2010 MS3 shifting sounds

[xsilent13x]

I here it too. I got 400 mile on my car and its a pretty loud clunk. Let my buddy mechanic take a spin and he pretty much said the stock motor mounts are most likely making the noise. Since the motor mounts on these cars have a lot of play in them. I guess it's normal until you get aftermarket mounts. I still can't understand why they come out of the box with such loose mounts. (dunno)

 

[Stavesacre21]

After almost 8000 miles on my MS3, i've almost learned to tune it out. It still does it but it's becoming just as normal as the rev of the engine now. You don't notice it unless you're looking for it.

All said and done, i've had numerous other things bother me significantly more then this. creaks/squeaks are starting to show their nasty face, and i've apparently got an isolated problem (to me) of cruise control issues. Thats and sub-sticker gas mileage have far overshadowed any of the shifter problems that originally drove me crazy.

 

[gogogomoveit]

After almost 8000 miles on my MS3, i've almost learned to tune it out. It still does it but it's becoming just as normal as the rev of the engine now. You don't notice it unless you're looking for it.

All said and done, i've had numerous other things bother me significantly more then this. creaks/squeaks are starting to show their nasty face, and i've apparently got an isolated problem (to me) of cruise control issues. Thats and sub-sticker gas mileage have far overshadowed any of the shifter problems that originally drove me crazy.

I have 1500 on mine now and I really cannot hear any clunks or noises during shifting. Does it occur only under hard driving? also I am having 24mpg avg on the car which is not exactly bad for a car of this performance.

 

[Stavesacre21]

Actually, when pushed hard, you're not gonna notice it at all. It's usually the more leasurely and quiet driving that makes it obvious.

As for the MPG, i'll admit that it's held its own in the town rating. I very rarely fall under about 20-21. However, the HWY is my huge gripe...on entire trips on the highway, i'll be lucky to get sticker to maybe 26. I know it's rated 25 but that's with the new rating system. If you were to cruise at 60 for a whole tank with the windows up and the A/C off in 70 degree weather, tipping 30MPG shouldn't be tough to do. Take the 1st gen MS3 for example...30MPG talk is far from unheard of.

Oh believe you me...I owned a new RX-8, so I KNOW what bad gas mileage is. 230HP and 159lb-ft TQ with an amazing city rating of 14 city/20 hwy got old WAYYYY too fast. I love the MS3 for all that it is, i'm just mearly saying that it's got its flaws though, as does any car. I previously owned an MS6 as well and aside from the AWD, it's a complete hands down win for the Speed3.

 

[coyfish]

^^^ Hands down win for the speed 3 . Not sure about that one !

 

[akosiharold_510]

same thing happen to my MS3 with 400 miles. i ordered cp-e motor mount to see if this will go away. will also order a alum. base bushing and probably SS kit after that.. hehe.. we'll see. just got the car last week.

 

[Caedmon7777]

I have a 2010 Speed 3 and mine make the noise as well. I also had a '00 protege and that made the same sound as well.

 

[XspeedyD]

same thing happen to my MS3 with 400 miles. i ordered cp-e motor mount to see if this will go away. will also order a alum. base bushing and probably SS kit after that.. hehe.. we'll see. just got the car last week.

and you will buy more than that.... its a vicious addiction.

but yeah mine does it to but w/e. these tranny's seem to be pretty strong, i havnt heard of any regular issues even with power, just a few lemons but thats a given

 

[ilandaze_808]

does anyone get a shaking feeling in shifter or chattering noise when down shifting from 3rd to 2nd gear. i got a ssp and solid shifter bushings and a cs rear motor mount.

 

[akosiharold_510]

and you will buy more than that.... its a vicious addiction.

but yeah mine does it to but w/e. these tranny's seem to be pretty strong, i havnt heard of any regular issues even with power, just a few lemons but thats a given

hehe. i know. i plan on mildly modding my MS3 in the future. so shifter and mounts are going to be my first mod.

just a question. well this is my first MT car and was wondering if it's bad that i accidentally rev the engine? i was shifting from 2nd to 3rd and missed. rev the engine high. probably around 8-9k.(sad1)

 

[XspeedyD]

hehe. i know. i plan on mildly modding my MS3 in the future. so shifter and mounts are going to be my first mod.

just a question. well this is my first MT car and was wondering if it's bad that i accidentally rev the engine? i was shifting from 2nd to 3rd and missed. rev the engine high. probably around 8-9k.(sad1)

well if you hit the rev limiter you are ok. where you can cause damage is if u miss a shift and say go into 1st instead of third and you over rev the car, the rev limiter wont help u there and you can cause serious engine damage. revving the engine is fine, my car loves it!

