Trouble getting into first gear?

[sushlet]

Hello, I am a relatively new to driving a car with a manual transmission (tc2 is my first car with a manual tranny and only had it for about a month).

I was wondering if anybody has trouble getting into their first gear - like it goes in halfway but it never fully connects... I have to release clutch and reinsert it into first. Not a big problem but happens too often. Maybe once every time I go for a drive. My question is, is it a problem with my driving or is my transmission acting weird?

Another issue is getting into first when approaching stop signs. Am I not supposed to put it into first gear until I am completely stopped? It usually goes in, but once in awhile I can feel it grind if I am not completely stopped (moving really slowly).
:new_blowingup:

[Grindee392]

it sounds like your clutch is going. either the clutch or the master hydraulic for your clutch.

[sushlet]

It already needs replacement? This problem has existed ever since I got the car brand new a month ago. I know I was bad on it when I first started learning stick but it was only for the first few days that I was stalling and riding the clutch. I still have less than 1k miles on the car...

[donsun]

i have the same issue with my 2011 tC, not sure what the exact issue is but happens from time to time. and this has been mentioned on a forums and other people seem to concur as well.

[sushlet]

I see, I'm just glad that I didn't get a lemon (or I ruined it).

One last thing, since I am a new to stick, is it a bad idea to put the car in first gear while its rolling slowly towards a stop sign, or am I supposed to wait for a complete stop then put into gear? It just feels like I am spending too long at each stop sign because I am afraid the gears will grind if I put into first while moving...

[donsun]

um I'm not sure if what I do is right since the tC is my first car as well and I've been driving stick for a little over 3 months now, but what I do is I just leave it in whatever gear I'm in until i get down to about 3~5mph then put it in neutral then stop at the stop sign then i just put it into 1st and get moving again. when I was first driving I always used to hold the clutch down while stopping but I heard that it's bad for the clutch (don't know why lol). but now that I got a lot more comfortable with driving stick, changing gears is easy. the only thing I have to work on now is rev matching :/

[WooKie]

No issues on my end, I am sitting at 3700 miles on my tC and have not had this issue whatsoever, but I have been driving stick shift for more than 8 years.

Maybe changing your driving habits could help. I don't recommend putting it on first gear if you are decelerating to a stop, I even think the transmission wont let you unless you are completely stopped, it is like trying to putting the car on reverse while it's moving forward, it just won't happen. The best thing to do is put it in neutral and use the brakes to stop, that way you are not putting all that stress into your transmission and engine, also, holding the clutch is not a good thing, given that you are shortening it's life of the clutch by wearing out the bearing and pressure plate, clutch should be used only to switch from one gear to another. I hope this helps :up:

[sushlet]

Thanks WooKie that is helpful information.

Also when rev-matching (when I am in neutral and have not given it gas for awhile) is there supposed to be a slight feeling of a wall between the gears? Like I am rolling 20mph in neutral, but want to accelerate, I rev the engine up to 2500 in neutral, clutch in, and put it back into third <- at that moment I feel a wall between neutral and the gear. There is no grinding but is that wall natural?

Another thing, is it a bad idea to rev match with clutch in? Like I know people recommend single clutch-ing where you have to rev match with clutch in but when going back into gear (not downshifting) can I clutch in, put into gear, rev match, then slowly release clutch? Or is that basically burning my clutch?

[WooKie]

Thanks WooKie that is helpful information.

Also when rev-matching (when I am in neutral and have not given it gas for awhile) is there supposed to be a slight feeling of a wall between the gears? Like I am rolling 20mph in neutral, but want to accelerate, I rev the engine up to 2500 in neutral, clutch in, and put it back into third <- at that moment I feel a wall between neutral and the gear. There is no grinding but is that wall natural?

Another thing, is it a bad idea to rev match with clutch in? Like I know people recommend single clutch-ing where you have to rev match with clutch in but when going back into gear (not downshifting) can I clutch in, put into gear, rev match, then slowly release clutch? Or is that basically burning my clutch?

a wall between neutral and the gears? are you trying to shift into gear without using your clutch? because there shouldn't be a wall if you are using your clutch, unless you're not pressing it in all the way.

as far as rev matching with clutch in, yeah you'll burn your clutch, there is no need to rev match unless you are taking off on 1st and 2nd to keep the car at constant speed, once you put it in gear, depending on the gear you you'll have to ease the clutch with care, specially on 1st and 2nd gear, not much after 3rd gear

[sushlet]

Hmm, maybe my rpm or wheel speed does not match the gear I'm selecting is why, but I'm pretty sure I have the clutch in all the way... It happens most when I'm turning and downshifting. I enter the turn in 3rd gear, and when I finish I double clutch into 2nd. In the middle of the double clutch when I am in neutral I rev it up to 2.5k about and clutch in and when I move it to second there is the wall feeling, I can push past it every time but I get the feeling it's bad for the car. Maybe it's too high revs or my car is too fast for second and therefore it doesn't want to go in?

