Hello,

I have a Mazda 2 from November 2022 with 6500 miles on the clock. Occasionally, it has difficulty going into reverse. In one week, it happened three times that it wouldn’t go into reverse gear. Putting the gearbox back into neutral and then into reverse worked. After that, I had no problems for two weeks until today. I put it into neutral from second gear, followed by reverse, and the gear stick wouldn’t go further. Then, again via neutral into reverse, and I thought it was in. When I reversed, I still heard grinding noises. Finally it worked but damn, this is an almost new car.

I know it’s a common issue with manual gearboxes that they sometimes don’t go into reverse in one go, but to what extent is this a known problem with Mazda, especially for such a young car? I need to go back to the dealer with this but I don't expect much from them.

First I wanted to ask around for other Mazda (2) owners if they have or had similar experiences?

Thank you.

 

Welcome to the forum

Wish I had a answer but manuals are less common here i USA. But I can say it is not and has never been common for any production daily drivers to have a mechanical issue as common not to go into reverse. In my guess 99% it is the user. LOL
If you have floor mats new or not centered, or new and different type of footwear. changed your seat position or foot position normally used on the clutch peddle believe it or not it might be a cause. LOL

 

Hello, RoadRunner!

First: My Mazda2 is an automatic and I have never owned, driven or even seen a manual transmission one (sadly!).

Second: My 2001 Ford Focus ZX3 had a similiar issue. The solution? The two shifting linkage cables (inside the cab, just under the stick shifter inside of the center console) popped out (plastic ***** that spun held it in place; some silly design from the previous vehicle models specifically made to find out what consumers wanted); the other issue I soon found out afterwards was the shifting turret atop the transmission itself (the hammer turret had snapped off; the gear shifter freely floated after that).

I would suggest visually inspecting the shift-linkage cables from inside the cabin as far as you can, then from the firewall under the hood of the vehicle down to the transmission and try to identify any damages; if no such damages exist: It might be something more serious.

Potentially the reverse gear itself or a synchronizer. I am not entirely sure as I haven't personally owned a manual transmission vehicle in some time. I'm sorry.

I cannot think of a way to safely test and rule out a transmission synchronizer issue.

There are these useful resources:
- https://www.ma2auto.com/manual_transaxle-1154.html
- https://www.ma2auto.com/manual_transaxle_shift_mechanism-1155.html
- https://www.ma2auto.com/clutch-1153.html

The master cylinder clutch might be at fault, but I suspect that would affect all gears and functionality due to it's hydraulically driven behvior; I am not sure how Mazda's are constructed.

Have you peaked at the hydraulic fluid in use, yet? Most likely not the culprit, but it cannot hurt anything. The Ford Focus shared the brakes' hydraulic fluid (DOT 3) to be used for BOTH the brakes and the operation of the transmission (scary and surprising! I know).

I hope this helps! Please let us know what the answer is when you have one.