WRX Manual Tranmission.....

mine occasionally has similar noise when going into first or reverse, with the clutch fully depressed, it still sounds like it is grinding - the dealer has absolutely nothing to say about it.

tranmission problems.

tranmission problems.

You forgot to mention the clutch judder. I understand that balky first gear and the above are 'characteristics' of the WRX....mine has 'em. I find 1st gear difficult to select when moving in cold weather...no problems at present. Occasionally the clutch judders from cold but then smooths out OK I don't find it a particular problem and doubt if it can be fixed anyway from what I've read on the subject.

-- Clive Norris Selectron (UK) Ltd

>

I have a 2002 WRX with this exact problem. I took the car into the local dealer around March 03 (I only had ~8000 miles on the car) and they have never heard of this problem (surprised?). Well, after a little internet searching and printing, I took about 50 pages of complaints to my local dealer for them to read. I also contact 3 other dealers in different city's and they all said a clutch kit would fix this problem. After this, my local dealer suggested I get the newer clutch kit that had stronger clutch bolts. Well, after I got the car back, the clutch was very smooth, but I still have the problem shifting into 1st. Here is how I can reproduce the problem.

1. Downshifting. 3rd->2nd, pop clutch, then 2nd to 1st, GRIND!!!
2. Reverse then go into 1st gear (esp when tranny is warm).
3. Another way is in a quiet garage, place the transmission in neutral and leave the clutch out. You can actually hear the clutch spinning. Now, quickly push in the clutch and put the transmission into 1st. GRIND! This tells me it's a syncro problem.

This is a very frustrating problem with the WRX. It makes me wonder what the life span will be for the transmission? I've kept complaining to my local dealer but they are not capable of fixing this issue. I'm thinking about contact the district service manager and complaining. If I can demo the problem, you would think they can at least fix it!!!

I'm almost at the point I want to sell this car and go back to driving a truck. I love the WRX, but this problem needs to be addressed. I can't belive NO ONE at Subaru knows about this. I'm sure they know about this bug, but are unwilling to admit it.

Please be sure to post any updates anyone finds. The more we complain, the better the chances we have of getting it fixed.

Big snippage

Over at

or there's tons of stuff posted about the tranny. The basic problem is that the WRX is using the same tranny, albeit updated, as the Leone/Loyale series of Subies. There's just so much torque a tranny can take, and the WRX's is pushed damn close to the limit, if not a bit beyond. The big no-no for any WRX manual is anything that puts a shock load on the tranny. Clutch drops, failure to match revs on downshifts, trying to hurry the tranny, and generally shifting it like you stole it will kill the 1st and 2nd gear synchros in no time. Another weak point is prolonged full throttle pulls in third gear. The root cause is case flex. The tranny case bends under the load a WRX motor is capable of putting out (especially you modder types), this misaligns gears/synchros/you name it and BAM. If you want the tranny to last, you'll have to burn some clutch and shift only as fast as the mechanism will let you. Roll into the gas instead of punching it.

As for the clutch judder "problem," it isn't really a problem. The clutch friction material is very hard for long life and durability. As such, its minimum operating temperature (at which it'll engage smoothly) is well above what most cars see as ambient. So, it'll shudder in the mornings, especially when moist/humid. Once everything is up to temp, all is peachy. I've not brought mine in under the TSB for 2002 cars, mainly because I'm afraid that the cure will be worse than the disease.

Happily, the 2005 (for the US) uber-Legacy will bring with it a new 5-speed design. Since the STi 6-speed is too damn expensive for mass use, a new

5-speed will greatly improve the Legacy and the successor WRX.

The Captain

Thanks Ned...excellent post. I wasn't worried anyway but that explains all.

That could be a normal artifact of any gearbox. Read the forth paragraph of the following page:

-- Dominic Richens | snipped-for-privacy@alumni.uottawa.ca "If you're not *outraged*, you're not paying attention!"

i have had luck with topping off OEM tranny fluid with pennzoil/gm "synchromesh". there's a bit more friction in it, and it helps the synchros engage faster.

also, a lot of folks report excellent performance using redline shockproof lightweight or superlightweight. i myself have no experience, but i plan to in about 5k miles.

jm2c ken

Ken: I took my WRX to the local dealer and they want me to bring it back on Tuesday. They claim ANYONE that has had this problem has used the car to Rally! Anyway, they agreed to take it for a test drive and see if they can reproduce the problem.

