I have a 2k1 5sp with almost 19k miles and have been having a hard time getting the car to go into 2nd gear when downshifting if the car is cold. This usually only happens after the car hasn't been driven for a while and the temperature is cold out. It goes into gear, it's just a lot harder than usual and I can feel like the shifter is catching on something first. It only happens when I put it into 2nd when approaching a turn and the other gears and upshifts feel smooth. I guess my question is does this sound like something normal for a cold transmission or should I go get the transmission checked? If its just a cold thing, switching to synthetic transmission fluid should help, right???

 

it will be covered under warranty. It is probably a small shred of metal that should drain out.

 

I had a similar problem on my old 90 Camry 5spd. But it had over 200k on it at the time and I was getting rid of it soon so we just said to hell with it. I shifted slow and double clutched when it was extremely cold out and the engine/tranny was still cold and that seemed to work around the problem.

But yeah, you're under warranty so take it in and have it looked at

 

Ok, thanks Guess I'll be visiting my friendly Nissan service dept. this week...

 

Are you trying to do it quickly? What are your RPMs at when you try to get it in second? probably the fastest and smoothest way to do it is to either rev match the speed before you move the shifter down to second..... or do it the way I do. (I do it after most tollway passes which I take at 40.)while in third push in the clutch and move it to neutral while barely adjusting pedal pressure. If downshifting from another gear you will almost always have problems shifting to second unless you revmatch. The syncros have to speed up the transmission before it will go into second easily. So either rev the engine to the apropriate RPM or just double clutch. while in third(or another gear) push in the clutch and move it to neutral while barely adjusting pedal pressure on the accelerator. Even easier you can slip it out of gear without using the clutch with a little coercion from the gas pedal. Let the clutch out when its in neutral while revving the engine then as fast as you can you'll be able to slam the clutch in again and move the shifter to second then immediately let it out. if you're right on with the RPMs and flooring it you'll just surge forward. If you're going 40 andrevving high when you let the clutch out in second you'll squeal the tires pretty good. You can do it in under a second..... and even if you don't double clutch youshould still rev match. you if should always rev match unless you want the car to decelerate before it accelerates. It's hard on your neck, the engine and the clutch. If you're just trying to move it from say 4th or 5th directly to second quickly you're obviously going to have problems.

If you're having problems downshifting without rev matching shifts and it hangs before going into second for more than 2 seconds you should probably have it checked out. If you're just wanting to do it fast....... then you have to rev match unless you want even more problems with your transmission.

One of the best parts about the maxima is how fast the engine revs. It's so easy to rev match and double clutch..... I love it. You automagics are missing out.

 

I'll have to try it that way tomorrow... I've had the car for a year now and it's only been doing it for about the last 2 or 3 weeks, and even then, only when the car seems to be cold (doing the same thing later, it shifts fine). When it occurs, it happens as I am going from 4th gear (say 40- 50 or so) and am preparing to turn at an intersection -- I push the clutch in, slow down, and then as I put it into 2nd (from 4th) it seems to catch for a second and then goes all the way into gear. I usually rev match, but I haven't tried the double-clutching yet. I don't remember it doing this last winter, so that's why I was asking if anyone else has heard of this.