5th Gear Grind at Freeway Speeds?
 

I noticed that my car have a slight grind, more so than any other gear. In local streets I never feel anything but when downshifting or upshifting into 5th going 65 or 70+ I feel grinding when trying to push the shift knob into fifth and requires a little more of a push to get it in. Does anyone else have this problem? Would changing transmission fluids alleviate this kind of issue?

no one else with this problem? =(

I guess I'll try swapping the fluids and see before bringing to dealer.

No, it's happening to me too. Was wondering if I was the only one.

I get this also just for 5th.

Same here

I have a customer do have the same issue. Car is only 2-3k. 5th gear grind when above 4k shifting what ever slow or fast gear change. He brought his FRS to our service department. Service guy test drove it, Parts manager test drove it and a Guy from Scion Canada test drove. Need to change whole gear box. Not sure why. Order the gear box right away. Just arrive last week. My customer will replace his gear box next week. I've been told it grind in any speed now. See if I have a change to test drive his car before switching his gear box next week.
I have 5th gear grind once awhile not often. Not sure if some time my leg is lazy for the clutch.

Try this and you will have 5th gear grind 100% of the time. Drive at a highway speed while in 6th gear, pop it out in neutral and let the rpm drop and attempt to put it back in 5th gear, you will grind.

Mine grinds when I downshift into 5th going 70mph+ or when im going 100mph+ shifting into 5th

By the sound of it this is a pretty widespread problem.. It's not a huge deal but if it causes transmission failure in the future I would want to get it taken care of while I am still in warranty.

Yes! I have this too, and I am very good with my revmatching so I know it's not that. I have 6k miles.

I took it the dealer and they replicated the problem. They said they need to contact Toyota to get a approval and direction how to fix the problem

Please keep us updated.

Holy fucking balls I have the same exact situation.

5th definitely requires more force to get into at freeway speeds (65-75) either up or down; I have grinding issues once in a blue moon, but definitely disconcerting.

I've had grinding into 5th maybe 5 times total over 6K miles.
I always thought my leg was just not cooperating and I was letting the clutch out too soon, but now I will have to keep a closer eye on this...

I get it every once and a while I just try to make a mental note to be careful upshifting to 5th. I have only expreienced the grind on quick upshifts.

Well, this definitely happened the other day. After it happened I slowed down, downshifted into 4th, and was able to recreate it. I was going probably 60-70, and it was a fast upshift into 5th with a slight grind. I am going to change the transmission fluid next oil change, see if that helps.

Mine always grinds into 4th over 4k RPM. It has gotten better to a degree with time, however.

Took my car into the dealer and left it with them overnight. Next day they said they compared it against another FR-S and it also had the problem so it isn't a "problem" with my specific car rather something that is on all of them. Looks like there is no fix though.

Dealership told me to bring th car back to the dealer. Toyota told the dealership to video record the problem and send it to Toyota Headquarters. A day later I get a response stating that there is no fix as of now, and take the car home. They will figure out a solution and give me a call. Its sounds like Toyota knows the problem exists but no solutions.

I have this exact problem. Swapping fluids did not fix it. Just taking it easy on 5th for now.

Maybe the problem is an inherent design decision that can't easily be fixed without Toyota eating a shit load in warranty repair costs.. Hmmm.

When downshifting Into 5th, don't force it place slight pressure and let it engage on it's own, it won't grind. ( not too good on explaining it) there was another thread about this

same problem
 

I experience the same problem then you my car have 1 year and 26 000km and start to do this last week. The car are at the dealer right now for some test... Did you get the 1st gear unable to get in when cold and have to release the clutch a little bit to get in?

That's normal for 1st gear in most cars. Sometimes gotta roll back or forwards an inch or two to line everything up when cold. Especially prevalent on reverse, which has no synchros if I recall (and/or is straight cut vs. helical cut for the forward gears).

allright and in quebec the temperature can be very cold :) but for the grinding at 5 gear i will see what the dealer will tell me today.

I never had this problem but it doesn't get very cold where I am. It can feel a bit notchy but not to that point. There is a thread about that somewhere saying if you switch to a different transmission fluid it helps that problem.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21818
or
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16604

answer from the dealers
 

for the 5 gear problem the dealer flush and change the oil but doesn't fix the problem now he waiting the authorization from toyota to replace the whole transmission

This issue just started for me too. I have around 10,000km.
It only grinds (so far) when I do a rev match downshift from 6th to 5th.
When I downshift slower with a quick delay in neutral it doesn't happen but I need to be able to rev match.
Time to visit the dealer to check this and an annoying window clicking noise when it rolls down.
Hope it is not an inherent issue with no fix yet, but thats what it seems to be from what you all are saying. :(

Damn, this happens to me as well... subscribed

While I have known this to work for a while now, I still don't think it's normal to grind (even when rev matching) while downshifting quickly. My old T56 didn't do it.. Why should this?

My hunch tells me that a trans swap will not fix this issue. Let them do it and let's see what happens.

Tried this today, no grind. When I put it into 5th from neutral, there is a little resistance getting into it, but I rev match and no grind.

Try without rev matching.

I have a feeling it would grind without doing so I don't really wanna try, plus that makes me cringe! lol

It's kind of getting on my nerves that everyday I'm seeing more problems. This car was built for the track in mind. Shouldn't direct injection and transmission problems not happen on a car like this, especially a Subaru/Toyota? Dodge, I would understand. But come on.

@husker741
Try not to let the problems get to you too much. Although I was annoyed by the issues, I see them as part of the character of the car now. I have learned to work around the issues and not focus on them too much. It really is a unique car and they did a great job for a 1st year model.

The transmission will probably see some upgrades down the line. Any DI issues will be dealt with as well. Stick to it and it'll work out.. :D

They take videos when they open a case file to find the issue a fix will probably come in the next 2-3 months

UPDATE
After calling Toyota several times complaining about the issue. They told me to take the vehicle to the dealer where a Toyota Regional Tech will test drive it. After the tech test drove it, They are replacing my transmission to a new on. But I cant get it installed now boecause the FRS transmission is on nationwide backorder and could take over 2 months. Service advisor told me that this is not a common problem and first she ever heard of, then why is the transmission on backoreder if no one else is having transmission issue

I dont feel comfortable with my new car with only 2000 miles having transmission replaced. Its like , newborn baby with a heart transplant