2018 cold shifting
 

Howdy y'all, I have a 2018 BRZ Ts with about 4K miles on it. I got it used with 3K on it. When its cold it really doesn't want to go into 2nd gear. It takes about 15 minutes & 5 miles of driving before it gets easier. I live in Hawaii where its 68 degrees at 6am in January. So, freezing temps aren't an issue. I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this.
Back in the mid 80's when I was a Mercedes technician, we would put Redline MTL Fluid in 300E's to make them shift when it was cold. Anyone try that?
Any help/thoughts are greatly appreciated, Kato

Yes.

Keep changing trans fluid til the problem goes away. For me 2-3 flushes did it. Tried Redline and Motul. For me personally Redline was better. Motul is best once the car is warmed up but not the best while it’s warming up.

Well I woundn't won't that particular oil weight, but I would put the recommended oil weight from Redline.

It helps, but it's still a few 5-10 minutes from a cold start that the shift feel nocthy at lest 1&2nd are.

I live in Greece where ambient temps this period are about 10C and have experienced the same exactly problem, I changed once to Motul Gear 300 with no big difference and recently to Redline MT85 that improved 70-80% the gear changes at least with these temperatures.
Plus I ordered the Mtec neutral springs that helped a lot in my problem

Based on your climate and very low mileage I'd wait a bit to see if it works itself out. This is a common "issue" with the platform but I wouldn't rush to start flushing fluids just yet... let it break in for a while.

One trick I use regularly (even after changing fluids at 30k kms) is to just row through all the gears 1-6 once or twice before I leave in the morning while waiting for revs to drop. This seems to loosen everything up and then I have no issues.

This^
It get's better when you have some miles behind you.

Same issue on my 2013 with 50k miles.
Didn't really notice it too much over the summer, but definitely a big issue when it was ~20F.
It was almost like uncomfortable how hard I had to pull to get it into 2nd gear. Obviously, I was pushing clutch pedal in all the way, shifting slowly and gently, but it was still odd.

Even when 50-60F, there is noticeable resistance going into 2nd gear when it's cold.

I swapped the fluid out for Redline MT85. I noticed zero difference in performance at any temp.

Pentosin MTF2 75w80. BMW oil, $25/qt, but worth it. 20 thousand miles and buttery. Even with a lightweight shift knob.

How do you shift? I have the same problem. So the first one or two gear changes, I just double clutch it. It is inconvenient, but not a big deal.

I changed to motul at around 32k. Not much difference. Even slightly worse, like when the car was new. I think the hard to shift issue gets better when the mtf is a bit worn/used.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Try the MTEC shifter springs. I have that, the Whiteline shifter support and Perrin trans insert and I never have issues shifting like I used to when that whole area was stock.

My car gets notchy too when it gets below 60 degrees but improves when it's up to temperature. Check your clutch fluid level

Many thanks to all for your responses. I usually double clutch when first starting out, but that doesn't always help. I like the idea of rowing through all of the gears while waiting for the revs to come down. I'll try that. If that doesn't do it, I'll try switching the springs. I'm going to have to wait to change to Redline as there's none to be had around here. At least I know I'm not the only one experiencing this.
Kato

Many thanks to all for your responses. I usually double clutch when first starting out, but that doesn't always help. I like the idea of rowing through all of the gears while waiting for the revs to come down. I'll try that. If that doesn't do it, I'll try switching the springs. I'm going to have to wait to change to Redline as there's none to be had around here. At least I know I'm not the only one experiencing this.
Kato

I recommend just giving it a few thousand more miles to break in before swapping fluids around.

Otherwise, good luck.