Hard Shifting Into Reverse

My new 3 5 door with maual shift sometimes gives me fits when I try to shift it into reverse (every 3 out of 5 tries). The car I test drove did the same thing and I was hoping it was just that car, now I see that I was wrong.

Before all the obvious things are mentioned, let me say that I have been driving manual transmission cars for over 25 years, I'm not trying to select reverse as the car is rolling, I'm using the clutch to disengage the engine from the trans, and yes, I know where reverse is!!

Has anyone else experienced this problem with this car? Mine has only 220 miles on it if that's a factor. Ray

Have a look at the owners manual (section 5 I beleive) . It says you have to put the stick into neutral before you put it into reverse. I'm guessing that you are passing through the neutral position too fast for the gates to recognize. every manfacturer has a different type of reverse safety look out, on some you have to push down on the stick while shifting int revers. Others (Getrag) have a collar on the shifter you have to pull up while shifting. This one is just different.

youre absolutely right was98strat...same thing happened to me, now i shift into neutral, clutch it again, then go into reverse and everything is peachy...

I'll take that advice into consideration. I'm pretty sure that I've tried stopping at neutral as well as going straight to reverse, but I'll pay close attention to what works later on today. Thanks.

The double clutch generally works with manual transmissions if it doesn't go in first time.  If you're not grinding gears then it's nothing to worry about in my opinion.