Questions regarding characteristics of 5sp manual in Base.

[csharrigan]

Hey Guys,I finally have an appointment for the dealership to seriously look into my "quirky starting problem," I have 1700 miles on the car now, and have a few questions about the base manual tranny. Is it normal for the shifter to not go into 1st unless stopped or close to stopped 5-10 mph?I have noticed three times that the car doesnt go easy into reverse... feel a little vibration and have to "push" it rather than it sliding in.I have driven standards before, however this is my first new standard, and am pretty used to a well worn one.Let me know if these are normal operating characteristics, or if I should be concerned, Thanks.Chris

[rlfreese]

both are normal on the vibe, most newer cars wont let you go into firts without it being a low speed the reverse is normal, we all have that problem. It drives me crazy when it grinds cause people look at it like it is a pos

[RIT]

My 5-speed seems fine, although i usually wait until the car is at a slow roll before going into 1st. As far as reverse, sometimes it is hard to get it into, so i will put it in Neutral, and let the clutch out to get the synchros spinning, and then put in the clutch, and it will go into Reverse much easier.

[Mase]

Reverse doesn't have synchros. Plus reverse uses dog teeth instead of mesh teeth like the forward gears. That explains why it can be hard to get in sometimes. Just re-clutch and stick it in. It even states so in the manual.If you ever want to downshift into first while moving, you'll need to rev-match your shift.I'm afraid everything sounds normal for your car. Your trip to the dealer might be a wasted one.

[joatmon]

Mine is like yours, so I too would say it is normalQuote, originally posted by Mase »I'm afraid everything sounds normal for your car. Your trip to the dealer might be a wasted one.Everything about the tranny anyway, but he still has the starting problem discussed in http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=18815

[mcgusto82]

my car almost always grinds going into reverse when ever the engine is cold. i have thought about going to the dealer. i think it's bulls**t that a new car grinds going into reverse. it does make me feel stupid, or atleast look it when people hear that grind. it sounds like i don't know what im doing.GM should step up and recall the tranny. I am sure it does little to promote the life of the tranny.

[MrRich]

Quote, originally posted by mcgusto82 »my car almost always grinds going into reverse when ever the engine is cold. i have thought about going to the dealer. i think it's bulls**t that a new car grinds going into reverse. it does make me feel stupid, or atleast look it when people hear that grind. it sounds like i don't know what im doing.GM should step up and recall the tranny. I am sure it does little to promote the life of the tranny.You should ask Joatmon how "good" our transmissions are!

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by mcgusto82 »GM should step up and recall the tranny. I am sure it does little to promote the life of the tranny.GM should step on Toyota and put their own damn trannies in.Then your problems would be nonexistent.

[21Rouge]

Quote, originally posted by csharrigan »Is it normal for the shifter to not go into 1st unless stopped or close to stopped 5-10 mph?I cant imagine putting the car into first while in motion at 10 mph. If it is motion it should be in 2nd !Quote, originally posted by csharrigan »I have noticed three times that the car doesnt go easy into reverse... feel a little vibration and have to "push" it rather than it sliding in.Definitely usual to be find it more difficult to put it into reverse.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »GM should step on Toyota and put their own damn trannies in.Then your problems would be nonexistent.That would be heavenly! I don't drive manuals, but a GM automatic would be so nice... I miss those smooth shifts that you can just barely detect, this harsh Toyota thing in my car that jolts my innards every time the stupid thing shifts sucks the big one. But anyway... It's probably going to die soon anyway from the way it's shifting, so oh well. What a high quality piece of work, not even at 60,000 yet and i'm questioning its long term reliability. Anyway, back to the manuals, not the place for my auto rant... Do you have to grind the heck out of other modern trannies to get the thing to go into reverse? Or is this just a Toyota thing? Trying to figure out why they engineered it that way, that would annoy the heck out of me if I had one.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »GM should step on Toyota and put their own damn trannies in.Then your problems would be nonexistent.yeah, but the 5-speed Vibe still gets the best mpg of the entire extended GM product line

[binary]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »GM should step on Toyota and put their own damn trannies in.Then your problems would be nonexistent.Ahh... what a great day that would be.

[mcgusto82]

you know what else makes me mad about the tranny. it's all toyota and we get the stupidly short GM warranty. 3/36. just now, they've extended it to 4 years.i think race ferraris have longer warranty.

[Thewhite]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »GM should step on Toyota and put their own damn trannies in.Then your problems would be nonexistent.then I'll have to sell my Vibe, because prob will start, 1st 'cause it's a GM tranny, 2nd 'cause you'll mix two different technologies (engine and tranny)