My searches come up with either too many threads or none at all, so maybe I'm doing it wrong, but:

Maybe every fifth time when I put the car into reverse, warm or cold, it feels like it's engaged but it's not, and I just get that loud buzzing noise when I let out the clutch. I put the clutch back in, pop the gearshift in more tightly, and it's fine.

So .... is this characteristic of the RX-8, or should I bring it in to my dealership for inspection?

Thanks.

 

Loud buzzing noise? You mean you're grinding gears or is it an electronic kind of buzz? If you're grinding gears you're either doing something wrong (the car isn't in gear) or there's a problem because the car won't GO into gear. If it's the latter then bring it in. If there's an electronic buzz...not sure but it can't hurt to bring it in and ask a service tech to take a look at it.

My guess is that you're not getting the car into gear for one reason or another. New to shifting or feel like you haven't adjusted to the 8's shifter?

-Eric

 

I push down and pull it right and down... No trouble. You have to use more force than the other gears though. That is by design I am sure.

 

I agree with that. I find reverse required more force and is not as smooth to shift into compared to the forward gears.

 

I have the same problem. It only seems to happen after extended cruising in 6th gear, but I can't see why that would make a difference. I think it's just a design flaw, as it's kinad difficult to push it down and back like that at the same time.

 

a lot of cars' reverse gear is tougher to get into than the others...i think it's a intentional thing...my brother's matrix reverse gear is next to his 1st and i've almost mixed them up a few times, but i catch myself because if i hit reverse instead of 1st, it just doesn't feel right...

 

Thanks for the replies. The buzzing is mechanical; it's the sound of the gears not engaging fully; I'd call it grinding but they're just barely rubbing; not enough to set my teeth on edge.

I'm forty and almost every car I've ever owned has been a manual, and I've been driving manuals since I was 17. So for me it's been about 23 years of manuals in maybe eight different cars, without this problem.

I do put the gear shift firmly into gear and it feels like it's engaged, but it's just .... not ... quite ... seated. Usually, it's fine. It's just sometimes it doesn't quite catch.

To me, it feels like it's a characteristic of this particular gearbox; like it just needs to be engaged with a lot of emphasis to seat it all the way into gear.

But the funny thing is, I've had three Miatas and driven many other Miatas, and I've been driving Miatas for the last 13 years, and all of them had virtually the same shifter and tranny as the RX-8, yet none of them had this characteristic. (Then, again, the Miata is a little different, since you don't need to press down to get it into gear.)

BTW, it happens to other people who drive my 8, too.

 

The same EXACT thing happens to me every-so-often; it isn't just your problem, Hard8. After it happened the first time, I'm now very care to shift into reverse firmly - yet even when I think it has engaged, it will at times give the light grinding/buzzing sound of a gear that doesn't seem fully engaged. However, it is a marginal occurance, therefore, I don't yet feel the need to bring the car in for service. All in all, it is rather annoying.

 

Nice to have some company here. It's nothing more than a minor annoyance, assuming it's not a symptom of a bigger transmission problem, which I doubt.

I do dislike getting into my shiny red car in front of a group of people and having it happen--it's loud enough to be embarrassing. Oh, well. I just need to be especially careful to get it engaged properly.

 

I find if I have some trouble I just wind through the gears real quick 1-6 and random then go into reverse. It seems to make the shift smoother and easier. I've had much success with this over and over, no problems since.

 

I had the same issue the first couple of weeks I had my 8. I thought the R was engaged, and of course it doesn't grind but makes a thumping/clicking noise. Scared me the first time, but thank gosh it isn't as loud as other manuals when you grind the gear. My R is just fine now. I just assume it was from the gearbox being new and I needed to put my fine grooves in it from shifting many times. No problems now that I have worked it a bit. :D
(A little thing I did for my subconscience was to place my hand on the opposite side of the shifter. This way, since I couldn't see shifter well and I was sure to push it all the way back until it stopped and was completely engaged. )

 

Yup (in reply to KFence27); me too: In every one of my cars, whenever it won't go into reverse at all, I hit another gear (usually first or third) wit the clutch enagaged, then try reverse again, and it almost always works fine.