[WooKie]

double clutching is bad and unnecessary, try this drill:

Clutch in>1st Gear>Clutch out slow WHILE Accelerating to a moderate RPM
Clutch in>2nd Gear>Clutch out slow>Accelerate to a moderate RPM
Clutch in>3rd Gear>Clutch out NOT so slow anymore>accelerate to moderate RPM
Clutch in>4thGear>Clutch out>Accelerate to moderate RPM or desired speed
Clutch in>5th Gear>Clutch out>Accelerate to moderate RPM or desired speed
Clutch in>6th Gear>Clutch out>Accelerate to desire speed.

Also try to do every gear change every 10MPH i.e.

1st - 10Mph or 15Mph
2nd -20Mph
3rd - 30Mph
4th - 40Mph
5th - 50Mph
6th - > 60Mph

This is ideal for moderate driving in the city if you are wanting to go a little faster, increase to every 15-20 per gear.

[sushlet]

I see... the reason I choose to double clutch is because I often put it into neutral and when I want to go back into gear I do the second half of the double clutch. And when I'm downshifting I end up do this as well.

Tbh, I was just scared of single clutching because I don't understand what it means to burn the clutch. Does it "burn" the same amount if you push the clutch in for 5 seconds (doing nothing else) compared to if you giving it gas for 5 seconds while the clutch is in? I avoided single clutching because I was not sure if burning the clutch means basically riding the clutch.

I have watched some videos, but still scared since it is a brand new car and I don't want to ruin it with my asian driver skills. So can tell me if my explanation of single clutching is correct before I attempt it?

4th gear going to 3rd gear single clutch:
1. clutch in
2. move shift knob from 4th to N while clutch is still in
3. gas until 2.5k rpm (too high/too low/doesn't matter just a little gas?)
4. move shift knob from N to 3rd
5. clutch out

Can I start to give it gas at 4th gear and hold it there while shifting to 3rd or should I only start to give it gas when shifter is at N?
Sorry for all the questions haha. Even my friends just tell me "just concentrate on daily driving."

[donsun]

double clutching is bad and unnecessary, try this drill:

Clutch in>1st Gear>Clutch out slow WHILE Accelerating to a moderate RPM
Clutch in>2nd Gear>Clutch out slow>Accelerate to a moderate RPM
Clutch in>3rd Gear>Clutch out NOT so slow anymore>accelerate to moderate RPM
Clutch in>4thGear>Clutch out>Accelerate to moderate RPM or desired speed
Clutch in>5th Gear>Clutch out>Accelerate to moderate RPM or desired speed
Clutch in>6th Gear>Clutch out>Accelerate to desire speed.

Also try to do every gear change every 10MPH i.e.

1st - 10Mph or 15Mph
2nd -20Mph
3rd - 30Mph
4th - 40Mph
5th - 50Mph
6th - > 60Mph

This is ideal for moderate driving in the city if you are wanting to go a little faster, increase to every 15-20 per gear.

just as you mentioned, letting the clutch out slowly on first and second seem to provide me with the smoothest shifting, is there a reason for why first and second need to be let out slowly while it's ok to just let go of the clutch on 3rd-6th gears?

thanks

[Grindee392]

when shifting gears you also want to make sure you arent pushing the gas before the clutch reaches the catch point when your releasing between gears. It takes practice but you get used to pushin onto the gas while releasing once the clutch hits the catch point such as going from 3rd gear to 4th. It helps for a smooth shift.

[WooKie]

I see... the reason I choose to double clutch is because I often put it into neutral and when I want to go back into gear I do the second half of the double clutch. And when I'm downshifting I end up do this as well.

Tbh, I was just scared of single clutching because I don't understand what it means to burn the clutch. Does it "burn" the same amount if you push the clutch in for 5 seconds (doing nothing else) compared to if you giving it gas for 5 seconds while the clutch is in? I avoided single clutching because I was not sure if burning the clutch means basically riding the clutch.

I have watched some videos, but still scared since it is a brand new car and I don't want to ruin it with my asian driver skills. So can tell me if my explanation of single clutching is correct before I attempt it?

4th gear going to 3rd gear single clutch:
1. clutch in
2. move shift knob from 4th to N while clutch is still in
3. gas until 2.5k rpm (too high/too low/doesn't matter just a little gas?)
4. move shift knob from N to 3rd
5. clutch out

Can I start to give it gas at 4th gear and hold it there while shifting to 3rd or should I only start to give it gas when shifter is at N?
Sorry for all the questions haha. Even my friends just tell me "just concentrate on daily driving."

