I recently purchased a used 2008 Mazda 3 (manual transmission) with about 120,00 miles on it. Sometimes, when I attempt to shift from 2nd to 3rd, the gearshift sticks, and I'm unable to shift into 3rd. I have to pull over and repeatedly jiggle the gearshift to pop it out of second gear. Also, when stopped, I've sometimes had trouble putting the car into 1st. And, overall, shifting from 1st to 2nd is a little rough. The brake/clutch fluid is topped off, so it's not that. And the clutch itself seems fine. Any ideas about what's wrong?

 

Does the issue happen more early in a drive where the car has been chilled for hours following the last trip?

 

Thanks for your response. No. It occurs after the car has warmed up.

 

Okay, next question; when you do finally get the shifter to move the gears into into third, do you feel a subtle (or even not so subtle) grind of the gears?

 

There is a subtle grinding to get it out of 2nd, yes, but no grinding upon putting it into third. The big gears and reverse aren't involved, just 1st and especially 2nd.

 

Okay, sounds like a slightly different problem than I originally thought, hence, a slightly different line of questioning.

Next question: If you row through the gears with the engine off and the clutch depressed, can you get into and out of first and second gears with minimal fuss?

 

Excellent phrasing: "row through." Nice. Yes, I've tried this and am able to do it with minimal fuss.

 

Ahhh, okay, that makes sense. The solution to your issue is one of the three following things (ranked from most to least likely):

1. A new clutch. While the clutch material may well still have some life in it, the two halves of the disk have started to separate and they are still partially engaged even when you push the pedal all of the way to the floor.
2. A Clutch Master Cylinder and/or Clutch Slave Cylinder starting to fail. In this scenario, even when you push the pedal all of the way to the floor, the clutch pressure plate doesn't fully release, and as with Option 1, the clutch disk is still partially engaged.
3. Low hydraulic fluid in the Clutch Master Cylinder. It could be you are pumping (or have pumped) some air into the hydraulic clutch line, and the air is compressing instead of pushing on the pressure plate to open it up all of the way. Here again, the clutch disk is still partially engaged.

 

Thanks for your time and expertise. I will pass on your solutions to the mechanic tomorrow. If anything else occurs to you, please pass it on. Have a good night.