I'm not sure about the vibrations you're mentioning, so I will monitor that...

But, as far as the shifting goes.. I have done adjustment myself couple of times now and to be honest I am not sure if there are any differences in respect to shifting quality especially as time goes by after the adjustment is done. In any case, I'm experiencing the same feeling you described - as if clutch is not completely disengaging. On the other hand I've tried two "tests" which might reveal dragging clutch:

1. Put car in first, press the clutch and ramp up the revs and see if the cars moves. Problem here is to be able to find perfetcly leveled surface and the fact there is a rev limiter while car is stationary. Anyhow, I would say there is no movement here.
2. Hold the clutch, put in a gear and then quickly switch out and back into the same gear. Theoretically if the is any clutch drag you should feel it. I have tried this couple of times in different gears and the second engagement is smooth. This led me to believe the clutch is working fine.

When you eliminate the clutch I honestly don't know what might be the reason for intermittent issues with gear engagement. I'm not mechanic so I cannot judge whether this resistance in the shifter is coming from gears or the linkage. At one point I started thinking there might be something wrong with the design of gear selector (the thing that moves forks in the gearbox).

First explanation from Wolfe Langley Mazda was that gearbox needs to break in. Then I spoke with the mechanic there to explain me what they meant by that and he said that this is happening because dogs are still not broken in. To me that means that the teeth will wear down a bit for a smoother engagement. Does this make any sense to any of you?

I would appreciate informed input on this one...

 

Good questions. Hope others weigh in. My problem (at 12K now) is that the longer the system gets broken in, the less smooth everything gets. Was perfect when new.

 

That was me who had a new master cylinder installed and it fixed most of the gearbox issues. It's still rough and notchy but I took it to both Freeway Mazda Surrey and Wolfe Langley Mazda and they said it was normal. Drove a brand new and a demo MT and they felt the same as well.

 

What were the issues resolved when you say it's still rough and notchy? How come that you got you cylinder replaced? On what grounds? And where did you do it?

 

The clutch squeeking/creaking when the car was both off and running. It's still rough and notchy when changing gears but I've noticed its only like that between 3-5k rpm so I just granny shift now. Got it done at Freeway

 

Can you detect this problem when just sitting still and shifting the gears without engaging the clutch?
I notice a bit of roughness going from 2-3 and sometimes 4-5, but I don't feel like I'll miss the gear, just that I shouldn't hurry it. Occasionally it will shift really smoothly, just to remind me how nice it could be. If I was into full-power starts it would definitely annoy me, but because I'm more into getting good fuel economy it's just a minor annoyance, and it doesn't sound like my transmission is as bad as some.

It would be nice if we could get together and compare cars, because this is easier to feel than to describe.

 

I have been having issues with 2nd-3rd and 3-4th gear. Just spoke with my dealer and they have found a TBS problem (#15-01) with the Clutch Hub. They explained to me that it needs servicing and treatment for the 3rd and 4th gear. I have an appointment next week and will update once the maintenance is completed. Hope this info helps!:smile2:

 

Any update on this?

 

Interesting mattshki24. Please let us know what is fixed and updated and how it feels.

 

Please keep us updated.

I have issues with 3rd as well. It's crap especially when it's colder out there. I was thinking of changing tranny oil but I don't like that as a permanent fix. I'm also not a fan of them taking apart my new transmission, but asking for a replacement tranny might not be solution either because it's obviously like buying a lottery ticket. What to do? I have no idea...

Car is in the Garage as we speak. They said it might take a few days(2-3) before i get it back. I will keep you guys posted on what the issue was/parts replaced and let u know if the issue has been resolved or not.
I have a Rental for the next few days...(2015 Nissan Sentra) and all i can say is. WOW i miss my Mazda already. This thing is like a lawnmower. No power , slugish .. anyways. Excited to get my Ride back.

Hopefully the info i get helps some of you !

Mattshki

 

Please keep us updated.

I have issues with 3rd as well. It's crap especially when it's colder out there. I was thinking of changing tranny oil but I don't like that as a permanent fix. I'm also not a fan of them taking apart my new transmission, but asking for a replacement tranny might not be solution either because it's obviously like buying a lottery ticket. What to do? I have no idea...

 

I have to shift very quickly and with force now to prevent from grinding the gears. When I shift slowly sometimes it feels as if it's in gear and I'll let off the clutch and grind the gear. Getting pretty mad at this gear action. I've never ground the gears in my other car over 9 years, but this car it's happened several times already.

 

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to hearing how your experience goes.