I'm almost at the point where I want to sell it. I hate sitting at a light and grind the gears like a new driver.

We bought this car exactly 1 year ago this week and it had 2000 miles on it. It was a dealer demo car (I know, first mistake) for the first

2000 miles and if anyone rallyed it, they did. When we took it on a test drive the sales man was real agressive saying this car is built extra tuff to take hard driving. Now, the service department claims that if you drive that way, your abusing the car. Needless to say, my local dealer is crap (take a look at my e-mail address to figure out who i'm talking about!!).

I'll stay on their ass till I get an answer. I'll be sure to post what happens on Tuesday.

I WILL be buying a 2004 WRX in December. I was planning on the manual trans but all of this talk of problems makes me think that the auto might not be such a bad idea (other than my wife wanting to drive the car more). I do not plan to race it, just play with it a bit. It will be a drive daily car with some spunk. If I don't abuse it, will the manual tranny be OK?

David

mark, seriously, try out the syncromesh fluid. it worked very well on my car:

this is the same stuff:

personally i haven't gone back to the dealer since i drove it off the lot. they keep sending me notices for service, but i do it all myself and save my materials receipts (oil/filters/etc).

ken

Test drive the auto then the manual. Big difference because of turbo lag.

JaySee

David: From what I understand, the 04 WRX has a new transmission. So you should be OK. I would not even think of buying a WRX in Automatic. It's just too much fun shifting (even with the grind). Even if you like to get a little agressive with the car, the transmission should be able to take it without any ill effects.

So, an update on my situation. I took the car to my local dealer this morning. I made sure the tranny was good and warm for the to test drive. After the guy got back from the test drive, he told me he could reproduce the problem. Now, he has to call Subaru to find out what they need to do to fix it. I bet they will replace the first gear syncro. Will update when I get more info.

Did get a chance to look at a WRX STI.. sweet car. I think if I had the money to put towards the WRX, I would spend a little extra and get a STI.

Mark

Well, got the car back tonight. The grinding (so far) is gone. I can tell that a new syncro made an improvement. I'll continue to monitor to make sure that replacing the 1st gear syncro is a valid fix.

Oh, the cost of this would have been $1,000 if I was outside the

3year/36K. Good think I still had the warranty.

Anyway, double clutching is only a work around, not a solution.

I have now had my transmission repaired 4 times by my local dealer. My transmision grinds when shifting from netrual to first gear at red lights, (Im old so holding the clutch is a bummer). They have replaced the 1st gear syncro, clutch, and pressure plate. It still has a problem about 50% of the time. The real problem is that this only happened after they first repaired a rattle in the transmission when using reverse. I do not shift from 2nd into first so this I cannot comment on.

I have now contacted the district rep for repair and the district sales rep to see what I can do. The dealership first accused me of beating this car. But I insisted on inspecting the vechicle for other signs of abuse, and because there were none they are currently fixing this under warranty. They must have about 20 some odd hours into this so far not including the cost of the rental and the parts. Remember they can tell abuse by the color of the metal in the tranny, excessive heat puts a brownish color on the various parts. Just be insistant and make them fix it! If they can.

Try shifting to fourth and then to first. I somtimes have to do this on my BMW. Or when you anticipate the light will change, push in the clutch and let the transmission "spin down" for a few seconds before shifting. Yea Yea, it ain't supposed to be like that, but sometimes it is easier to work around a problem rather than deal with fixing it. For second to first shifts, you may want to learn to heel-toe shift. Do a google search to see what I mean. I think the problem with my BMW is a weak syncro and a clutch disk that may be slightly hanging up on the transmission shaft.

-Rob

For second to first shifts I have found that it works if I jab the brakes during the shift enough to compress the front struts a little. I have no idea WHY this works, but shifting the weight forward lets it slide right in for some reason.

Funny, I can shift from 2nd to first without depressing the clutch at all.

Simply match the revs, and she will slide right in.

If that is beyond your capabilities, double clutch for the same end result.

A synchro tranny should shift to first when the car is at a complete stop without a problem. I'd guess pressure plate if not.

nate