Re: 2012 WRX - now grinding when shifting to 5th

**Soobvirgin** · 10-04-2012 08:24 AM

Originally Posted by B REX

Do you find that its hard to line up 5th gear because i do, and the SAME thing happened to me this morning, 8k miles

Do you mean hard to get into 5th? If yes, I've had that problem since new (now at around 4500 miles), at any speed, hot or cold. I sure hope the grinding isn't coming next...

**michaelwfox** · 10-04-2012 08:39 AM

The answer to this question is - take it to the dealer.

**UEDan** · 10-04-2012 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by Mikie13

Take it to the dealer, have it looked at. Either go back to stock right quick, or don't. If it doesn't work...try another dealer.

This. I know for a fact the dealership next to my school is super mod friendly. My service advisor is dropping an ej257+bigger turbo into his Forester. The other one. No waai.

Originally Posted by michaelwfox

The answer to this question is - take it to the dealer.

And this.

Read up on warranty laws. You should be fine.

Posted from a fone.

**B REX** · 10-04-2012 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by Soobvirgin

Do you mean hard to get into 5th? If yes, I've had that problem since new (now at around 4500 miles), at any speed, hot or cold. I sure hope the grinding isn't coming next...

Yeah! Exactly! 5th has been hard to get into since new. I thought the subaru STS would fix this but it didnt. Are all wrxs like this or is the tell tail sign of this issue? If people dont know what were talking about, 5th gear isnt just right and up, you have to feel it into the slot

**mangostick** · 10-04-2012 10:10 AM

Dealer.. you've got a warranty so use it. I dont see how the mods you have would affect 4th or 5th gears. .. now if it was 1st 2nd or 3rd.. ok then I could make a connection but otherwise you're well on the roll moving into 5th and the strain is minimal.

Esp getting into 5th at 2500rpm.. you were short shiftin that puppy!

**B REX** · 10-04-2012 10:24 AM

Idk who your talking to, but i experienced this at above 2500, probably @ 2800

**mangostick** · 10-04-2012 10:25 AM

the OP is who I was addressing. Regardless.. the car shouldn't grind going into gear. Its that early in its life.. take it to the dealer and be done with it.

**commbubba19** · 10-10-2012 06:40 AM

I am dropping it off next monday. It seems to be getting worse after 20 or so minutes of driving. Definitely temp dependant. As the fluid or gears are warming up, the shift into 5th gets notchier and notchier until it finally grinds.

Edit: I wanted to add that all other gears shift like butter at all temps. I rarely even have a problem getting into first or reverse which most complain about.

I do not beat on my car. I'm 32 years old and just drive it to work, daycare for my daughter, and errands on the weekend. No drag racing or autox. I like to keep my mileage up so i'm usually at 26mpg so I don't normally shift above 2500 to 3000 rpms. I modded the car just because I liked the sound of the intake/turbo/exhaust and lowered it for the looks.

I just wanted to let people know that problems can definitely arise without necessarily have beaten the crap out of the car.

**commbubba19** · 10-31-2012 09:11 AM

Ok, after 2 weeks I got the car back. 5th gear synchro was shot as well as the shift fork for 5th was bent. These were both replaced along with secondary parts. The failed synchro caused some of the dog teeth to get chipped and that was also replaced as a part of the 5th gear synchro replacement.

Transmission ended up getting removed, torn down, put back together, reinstalled twice. Of course they put the stock crappy gear oil back in. 5th Gear is now smooth as butter at all temps. However when cold, I've had a hard time getting into first and sometimes shifting from 3rd to 4th or downshifting from 5th to 4th.

I put my kartboy shifter back in and that helped a little but it still feels weird to me. I still need to get under the car and make sure the shifter bushings and group N mount were correctly re-installed and snug.

I just hope my transmission isn't a ticking bomb.

**santorex** · 10-31-2012 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by B REX

Yeah! Exactly! 5th has been hard to get into since new. I thought the subaru STS would fix this but it didnt. Are all wrxs like this or is the tell tail sign of this issue? If people dont know what were talking about, 5th gear isnt just right and up, you have to feel it into the slot

Same with mine. It's my biggest complain to this point; that 5th requires way too much effort, and just doesn't feel right when shifting to it. I have about 1600 miles on it now, and getting into 5th is always difficult (i usually am only in 5th twice a day... once on the way to work, once on the way back). If i'm driving aggressively then there's definitely no need to get into 5th. So I guess that's a good thing.

It feels almost something like this below... Like there's more lateral movement to the right and when i push it up, it doesn't feel lined up

1 3 5
|_|_|_
| | |
2 4 R
Last night i sat in the garage with the car running and went through the gears, and 5th felt fine.

I'm planning on getting the STS and replace the bushings anyway and was hoping fixing this issue would be a side effect... maybe not?

**B REX** · 11-10-2012 01:25 PM

I had subaru install the STS and sadly it did not fix the problem. Keep me posted because if u find the fix or the dealership fixes it please let me know

**B REX** · 11-10-2012 01:26 PM

My shift pattern feels EXACTLY how u are describing it too, for fith you need to almost go RIGHT,UP,SLIGHT LEFT+UP to get it in

**bbrock171** · 12-24-2012 04:00 AM

I put a Kartboy and bushings on my '11 WRX and had the exact same problem. I just learned to shift into 5th more slowly, and the problem went away.

So when I ordered my '13 STi I had the SPT short shifter installed from the factory, and it feels smooth as butter, but still notchy and positive. No grinding, just pure goodness. The Subaru engineers know what they're doing. It's a little taller than some prefer their short shifters, but the throw length is all that matters to me.

**santorex** · 02-21-2013 02:48 PM

Hey guys, 5th is still a little "strange" to get into for me, and i would agree that shifting more slowly helps. Also, I tried double clutching the 4-5 upshift today a couple times, and it went in to 5th extremely smoothly. It felt great! I never really double clutch so I'll need more practice getting it quickly, but I think I'm going to try double clutching into 5th from now on.

So far (after 6k miles) the gearbox and the sometimes shuddery clutch pedal are the two most annoying things on this car, but I think I'll get used to em...

**Soobvirgin** · 02-21-2013 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by santorex

Hey guys, 5th is still a little "strange" to get into for me, and i would agree that shifting more slowly helps. Also, I tried double clutching the 4-5 upshift today a couple times, and it went in to 5th extremely smoothly. It felt great! I never really double clutch so I'll need more practice getting it quickly, but I think I'm going to try double clutching into 5th from now on.

So far (after 6k miles) the gearbox and the sometimes shuddery clutch pedal are the two most annoying things on this car, but I think I'll get used to em...

I picked my car up last weekend after the dealer replaced the 5th gear synchro. No change as of yet, but I'll see if it wears in over time. The more annoying problem of the juddery clutch engagement was not addressed, despite the technician feeling the problem "intermittently". And, annoyingly, I now have some trouble getting into reverse that I never had before. Rassin', frassin', rickin', frickin'....