Stubborn Gears

winngames · 19 May 2014 at 19:32

Hi everyone,

I bought a used 2008 Mazda 2 with 43k miles on it last week and since then I've been having difficulty changing down gear. The only way round it is to put it into neutral, release the clutch then select desired gear. Any ideas what this could be?

I don’t go through the gears 4th,3rd,2nd ….

I tend to do go from 4th to 2nd, well attempt too anyway. My car will not let me shift down unless I’m doing a certain speed even with the clutch in; it’s a real pain when approaching roundabouts.

Is this normal?

Cheers

EDIT**

forgot to mention, the problem only shows when the engine is warm (15 minute + drive)

shauncr91 · 19 May 2014 at 19:45

From a dealer? Take it back.

Dogbreath · 19 May 2014 at 19:48

This could be caused by the clutch dragging, i.e. not releasing fully. Does the clutch feel normal in terms of the bite point i.e. not very close to the floor or very close to the top of the pedal?

winngames · 19 May 2014 at 19:51

shauncr91 said:
From a dealer? Take it back.

I got it from Arnold Clark and they told me I should be going through the range of gears but I've never been force to that with the other cars I've driven. got it booked in for Friday but they sounded like its my fault and nothing to do with the car. :/

winngames · 19 May 2014 at 19:52

Dogbreath said:
This could be caused by the clutch dragging, i.e. not releasing fully. Does the clutch feel normal in terms of the bite point i.e. not very close to the floor or very close to the top of the pedal?

the biting point is about half way which isnt bad, i took it to halfords for a free check and they said the clutch is fine but it could be the pressure plate isn't disengaging which is about £350 to fix

GravyMonster · 19 May 2014 at 19:54

That isn't your fault. They're trying it on to avoid a claim.

As said above it could be the clutch dragging, or possibly an issue with the sychro on the way out. Suprised you didn't pick up on it when you test drove it though.

winngames · 19 May 2014 at 19:58

Spunkey said:
That isn't your fault. They're trying it on to avoid a claim.

As said above it could be the clutch dragging, or possibly an issue with the sychro on the way out. Suprised you didn't pick up on it when you test drove it though.

when i test drove it there wasnt really a problem but i forgot to mention, the problem only shows when the engine is warm (15 minute + drive) think it could be the oil in the gearbox?

shauncr91 · 19 May 2014 at 20:39

Could be a gearbox linkage issue if it only happens when warm...my ST did the exact same thing and it ended up going a £3.50 bush that took me half an hour to replace.

atpbx · 19 May 2014 at 22:26

winngames said:
the biting point is about half way which isnt bad, i took it to halfords for a free check and they said the clutch is fine but it could be the pressure plate isn't disengaging which is about £350 to fix

I had a similar problem many years ago on an escort, that was the pressure plates.