[Hey_Whipple]

Hey all, I'm new here so please bear with me.

I bought a 2016 WRX Premium in February. Over the past 6 months, there have been times where I'm cruising along changing gears and the display on the instrument panel says I go to 2nd when I'm actually not. I may be new at driving a manual, but I know my right from my left.

In March or so, I was going 4th to 5th and the display indicated 2nd. Prior to this, I could say that maybe I made a mistake and accidentally slipped into 2nd instead of 4th or 6th. But this time, the knob was in a completely different position (up) from 2nd.

Most recently, I was driving probably 45-50mph. I tried to go 5th to 6th and again the stick said I was in 6th but the display said I was in 2nd.

When this happens, the revs jump and the clutch starts to burn. That's what I'm concerned about.

Is this something I should call the dealer about? Or am I really that bad?

 

[dhelm]

If the RPMs jump and the clutch burns you are probably shifting into the wrong gear.
The shift knob doesn't tell you what gear you are in. It displays the shift pattern but that is all the information the knob can tell you.
It is quite possible to inadvertently go into 2nd instead of 6th if you don't manipulate the gear shifter correctly. If the display says 2nd and the RPMs jump up like you are in 2nd.....then I would say you are in 2nd.
I would make a much more conscious effort when going from 5th to 6th to make sure the lever is over to the right when you pull down. if you just pull straight down, you will probably end up in 4th. If you drift to the left you will end up in 2nd. Even a pro can miss a shift from time to time if they get sloppy.

Edit: I can't explain the one incident when you went 4th to 5th but the display indicated 2nd. Did the RPM jump then? The 5th to 6th with RPM jump and clutch burn was most likely a miss shift.
FWIW, I never look at the gear display on the dash. This is the first car I have owned that even had that function. I can tell what gear I'm in by RPM and speed. When you get good enough you will know what gear you are in without looking at the tach, speedo, or display. You can feel it.

 

[Hey_Whipple]

For those of you who may care, after being cognizant of my shifting for a month, I was driving home from work one night and the clutch started slipping HARD. Had it towed to the nearest dealership and they had to replace the flywheel, bearing, clutch, the whole kit and kaboodle.

Which brings me to the next point. I looked this problem up on the internets, and I think the gear lever and indicator not matching may be a symptom of the bigger issue. As I mentioned, the transmission would rev high when the indicator and lever didn't match. I didn't know that this could have been clutch slip at the time.

Subaru gave me the whole assembly under their "Good Will" policy. Now, the clutch is much softer and seems to engage smoother. Does anyone know if replacing everything would cause 3rd gear to whine more? I don't know if they changed the fluids or not but ever since I got my car back, 3rd gear whines.

 

[dhelm]

Mystery solved. When the clutch slips, the RPM jumps up but the car doesn't respond with the appropriate forward motion.
I guess the electronic gear indicator on the dash is based on RPM and vehicle speed (not transmission gear engagement). I assumed that the signal was directly from a transmission mounted sensor. The clutch slipping and RPM spike probably tricked the computer into thinking you were in a lower gear.
Now I know how that gear indicator works. I still pay no attention to that thing.