AT Transmission Issues
01-26-2005 | 03:07 PM
#51
Originally Posted by whenson417
My tranny seems to be doing the same thing as the previous replys when it comes to taking a moment to shift from drive to reverse and such. One thing that the got my concern this morning was that after I left the house I got my car up to about 35mph (please keep in mind that my engine had not yet warmed up) and let off the gas to coast down a hill and at the time my indicator was reading 2nd gear but as soon as I let off the gas the tranmission shifted quickly to 4th. When I pressed the gas to accelerate it started bucking like a bronco and would not downshift until a let off and pressed the pedal again. Has anyone else experienced this? Also after the engine is warm and I am just cruising down the road and no matter what speed I am going as long as it is above 35 the transmission will shift to 4th when it should stay in 2nd or maybe even 3rd? I do not worry so much about it when I am doing 60mhp or so but most of my driving is all stop and go and I rarely get to drive above 50mph when commuting to and from work. In my opinion a sports car should not behave worse than a pinto when it comes to transmissions.
But it does raise an interesting point. I don't know what's with the RX-8's auto tranny, but it's pretty damn horrible. It's like the RX-8 really wasn't made for full automatic mode. If you let it shift all the way into 3rd or 4th at low speeds, it starts bucking like crazy...the same feeling you'd get in a manual when you're just about to stall the car. For this very reason I have to constantly swap between 2nd and 3rd in triptronic mode while city driving, and it's annoying as hell. Shifting all the way to 4th and overdrive is understandable, as that's what just about all automatics are programmed to do in order to save gas...they all try to get into overdrive as quickly as possible. I wouldn't expect an automatic to keep it in 2nd for city driving. But I don't think I've driven another automatic before that felt like it was going to die if you get it into overdrive at low speeds.
01-26-2005 | 05:21 PM
#52
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From: Richland WA
Originally Posted by Vertigo-1
This reply's a little late... But it does raise an interesting point. I don't know what's with the RX-8's auto tranny, but it's pretty damn horrible. It's like the RX-8 really wasn't made for full automatic mode. If you let it shift all the way into 3rd or 4th at low speeds, it starts bucking like crazy...the same feeling you'd get in a manual when you're just about to stall the car. For this very reason I have to constantly swap between 2nd and 3rd in triptronic mode while city driving, and it's annoying as hell.
Shifting all the way to 4th and overdrive is understandable, as that's what just about all automatics are programmed to do in order to save gas...they all try to get into overdrive as quickly as possible. I wouldn't expect an automatic to keep it in 2nd for city driving. But I don't think I've driven another automatic before that felt like it was going to die if you get it into overdrive at low speeds.
But it does raise an interesting point. I don't know what's with the RX-8's auto tranny, but it's pretty damn horrible. It's like the RX-8 really wasn't made for full automatic mode. If you let it shift all the way into 3rd or 4th at low speeds, it starts bucking like crazy...the same feeling you'd get in a manual when you're just about to stall the car. For this very reason I have to constantly swap between 2nd and 3rd in triptronic mode while city driving, and it's annoying as hell. Shifting all the way to 4th and overdrive is understandable, as that's what just about all automatics are programmed to do in order to save gas...they all try to get into overdrive as quickly as possible. I wouldn't expect an automatic to keep it in 2nd for city driving. But I don't think I've driven another automatic before that felt like it was going to die if you get it into overdrive at low speeds.
01-26-2005 | 06:20 PM
#53
Bummed, but bring on OU!
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,036
Likes: 1
From: Charleston, SC
Originally Posted by Vertigo-1
This reply's a little late... But it does raise an interesting point. I don't know what's with the RX-8's auto tranny, but it's pretty damn horrible. It's like the RX-8 really wasn't made for full automatic mode. If you let it shift all the way into 3rd or 4th at low speeds, it starts bucking like crazy...the same feeling you'd get in a manual when you're just about to stall the car. For this very reason I have to constantly swap between 2nd and 3rd in triptronic mode while city driving, and it's annoying as hell.
....But I don't think I've driven another automatic before that felt like it was going to die if you get it into overdrive at low speeds.