Like I mentioned before, there is no need to accelerate while in neutral then put it in gear.

if you are in 4th and want to go into 3rd (and this applies to every other gear) there is no need to accelerate, just be gentle with the clutch and make sure you don't go from like 6th gear into 1st doing like 70MPH. just syncronize your gears 1-2-3-4-5-6-5-4-3-2-1


just as you mentioned, letting the clutch out slowly on first and second seem to provide me with the smoothest shifting, is there a reason for why first and second need to be let out slowly while it's ok to just let go of the clutch on 3rd-6th gears?

thanks

The reason of that is because 1st and 2nd gears are bigger than the rest, so the bigger the gear the more grip and power there is, so letting them out to fast the car will stall. i don't wanna get too much into detail because honestly i am not a professional mechanic lol

[egobuster1]

I would also recommend for the guys that are new to driving a stick get on YouTube and find some videos of people with cameras on there feet so you can get a feel for it as that helped me quite a bit

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[charlie07tC]

Double clutching has not been necesessary for a long time now, that's why your tranny has synchronizers, driving stick takes getting used to. try finding someone you know who has been driving stick for a while and watch him/her drive. I learned when I was 16 by having someone i knew take me out into the country and driving around, that was 24 years ago and I will never buy an automatic.

[sushlet]

Charlie I have tried single clutching for the first time yesterday and it is very smooth compared to double clutching where I sometimes had a wall feeling.

Right now (after a month of driving) manual transmission is starting to get enjoyable but only during the evening when there are few cars out. It's still a large pain in the ass to drive it in traffic... It's the only thing I regret about buying manual other than probably having to replace my clutch earlier.

[WooKie]

Charlie I have tried single clutching for the first time yesterday and it is very smooth compared to double clutching where I sometimes had a wall feeling.

Right now (after a month of driving) manual transmission is starting to get enjoyable but only during the evening when there are few cars out. It's still a large pain in the ass to drive it in traffic... It's the only thing I regret about buying manual other than probably having to replace my clutch earlier.

Driving on traffic is the best way you'll get used to driving stick and you will establish your way of driving. but hey, there is always time for something new, enjoy :up:

[MilitaryMan3]

You all had a choice learning to drive stick :P

I was working construction, was told to move one of our yard semi's with a 26,000lb panel on the trailer... Good learning experience! Though a semi is a lot different than cars and regular pickup trucks. Never go auto again!

When decelerating, I just pop the car into neutral and let off the clutch. I do a lot of coasting in my car, really helps gas mileage, and once you are used to the gears it takes nothing to hop into the proper gear and get going again. I've got the 2d Gen tC to the point where I can launch in second gear from a dead stop without riding the clutch. She goes!

[legosciontc]

id like to learn how to do that...im still trying though...any words of wisdom on that?

[sushlet]

Well, it's been over a month since my original post (drove about 1,000 miles since then) and I've gotten much better. I still suck at downshifting though...

An update on my original question, when I do complete stops and then putting it into first gear it ALWAYS gets into gear completely and without grinding. When I first started driving manual I thought it was okay to put it into first gear while slowly moving, but it does cause problems, albeit only once in awhile.

Like MilitaryMan3 said, I can not go back to driving an automatic. Drove my dad's van the other day and I had to think for awhile before I realized there's no clutch and shift knob 8).

[MilitaryMan3]

id like to learn how to do that...im still trying though...any words of wisdom on that?

Launching from second gear?

[Kolie]

We have had this issue on our new tC2 (less than 2,000 miles)...

We have had it not want to go into first gear a couple times..

And yesterday...It wouldn't go into REVERSE! Took it out of gear about 3-4 times before it would actually engage into Reverse.

It was the strangest thing.

Anyone swapped out their tranny fluid yet? Wondering if that would help?

[MilitaryMan3]

Once it gets broken in a bit I'm sure it will be better. I haven't had any issues... Though I now have the TRD short shifter, so it may make a world of difference too.

[Kolie]

Once it gets broken in a bit I'm sure it will be better. I haven't had any issues... Though I now have the TRD short shifter, so it may make a world of difference too.


How is that short shifter? Was thinking about getting that eventually...

[MilitaryMan3]

I love it, tightened everything up like it should be. Wouldnt mind it shortening a lil bit more... Now i need the clutch on the same page.

[sushlet]

Do you ever get that rough feeling going into second? It's the "roughest" gear I have with stock shifter and I don't like it...

[Kolie]

Do you ever get that rough feeling going into second? It's the "roughest" gear I have with stock shifter and I don't like it...

Haven't really noticed anything going into second..Will definitely pay more attention though..

[MilitaryMan3]

I remember once that it bounced out of second, but aside from that no issues... Short shifter probably affects it though too.