The problem here, though, is that it feels like it's engaged when it's not. It just needs a little more force or a second attempt to pop it in; it's not totally blocked.

 

i think the problem is that the shifter will sit by itself without being held there right outside of R. most shifters will pop back into N if theyre not all the way in

 

Yes epitrochoid, I think that was what mine was doing. So to be sure it was fully engaged I used the hand trick to move the shifter down and hold it while I backed up. Now my gears have nice notches and I haven't had that problem in awhile, and will probably never again (knock on wood).

 

OK, Meowloud, you've sold me. I'll try it. Thanks.

 

He he, yes that's me. (*blushes*) I had the latex catsuit going for last halloween.

It does find its little notch after a bit and will hold the gear. Just needs a little breakin' in... just like those RPMs. After my 600 miles, I broke those RPMs in VERY GOOD!! Got to hear my beep! YAY!!!! :D

 

Phew. (I deleted my little flirt line when I realized I might be addressing Jon. :o )

Gotta figure out why my avatar is always too big: Even 72 x 72 pixels is too big for some reason, yet yours, which is the same size, works fine! Can't figure it out! I even tried shrinking mine down to 2 x 2 as an experiment, and the server still says it's too big. Hmmmm. And how do these people get away with animated gifs? They must be much bigger!

Anyway, like I said, I'll try that reverse trick. Thanks, Meow.

 

LOL Sure!
We aren't like that anyway! Kind of like the 8, he likes it when it gets attention :D

Which reminds me of a cute thing that happened on my way home from work. This guy in a Camry-type sedan turned around completely, wasn't even watching where he was going and was STARING back and forth at the car. It was if one pass he wasn't absorbing enough of what car it was!!

 

Reminds me: At a red light today I was behind some weirdo in a brand-new Escalade. He and his buddy were both turned around backward, staring at my car and making strange hand gestures through their sunroof.

I couldn't tell what they were doing so I just smiled and raised my eyebrows at them. They kept doing it, and then the passenger held his hand up to the back window and flipped me off! Mind you, I was just sitting there. I had not been driving behind them previously; just pulled up to them a moment before at normal speed.

I didn't react. When the light turned green they pulled into the intersection and almost rammed the median strip on the other side, where a homeless dude was squatting against the traffic signal pole. They would have killed him but the driver straightened out at the last second. Then the Escalade went weaving down the road, turned a corner and disappeared. This was at lunchtime!

Too many cocktails? I don't know, but that kind of attention I don't need.

Sorry for the thread drift .... I'll try that trick with reverse and report back soon.

 

Never had it grind but initially I was having trouble finding the gear. I find it's much smoother if I take the lever to the center neutral position and pause before pushing down firmly, pause, and then riding it home (right then back) into R. Trying to do it all in one motion isn't as smooth. In my experience most cars reverse isn't that smooth; I think because they usually don't bother to put syncros on reverse? Just speculating.

 

Reverse is ocassionally stubborn on many manual transmissions. Mazda is aware of this and has a suggestion on page 5-9 of the manual (if won't go into Reverse, shift into Neutral, release the clutch, and try again). In other standard transmissions I've driven, including our RX8's, it also will help by shifting into 1, moving the car slightly to put the wheels (gears) in a different position, and try again.

I believe I am correct that Reverse is typically more problematic as Reverse is not equipped with a synchronizer to pre-engage gears. You don't want a synchronizer on Reverse as you don't want to synchronize into Reverse by accident from a forward gear.

Not to worry; our RX8's are OK.

 

From what you've described, I'd bring it in.

-Eric

 

Hard8,

It's not just you, its happened to me a couple of times also. It feels like its in the Reverse gate but not fully engaged, thus the light "grinding" noise.

I always engage 1st gear with the clutch in before shifting to Reverse (an old habit). I haven't noticed that this makes any difference as it still partially engages on occasion.

When I take mine into the dealer for the airbag recall, I will ask if there is an adjustment that can be made.