On the first drive of the day, the shifting is fairly smooth (not great, but decent). However, as the trans warms up, it actually gets WORSE, to the point that it is often hard to get into 1st gear sitting at a light without first pulling it back into 2nd. Also, it seems more like it "sticks" in each gear (ie, going from gear to neutral), rather than being hard to pull INTO gear. Has anyone experienced this? What might the cause(s) be?? Thanks much!

 

What kind of shape is the clutch in?

 

Your symptoms suggest that the clutch is not releasing. Air in the hydraulic line could cause this. Also, hot air from engine heat expands. Rather than pulling into 2nd before engaging first, try to stomp on the clutch 2 or three times quickly see if that makes it easier to engage 1st. Better yet, BLEED the clutch, it is not that hard, and it would eliminate it as a possibility. I had air in mine once, and bleeding it took care of all the symptoms.

Good luck,
John

 

I haven't had the car very long, so I'm not sure what shape the clutch is in (89K miles). It sure seems to grab very quickly, though. I'll try bleeding it to see if that helps. Thanks very much for the info!