Ben WRX Bug-Eye

I bought a MY01 WRX about three months ago with 15k on the clock. It’s my first Subaru and a great car in my opinion. Good forum too.



Up to about 20k miles now and totally happy apart from one issue. Changing into 3rd from 2nd seems especially ‘notchy’ and on a couple of occasions I have been unable to select the gear on the first attempt. This happens rarely but does cause momentary alarm if in the process of overtaking for example.



Is it normal for 3rd gear to be more ‘awkward’ that the others? I haven’t had any crunching sounds and the car is low miles, although I suspect the previous owner may have liked his track days etc.



The car is under warranty for a few more months yet and I am wondering whether to raise the issue with the dealer. Could this be a case of a worn syncro or am I being paranoid?



Thank you in advance for any advice,

Eprom

The box should not be like that, they can be notchy if you have a quick shift, because it requires more effort, but you should always be able to select gears.
1st gear is normally the worst, when changing down from 2nd.
Get the dealer to look at it, they can be expensive to repair.

Ben WRX Bug-Eye

I'll see what they have to say. Just anticipating them fobbing me off as it’s not a crippling problem, more of an irritation for the time being. At least I now know that third gear changes should not naturally be any different from the others.

Cheers

WRX_Rich

iTrader: (5)

my my02 bugeye does the same and has done from new, quick shift made it worse

Ben WRX Bug-Eye

Cheers for that Rich. I was considering getting a quick shift as I was hoping that would alter the smoothness of the gear changes for the better, but won't be bothering. Perhaps it's nothing to worry about and it doesn't detract from the car for me anyway.

MaDaSS

I have to say my MY03 is the same, and i too have quickshift.
3rd is "hard" to find if you are going for it fast. It is just a matter of getting used to it.

Aztec Performance Ltd

iTrader: (234)

Dont worry about the dealer fobbing you off....you can always compare the gear change with one of their cars on their forecourt if they do get ar$ey.

Moray

my MY00 does it from 4th to 5th but thats probably me its quickshift

Ben WRX Bug-Eye

Thanks for all the input. I've come to the conclusion that it’s not a big deal and I have been experimenting with how I change gear. I have found that if I be a bit more gentle with the gear change with a slightly different hand position on the stick it will pretty much always go into 3rd first time. I agree that it’s something I can get used to.



I'll give it a few more months and if it gets worse I'll get the dealer to take a look at it before the warranty expires. I like the suggestion about insisting on driving one of the other cars on the forecourt and will keep that in mind.



Bit concerned reading all the posts about gearbox problems though. It does seem to be a weak link as far as the new age cars go. Pretty shocked to hear of 03/04 cars crunching gears already etc. It seems to me from reading what’s come up lately that Subaru may have cut a few corners and are now going to pay for it as the warranty claims mount up. All in all I still think they are fantastic cars and don't regret for one minute buying one.



Cheers,

Ben