But it does raise an interesting point. I don't know what's with the RX-8's auto tranny, but it's pretty damn horrible. It's like the RX-8 really wasn't made for full automatic mode. If you let it shift all the way into 3rd or 4th at low speeds, it starts bucking like crazy...the same feeling you'd get in a manual when you're just about to stall the car. For this very reason I have to constantly swap between 2nd and 3rd in triptronic mode while city driving, and it's annoying as hell. ....But I don't think I've driven another automatic before that felt like it was going to die if you get it into overdrive at low speeds.
01-26-2005 | 07:15 PM
#54
Originally Posted by Rick
I think there is something wrong with your car. My 8at never bucks.
The more I drive the car around though in tiptronic mode, the more I get pissed at Mazda for not taking some effort to put a 5 speed transmission in. I mean if their family sedan can have one, then I really think they could've taken the time to develop one for the car that embodies the soul and spirit of Mazda, the rotary engine.
01-27-2005 | 11:42 AM
#55
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From: Richland WA
Originally Posted by Vertigo-1
The more I drive the car around though in tiptronic mode, the more I get pissed at Mazda for not taking some effort to put a 5 speed transmission in. I mean if their family sedan can have one, then I really think they could've taken the time to develop one for the car that embodies the soul and spirit of Mazda, the rotary engine.
02-01-2005 | 10:43 PM
#56
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 16
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From: Singapore
I'm a new member, these threads are really helpful.
I have an AT and do a lot of city driving. I have had the car 3 months ( fabulous!!), I now nearly always drive in manual shift otherwise the auto always wants to put it into too high a gear. With the easy revving and power output at higher revs than other cars, I drive mainly in 2nd and occasionally in 3rd (max speed most days 80mph). I hardly ever get into 4th except high speed motorway runs - not often enough!
I do have an occasional problem where the box does not automatically drop in to 1st sometimes when I stop, seems to happen more often when I glide to a slow stop. Anyone else have this problem??
Beware!! Don't drive in manual shift with the music loud!! The engine is so smooth that you can easily forget to change. I was driving around for miles listening to Bare Naked Ladies and looked down and was at 7000 revs in 1st!! oops!
I have an AT and do a lot of city driving. I have had the car 3 months ( fabulous!!), I now nearly always drive in manual shift otherwise the auto always wants to put it into too high a gear. With the easy revving and power output at higher revs than other cars, I drive mainly in 2nd and occasionally in 3rd (max speed most days 80mph). I hardly ever get into 4th except high speed motorway runs - not often enough!
I do have an occasional problem where the box does not automatically drop in to 1st sometimes when I stop, seems to happen more often when I glide to a slow stop. Anyone else have this problem??
Beware!! Don't drive in manual shift with the music loud!! The engine is so smooth that you can easily forget to change. I was driving around for miles listening to Bare Naked Ladies and looked down and was at 7000 revs in 1st!! oops!
02-01-2005 | 11:50 PM
#58
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 245
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From: Brooklyn, NY
Hey jerky, i have the SAME exact problem. i've had the problem since 7k-8k miles. ITs only 5-6 months old. when my car downshifts automatically and i accelerate, i feel like i'm nuetral bombing it. i've taken great care of my car, i've redlined it maybe 15 times if not less during my break-in period which was 7k miles. now i have 9000 miles and i'm getting a new transmission. the guy who test drove it couldnt find the problem till i had to drive it. i had to slow down then wait my car to downshift and then i would accelerate slowly and then it would jerk. the more i accelerate the bigger of a jerk the car would get. and yess i also noticed the delay when i put my car from reverse to drive, sometimes i forget i have to wait for the gears to change and i would accelerate and the same jerking feeling would happen. you guys arent the only one having this problem, this is probably a big issue for them, they should do something about it.
02-02-2005 | 01:11 AM
#59
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Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Singapore
Originally Posted by sohcpunk
how can you not realize your in first?? I dont understand, you will atleast feel some pull back after u release the throttle
02-02-2005 | 03:28 AM
#60
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From: Alhambra, CA
What are you talking about? In 1st gear, once you get up to 6k rpm, the throttle is so sensitive and you can totally tell your car is not in its correct gear. If you have driven a manual before, you would understand what I'm talking about.
02-02-2005 | 09:40 PM
#61
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 16
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From: Singapore
I've driven manuals all my life until now, including some nice machines. With the 8 auto box in manual mode the throttle isn't that sensitive, it almost free-wheels when you ease your foot off ( I agree a manual box isn't at all like that).
