Hello!

I'm from (the dictatorial Republic of) France and bought a new Mazda 2 last September.
Not really happy with it, I registered this forum to dicuss a major issue...
I hope I will find some help.

 

Welcome to the forum. What issues are you having with your Mazda? Also what year is it?

Sounds like you have some issues with France as well! I hope we can help you with your vehicle concerns.

 

Thank you!
My issue is I cannot engage 1st gear from neutral since I bought it new last September.
Today it occured up to 2 times out of 13 operations.
No issue from 2nd to 1st gear though, nor from neutral to 1st when clutch remains disengaged.
I went to the dealer, they put some grease at the bottom of the stick, looks like it solved the issue for 3 months, but now it's back.
However I am not sure if it is related to the gear lever, maybe a gearbox issue?
Mazda France said there is no runnin-in period for the gearbox.
Both Mazda France and the dealer claim their gearboxes are very reliable.

Edit: Issue similar to the one described on this topic:
2016 Mazda 2 problems entering 1st gear?

 

I would recommend taking it to another dealership if possible. They should cover it under warranty. Mazda transmissions are typically very reliable and this should be an easy fix or Mazda should take care of you.

 

I am afraid it will not be esay to fix.
I calculated the error rate during 18 days.
6 of 233 gear shifts from neutral to 1st gear were faulty, thus 2,25% (with clutch engaged at neutral = pedal released)
I noticed up to 127 gear shifts during 11 days without any incident.

The problem never occurs if the clutch pedal has not been released in neutral position during the sequence 2nd > Neutral > 1st.
Also no issue from 2nd to 1st gear.

Should I go to the dealership with my statistics? How will they manage this issue? I am not very optimistic...

 

I would agree with the dealership and Mazda France. Mazda gearboxes are reliable. However, that is irrelevant to your issue and they should fix it.

The question of bringing the statistics to the dealership may be a cultural question. I suspect in the US if a person walked in with statistics of 6 of 233 occurrences or 2.25% error rate, they might conclude that it seldom happens. This would reduce the probability of having the problem addressed.

In the US, I would think the best approach would be to state exactly what happens when the error occurs and that the majority of the time it operates correctly.

I often tell my wife that she may need to wait until a problem gets worse so that it is likely to be duplicated by the mechanic. This would depend on the warranty coverage and any buy-back protection you may have in France.