Can't downshift while warming up
 

Heya

I got a 2015 FR-S a couple of months back, and I live in Eastern Canada where it's getting rather chilly as winter is coming quick. I go to work around 8am every morning, and I've noticed a few transmission quirks(I Hope) on the drive in to the city. I can shift into Reverse, and shift up normally, but I cannot down shift at all while the car is still warming up? In the morning I generally let the car idle for a minute or two before I set off, but once I hit third, it's absolutely impossible to downshift into second unless I come to a complete stop. Is this a normal issue while the transmission is warming up, or is this something I should be taking it to the dealer about? After about 5-6 minutes of driving everything goes back to normal, and it doesn't seem to happen in the evening (yet anyway, it's still warmish for now)

It's normal. Try double clutching and replacing OEM fluid, I use Motul 300. Also make sure you are rev matching on down shifts.

Yeah I read about changing the transmission/dif fluid right after I got it, guess I should stop procrastinating on that like an idiot. Good to know it's not a serious issue

Great time to learn to double-clutch. With OEM gear oil, the tranny will break in nicely at around 8000-10000 Km. ...really nicely. I love mine.

I second the above posts (I live in Denver, CO) and the only things that can alleviate it are double clutching and quicker shifting (not more forceful). I'm now past 15k miles, and the tranny continues to improve little by little as the miles rack up.

I've had to experience this more and more now that I've moved to Atlanta from Central Florida. Does anyone know if there is any harm in shifting through all the gears (with the clutch in the entire time of course) after the car has initially warmed up? Would this help distribute some of the warm gear fluids before setting off on your drive?

Sounds normal for me. As long as you don't feel any grinding, you're fine. I think stock fluid gets pretty thick when it's cold, so I ended up replacing with thinner oil and shifting improved.

I don't think it will help because the gears aren't rotating unless you're moving. Remember, the clutch is on the front end of the transmission, not the back end. The output shaft (and all the gears) are sitting still when you're stopped. They rotate with the rear wheels, the only disconnect is neutral or the clutch. The input shaft will move a little bit when you row through the gears, be it won't be spinning either unless you engage the clutch. If you're in neutral with the clutch engaged, then the input shaft and intermediate shaft are spinning freely inside the gears, but no gears are selected so none are moving (if they were, then the rear wheels would be moving as well).

3-2 shift will always feel a bit stiffer due to triple-coned syncros, but it gets better after 10k miles.

Warmup from cold start really helps, 5-10 minutes idling and then a quick loop around the parking lot or a slow roll down the road helps out, really only necessary on freezing days, otherwise I can usually take right off after initial warm up.

Whats up. Northern NBer here :). You will get used to the stiff cold shifts. 2nd gear is very grumpy when it`s cold. Either up from 1st or down from 3rd. It takes a bit before it wants to cooperate. Double clutching either up or down helps very often. Other times, you just need to keep some pressure and try to match the revs just perfectly. Clutch in of course. You`ll get a hang after awhile. My 02 Sentra Spec V was a pain for 2nd too so I got used to it and the same tips helped with the FRS too.

Here's an awesome thread on this topic.
Hope it helps.
-bk

Thank you, Search Ninja.

Your clutch adjustment might be just off enough to barely hang up when cold, this can then go away once things warm up and expand.

My trans after adjusting tighter (clutch starts being actuated earlier when you push the pedal) made everything better.

Take your warmups seriously when its below 30 degrees. 10 - 20 minutes idle just to melt the ice and snow off, cleaning salt off the windshield. Double clutching or slowly rev matching between 1st-2nd-3rd, warming the clutch and tires up.

Sometimes my trans doesn't want to go down to 2, it's just it's way of saying "HEY ASSHOLE THE OIL AINT WARM ENOUGH REV SAFELY, DRIVE LIKE A SNAIL RIGHTNOW DIPSHIT!"

Warmups are bad. Turn the key, wait for the oil light to go off (usually under 1 second), put it in first, and drive away sedately.

You really ought to at least wait for the idle to normalize under 1000 rpms. I mean 20 minutes is insane, but no warm up is bad (blowby, cold engine clearences, oil pump bypass valve, etc). But hey, It's your car, do what you want.

I basically wait the 30-45 seconds it takes for the RPM to snap back to the lower level. Then I drive gently until warm. If you don't drive the car to help it warm up then all you're doing is letting it run LONGER at less-than-optimal temps with less-than-optimal oil flow.

Slightly off topic: During that 30-45 second warm-up period, does anyone else's engine tend to stumble a few times. Just a split second blip almost like a misfire?

Yeah, mine does that occasionally.

Yeah not every time. I think it's just the engine getting its shit together. The way it happens doesn't strike me as more than the equivalent of the engine clearing its throat. Then again, never had that happen on any other modern car so I was curious.

Those are small afterfires from super high EGTs. The computer retards timing to force the cats to warm up as fast as possible.

Thanks, will do.

I don't seriously wait 1-second to drive it. I start it, scrape the windows if applicable, settle in the seat, and then drive it. It's more like 1-2 minutes. In the summer though, I sometimes let the car roll before I've even started it.

The more I learn about this machine the more I am amazed. Major tech under that hood. ...dashboard :P

Yeah! Science bitch!