Anyway, i did it, some friends have done it, I learned from it......
Anyway, i did it, some friends have done it, I learned from it......
02-02-2005 | 10:40 PM
#62
Originally Posted by Blue Rex
I do have an occasional problem where the box does not automatically drop in to 1st sometimes when I stop, seems to happen more often when I glide to a slow stop. Anyone else have this problem??
Yep, same problem here. Sort of dangerous at times too when you expect that burst of power to do a last minute turn from a stop, only to find out you're still in 2nd and crawling through the intersection. I doubt the dealership will do anything about it either because technically the car CAN start from 2nd gear. Only way I've found to guarantee a shift back to first is to cruise to a stop in 3rd...the computer will realize 3rd is too high for speeds below 10 mph and go back to 1st for sure.
02-03-2005 | 03:39 AM
#64
Stuck in a love triangle
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,201
Likes: 3
From: Miami, FL
Why dontyou bastards ever read myposts? This is a post I made last year about the problems w/the automatics tall gears andovercoming its speed deficiencies (read the bold parts particularly):
I know all the weak points w/our stressful 4 gears. Another werid thing Ishould point out is if you drop your speed down to EXACTLY 30mph w/o being in tiptronic mode and then FLOOR the pedal - the car will brust forward. Basicallywhat Im saying is that up until 30 mph you can geta burst of power from the car b/c the computer willdrop into 1st gear automatically up until that point. After that theonly other occurrence of a power burst is at 45 - 50mph in 2nd gear but its nowhere near as impressive.
Hopefully thatwill help some of you out. The computer in our automatics is too intrusive - whichis why I was bitching about switchingto a 6spd manual
Now Iunderstand what all those manual 6spd owners were talkingabout when they would mock automatics for onlyhaving 4 gears in a high reving engine. They were just pointing out a major flaw in its transmission setup. I thoughtId make a post about this todaysince I almost wound up in a nasty accident this afternoon. Iveknown about it for a long time now but always thoughtit was irrelevant based on thetype of driving I usually do.
For thoseof you who never use tiptronic mode w/your automatic Rx8s or dontpay attention to how fastyoure going at certain RPMs (which is understandable sinceyou own an automatic Rx8) you may be wondering why it isthat sometimesyou feel no pick up at all eventhough youre flooring the damn pedal. There is a very weak zone in the automatic Rx8 powerband that is extremely noticeable in 2nd gear. If you ever find yourself driving anywhere between 30 - 45 mph and then suddenly floor the pedal --youll notice that youre not feeling much if any pick up at all until you get past 45 mph. Thisis b/c it is notuntil 45 mph or so that youbegin to approach 5000 RPM in the 2nd gear -- which the very beginning of the automatics BRIEF power zone.
The reason forthis is that the car refuses to downshift into 1st gear so longas youre going faster than 30mph. You willbe stuck in the low end power zone in 2nd gear for several seconds ifyou downshift between those speeds -- and the problem is that there is no friggin low end power w/these cars. So ifyou were for example driving slowly or moderately till about 35 mphand then suddenly gave thecar more gas you wouldnt feel that sudden umph you were looking for.
This may be important foryou to understand ifyoure ever in a driving situation where youre cruising between the abovementioned speeds and then suddenlywant or need some power -- like I did this afternoon when I was trying to prevent myself from being stuck at a notoriously long red light in this area. Ididnt notice that I was cruising at 32 mph before the light turned yellow. Once greenvanished I went WOT but didnt get any power to beat the light thanks to the problemI just got through explaining. Moreover someguy almost broadsided me since I completely ran the red light.
The only solution tothe power deficit youre placed in is to slow the car down to 30 mph before applying gas. That way under WOT youll be in 1st gear right at thepeak of the power zone.
Just in caseyou were wondering about your automatic--
1st gear tops out at 45 mph
2nd gear tops out at 80 mph
3rd gear tops out at 120 mph
(This is assuming you use tiptronicand rev allthe way to 7500 redline.)
Im still somewhat happy w/my automatic after a year of ownership and 18000 miles but lately itseems like my driving style has become a little bit more aggressive than before -- perhapsout of boredom. At times like these its unfortunate to have an annoying computer controlling everything w/two repulsively tall gears instead of a 6spd manual.
