Thanks for posting this! I've just moved it to the 2014 Recalls/TSB/SSB section.

 

Hey guys! As some of you may know I've been having the problem with the extremely notchy shifter from 2 to 3 and 4 to 5. I began to accept it as a normal feeling even though it felt like the car was not engaging into the gears as smoothly as the test drive unit. So I brought it into my dealer for it's first oil change and lo and behold theres a TSB fix for early production manual 2.0 mazda3s regarding the shifter. Took it for a spirited drive after my oil change and noticed I don't have to move the shifter like a chess piece and actually shift it like my previous manual cars (miata, mini, bmw).

Below is what it said on my invoice:


Not sure if it's the same number (05-14-01) for you USA folks but try to mention this to your dealer if you have the rough / notchy shifter and get it fixed! Also let us know if it did fix your problem or not

Have fun zoom zooming!!! :Racing 1:

Thanks, great to know! How long did it take for them to fix?

 

I went in for an oil change, head unit update, and shifter fix. All in all took 50 minutes.

 

thanks, i had a feeling it was the linkages.

ill bug the dealer again at my next service. if anyone knows the exact tsb# for USA, please post.
i got the car serviced last month, dealer said it was normal for the model...

although my shifts have been better since i passed 5k, but still rough if im not gentle.

 

Great info, thanks!!

 

This is great, thanks! I was fighting with 3rd gear on my way to work this morning. It seems to get better as the car warms up but it's still noticeable at times after it's up to temp. This is my first proper experience with a MT vehicle, (other than an old, neglected '89 Mazda 6 I had for a brief period of time years ago) so I had kind of accepted it as normal. Glad to know there is a fix.

I also recently noticed that my car has decided that sometimes it doesn't want to let me shift into 1st after I've been driving for awhile. It only happens a couple of times a day but I either have to shift into another gear (without releasing the clutch) or double clutch to get it to stop blocking me from first. This is when I've come to a stop at a light or stop sign. I remember skimming over a post on another forum about this and the replies seemed to indicate that this is normal behavior for any MT.

 

I also recently noticed that my car has decided that sometimes it doesn't want to let me shift into 1st after I've been driving for awhile.

Same thing happens to me about once a day. I experience rough shifts as well...

 

Went in just now to drop off my car, asked if they could do anything about the notchy gear box. All I got was pretty much a no, or not right now and if I did, I'd have to pay for the mechanics to test drive my car with the manager and such... So idk, I might be going to a different dealer after this.

 

I asked the same thing a few weeks ago when I went in for my first service. The guy claimed they'd had several complaints and that Mazda had said to basically tell customers to wait it out. If it's still trouble at 10k I'll put up a stink, ti's gotten significantly better with more miles / milder temperatures so I'm hopeful. He had never heard of any TSB, though.

 

i just passed 10k miles last week. when i got my 5k service, dealer said its normal. at about 8k miles, the shifts were smoother, but its still notchy. ill bug the dealer again for my next service

 

6800 miles and now the shifter is starting to get notchy. It's not in gear when I think it is. Have to use more force when shifting and keep clutch down just in case.

 

If someone could share TBS about problem with first gear? I called to my local service and they never heard about it...

 

I've been experiencing some of the same issues. More and more while at a long light or a train stop, I will take out of gear and let up on clutch and when I go to put back in gear, no go. At times it is like threading a needle to get from 2>3 and 3>4. Anyone have any TSB or repair paperwork that states any issues like the ones we are experiencing?

 

i dont think theres an official tsb yet. its some some of the members on here got the dealer to troubleshoot. dealers dont want to troubleshoot, they just want to perform easy replacement repairs instead of "fixing" or "adjusting"

 

It exists. I find info on polish mazdaspeed forum. It has no R102 in polish service. Nobody wants share what drive me crazy. Everybody talks but nobody show.

 

This was posted in the TSB section, thought I would share this info here. I'll be going to the dealer loaded with this TSB and the TAU replacement on Monday. Hope it works.

 

I did this TSB adjustment by myself yesterday. Took me 5-10 minutes.
Car shifts now way smoother, all the way from 1 to 6th speed. I have not exprienced any notchy or rough shift since then (Did about 80 miles). Car is even more fun to drive now ! :Racing 1:
Im VERY happy with the result.

 

If after any adjustments , the shifter still has "notchyness issues " I would have the transmission oil replaced with the Ford Motorcraft Synthetic transmission oil as all the Miatas have had similar issues cleaned up by using it. This oil was developed by Ford for the newer Mustangs that had similar issues. Did it to my Miata 6 spd tranny and worked wonders.

Same issues... Worse when cold better as the tyranny warms up..... That's with the stock oil. I would run the car for at least 5000 km plus before adjusting or changing lubes .

 

I had the adjustment done, at about 4000miles. Now everything shifts very clean, and the shifter is more... lets say responsive. There is no play in it anymore. A lot more fun to drive!

 

I'll have to have this done when I take it in next service. I came close to grinding the gears a couple times and managed to do it lightly once in 2nd.

 

I'm sort of having the same issue. I'll be asking about this when I take it in for service next time. I can drive the car fine, but I'm really careful with shifting at the moment.

 

Update: my shifter issues seem to have worked themselves out for now. Maybe it's break in (have about 3000+ miles) or the warmer weather. I'll keep monitoring the situation

 

the other day I had a hell of a time getting the car into reverse. I pressed down and it would move into R. After 4 tries the lever finally got in.

 

Like previous posters , could be just an adjustment required.

 

6500 kms on my car now and the problem came back a few weeks ago. I put in a cobb shift knob and for some reason it feels smoother now, but it could just be a placebo effect.

 

Where did you get your shift knob from? Got a link

 

Great Pictures!! :thumbup 1: I had thought about doing this myself, but it was going in the shop for a infotainment update anyways... Glad to hear it wasn't too difficult, as it will most likely need to be done down the road again.

 

Does the plastic shifter cover comes straight out ?

I don't want to damage it trying to pull it.

Thanks

Waid

 

I know, that's what I'm worried about. For those who did this themselves, what tools did you have to use? Any tips? Where do you start prying first? :001_unsure:

 

So I told my dealer about this during 10k service and when finished he said it was fine nothing was done, but when I drove it home it was obvious something was done because I have yet to fight it into place. Silky smooth now!

 

got mine adjusted today. dealer took 2 hours for TSB + oil change/tire rotation.

I drove about 15 miles. here are my initial impressions
-normal shift takes almost effort-less
-rapid hard shifting takes less effort, but still requires effort.
-less notchy during normal shifting
-not as as notchy as before but still notchy through gear 1,2,3 and 5 if i shift rapidly.
-have not experience getting locked out of 1st or 3rd yet since adjustment (usually happened once a week before)

150 mile update
-shifts alot smoother now when the car is cold

 

just joined the forum because of this problem.

1. sometimes stuck when sitting in neutral and trying to go into first.
2. cant really accelerate properly because switching from 1 to 2 requires me to push clutch in, shift, hold clutch so rpms drop sufficiently (which depends on if i started teh switch at something like 5k or around 2k) then let the clutch off just right otherwise the car jolts severely. Dunno if this is because this is my first manual car so my technique sucks, or something that can be mechanically fixed.

Going to dealer tomorrow for fiirst oil change, going to bring up the TSB as well. Hoping a combo of the TSB and the Ford synthetic trans fluid will clear everything up and make driving more enjoyable.

 

you might jsut be letting off the clutch too quickly. yea show the TSB to the dealer. or you can spice up the conversation a lil by telling them youre afraid you might stall at a traffic light and get rear ended since you couldnt get into first.