FR-S After One Year

[Mini&aVette]

Originally Posted by billyk

Further to what Koa added, here's a little more detail to make sure you get the concept.

Previously, this is what I did on a cold morning...

1. Start the car and warm it up a bit.
2. Put it in first, accelerate briskly.
3. Within 2 seconds "try" to shift into 2nd. Doesn't work. I am totally locked out. I shift into 3rd instead.
4. I bitch out loud and wonder why my new FRS has such a horrid defect.

Now, this is what I do on a cold morning...

1. Start the car and warm it up a bit.
2. Put it in first, accelerate slowly. Remain in first gear for about 5 seconds. Yes, this feels like an eternity. This gives the cold syncro time to spin-up to synchronize the shift into 2nd.
3. I shift into 2nd. Smooth, no effort.
5. Smile.

Hope this clarifies things.

This won't make you feel any better but in my 2008 C6 I had to skip 2nd until my gearbox warmed up and my car was garage kept.

[billyk]

Originally Posted by Mini&aVette

This won't make you feel any better but in my 2008 C6 I had to skip 2nd until my gearbox warmed up and my car was garage kept.

I am 100% fine with accommodating a cold transmission! I am trying to spread the word that there may not be any "2nd gear issue" that warrants return trips to the shop or swapping gear oil. No need to skip 2nd either!

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by billyk

I am 100% fine with accommodating a cold transmission! I am trying to spread the word that there may not be any "2nd gear issue" that warrants return trips to the shop or swapping gear oil. No need to skip 2nd either!

I got your back on this one!

[billyk]

Originally Posted by billyk

I am 100% fine with accommodating a cold transmission! I am trying to spread the word that there may not be any "2nd gear issue" that warrants return trips to the shop or swapping gear oil. No need to skip 2nd either!

Unhappy to report wind chill in MD -20/lower degrees when I left for work this AM. Happy to report no issues with 2nd gear.

[anishb]

Got mine on August 10, 2013 started working on it at the 1 year mark. I do have that chirping noise, but other than that everything is good.

[Timmy_Jones]

Originally Posted by Hardway

[FONT=&quot] In fact, the only time the car ever feels uncomfortable is when I have to wear a suit. Maybe it is just me but the car feels smaller on the days I am wearing a suit and tie.

I have no idea why, but I completely agree. Like the bolsters wrap around me more?? Car feels fine with my winter coat, but a suit jacket is stifling.

Nice writeup, agree with most of the things you've said.

[Ddreder]

Originally Posted by billyk

Further to what Koa added, here's a little more detail to make sure you get the concept.

Previously, this is what I did on a cold morning...

1. Start the car and warm it up a bit.
2. Put it in first, accelerate briskly.
3. Within 2 seconds "try" to shift into 2nd. Doesn't work. I am totally locked out. I shift into 3rd instead.
4. I bitch out loud and wonder why my new FRS has such a horrid defect.

Now, this is what I do on a cold morning...

1. Start the car and warm it up a bit.
2. Put it in first, accelerate slowly. Remain in first gear for about 5 seconds. Yes, this feels like an eternity. This gives the cold syncro time to spin-up to synchronize the shift into 2nd.
3. I shift into 2nd. Smooth, no effort.
5. Smile.

Hope this clarifies things.

Hmmm I gave this a shot a few times yesterday and I could get it to behave any differently. I dont get locked out of second while driving normally. I just get a series of clunks while going to second and it just sounds like I have been drifting in second for the whole life of the car.. Anyways I have since parked it and started driving my miata so hopefully when I go back to my FR-S I will love it again. A little change in scenery can clear up a lot of things, at least for me

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Ddreder

Hmmm I gave this a shot a few times yesterday and I could get it to behave any differently. I dont get locked out of second while driving normally. I just get a series of clunks while going to second and it just sounds like I have been drifting in second for the whole life of the car.. Anyways I have since parked it and started driving my miata so hopefully when I go back to my FR-S I will love it again. A little change in scenery can clear up a lot of things, at least for me

HMMMM odd. Works for me every single time even at -28 this morning. I have never once had an issue shifting into 2nd and it is as smooth as the rest of the gears all the time.

[Caspeed]

Originally Posted by billyk

Further to what Koa added, here's a little more detail to make sure you get the concept.

Previously, this is what I did on a cold morning...

1. Start the car and warm it up a bit.
2. Put it in first, accelerate briskly.
3. Within 2 seconds "try" to shift into 2nd. Doesn't work. I am totally locked out. I shift into 3rd instead.
4. I bitch out loud and wonder why my new FRS has such a horrid defect.

Now, this is what I do on a cold morning...

1. Start the car and warm it up a bit.
2. Put it in first, accelerate slowly. Remain in first gear for about 5 seconds. Yes, this feels like an eternity. This gives the cold syncro time to spin-up to synchronize the shift into 2nd.
3. I shift into 2nd. Smooth, no effort.
5. Smile.

Hope this clarifies things.

These little "issues" are what gives a car it's character. You learn how to live with the car as it is. All The British and Italian cars I've know have had alot of character. Some of them sucked, but all were fun to drive.

[billyk]

Originally Posted by Ddreder

Hmmm I gave this a shot a few times yesterday and I could get it to behave any differently. I dont get locked out of second while driving normally. I just get a series of clunks while going to second and it just sounds like I have been drifting in second for the whole life of the car.. Anyways I have since parked it and started driving my miata so hopefully when I go back to my FR-S I will love it again. A little change in scenery can clear up a lot of things, at least for me

If you followed the instructions closely, maybe the different result could be chalked-up to variation between vehicles.

However, it would be really easy for a driver to actually not stay in 1st for the required time to spin-up the syncro when cold. Next time, consider remaining in 1st, keeping rpm's between 2-3k, for more than the specified 5 seconds - make it 10 seconds - and report back. If it doesn't slip right into 2nd, you've got some other variable(s) affecting the outcome.

[haimichaeltran]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Only 6 months but at over 17,000 miles (and that is lower then normal) I figure I can chime in anyway!
Not one single issue!

Glad I'm not the only one driving the heck out of it. 6 months at 14,000 and no issues as well.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by haimichaeltran

Glad I'm not the only one driving the heck out of it. 6 months at 14,000 and no issues as well.

Oh there are a few of us! I am actually way down from my normal as one of the plants I work at (2 hours away) is down for retooling so I only go once a week instead of twice. @Koa is another high mileage roller.
I chuckle when I see the mileage of some of the guys with the car a year or more.

[Silver Ignition]

I leased mine thinking I'd split the mileage with my bike, but the car is wayyyyyyyyyyy more fun than either of the motorcycles so I barely rode last season...

[Vracer111]

Very nice synopsis of your experience thus far. It'll be three years of ownership for me on May 25th, and although not trouble-free, there's no other car I want to drive currently as a daily. If it had a Toyota I4 motor instead of the Subaru H4 it would have been perfect and absolutely what I wanted. Subaru H4 motors are quirky motors, not really bad motors, just not up to Honda or Toyota standards. All my Subaru H4 experience has been this way (my brother's '90 FWD Legacy then '05 AWD Impreza RS and now my '13 FRS) - the motor choice was my single hesitation about getting the car. Definitely has been the most troubled Toyota I've ever had and my first new car ever...but I still love it anyways and have no plans to ever get rid of it.