notchy 2nd gear

[jovimaghiran]

I have a 2015 scion frs with a super notchy 2nd gear. I also have a cat-back exhaust, perrin intake tube, lowering springs, wheels, and tires. Are any of those mods a reason that my transmission will not be covered under warranty? Thanks a bunch!

[ChrisP]

I don't see why they would effect it. Mine was pretty notchy until I switched the fluid to Motul Gear 300, now it's really smooth. The stock fluid is crap and if you drain it chances are there will be a bunch of metal flakes on the drain plug magnet. There are a bunch of topics on here about the trans fluid.

[jovimaghiran]

I had also swapped to motul and 2nd gear is still super notchy.

[swarb]

Originally Posted by jovimaghiran

I had also swapped to motul and 2nd gear is still super notchy.

Is this your first manual transmission car?
How many miles on the car?

Mine didn't smooth out until after ~6k miles and it is even better now at 14k.

[jovimaghiran]

This is my 3rd manual car. My fro has about 16k miles and i had done the fluid around 5k miles.

[swarb]

@jovimaghiran is the car fully warmed up? does it get better when warmed up? Is it better if you shift at a higher rpm? A heavier shift knob also gets rid of some of the notchy feeling. I changed my fluid around 6k so roughly the same as you, and mine is slightly notchy during warm up, but other wise fine after warmed up.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by jovimaghiran

I have a 2015 scion frs with a super notchy 2nd gear. I also have a cat-back exhaust, perrin intake tube, lowering springs, wheels, and tires. Are any of those mods a reason that my transmission will not be covered under warranty? Thanks a bunch!

Well now, @jovimaghiran, I wouldn't think any of those mentioned mods would effect a transmission warranty.

However, I doubt that having a notchy 2nd gear in the transmission, is going to get you any warranty service.......

Here are my thoughts on shifting the FRS MT:

First off, this seems to be a fairly common situation.

As mentioned above, a warmer transmission is a happier transmission.

In addition, I would suggest that when shifting, wind up the last gear pretty tight before shifting into the next higher gear.

Also, when shifting from 1st to 2nd, pull the shift lever slowly and firmly into 2nd gear.

It's not a toggle switch ..... the lever is moving heavy transmission parts.

I suggest you not "lazy leg" it; be sure to push the clutch pedal all the way to the floor.

If technique doesn't help, you may consider changing the transmission oil with something "slipperier".


humfrz

[jovimaghiran]

Yeah its shifts like butter when fully warmed up. Sadly i leave home at 4am and shifting at a higher rpm would wake up the neighbors. This is probably something that nothing will fix. Hopefully nothing goes wrong with this happening every morning. thanks for all the input!

[ZionsWrath]

My 2013 is notchy asf too. More so when cold. When warm I find shifting faster and firmer is better. Clutch depressed all the way. Also higher RPM shift = less notchy.

[ryoma]

Originally Posted by jovimaghiran

Yeah its shifts like butter when fully warmed up. Sadly i leave home at 4am and shifting at a higher rpm would wake up the neighbors. This is probably something that nothing will fix. Hopefully nothing goes wrong with this happening every morning. thanks for all the input!

just drive along in 1st gear in your neighborhood to warm up your transmission. by the time I am out of my neighborhood, I don't have any problems with 2nd gear. I leave at 6am in the morning and it's about 30 seconds in 1st gear to get out of my neighborhood. I keep it around 2.5k so I don't annoy people lol

[hmong337]

This has already been beat to death. The gearbox when cold will be notchy as hell and non compliant. I just take my time shifting when the gearbox is cold. Granny shifting and making sure the clutch is to the floor before gear selection. This is through -40°C harsh Canadian winter without much of a warm up. Just don't go forcing into gears. I think this is where people start getting into issues. I also run Motul 300.