So the last couple days it has been an adventure trying to get into reverse. Pushing down and sliding it over isnt cutting it anymore :/ so I have to pretty much yank the living hell outta it to get it in gear any thoughts or ideas how to fix this?

 

Hmm sometimes mine does not engage fully, so I just let out the clutch in neutral and try again. Usually that works. Are you having trouble sliding it over or putting it down in R?

 

Sometimes mine doesn't engage. I can clearly feel when it isn't in Reverse (even though my reverse lights are on). If I try to start going, I get a pretty horrendous whirring sound mixed with faint grinding.

The only way for me to get it in reverse at this point is to move the vehicle. So if I am on an incline, I just let it roll back a little and try again. Otherwise I put it in first and inch forward.

Asked the dealer and they couldn't duplicate it--therefore the issue doesn't exist.

 

take out your shifter and check the ball for wear.

 

I'm also having the same issue....on top of that, my clutch is sticking about an inch from being fully depressed...it pops back out on its own after a second or two...i'm sure the two issues are tied to one another.

 

check your clutch pedal for cracks. take it out and have it welded. it can save you alot of hassel down the road. idk if its your problem but it should be done anyway

 

After reading through a lot of these threads, it seems my car might fall under the clutch pedal bracket recall....would i need to take my car to a Mazda Dealer for the recall to be valid, or can I go to any mechanic? The Mazda dealership here is nothing but crooks.

 

just take it off and weld it. the mazda replacements are not any better and dont waste money on a bracket

 

I'll try that first and go from there....hopefully it's nothing more than that.

 

Had the worst of luck last night when it happened...I was driving in damn near flooded conditions, decided to pull into a parking lot, which turned out to be even more flooded, went head first into about 2.5 feet of water at which point, i attempted to put it in reverse...of course, it didnt want to engage....I had to get out and push the car out of the water....fortunately, the car turned over and i was able to drive all the way home with no issues...im hoping i dodged a potentially HUGE bullet there.

 

Just another thought for those with reverse issues but their clutch is fine...check your motor mounts. I had an old Pontiac sunbird, would not go into reverse. Turned out it was the motor mount on one side was shot.

Don't know much about this on the Rx8, so if I'm way off here...someone chime in. This was on a 78 sunbird...