Grinding manual transmission - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

***arabianobsession*** · 10-08-2010, 08:46 AM

My Camry has been having an issue with Reverse, 1st, and 2nd gear. When it's cold it doesn't want to go in gear sometimes, and by the time the car warms up 1st and 2nd gear are usually good but Reverse always picks and chooses, warm or not, when it wants to work. It's very annoying to deal with on a car that doesn't even have 800 miles yet.

When it doesn't want to go in gear I will let it roll down the hill a bit and try again, usually I have to do that multiple times before it angrily goes in gear. I've even tried letting out the clutch and pushing it back in again-it won't work until I eventually have to jam it in gear.

This isn't my first manual....I had less problems driving my husband's POS manual Sunfire, and that thing was guaranteed to grind into 2nd and 5th gear.

Any ideas?

gdanaher · 10-08-2010, 09:52 AM

I really think you are suffering from 'new car' more than anything else. The synchronizer rings are frequently very tight on new transmissions and it takes a few thousand miles to wear in. I suspect they are just designed this way. I drove sticks for about 35 years. Always bought new cars and always had this problem to varying extents until they loosened up. Rolling down hill will do nothing to help you out. Depress the clutch and push firmly on the stick until it drops into gear instead of trying to 'jam' it in a single stroke. When you can put it in first gear, then start the car and drive off into the sunset without touching the clutch, going through all the gears, then it has loosened up.....and you have really learned how to drive a stick.

***arabianobsession*** · 10-08-2010, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdanaher

I really think you are suffering from 'new car' more than anything else. The synchronizer rings are frequently very tight on new transmissions and it takes a few thousand miles to wear in. I suspect they are just designed this way. I drove sticks for about 35 years. Always bought new cars and always had this problem to varying extents until they loosened up. Rolling down hill will do nothing to help you out. Depress the clutch and push firmly on the stick until it drops into gear instead of trying to 'jam' it in a single stroke. When you can put it in first gear, then start the car and drive off into the sunset without touching the clutch, going through all the gears, then it has loosened up.....and you have really learned how to drive a stick.

I have tried firmly pushing it into gear and it just won't budge, or if it does, it grinds. I know the clutch is in all the way....I've even taken the lone floor mat out to see if it made a difference.

I have a co-worker with a 6 speed 2011 Camry as well and he hasn't had any problems whatsoever. He has about 1500 miles on his. I've driven his too and not had any issues.

It has done this since the beginning and I figured it was just the whole "new car" thing but over time it has happened more frequently.

gdanaher · 10-08-2010, 10:23 AM

How many miles so far? Maybe it is time to give it back to the dealer and have them disassemble the thing and look to see if any gears need to be shimmed to work better.

mcdawgg · 10-08-2010, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arabianobsession

My Camry has been having an issue with Reverse, 1st, and 2nd gear. When it's cold it doesn't want to go in gear sometimes, and by the time the car warms up 1st and 2nd gear are usually good but Reverse always picks and chooses, warm or not, when it wants to work. It's very annoying to deal with on a car that doesn't even have 800 miles yet.

When it doesn't want to go in gear I will let it roll down the hill a bit and try again, usually I have to do that multiple times before it angrily goes in gear. I've even tried letting out the clutch and pushing it back in again-it won't work until I eventually have to jam it in gear.

This isn't my first manual....I had less problems driving my husband's POS manual Sunfire, and that thing was guaranteed to grind into 2nd and 5th gear.

Any ideas?

I have a 6 speed 2010. No problems at all. For the first few hundred miles, the linkage was tight, so getting into second gear was tough - sometimes, it was like it just completely blocked you from going into second. I fixed it myself - I just pushed really hard to the left while moving the shifter between 1st and 2nd gear about a hundred times! No more problems after that, very smooth. The only thing that I still don't like after a year is the hanging revs due to the e-throttle, but that is the way most manuals are now.

Good luck, sounds like you have a warranty issue.

***arabianobsession*** · 10-08-2010, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdanaher

How many miles so far? Maybe it is time to give it back to the dealer and have them disassemble the thing and look to see if any gears need to be shimmed to work better.

The car has 809 miles currently. Luckily I work at a dealership it's just a matter of when they can fit me in. This morning it shifted perfectly, last night it was a nightmare, a couple times had people honking at me because I couldn't get it to go in gear and take off.

And about the hanging revs.....it's something I got used to as well. Kinda miss the old school manuals but if you want a new car you don't have a choice lol. I'll try going back and forth between 1st and 2nd and see what happens....thanks!

gdanaher · 10-08-2010, 12:45 PM

809 miles is really new! Manuals frequently don't have synchs on the reverse gear. Yes, exercising the shifter through 1 and 2 should help but you will need to do it a lot. Your dealership likely has one old expert who knows transmissions. Find him and have him drive it a few blocks and get his opinion. Manual transmissions are really pretty simple things and I think there is likely no reason to pull it, but he should drive it. His opinion is worth a million.

Frodo65 · 10-08-2010, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arabianobsession

My Camry has been having an issue with Reverse, 1st, and 2nd gear. When it's cold it doesn't want to go in gear sometimes, and by the time the car warms up 1st and 2nd gear are usually good but Reverse always picks and chooses, warm or not, when it wants to work. It's very annoying to deal with on a car that doesn't even have 800 miles yet.

When it doesn't want to go in gear I will let it roll down the hill a bit and try again, usually I have to do that multiple times before it angrily goes in gear. I've even tried letting out the clutch and pushing it back in again-it won't work until I eventually have to jam it in gear.

This isn't my first manual....I had less problems driving my husband's POS manual Sunfire, and that thing was guaranteed to grind into 2nd and 5th gear.

Any ideas?

Have the dealer check out the clutch for hanging up - i.e. not releasing fully, or clutch linkage not going 'all the way out'.

***arabianobsession*** · 10-09-2010, 09:14 AM

Been playing with the car a bit the last couple of days.....all of a sudden it started shifting perfect again, although I'm not convinced the problem solved itself. I'm going to keep an eye on it for the next few days and see if it pops up again.

Thank you guys for the advice.....I really like the idea of pushing it back and forth between 1st and 2nd. Will keep you posted!!!!