For thoseof you who never use tiptronic mode w/your automatic Rx8s or dontpay attention to how fastyoure going at certain RPMs (which is understandable sinceyou own an automatic Rx8) you may be wondering why it isthat sometimesyou feel no pick up at all eventhough youre flooring the damn pedal. There is a very weak zone in the automatic Rx8 powerband that is extremely noticeable in 2nd gear. If you ever find yourself driving anywhere between 30 - 45 mph and then suddenly floor the pedal --youll notice that youre not feeling much if any pick up at all until you get past 45 mph. Thisis b/c it is notuntil 45 mph or so that youbegin to approach 5000 RPM in the 2nd gear -- which the very beginning of the automatics BRIEF power zone.
The reason forthis is that the car refuses to downshift into 1st gear so longas youre going faster than 30mph. You willbe stuck in the low end power zone in 2nd gear for several seconds ifyou downshift between those speeds -- and the problem is that there is no friggin low end power w/these cars. So ifyou were for example driving slowly or moderately till about 35 mphand then suddenly gave thecar more gas you wouldnt feel that sudden umph you were looking for.
This may be important foryou to understand ifyoure ever in a driving situation where youre cruising between the abovementioned speeds and then suddenlywant or need some power -- like I did this afternoon when I was trying to prevent myself from being stuck at a notoriously long red light in this area. Ididnt notice that I was cruising at 32 mph before the light turned yellow. Once greenvanished I went WOT but didnt get any power to beat the light thanks to the problemI just got through explaining. Moreover someguy almost broadsided me since I completely ran the red light.
The only solution tothe power deficit youre placed in is to slow the car down to 30 mph before applying gas. That way under WOT youll be in 1st gear right at thepeak of the power zone.
Just in caseyou were wondering about your automatic--
1st gear tops out at 45 mph
2nd gear tops out at 80 mph
3rd gear tops out at 120 mph
(This is assuming you use tiptronicand rev allthe way to 7500 redline.)
Im still somewhat happy w/my automatic after a year of ownership and 18000 miles but lately itseems like my driving style has become a little bit more aggressive than before -- perhapsout of boredom. At times like these its unfortunate to have an annoying computer controlling everything w/two repulsively tall gears instead of a 6spd manual.
Hopefully thatwill help some of you out. The computer in our automatics is too intrusive - whichis why I was bitching about switchingto a 6spd manual
02-03-2005 | 10:57 PM
#65
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 16
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From: Singapore
Actually I had read your post and I agree with what you wrote, but it's not what I was talking about. What I said was that my AT doesn't always drop into 1st when I stop when in MANUAL mode, and that can cause a problem getting away from a junction. It seems it is a common problem and one to watch.
I know about what you discuss above and that is one of the reasons I always drive in manual mode - and anyway it's more fun!
So it seems some of us 'bastards' actually do read your posts ......
I know about what you discuss above and that is one of the reasons I always drive in manual mode - and anyway it's more fun!
So it seems some of us 'bastards' actually do read your posts ......
02-04-2005 | 12:04 AM
#66
Stuck in a love triangle
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,201
Likes: 3
From: Miami, FL
Sometimes it will stay in 2nd gear while you are stopping (a COMPLETE stop not a rolling one) but when Im using tiptronic mode and comingto a stop I usually down shift to 1st gear anyway after 10mph or so.
11-19-2012 | 11:34 PM
#67
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Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 1
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Sorry to resurrect this post from the grave but I seem to have a problem similar to what these gentlemen are talking about.
My 2004 RX-8 AT won't let me go anywhere in first gear. It seems as though its not engaging at all. I'll throw it into manual, put it in 1st, let go the brake, and it would roll but as soon as I press the accelerator, She stops hard as if I pulled the e-brake.
The only way for me to drive her is if I put her in second gear at a complete stop.
My 2004 RX-8 AT won't let me go anywhere in first gear. It seems as though its not engaging at all. I'll throw it into manual, put it in 1st, let go the brake, and it would roll but as soon as I press the accelerator, She stops hard as if I pulled the e-brake.
The only way for me to drive her is if I put her in second gear at a complete stop.
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