 

[El Speed3]

well if you hit the rev limiter you are ok. where you can cause damage is if u miss a shift and say go into 1st instead of third and you over rev the car, the rev limiter wont help u there and you can cause serious engine damage. revving the engine is fine, my car loves it!

+1 on the whole comment...

and wouldnt you know it?? my car also loooooves when I rev the engine!!

 

[edspeed3]

The clunk sound ips going to happen regardless of whatever u do. I have the jbarone sssp and the shifter bushings along with the cp-e 75 duro rmm and I have the e4p shift knob. You can still hear the clunk when the car goes into 2nd from first and even 4th from 3rd. It's just the nature of this tranny. If you don't want the tranny to clunk that much get rid of your ssp because that's is the main thing that causes the clunking. The reason the tranny clunk's is because when u shorten the shifting in through the gears you force the gears to shift faster through each gear. When that happens there's going to be a side effect and the side effect is the noise.

 

[Stavesacre21]

Just checkin in with this thread again. 11K miles and it's still there...no louder, no softer. I'm almost positive it's just the shifter linkages now. Since the car is more race-ready then a stock 3, I don't think they worried near as much about insulating the tranny as much.

It's not hurting anything, and it really does start to blend in as one of the regular sounds for the vehicle to make. Case is all but closed on this issue in my book. Now if they could only get that cruise control right...

 

[Stavesacre21]

Has anyone tried to replace the rear motor mount yet? I'm starting to suspect that it could be a possible culprit in the infamous thunking. I'm thinking about trying out the $35 Corksports to at least see if it's possibly my problem. After seeing how much slack there is in the motor mount, it seems like it could fit the bill. The sound happens when shifting, rather is be hard or casually, and can only be defeated when VERY slowly easing in AND out of gears. To me, something connecting the engine and the tranny could possibly do it.

Has anyone else installed the Corksport inserts? Anyone had any other finds on this issue? Just checking in as usual.

 

[JBR]

Its the shifter linkage... Relax boys

You are dead on!!

Let me try and explain...When you shift the car the main arm that rotates on the the transmission is hitting a stop. When it hits that stop you will hear a thunk. That noise is then transferred through the shift cable assembly all the way to the base of the shifter. This is why many of you have reported hearing the noise from under the center, left, or rear drivers side area of the car.

When a shift plate OR short shifter assembly is installed the speed at which the arm on the transmission rotates is increased; to eliminate a louder thunk sound I provide a shift weight with my kits that is 6+ ounces less than the stock shift weight. The noise is somewhat still there and unavoidable. Now, when solid shifter base bushings are added to the equation you have now removed the stock rubber vibration isolators and replaced them with SOLID aluminum bushings. Now the noise is that much more prevalent. There is nothing to be worried about; the transmission is fine. Also a rear motor mount will not stop this noise from occurring. Believe me, if the motor hits the fire wall you'll know it. With that said a rear motor mount is highly recommended to improve the shift quality and reduce wheel hop if you drive your car hard. I hope this helps and by the way it's not just the 2010 MS3's that this happens with.

Thanks,
Jamie

 

[Stavesacre21]

Thanks for the insight Jamie. Why do you think that some people hear it and others don't then? Could it be that some people just believe it to be normal and others isolate it an out of the ordinary? Shift linkages sound extremely likely, but the hit-or-miss factor of it all is what makes me really scratch my head.

 

[XspeedyD]

some people are more sensitive than others and/or people try to "find" a problem. Same reason some say vibes are a lot on a rear motor mount when i pretty much cant even tell a difference

 

[Stavesacre21]

I'm trying my best not to notice this, but it's still getting to me. Trust me...i'm not looking from problems. On my way into work tonight, I even noticed that if you engage the clutch sooner then you intended to (since it's got such a quick pickup), it will also make the exact same, identical sound. This is after you've shifted, so the linkages aren't even in motion.

That said, it almost seems like we should be able to narrow down the area of interest. It has contact with the tranny/shifter AND is affected by the clutch/release. Only so many parts could have a direct connection between the two of them and still make the same sound. What's the common bond between these 2?

 

[JBR]

Thanks for the insight Jamie. Why do you think that some people hear it and others don't then? Could it be that some people just believe it to be normal and others isolate it an out of the ordinary? Shift linkages sound extremely likely, but the hit-or-miss factor of it all is what makes me really scratch my head.

I can only speculate but I think some of it has to do with the individuals driving style. Some shift harder and are harder on the shifter. I for example can shift very fast but I don't slam it in to gear. I kind of have a built in mental stop instead of banging the the shifter in to the bottom or top of each gear. I also think that like mentioned above some guys are just more sensitive than others to things like this. Please don't misunderstand me; I'm not discounting how anyone feels. Also it's not something that happens every time so....it is what it is.

Thanks,
Jamie