2006 Mazda 3 S GT Hatchback, 2.3L 5 speed with 141k miles.
I have only had the car about 3-4 months and it has been driving beautifully and smoothly and then just the other day I noticed a strange stiffness in the shifter as I would navigate through the gears.
There is no slippage of the clutch, or the shifter popping out of gear, just a general stiffness. The shifter doesn't pop back into "center" when in neutral like is used to and it doesn't plop/drop with ease into the gear like it did before when I was shifting.
Any idea what this could be and why it would happen so abruptly? It seems like it was fine one day and then stiff the next.
I was thinking this too. I'm in NC and it has been hot lately (90s) but the car has been doing this after it's up to operating temperature and after sitting overnight and I am on my way to work when the temp is around mid 70s. So basically I've tested it with the engine both cool and hot.
I went ahead and ordered some Redline to do a tranny fluid change in case that is the problem... any chance it could be?
Yeah, that is the only thing I don't know for sure, but I will definitely change it.
My question was do the symptoms sound like something that could be rectified by a transmission fluid change, or must it be something else? Either way, I will change the fluid, lol.
Anyone's guess at this point. Definitely replace the fluid, it should be a bit dark in color when coming out. Trans fluid is usually a reddish color, but what you may get out may be a burgundy color to black.
Before you really want to say anything though, give it a week or two after replacement, as the first few days feel AMAZING, lol, so don't be swayed so quickly that it fixed any issues.
Never hurts to replace lubricants though.
As a very side note, look up some DIYs for replacing our trans fluid. You need a weird setup usually to get oil down into it, I got a filter + tube thing from Harbor Freight that worked pretty well, and just bungee tied it to my hood, others come up with adjustable funnels and weird setups. Either way... worth looking into because it is very awkward.
Side note 2, trans fluid has a very particular smell. Not a lot of people like it, in fact I know several people that gag over the smell.
Personally I kind of like it, so be aware, don't start sniffing the stuff lol, it is very pungent.
Gotcha. Do you worry about getting the car back down to level (or I guess putting it on 4 jack stands etc.) when trying to fill the tranny fluid or can you just have the front end up on jacks and drain and fill it that way?
You can do it with the car on ramps, heck, if it's at stock height you probably don't even need to jack it up, but yeah, just the front, should be just fine.
UPDATE: so I haven't had a chance to change the tranny fluid yet due to the rainy weather, but today when leaving work for lunch, I noticed the shifter was again really stiff. It had previously loosened up to maybe 70-75% of what it normally feels like. Anyway, I start driving and get it up to 5th gear and am cruising for about 2 miles and then when I have to downshift for a traffic light I notice that the shifter felt 100% back to normal all of a sudden!! It was springy and loose and felt great! It went it to gear and out of gear just like it always had!
While this is technically good news, I have no idea why it would have been stiff to begin with, and why it would return to its former state. Could this still be a possible tranny fluid issue? Could this be connected to ANYTHING else, like the really hot weather in NC lately? I know this is random but could it be related to the fact that I am using my AC a lot because of the NC heat? Anything related to how I might have the car parked? I park it on a very very slight downward slope and I leave it in first gear with the E-brake engaged? Maybe it is just a quirky thing that can't ever be explained?
I am reaching for conclusions, as this is mind-boggling to me at the moment.
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