 

Ok.. So.. brought the car in . They said that they would have the parts in for this appointment. They call me back 2h later to say that they only have 90% of the parts.. Returned the rental, got my Mazda back with the winter tires mounted. Now I wait for a call back from them next week when they get all the parts in. I missed the Mazda for sure! But the gears are still notch as hell...

I got a receipt with the parts that are being replaced. Not sure if these are just the parts that they have in stock, or the whole order? This should give everyone a good impression of what work is being done to the transmission. Seems like a lot of parts to me? Hopefully it works.. Tired of waiting on this…

Hope this helps! I will keep everyone posted!

 

Rads like a transmission rebuild to me, damn.

 

Hm...don't know what to say. The question now is whether the new tranny or their rebuilt is the way to go... I'm worried because I might be in the same boat as well. I'm having issues with the third and sometimes with the first as well.

 

What's so bad about the rebuild if it is free?

 

I've seen their work regarding much simpler issues. In anyway I don't like an idea of dealership taking my new tranny apart.

 

Thanks fort the update Matt. While I'm not crazy about a dealer rebuilding the tranny, I'd rather have a smooth tranny than what I've got right now. I'm going to try a different dealer too since mine is worthless.

 

Dropped off the car yeasterday.Garage says the work is completed. Going to pick it up this afternoon. I will post an update to see if the problem if fixed.

 

Problem switching to 1st

I am having problems switching to first after driving for a while. I have to while standing clutch and go to another gear and then go back to 1st.
It is very annoying when you are in a light and have many cars behind you.:no:

 

Yeah same thing happens to me. I either go to 2nd then first or i release the clutch then put it in first. When waiting at a light or stopped, I never push the clutch in during that time. I always leave the clutch out. Seems to help with this first gear issue.

 

OK.. Where do I start? The problem is still not fixed! The dealer replaced 1 - 2 - 3 - and 4th gear. The garage supervisor explained that they pretty much did a full rebuild of the transmission. I was surprised that they changed the 1st gear?

As soon as I got into my car, I started it and I immediately noticed that the transmission was tighter. The gears felt as notchy but firm. I let the car heat up and as soon as I started driving, I noticed that the gears felt exactly the same as before but worse!!

-1st to 2nd feels smoother , but not as smooth as I would like.
-2nd to 3rd feels the same... still notchy and rough. Always feels like I’m shifting through rocks and dirt..
-3rd to 4th.. 6 out of 10 times the shift gets stuck between the 4th gear.. it is worse than before. This is now preventing me from driving because I keep grinding through that gear. I have to push the clutch in and out a few times for the gear to finally go into place.
- 5th and 6th are smooth. No issues there

This is becoming ridiculous.. I am really considering switching cars because of this.. I love my Mazda but these gears are horrible. My 98 Corolla , 97 Civic and 2011 mazda3 Shifted better than this car. I don’t understand how the dealer can give me back my car with this issue? don’t they test drive it before returning it to the customer? Almost feels like they didn’t do any work at all.

I will call the dealer today and explain to them that the issue is now worse. Disappointed...

 

Really sorry to hear about the troubles. I feel your pain. Sometimes my shifts are fine and sometimes they are just jarring.

Let us know if there any updates with anything. Mazda really needs to fix these issues.

 

***UPDATE***


Decided to wait a few days to see if the problem would resolve itself after i drove it a little.

1st to second.. a lot smoother and better than before
2nd to 3rd is great now. I would say its 90% fixed. Still some issues with it but nothing to complain about.
3rd to 4th, I would say it gets stuck 3 out of 10 times now. The gear gets stuck between neutral and 4th. Seems to be getting better with time but the cold weather doesn’t help..

The gears feel much much better than before. i guess it takes a little time for things to ''break in''? Happier with the results but i will wait a few weeks to see if this 4th gear gets any better.

Still love my Mazda

 

My gear box took awhile to break in. 2nd->3rd was rubbish for several months. It only glided in smoothly 20% of the time. 60% of the time, it went in with grittiness. 20% of time, it wouldn't even go in. This gradually got better over one year.

I've had my car for 2 years. It's all good. Yeah there's occasional and faint grittiness going into 3rd but it happens rarely. All other gears are fine.

Occasional blocks are usually result of my being sloppy with shifting.

All in all, I applaud you for taking the risk to have the dealer take it apart. Glad to hear that the issue is getting better with time, and more shifting.

 

pcurve: It doesn't sound like you have any of the problems we are having.

