Gear shift very tight

[samp55]

Hi,

I have a 2000 Toyota Corolla. Recently my gear shift has become very tight and it takes a lot of force to shift gears. Does anyone know what would cause a problem like this?

[Voodoo.Priest]

Are you using you clutch?

[Takeshi_Nakazato]

Is your slave cylinder full of fluid? I have gone without any and it's extremely hard to get into gear, but once you fill it back up, smooth sailing.

Hopefully that's what's wrong.

[samp55]

The problem might be something as simple as low fluid. I'm afraid to take it to a mechanic though . He may easily say the problem is something else and have me replace other items besides the fluid as well.
I once took my car to Midas due to a "grinding noise when braking" problem. The mechanic did an overall inspection and told me that besides the brakes, he found cracks in my serpentine belt and that I could lose my power steering if it is not replaced. Maybe it was true but I have my doubts. I had no choice but to replace it. The car was only 3 years old at the time. I thought belts, especially Toyota belts, last for a long time.

[Jaspher]

Originally posted by samp55
Hi,

I have a 2000 Toyota Corolla. Recently my gear shift has become very tight and it takes a lot of force to shift gears. Does anyone know what would cause a problem like this?

I had this problem before. What I did was changed the MTL fluid to Redline MT-90. My shifting is now very light. My capacity was 2L. Check your manual for your manual trans fluid cap.

[Chris Corolla S]

Originally posted by samp55
The problem might be something as simple as low fluid. I'm afraid to take it to a mechanic though . He may easily say the problem is something else and have me replace other items besides the fluid as well.
I once took my car to Midas due to a "grinding noise when braking" problem. The mechanic did an overall inspection and told me that besides the brakes, he found cracks in my serpentine belt and that I could lose my power steering if it is not replaced. Maybe it was true but I have my doubts. I had no choice but to replace it. The car was only 3 years old at the time. I thought belts, especially Toyota belts, last for a long time.

Dude no one said to take it to the mechanic, just pop the hood and see if your clutch fluid is low! And if the guy says your belt is cracked but you are not sure you need to replace it, then look at the belt yourself! It's not rocket science. I'm sure you could find it. If it is indeed cracked, then yes, it needs to be replaced. Let us know if you needed fluid or it is something else Good luck.

[checkman]

Are you using you clutch?
======================
lol

[samp55]

Hi,

Does anyone know if problems with the gear shift is normally covered by warranty?

[Chris Corolla S]

Your 3 year/36,000 mile warranty will cover anything.

The 5 year/50,000 mile warranty covers power train only. That should include your transmission, but might exclude the actual shifter mechanism.

Call the dealer to find out for sure or check your warranty if you have it

[samp55]

Well, I finally took the car to the dealer to examine the gear shift problem. Turns out there were problems inside the gear shift with the wires being pressed in. Repair costed about 137 bucks and was not covered by warranty. Glad the problem is over. Don't know why it happened though.