $1800.00 never had any grinds just gone, all at once.

you let them pull that bs on you, smh

[simply_pandora]

@Darth_Nuruodo;

TapaFAIL!!!

[mxlplx71]

Originally Posted by IshiKage you let them pull that bs on you, smh

the only mazda dealer in my town sux balls

[mazspeedshiz]

After pulling the tranny out/apart i found that the nylon pads on the shift fork were completely gone therefore not allowing full syncro mesh. this tears up that specific gears syncro until the point it wont mate properly and you wont engage that gear at all. i know it sucks but DO NOT HOLD THE SHIFTER IN PLACE this will only nudge the fork further and wear down much faster. the new fork from mazda was redesigned with new nylon.

[ibcrusn]

Just out of curiosity has Mazda released a tech bulletin regarding the issue or a superseded P/N for the fork with new nylon buttons? Curious because when I drop the car off next week it would be good to mention if they claim the tranny is functioning correctly.

[jm211]

Originally Posted by MS_Driver AutoXing seems to have a negative impact on it and Drags not as much. I'm hoping to get a track day or two coming up here, but I'm probably going to keep it pretty tame.

IDK, no offence and I like my car a lot, but these are cheaply made, mass produced consumer cars that will fail if you mod and beat on them enough. Nothing left to say.

I read same issues on any "cheap sports car" from mustangs, s2000's, Z or trans. It is all the same.


Our issue, in comparison to all those others is they have aftermarket options; we don't. We get shit mazda OEM.

[ibcrusn]

Finally got around to contacting my local dealer to setup an appointment. When asked what the service was for and I filled him in, he stated that the gear grinding and difficulty shifting into 2nd is normal for this transmission. Rather than argue with him on the phone I think I'll drop in after work next week as I would like to have it documented in the vehicle's records. I had him confirm the warranty coverage so I had him on the same page as me.

Since there is only one dealer in the Wichita area I'm kind if stuck unless I have a catastrophic failure. This begs the question, do I drive it normally and hope I have zero issues or do I start to flog the tranny to force an issue before the warranty dies in 24k miles or 18 months?

[mxlplx71]

if your going to take it in, put the original intake and tih on.
give them no reason to void your warranty.
some dealers are asses.

if they don't find anything, or refuse service, I would suggest the FoMoCo fluid.
I haven't grinded once after change.

[jm211]

beat the shit outta it.

Lol he said grinding and poor shift quality is par for the course for this transmission?



Thats like selling a TV and sayin its normal for 50 dead pixels and poor picture quality.

[d15bfi]

07 ms3 purchased at 67k lost trans at 76-78 now have 80 on car with new trans and doesn't like going into 2nd on cold starts only while moving though, can shift through gears at a stand still fine, was replaced by mazda, wondering what they used for fluid, think i will switch out to fomoco fluid and see if this helps. winters can be a bit chilly here in NH!!!

[ibcrusn]

Originally Posted by mxlplx71 if your going to take it in, put the original intake and tih on. give them no reason to void your warranty. some dealers are asses. if they don't find anything, or refuse service, I would suggest the FoMoCo fluid. I haven't grinded once after change.

I still have the TIH and GS installed. I figured why bother with the TIH and GS because I felt lazy and I don't fully trust the repaired OEM waste-gate solenoid. Hell, even with the stock intake box it drives pretty well with the TIH. At any rate we'll see what I end up doing this next week. I work with corporate aircraft and warranty issues and I would prefer to go in and have it documented so when I take the car back in a year or so when it's worse Mazda can't say I never gave them heads up.

As far as the lube, I've had Amsoil w/ friction modifier in the gearbox since shortly after I purchased it. If there is a need to drain and go back to FoMoCo lube let me know.

[jm211]

How much friction modifier? Normally this is a no-no as it adversely affects the synchros. However, in low quantities it may be ok. some people do this in the PTO to reduce the Whine.

I would suggest ford lube with no modifier at all in the transmission.

[ibcrusn]

IIRC I used about 2oz for the LSD but I'd have to check my notes.

[Absolut1l]

This is so unfortunate. I just bought my 2006 MS6 and experienced similar issues trying to shift into 2nd. Thought at first it was me fucking up the shift trying to shift so fast - I've only been driving stick for 6 months! But I'd say it came natural for me learning and I couldn't accept that it was me. After about 150 miles it became hard to shift into ANY gear. I drove straight back to the dealership and told them to fix it. Less than 24 hours after I drove it away. There was seriously something wrong as I could BARELY get it into any gear while moving. Issues does not occur at standstill. They think it's the clutch. So that's what's being replaced. And now I found this thread and it sounds EXACTLY like what was happening. Would any of this cause every gear to suffer the same issue? I'm getting a brand new clutch, or at least certain parts - not sure yet. I'll let you guys know what was done and what it feels like after the replacements. In the meantime, I'm stuck driving a loaner Jeep from the dealership. FML!

[Payne Racing 67]

^possibly, if debris from the one gear goes through the trans it could potentially fuck up the other gears.


Sent from the Smurfmobile

[falcon]

07 MS3 with 125,000 km on it now, bought it with 92k on it, and it drives fine in warm weather, but when winter hits I have the issue of getting it into second.

I have to accelerate in first, pull it back towards second and let the car slow down until it wants to drop into second, I feel like if i forced it in, it would take so much force i'd risk breaking stuff. Once the car warms up it is okay, and actually the second drive of the day, once the car cools down once, and warms up the second time, the transmission shifts even better then the initial warm up. The initial warm up the transmission is fairly notchy. It never pops out of gear on me, and I have a SURE counterweight, shortcut plate, and bushings.

I am also on a factory "rebuild" transmission replaced by them with an "equivalent" number of km on it, because of a diff whine issue I was having and they wouldn't listen to me and add friction modifier to the fluid. So I am running dealership fluid right now.

[ibcrusn]

Thread revival....

Well, I finally decided it best to take it into the dealer and have them look at it and I had one other item for them to address. Dropped it off and they let it sit until after lunch to cool off, the kid that worked it commented that it shifted as it normally should (slightly notchy) but no grinding like I get periodically. I didn't expect anything different and he said I had plenty of warranty remaining if it should get worse.

On my way home I picked up another 3 qts of Amsoil because the FoMoCo unicorn jizz is outrageously priced. While reinstalling the intake parts I replaced the tranny lube minus the friction modifier, we'll see how it feels after I get some miles on it.

[blackms3_71]

my 2nd gear grind every now and then at low rpm shifts, i changed my fluid to royal purple and now it shifts like butter and the grinding is still there but it is less noticeable and even less freqent