[M&W_FRS]

So for as long as I've had my FRS (1.5 year) the transmission has never felt right. Its always felt very stiff and clunky even compared to the numerous manual transmission trucks I've owned over the years. About 3 months ago they replaced the throw out bearing because of a persistent squeak when stepping on the clutch. Ever since then, shifting has felt even stiffer, and I basically have to force it into gear when downshifting from third to second. Sometimes it just doesn't want to go into gear.

The car is currently at the dealership and according to the guy I spoke to on the phone, they "adjusted the linkage."

Also in the past two weeks the car has developed a loud clacking noise coming from the rear of the car in first gear, second gear, and reverse. The mechanic that came along for the drive claims that every FRS makes this noise and that its a normal noise caused by the driveshaft. If its normal why did it only start after 1.5 years of ownership.

I'm having a hard time separating fact from fiction and cant help but feel like the dealership is being lazy and/or negligent. I cant help but feel like a worn out throw-out bearing followed by continued transmission issues is indicative of transmission problems that "adjusting the linkage" just wont address. I also have a hard time believing that this new noise is normal.

The car is completely stock and never tracked. Anyone have any experience with these issues? From searching the forums I've noticed that the stiff transmission is somewhat common but that a lot of the threads regarding it are from when the car was first released. Curious if there hass been any resolution to the issue or new developments.

Do you guys think it would be worth it to bring the car to an independent transmission specialist to see if they can diagnose the problems with this car?