My gears were actually pretty good at first but after a few weeks they gradually started getting worse. Now 13 months and 7,500 mi. later most of the gears are grinding and all of them are vey notchy, or griddy as some like to call it. I hate driving the car. Now that the winter is here and temps are dropping it's getting noticeably worse. I have to bite the bullet and take it in. I think it needs a clutch too and probably a tranny rebuilt. What a piece of crap. This is my first a last Mazda (I have a ton of other issues too

Harry

Edit: Forgot to mention that sometimes I cannot get it into 3d and 4th gears. I have to fight it and keep trying until it lets me shift. Very aggravating.

 

I feel your pain... I was sceptical about them working on my transmission but it was worth it. You should consider talking to you dealership. My transmission is not 100% now but its way better than before.

I live in Canada and in the morning it gets pretty cold -15 to -25. I have to wait at least 5 min until I can actually leave. I also shift slowly. That seems to help until the car warms up. If I shift to fast from 2-3rd or 3rd to 4th, the gears get stuck.

I’m going to contact the dealership next week and explain that the problem is not resolved. We paid lots of money for our cars and are warranties cover these kinds of problems. If you don’t mind them working on the transmission and figure out a solution for this problem like I do, I think is worth it!

Hope you find a solution!

Cheers!

 

An update: After my dealer performed the TSB notchiness fix twice, shifting was still no better. Not horrible, but definitely less smooth than the first 4,000 miles or so. (I'm at 13K now.)

So I decided to focus on the tiny clutch squeak -- the one that someone here posted an audio recording of awhile back. Mechanics couldn't hear it until I took them for a slow drive in a quiet place (I would only hear it backing into my garage -- it sounded like the pedal just needed a squirt of WD-40). When they finally heard it they went after it with stethoscopes etc, and finally decided to replace the clutch pedal and the master cylinder. But the squeak remained. So then they replaced the slave cylinder -- and that ended the squeak.

Unfortunately, the shifting is still notchy. But I no longer get blocked out, which may have something to do with the cylinder replacements or the second TSB procedure. The loaner car they gave me (same model, one year later) was similarly notchy.

Maybe these gear boxes naturally get clunkier with age?

Anyway, it was nice to get new cylinders (and not worry about the squeak leading to something worse down the road). I'll just live with the less-than-buttery shifting. Was nice while it lasted. Now that I'm resigned to it I can enjoy driving again, as long as I don't rush the shifting.

 

That’s strange? I don’t have any issues with my clutch or squeaking noise. I have noticed a significant change with my transmission though. After 1 month 1/2, the transmission is almost perfect. it is way smoother now and is only notchy when cold. That’s understandable as my older mazda3 was doing the same this like all manual vehicles. I guess it takes a few weeks for all the parts to smooth out.

For everyone out there who is noticing this notchy transmission, get it looked at by your dealership, it’s worth the wait. It really helped my car and should do the same for yours!

 

Matt, any updates to reaching out to your dealership again after they "fixed" the issue?

 

I decided to wait a few weeks before calling them again. At first it didn’t seem like they fixed anything? But after a few weeks, I noticed a significate improvement with my transmission. Like I mentioned before, I lived in a cold area, therefor it take a little time for the transmission to warm up. It is a little bit notchy during cold starts but nothing unordinary. Once things warm up, it is way smoother than before. 2nd to 3rd smooth as butter 99% of the time. 3rd to 4th Smooth 90% of the time. All other gears are excellent.

 

I also live in a cold climate (central NY) and with 14,000 miles on the car (2.0L) I have no issues with my tranny or shifting. I do not warm-up my car on a cold morning more than about the time it takes me to fasten my seat belt; though I do drive real easy and short-shift until the blue light goes out.

I switched to Redline MTL last summer and I think I notice a very slight extra notchiness in cold -shifting compared to the original mazda gear oil.

Dave

 

I'm so mad that we have to take this shit from them. My friend just bought MS3 couple of days ago and his shifter is miles more refined than mine. And there's nothing I can do about it. Same money, different car. It's a lottery, that's what it is. It makes me so mad I'd drive the car straight through the dealership window and set it on fire.

That's my rant for today.

 

I feel your pain..Did you try contacting your dealership and mentioning the TSB?

I'm finally taking my car to a different dealer tomorrow to have them look at this problem. I've got the TSB in hand and mine has gotten worse so hopefully I'll get something done. I'll keep everyone updated.

Good Luck! Hope they can fix this issue or atleast make it better!

 

I'm finally taking my car to a different dealer tomorrow to have them look at this problem. I've got the TSB in hand and mine has gotten worse so hopefully I'll get something done. I'll keep everyone updated.