MS3 Shifter Problem

[mleblond]

I notice that it's getting worst and worst and not sure what to do.

When I ride in second gear and take a sharp turn my stock shifter pop's out of second. I am not sure what kind of warranty there is for that and not sure what to look for to fix it.

Anyone has any advice?

[Unoriginalusername]

didn't have that issue but these are a few threads from the us board talking about it, might be some ideas in there

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=112955.0
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=71780.0
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=84847.0

[mleblond]

interesting theory...

2nd gear + hard braking = pops out

possible solution.....remove shifter weight...

I still have the stock shifter....it would be nice to test out the STS and see what happens...

[WhiteSpeed3]

mine did the same thing when i went to an autocross i had to shave my shifter weight down for my intercooler piping and it seemed to help a bit

[mleblond]

someone told me there's a trz tranny mount that fixes the problem...could not find it so far.

[Fobio]

same thing happened to me and silvermist99 at autox...just nature of the car...hoping the cobb shifter weight might make it better...my sol'n: stay away from autox and hang on to your shifter if you're going into 2nd... =)

[silvermist99]

it was the hard braking that threw my car out of 2nd when I auto-xed, it only happened to me once, since that time I hold onto the gear lever when I brake really hard in 2nd. You mentioned that its getting worst and worst, it could be because you race your car a lot more then mine? Maybe its tranny, clutch or shifter parts that are wearing out causing this. Also try taking the shifter weight completely off and see if it still do this.

[Fobio]

it was the hard braking that threw my car out of 2nd when I auto-xed, it only happened to me once, since that time I hold onto the gear lever when I brake really hard in 2nd. You mentioned that its getting worst and worst, it could be because you race your car a lot more then mine? Maybe its tranny, clutch or shifter parts that are wearing out causing this. Also try taking the shifter weight completely off and see if it still do this.

ok...I should clarify...this happened to me a few times, even on DDT when they have that infield corner going clockwise where you have to take a 2nd gear turn: you brake...grab second gear...accelerate out of the corner and whoa, the car's revving real fast but you're going nowhere...

it's the shifter weight popping the shifter cables back under braking, so you can hold on to it but of course, if you're in 2nd, you're prolly pretty busy and could use both hands on the wheel...

haven't done those types of stops with the STS installed yet, but apparently a lighter shifter weight will help the matter...

[mleblond]

damn im gonna need that shifter to see if it helps. So no mazda warranty will help this issue unless there's been a tsb for the shifter/clutch?

[Fobio]

damn im gonna need that shifter to see if it helps. So no mazda warranty will help this issue unless there's been a tsb for the shifter/clutch?

I suspect that a HEAVY shifter knob may contribute to the matter, esp under hard braking, making it worse with the stock shifter (counter)-weight...

[silvermist99]

I suspect that a HEAVY shifter knob may contribute to the matter, esp under hard braking, making it worse with the stock shifter (counter)-weight...

I had an momo aftermarket shift knob that is a little lighter then stock that time I auto-xed and it fell out of gear.

I went back to the stock knob, the momo made my shifts feel really plasticky.

[Elder_MMHS]

Late to the party - haven't been surfing TM3 in a while.

I've had the 2nd gear pop-out on hard braking as well twice during an auto-x event. General research and speculation is that the motor mount on the transmission side is allowing too much give and drivetrain movement. Brake hard and it'll yank the transmission out of gear. Had it happen to another MS3 driver as well at the same event.

I think the complementing problem to this is the ever-common 2-3 mis-shift when trying to accelerate hard on corner exit. If the chassis is not settled enough, you won't be able to get it into gear because the transmission has deflected too much on the motor mounts.

A possible solution is a stiffer mount at the expensive of NVH factors. Unfortunately, it's probably not an option for me since we auto-x with SCCA classing out west and this would technically bump me out of stock class.

[Noisy Crow]

Your stock mount may be cracked / torn.

Can you use an Engine Torque Damper to reduce engine rotation?

[craigrodrigues88]

I just started having this problem, but for me its under light braking or under coasting. It has got to the point now where i can push it out of second easily without engaging the clutch

[Speed 3 Demon]

I'm having a multitude of issues with my transmission/shifter. First is the oh so common 2-3 miss under heavy acceleration, 2nd gear will feel like it'll just pop out on its own soon as it sometimes takes only a touch and out it comes... third my shifter got stuck in 1st two times yesterday! WTF? :flaming Anybody else having this much trouble?

I really love the car but :bang and before i bought it i loved it... I'll be going to my dealership tomorrow to complain. I shouldn't be experiencing these issues after only 3 months of ownership (brand new). You think this is a warranty issue?

That's not the only problem I'm having... this is frustrating and sometimes I wish I had waited for the 2010, even with the rediculous smile.