Megane doesn't like 1st gear

What are you doing trying to shift into first while the car is moving anyway?

Sure, I agree it's not something I do that often. But I find I do it at low speeds at junctions when I know I'll need to pull away from stationary or an incline. Point is that under that situation the problem is more noticeable. I can still feel resistance going into 1st from neutral and stationary.

nothing wrong in shifting into first while the car is moving. i do it on a regular basis in my corolla coming up to a mini roundabout on a hill. i found out of interest that i can change into first still doing about ten miles an hour, no problem and often very useful whilst travelling slowly. why come to a standstill if you dont have to?

The 2 Clios i have had is exactly the same, i think thats the design of it.

Muggy

By far and away the most likely cause is the clutch 'dragging' slightly - the lower the gear the more effort the synchromesh has to overcome. Has it synchromesh on reverse? If not, a crunch engaging reverse is the dead giveaway.

You could also prove it by revving the engine slightly on changing down - ie matching the revs to that which it will go to in the lower gear. This is good practice anyway for long gearbox life.

Why do you want to change in to 1st at over 10 mph - completely pointless. Most cars will require effort to get in to first gear when the car is rolling at such speeds.

Gearbox is most likely fine. Rev matching and double declutching helps changes down to first.

not if you are on a steep hill.

You're on a bloody steep hill and you've cocked up if you need first whilst you're moving. You should get in second in plenty of time with plenty of revs so that you don't need first. Perhaps in something really underpowered with long gearing you might, but not anything halfway decent.

underpowered

can you not think of a situation on steep hill where you are 'forced' to reduce speed (as in approaching a roundabout) to about five miles an hour and then have the choice of, (a). stopping and selecting first gear and (b). keep rolling and select first. underpowered? long gearing? cerebral compaction? toyotas are not crap gearboxes by the way. they slide into first at quite high speeds. a tribute to their engineering skills.

Cheers guys. I had a feeling the gearbox may have been fine. I've not got many miles in manual cars so I did wonder if the behavior I noticed was actually normal.

Car doesn't crunch when going into reverse and I did notice that rev-matching helped it go down a gear. Will use the tip for extending gearbox life.

Rob

Is it equally as difficult to engage reverse from rest as first? Many boxes have synchromesh on reverse these days, so won't crunch.

If reverse goes in easily, but first is difficult, it might just be a design funny.

Of course I can. How often does this happen though? I've never had to change down to first on a steep hill. I've changed down to first at various speeds, but it's not necessary in day to day driving.

I've not mentioned Toyotas. I was thinking of something along the lines of a

45 horsepower Polo, with 30 topping out at about 35mph, and second at 55 or so. Fairly long gears for something with that little go.