Hello everybody,

I hope to post in the right section. As per title, I just bought a Mazda 2 GT 115hp which has a very annoying (to me) problem: when I switch from the 1st to the 3rd gear, at high RPM or when the car is extremely cold, it jumps giving me the impression that the gear stick, or the gear box, has some problems...it is really like to ride a kangaroo! The 4th, 5th and 6th gear do not give me the same problems: they are smooth and precise.

Contacting the dealer and Mazda UK, they told me that for this engine this is "normal" and I have to drive the car in a different way, for example leaving the clutch pedal down for a couple of seconds before realising it when the car has high RPM. But doing so, I lose power if I have to sprint (for example, I live on the top of a steep hill).

Luckily today, at a supermarket, I found the same model parked beside mine. Talking to the owner she said exactly the same thing: it is a jumping car for the same reasons of mine.

Is there anybody here that can further confirm this please? Because it seems that this is a problem that affect this engine only.

Thank you for your time.

 

Hi there! I've just joined the forum and saw your post (hence the late reply). I've just got the Mazda 2 Sport Nav 115hp and yes – I found exactly the same thing that you describe.

You say 1st to 3rd, but I'm finding the shift from 1st to 2nd hard to do smoothly (2nd to 3rd and through the rest of the gears is fine). This really took me by surprise as I've only ever driven manuals in my 25 years of driving and am a very smooth driver – this is the first car I struggle to be smooth in. As you say, the revs fall back down very slowly after clutch down before going into second. Leaving it a bit longer to allow them to fall before clutch up in second gets a smoother shift.

I read about something called rev hang – when the throttle is closed quickly, engine speed does not drop instantly but decays slowly due to artificial delay programmed in the ECU. Apparently it's an emissions thing. Considering you and the other owner found the same behaviour, it looks to be just the way it is.

Hope this helps! I wonder if anyone can confirm the rev hang thing?

 

Not sure about the rev hang, or if im talking about the same thing but i have the previous model (2008 DE) and the engine mounts cause these kind of problems for me too, kangaroo out of junctions and jerky engagement when changing gears and setting off, it only gets better once its warmed up but if you drive it hard when warmed you can feel how soft the mounts are. I have changed all three mounts but they still feel like rubber bands.