MT tight, hard shifts. Opinions?

[TougeSlug]

Seriously fellas, just get them fixed. And do it asap. I had all these problems EVEN after the car was warmed up. These transmissions need to be updated or replaced with another transmission

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by Norton 850

The AISIN transmissions in these cars are lousy.

Some report that using Pentosin MT gear oil helps, but the bottom line is that it's simply crappy quality control on the part of AISIN. I say this because there are some MT owners that report no shifting problems at all. But there a BUNCH of owners just like you that report shifting problems

I say this about the S2000 trans initially and now this car.
Inconsistent QC from Aisin. My personal car was notchy and flaky in the cold. Switched to Pentosin and have had no issues since.

But been in two cars where the trans felt like you were moving the shifter through a pile of stones. Sometimes fine others just horrible.

Some of it maybe user caused issues while I believe as stated if you got a flaky trans it will always be that way. Try swapping the trans fluid, if you have no results just ask them to replace it.

[TougeSlug]

If you are under warranty dont bother with the fluid swap. Just take it in and let them deal with it. No sense putting any money out of pocket. Good luck!

[Rayme]

Originally Posted by TougeSlug

If you are under warranty dont bother with the fluid swap. Just take it in and let them deal with it. No sense putting any money out of pocket. Good luck!

To be honest the fluid costs less than the loss time I have to take from work back and forth with the dealer. And the fluid swap fixed it for me and that was about 23 months ago and it still works.

However, I'm pretty sure some transmissions won't be fixed with a fluid swap, depends on the gravity of the problem. This is the 4th car that I swapped penzoil synchromesh in it and it's the 4th time it worked like a miracle.

[strat61caster]

First off this transmission is a modified version of what's in the Lexus 200/Toyota Altezza, good read here, also worth mentioning is that the S2000 also shares parentage to the Aisin AZ6 box (definitely factors into the >$9k delta in msrp).

http://kaizenfactor.wordpress.com/20...n-or-is-scion/

Second off to knick from Dezoris' review: if you have ten different people row through the gears I think you'll get 10 different opinions. I do think that Toyota asked Aisin to lower the cost of the tranny (if they could have knocked another hundred bucks off the sticker price they would have) and the tolerances took a hit leading to inconsistency across cars with some being buttery smooth and a little loose and others more like a stick in a tub of rocks.

My opinion is that it's a rough around the edges transmission, shifts are tight, notchy, you feel (and hear!) the gears clunking around and that's the way it was designed. Actual grinding is definitely worth the trip to the dealer first but for me my transmission got better after going to the track and swapping the fluid to Motul 300 at 30k miles, not buttery smooth like some report (I'd love to drive a car where the owner claims as such, might be enough to change my tune!) but no issues.

I like the resistance as I'm slamming through the gears, reminds me that I'm actually working my car and not just along for the ride, and when I take my time, toss in the odd double clutch as necessary it's very willing and easy.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

My opinion is that it's a rough around the edges transmission, shifts are tight, notchy, you feel (and hear!) the gears clunking around and that's the way it was designed. Actual grinding is definitely worth the trip to the dealer first but for me my transmission got better after going to the track and swapping the fluid to Motul 300 at 30k miles, not buttery smooth like some report (I'd love to drive a car where the owner claims as such, might be enough to change my tune!) but no issues.

I like the resistance as I'm slamming through the gears, reminds me that I'm actually working my car and not just along for the ride, and when I take my time, toss in the odd double clutch as necessary it's very willing and easy.

Hey Strat come on up and give mine a go (or better yet wait until it hits minus 10 and I will go DOWN there).
I appear to be one of the lucky crowd that got the butter version. It hasn't been cold enough for me to decide how well that will work out for me but so far I have zero complaints about the shifting once it has been running for 5 minutes or so.
I do get all the thumps and bumps that can be heard due to the fact the tranny is right there under a piece of felt and tinfoil like steel but the shifts are the above mentioned "buttery". Would almost welcome a bit more resistance as I am not always sure it is in gear! (Shit maybe mine is broken and everybody else's is OK)