A couple of days ago I brought my car into the shop for a trans. problem.When I accelerate hard from 2nd gear and shift into 3rd the shifter feels like it gets caught in between 3rd and 5th and the car is in neutral. This problem does not happen often but it has happened at least 6-8 times. Well they could not reproduce the problem so they refused to do anything about it. I had my brother drive it back to the dealership today to take the service tech for a test drive and on the way there it did it to him twice. Unfortunatly we could not get the car to do it with the service writer in the car. So they refused to take it in. The tranny also sometimes does not want to go into 1st gear when you stop at a light. You have to double pump the clutch to get it in. but this did not happen for them either. Any one else have the same issue. At first I thought it was driver error until it happened to my brother.

I was supposed to bring my car in to B.P.P. for some work but thats not going to happen now. If anyone has any advice on how to proceed from here I sure would appreciate it.
Thanks in advance
Tom...

 

I know with my mustang cobra I had (bought used) it didn't want to go into 1st sometimes, so I would put it in 2nd then slide back up to first, my friends M3 also did this so I thought it was normal.

 

The not going into 1st gear doesnt bother me so much. It is the other issue. Concerned it will lead to a bigger problem.

 

Not going into 1st when you have already come to a complete stop is not unusual. Make sure you get it in 1st before you stop.

The other issue - did the clutch stick to the floor during the shift?

 

No the clutch did not stick to the floor. When I release the clutch and press the accelerator it is in nuetral. The clutch is fully disengaged.I then press down on the clutch and move back to 2nd or 4th. This only happens on hard accelerating and fast shifting.

 

Bring it in, you definitely have a problem.

 

Sorry to hear about your plight, but this may be tied to the 6spd problem that SHUT DOWN the CORVETTE ASSEMBLY LINE for I think two weeks. They had to truck all the 6spds back to the maker for whatever the fix was, then truck new trannies in. I lost all my GM emails when my OS crashed so I can't send you a copy. Check some of the RECALL websites, it should be listed. Good Luck.

Elvy

 

No that was a snap ring groove machining issue totally different than this. In that one the shifter moved back and forth in 5th gear.

 

ATOMMYD, I have had shift problems from day one. I now have 7800 miles and just had a new transmission installed. The dealer tore it apart at 5000 miles, had my car for over a week,then gave it back and said they could not find the problem/could not duplicate. I made the tech ride with me that same day when I picked up the car and guess what happened.............grind/shift problems in 2nd and 3rd gear. I took the car home and waited for the new tranny. I still have a small grind/shift problem going into 3rd gear with the new tranny. Don't let them turn you away, because I think there are alot more tranny problems out there then we know. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the info. I just couldn't remember the details.

 

Does anyone have an idea on what this might be? I want to put a short throw shifter in but do not want any problems from the dealer

 

Jesus Christ, ATOMMYD, this sounds like normal SOP for a manual transmission.

I've driven about 400,000 miles on manual transmissions since 1970 (sixteen (16) times around the world at the equator -- you know, the hot part).

They all behave the same way.

There's the:

1. "Can't get it into first."

2. "Can't get it into reverse."

3. "Can't speed shift into third from second, fifth seems so much easier."

Etc., etc., etc., etc.

Unless there's a real problem with your transmission (and it doesn't sound like there is), I would suggest learning how to drive a manual transmission car for the next thirty years, don't torture the dealer, and then post this again on March 26, 2035.

Let me know what the responses are at that time.

 

Mine doesn't do any of that bad stuff! I would ask ATOMMYD to have a few others drive the car and see if they have a problem shifting. He has more trouble shifting when accelerating fast, but mine gets easier as I accelerate faster, or shift at higher RPMs. Also, ATOMMYD may just need to let his car/tranny break in more.

 

Well I am sure I am not a professional 6speed driver like you are. But I had another person drive it and it did it to him. I have been driving a manual trans for some time and I know where the gears are. Did not do it on my C5. But thank you for your help you cleared up everything for me. I am so glad I am using the forum. especially when I get such helpfull responses from good people like youself. Does anyone else have any real suggestions??

 

i also had the 2nd to 3rd issue for a bit but i found that i was being over aggressive on that shift, only happened when I really got on it and was shifting quick. I would try to push the shifter up from second at an angle and aim for third but was hitting the spot in between third and fifth.

try to finesse the shift, try it a tad slower. Also remember that the shifter automaticaly centers itself so third isn't as far to the right as you might suspect.

the not going into first at a stop is a common problem with some manual transmissions. It can also happen if you shift it into neutral to start it and then it won't go into reverse, gotta put it into first, rock the car just a tad then it will align and go into reverse. Just one of those things when it's not synch'd.

 

ATOMMYD

Also see my post above. We're all trying to be helpful here.

 

Yup, totally agree with you here. I was having the exact same issue of the shifter getting stuck between 3rd and 5th. Basically imagine the shift plate if you take the leather cover off (much like you see on a Ferrari and Lambo). You've got the grooves for all the gears, and then the 'teeth' (for lack of a better term) between the grooves. It seems as if they didn't round / smooth out the corners of the tooth between 3rd and 5th, so when you mis-shift instead of the tooth guiding the gear lever into third / fifth, there's a notch it can get stuck in.

Now imagine the shift plate again. It seems to me that compared to my last several cars that I've driven (because I also never had this problem in any of my other cars), the entire plate is rotated slightly counter-clockwise (towards the driver). So basically in my other cars where I would power-shift into third, in the C6 I'm actually pushing it into the tooth between 3rd and 5th (because it's slightly rotated). So hence I just had to spend about a week training my arm to apply a little pressure to the left when going into 3rd. Felt weird because it seemed as if i was going to go right back into 1st, but it works. Now I do it without thinking and i haven't done the mis-shift again .

Anyways, long description, but hopefully it helps . I honestly think it's driver error which is what I went through.

 

ATOMMYD

Also see my post above, and the one directly above this one. We're all trying to be helpful here.

 

elmagoo; Did I miss something here? Does the C6 come with a gated shifter? I don't think that there is a "plate" to guide the shifter arm between gears.

 

Best picture I could find (it's a C5, but close enough):




You have to look closely.... very closely.

Keep looking. Closely.