I had my car serviced a couple weeks ago (31K miles) and one of the jobs done was the replacement of the gearbox fluid. Since then, the shifter has felt stiff, particularly when going into first gear. The problem is obviously worse when cold, but it seems to be something that doesn't completely go away even after it warms up.

The service manager is a d**k, so I don't expect to get much cooperation on this item if I have to go back unless I've got a pretty good idea of what might be going on.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

not sure what to tell you. what did they replace the original tranny fluid with? an aftermarket synthetic or just a fresh batch of the stock fluid?

the only things i can think of is that maybe they replaced it with an inferior fluid or i guess its possible they just didnt put enough in. 2002/2003s hold about 2.5 quarts of tranny fluid whereas the 2000/2001s hold about 4.5 (i think) so maybe they only put 2.5 when 4.5 was needed.

or maybe its just in your head?

 

I can pretty much guarantee they used the stock fluid since the service was done at the dealer lot. I'm not sure if low fluid would cause the symptoms I'm feeling (unless they're in my head, as you say).

It almost feels like the linkage is misaligned - getting from neutral to first sometimes requires some force - more than I can recall, anyway. I guess I'll work with it for a week or two and see if it eases some if the weather ever warms up. If not, it'll be back to the dealer.

Thanks,

John