Should I be worried about this?

[DG1969]

So, I just picked up my 2nd '08 WRX in 2 months on Wed.
For the story on why it's the 2nd, see my post in the New Member Hangout - "My First Subaru" (wasn't allowed to post a link )
Anyway, on the first day & first few miles with my current WRX,
I noticed a smell like burning oil.
I figured maybe it's just part of breaking in a new engine - got it with 6 miles on it.
But I also remembered reading somewhere that this smell could also be the clutch burning.
Something to keep in mind here - this is my 2nd MT (not counting the first WRX) - my first was ~20 years ago. So, I may not be the most skilled clutch operator.
HOWEVER, I'm not driving this one any different from the first WRX, and I never experienced that odor during the ~850 miles I put on that one.
The smell has for the most part gone away (sometimes I think I get a whiff of it, but I may just be paranoid), supporting the idea that it may just be residue burning off the new engine.
However - twice now I've had it "pop" out of first gear.
Moving very slowly with the car in 1st, I hear a "thunk", and lo and behold, the shifter has popped out of gear.
Again - this never happened in the first WRX.
Does anyone recognize these as symptoms of a potential problem?
I've tried to replicate the conditions where it popped out of gear and haven't been able to do it intentionally, so I'm hesitant to bring it to the dealer.
Also - I've noticed that sometimes it's a little difficult to get it into 1st or R (i.e., it doesn't want to go, so I have to back it out and push it in again, sometimes with a little force and a bit of a "klunk"), but I think I remember experiencing that in WRX #1.
Being an MT (re)newbie, I don't know what's normal and what's an indicator of a problem.
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Thanks!

[DG1969]

Anyone?

[Timdog1650]

Two words. Dealership, warranty. Totally abnormal, something is definitely wrong. Why did you get rid of your first wrx with only 850 miles?

[DG1969]

Thanks for the reply, I'll have the dealer check it out.

Why did you get rid of your first wrx with only 850 miles?

To answer your question:


Wasn't my fault, BTW.

[tahoe sc]

yea the pix of the rear shows that it's not!

mine has only popped out of gear 1 time...and it was because i didn't engage it all the way, but lazily did it. are you sure you're fully engaged?

also, when you say first is hard to engage, are you rolling still when trying to get it into first?