Mazda 3 2010 GT first to second gear shifting issue.

[Ps3alltheway]

So for a while now I've been finding my 2010 Mazda 3 6 speed hard to shift from first to second gear from times to times, especially in cold weather, sometimes I hear a slight grind, sometimes not, so anyways, I finally decided to have my manual transmission fluid replaced with some 75w90 synthetic, I hoped It was going to help!


But nothing change, the second gear is still hard and grinds sometimes (only when upshifting) . So I decided to go to my local garage (the car is still under warranty but my local garage deals with my Mazda dealer, so anyways, the mecanic drove it and only had one time a slight grind, so we called Mazda and he mentionned it,
What came out was that I will have to bring my car to the Mazda dealer, they will have to open up the tranny (Im the one that has to pay for the work) then, if It is synchros, It is not covered so I will also have to pay for the replacement of the second gear synchro. So going back home, I was pretty mad about that especially because I've driven MANY used and old manual cars and NEVER had any issues, and this car I paid more than 32 000$, not even 5 years old and having issues with my transmission, so I decided to call Mazda Canada and told them the whole issue going on and they are suppose to call me back.

I have a few questions, I've read a lot of forums about the 2010 + model hard to shift in second gear, but did anyone actually had their synchros-transmission replaced? If so did you have to argue with Mazda Canada about them covering the charges? Did you have to pay for the replacement parts?

Any help would be appreciated.
Oh, just to mention, I drove Volks GTi's, Nissan's SER, 1gen Mazda 3, Subarus, even manual trucks and never experienced anything like this.

[Ps3alltheway]

My car has about 145 000 km, and I have the full 72 months - 160 000 km extended warranty, all that milleage is mostly cruising on the highway.

[Kiyomi]

yup. they know about this problem. basically ay that its the users fault. mine got so bad that i had to hold it in second. synchro was toast. to replace/labour, cheaper to just get a used tranny with low mileage and put it in and swap it. a dealership was asking me 100+ to just look at the car. was like wtf, nooo.

[kilo4321]

even my 2011 2.0 has this issue, randomly grinds from 1st to 2nd upshifting, slips out, and sometimes is difficult to engage. It's been doing it since the 4500k mark, now sitting at 35,000k and still having the same issue although hasnt gotten any worse over time. Dealer "cant replicate" the issue as per usual and im SOL.

[r4BBiT]

I'm confused you have extended warranty, but they are saying that this is not covered?

I have MAP and from what I remember pretty much everything powertrain is covered under it so in my opinion this should be covered. How can they prove it that this is user fault?

If it was me I would be pushing Mazda to cover this under you extended warranty.

BTW. I'm at 50,000km on my 2010 and my second gear is fine. I mean sometimes when I try to shift quickly it won't go into a gear, but that's normal as far as I know. I mean my 91 civic had better manual gearbox than mazdas. You could always slam the gears in no matter how fast (I had a short shifter).

[Ps3alltheway]

I think synchros is not covered under the warranty, but It's not my fault, im guessing cheap ass synchros or something else in the transmission.

Pisses me off, I own a 2002 Protege 5 with 180 000 km , never changed the tranny fluid and even at -30 the car will shift fine.

Seriously I don't think I am going to buy another Mazda again

[r4BBiT]

That really sucks. I briefly looked at the MAP brochure and there is no synchros listed under manual transmission so unfortunately I think you are right. What's weird is that they are not listed under "What is not covered" section.

I still would check the extended warranty paper and see what is listed there. Good luck!

[mazdaagain]

I have a 2010 GX hatch. I had some issues with grinding gears but not between 1st and 2nd gear at around 70,000km. I took it in and they checked it out and came back and told me that it was synchros. I was completely covered under warranty. I did not have to fight with them or elevate the issue. Since they had the transmission opened up, I took the opportunity to replace the clutch and only had to pay for parts.

[Fuman]

Wait, so is it covered warranty just not extended warranty?

[gunmetal]

Hi. I know this is an old thread, but I just want to reply to give you my experience.

When the model first came out in late 2009, I bought a brand new 2010 Mazda 3 2.5L with a 6speed manual transmission. After a year and a half, something happened to my car, I don't know what, but a transmission mount broke. Suddenly, while in traffic, the transmission would not shift in either 1st or 2nd. I had to jiggle the shifter and put it in other gears, so it could finally enter in 1st and I could start moving forward. The car started making weird clunky noises on acceleration when starting from a stopped position occasionally. Eventually the shifter eased up and I was able to shift 1st & 2nd but they were rough and would still lock out occasionally. The car would also jerk a whole lot when shifting in 1st, 2nd and 3rd like I was new to driving a manual. It was embarassing.

I brought it to the dealer several times to show it to them but it was hard to reproduce. My warranty was finally coming to an end after 5 years and I insisted they finally open it up and fix the damn thing. They changed the synchro mesh on the 1st & 2nd gear. They checked the shift rods to make sure they weren't bent. Also there was a service note from Mazda saying some of them had rods that were too short and caused problems, but mine was fine. They also found out my clutch was worn out an had only 30% of it left so they changed it while working on the transmission. That didn't fix it. Came back and was finally able to reproduce the noise. That's when they found out the transmission mount was busted. They changed it and the car has been very smooth since and has gained back its original performance.

However, the 1st gear STILL locks out occasionally and the 1st to 2nd can be rough at times and will crunch when shifting. I was told that could happen because the synchro mesh is brand new and needs to wear out a bit before it gets smooth again. As for the 1st gear, the technician explained to me that there is some kind of brake that stops you from shifting in 1st if it's out of synch or something. Sometimes it'll be a bit hard, but it's not a problem. He said his 2009 Mazda 6 does that too.

I trust the guy. So I guess my tranmission is fixed, but it's a damn bad transmission that was poorly designed.

[Ps3alltheway]

I had a transmission mount replaced once, and now It started to squeak again, so im gonna go to the dealer soon to get It replace, im at 156 000