Hard to shift into 1st when "cold"...

[Elite130]

I'm having troubles shifting into 1st gear with my new (3300 miles on odo) Mazda6 when the car is "cold". I hate to use the word cold because about 50* at night right now, so the oil is probably around the same temp. The only time it will go into 1st is when the car is completely stopped. After a few minutes, and the oil warms up, I have no problems. Is this normal? I'm just worried that come winter time and it is 0* out, that the thing wont shift at all. Thoughts or suggestions?

Could I fix this by using a different type of tranny fluid?

 

[skylinemonster]

I'm having troubles shifting into 1st gear with my new (3300 miles on odo) Mazda6 when the car is "cold". I hate to use the word cold because about 50* at night right now, so the oil is probably around the same temp. The only time it will go into 1st is when the car is completely stopped. After a few minutes, and the oil warms up, I have no problems. Is this normal? I'm just worried that come winter time and it is 0* out, that the thing wont shift at all. Thoughts or suggestions?

Could I fix this by using a different type of tranny fluid?

Friend, I don't know what your driving habits are, but you should NEVER go into first while the vehicle is still moving. This is unnecessary abuse on your first gear synchro. Please try to stop this. This transmission is terribly expensive and warranty support from mazda unfortunately is like pulling teeth. You can try flushing out all the tranny fluid and try penzoil synchromesh. It works wonders on notchy transmissions.

 

[Elite130]

Friend, I don't know what your driving habits are, but you should NEVER go into first while the vehicle is still moving. This is unnecessary abuse on your first gear synchro. Please try to stop this. This transmission is terribly expensive and warranty support from mazda unfortunately is like pulling teeth. You can try flushing out all the tranny fluid and try penzoil synchromesh. It works wonders on notchy transmissions.

LOL, after reading my post again, I don't think I explained my situation completely...I don't shift into gear unless the car is at a dead stop or a couple mph. Regardless, I do not try to force the shifter if it doesn't slide into gear. Trust me, I don't want to mess up any of the synchros or anything.

To clarify, I cannot shift into 1st or reverse (I left out reverse in the original post) unless the car has been at a dead stop for a few seconds, and I "massage" it in (i.e. wrestle with it a bit). It goes in, but not smoothly. This problem goes away after a couple minutes of driving. I had this problem in my '02 Mustang GT. I couldn't even get the Mustang into 1st when it was cold, I had to start in 2nd until the tranny warmed up. It turned out Ford was putting too much oil in the tranny which prevented smooth shifting, among other things.

I'm just wondering if I replace the tranny fluid with a different product like Royal Purple or Redline, would that help the problem or should I take it into Mazda?

 

[BlackCherry06]

Redline MT-90 cured all the notchiness and stubbornness in my tranny. Give that a try. It flows better cold than the factory fill.

 

[archeng59]

I have a 2003 M6. I had that problem after the dealer changed the fluid a few months ago. It's better now that the temps are up, but during the winter months it was tough to shift into 1st and reverse until after the car warmed up. Talked to the dealer about it and they were not much help. I did NOT have the problem until the dealer changed the fluid.