Rough shifting on 2000 SE 6-speed transmission

I have about 7000 miles on a new 2000 SE. I find the transmission hard to shift (particularly into 2nd). It gets better after the transmission warms up, but it is never smooth unless I match the shifting speed very carefully.

Has anyone had similar experience with the 6-speed box?

Thanks in advance.

No. My wife's has about 1100 miles, and when I drive that I don't notice anything different about her transmission than my '96, other than one more speed. Maybe I'm just matching the speeds pretty well without thinking about it.

Jerry & Serrano RED '96 Sebring

Maybe the synchro in the tranny is failing. Sounds like you have a non-synchro tranny now if you have to match speeds constantly. The part(s) should be under warrantee so take it to the dealership and make them fix it

Amy and Seeger '91 Silverstone 'A'

'The horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.'

I replaced the tranny fluid in my 2000SE with MT90 at about 500 miles but I haven't replaced the shifter oil, I have heard that there is oil in it and I have heard that there is no oil there, I'll have to look. Get some MT90 or MTL from Redline. The difference was a lot, but not perfect. Sometimes I have trouble getting into first, it is just real stiff sometimes. Keep your shifting revs up above 4k and you will have no trouble with the rough shifting, but I don't like to do this in parking lots. I was hoping mine would smooth out, but it hasn't changed and I have 8500 on it now. I'm going to try the MTL next soon. I would say now it is fine about 80% of the time, but I have heard it is typical of the Miatae to be a bit rough going into 2nd. Like I say, keep the revs up, you might notice knocking too if you shift at a too low rpm.

Dave - 2000SE Spitball

Good luck resolving your shifting problems. Hope my post above helps you resolve them. There are so many people who really enjoy shifting their 6-speeds that I believe the focus should be on what's different with those transmissions/clutches that are hard to shift. Need to find the fatal flaw and it may be different in your case than mine. Tried shifting differently. However, shifting skill was not the problem. Shifter assembly was part of it. We had a very real problem. Had, because we chose to sell the 10AE and keep our '92 black/tan 5-speed. Solely because (although we did everything we could) the dealer would not resolve our problem even though still under warranty. We had 2 Miatas, kept one. The one that was the most fun to drive! Frankly didn't need the hassle. Next car had a 6-speed too.

This is follow-on to the original posting.

First, thanks to all of you that provided your insights to me and the group.

Second, the outcome: The service manager at the Mazda dealer where I bought the vehicle was fully aware of this issue. He indicated that Mazda had no service bulleting for this problem. He suggested, and carried it out for a fee (not covered by Mazda), the replacement of the transmission lubricant with Redline MTL. The MTL made a significant improvement, although still I would not call the shifting velvet smooth.

There has been other adjustments suggested by Dave Lynch in this group.

I am going to drive it for a few miles before I decide whether or not I should quit at the point of diminishing return.

Thanks again to all.

The Redline MT90 made about a 80% improvement in my 2000SE, I am going to try the MTL next. Sometimes it is velvet smooth and othertimes it is a bit crunchy. I think they could have done better.

My experience... bought my MTL from a local speed shop that tried all the Redline products in their own vehicles. In their opinion MTL was better for synchros. So that's what I used instead of the new 90 weight in our '92. it made a difference in shifting smoothness, and in cold weather shifting. KnobMeister knob made a difference because ergonomics was improved.