On the forum, a couple of times I read about Xfire owners mentioning that on their 6-speed trannys, when they put it in first, the shifter sometimes pops out of gear. Twice already, a strange thing happened to my transmission in 1st gear. I'm at a stoplight, and I put it into 1st, I slowly let off the clutch, and, BANG (noise of the tranny)!! The transmission pops out of 1st and goes into neutral. This really bothers me. My Dad says that I did not correctly put the shifter into first. Who is to blame, me or the tranny? Has anyone had a similar problem in their 6-speed Crossfires?

 

Hi Golfdude.....that sounds very much like the problem covered under the first gear pop out TSB.
I would schedule a trip to my local dealer after a visit to the TSB portion of the forum.
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...pic.php?t=1960
By now they should have the fix down pat. :-)

 

Your dad is wrong, you are right. You've described the problem exactly as I encountered it. Your dealer can fix it with a synchro kit. Takes a day to fix.

 

Sunny and krusty are 100% correct. It happened to me shortly after buying my car back in Dec. They replaced my transmission as it was before the synchro TSB came out. Several others here also had the problem... as suggested, head for the dealer and get it fixed.

 

I ended up getting a new tranny. They tried the syncro kit, but it didn't work.

 

I don't have trouble with it poping out I have trouble getting it out of reverse and sometimes into 1st. I a the only driver so I don't know if it is me or the car. Does anyone else have this problem? Thanks

 

What's the last six digits of your VIN #?

 

You described the issue exactly how I experienced it, Golfdude. I thought it only effected very early VIN's (<5000). But, I am not certain.

That said, I think this car has a tendancy to do it, regardless. I had a whole new tranny put in (before the real fix was developed) and I still had it pop out two or three times since. None in a long while (knock on wood). It seems to happen when I roll at a stop.

Try ensuring you are at a complete, complete stop before using 1st. Any amount of rolling (at all) just take it down to 2nd. If it happens and you are certain you were completely still when you started, I'd say you have a lucky winner.

 

Oh, as to Barbie9's question...

I notice some difficulty going from 1st to Reverse. Probably the car being "Smart". Since 2nd and Reverse occupy the same area (minus a lift), I thought it was some setting that assumes you must mean 2nd when engaged directly out of 1st.

My solution: Center the sifter first. You don't even need to de-clutch. I found just bring the stick to center, then left and lift/down to Reverse solves the problem for me.

 

David, the last 6 digits of my vin# are 020883. If I go to the dealership, how will they believe me that the tranny is doing this. It's not like it always happens, it's are rare thing, but every time it happens, I get so nervous, as if something has broken.

 

If I get the synchro kit installed, will the shift action get tighter? And how will I know if the problem is fixed? Should I try to shift out of first with the car in motion and see if the shifter pops out? On a picky note, the shifter always felt sloppy. The Xfire's 6-speed, in terms of shift action, is junk (sorry guys) compared to other cars such as the RX-8 and S2000. But it's okay, it's not like I'm racing anyone. If anyone can find a short-shift kit for this car, that would be nice. The Xfire's tranny just isn't as short and precise as the japanese cars. I hear that the new SLK350's 6-speed now has a great shifter, so my question is, when is it going into the Xfire (as well as the new, 3.5 liter, 271hp engine)!! :P

 

I still don't get it! All these popping out of 1st issues. My hand doesn't even leave the gear shift **** until I'm in 3rd gear. Anyway, I've tried and can't get it to pop out of first.




6 spd #16515 graphite

 

I had this happen to me twice at around the 1000 mile mark. It has not happened in the last 2000 miles. I now tend to ensure I keep my hand on the stick when in first.

 

That's the highest VIN I've seen report the problem. Usually it was early (lower VIN's, like under 010000) units reporting the problem and we all thought it was fixed for good. Sure hope it didn't creep back into the build process. The TSB says it only occurs on units built prior to December 2003, I'd be surprised if your VIN being that high was built that long ago.

The TSB is here:
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...pic.php?t=1960

I guess just go to the dealership and reference that TSB number, and tell them you are having that problem.

 

A quick note David: My owner's manual says that the car was built on or before October 31st, 2003, on the front cover. I can't seem to find an actually build date, any help?

 

Open your driver side door and look at the tag on it. It will say something like "Made in Germany" with a month/year under it I believe! Sounds like a high VIN # for last October though. :roll:

 

Golfdude, I had the same happen very early on (was the first to post about it here). It has nothing to do with putting it "all the way" into first or making sure you come to a complete stop before putting it into first or with keeping your hand on the shifter, so you can't replicate it at all...forget about trying. When it happens, it happens, and even if your hand is on the shifter, it kicks it to neutral with a violent jerk...you can't stop it.

I found that two things made the dealer change it...bringing it in every time it jumped out of gear (after seeing me three times in a week, they started to believe me a little bit), and then start talking about the Lemon Law in your state (that gets their attention). I have to admit, tho, that it made a big difference when I talked about it being a safety issue and you will sue the heck out of them if you are rear-ended and possibly injured (losing all power in the middle of an intersection when that big truck behind you is not expecting it is very real). I got a new tranny the next day (since I was among the first, they hadn't figured out the problem yet and ended up shipping my tranny back to the line to have it checked out).

Good luck...I know that feeling that you have about being nervous every time you take off in first gear. I hated that...but after it's fixed (it did happen twice in the next 1000 miles...but never again in the next 15K miles), you'll LOVE to drive it!

 

With the new tranny will I get a new clutch?

 

Ditto on what diane said... only after replacing my transmission it has never popped out of gear again. The clutch was not replaced. However in your case you will not get a new transmission. They have a syncro fix out now. Check the TSB for it in the TSB forum and get the number for it. Good luck at the dealer and do as diane suggested... if they start to blow you off, start talking safety issues and lemon laws.

The problem is not your shifting.

 

I spoke too soon. I have had mine pop out twice this week, making 4 times in total.

Am now keeping hand on gear stick when pulling away.

Will be speaking to the dealer soon.