Manual transmissions die too (or are killed)

[inuvik]

It's synchros:

Makes sense. The F5MDB 5 speed manual in the Mirage seems to share a lot of shifting characteristics with my F5M43 5 speed manual in my OS/RVR/ASX. Doesn't like cold temps and doesn't like to be rushed when shifting, especially 1st to 2nd gear until it gets nice and toasty. Once it's warmed up shifts great. Redline gear lube has improved it over the OEM fluid but if it's close to freezing or below freezing don't rush it until it warms up. Somebody that either just didn't know any better or just didn't care could shorten the life of one of these dramatically.

[MetroMPG]

Updated thread title:

"Manual transmissions die too (or are killed)"

[MirageRally]

Makes sense. The F5MDB 5 speed manual in the Mirage seems to share a lot of shifting characteristics with my F5M43 5 speed manual in my OS/RVR/ASX. Doesn't like cold temps and doesn't like to be rushed when shifting, especially 1st to 2nd gear until it gets nice and toasty. Once it's warmed up shifts great. Redline gear lube has improved it over the OEM fluid but if it's close to freezing or below freezing don't rush it until it warms up. Somebody that either just didn't know any better or just didn't care could shorten the life of one of these dramatically.

Well...crap. All this sounds like me. l'll keep everyone updated if my trans fails as l'll know why. But being a brand new car l'll hope to get long life out of mine.

[Basic]

I could easily see the synchros being roached out of one of these cars pretty quickly by A) leaving your hand on the stick B) down shifting without any attempt to rev match. You can feel them straining if you do either of these things. I pretty much double clutched mine exclusively because I hated the way the synchros meshed so sluggishly. Same for leaving your hand on the stick... you can just feel them whirring away.

[Mark]

Makes sense. The F5MDB 5 speed manual in the Mirage seems to share a lot of shifting characteristics with my F5M43 5 speed manual in my OS/RVR/ASX. Doesn't like cold temps and doesn't like to be rushed when shifting, especially 1st to 2nd gear until it gets nice and toasty. Once it's warmed up shifts great. Redline gear lube has improved it over the OEM fluid but if it's close to freezing or below freezing don't rush it until it warms up. Somebody that either just didn't know any better or just didn't care could shorten the life of one of these dramatically.

February has been bitterly cold. Last night may have been the first night it didn't drop below 0F this month, and it's been -25F & colder some mornings. I can feel a slight difference with shifting my Subaru Forester when it's bitterly cold, but I don't sense much of anything with my Mirage during cold weather.

I used my engine block heater a few times, but there were days when I didn't use it. I sense no difference in shifting my Mirage due to the temperature outside. I changed to Redline MTL transmission fluid @ 30,000 miles, but I never sensed an issue before doing that either. I am currently @ 45,000 miles with my Mirage.

If my manual transmission fails some day, my next economy car won't be a Mitsubishi.

[Deobulakenyo]

February has been bitterly cold. Last night may have been the first night it didn't drop below 0F this month, and it's been -25F & colder some mornings. I can feel a slight difference with shifting my Subaru Forester when it's bitterly cold, but I don't sense much of anything with my Mirage during cold weather.

I used my engine block heater a few times, but there were days when I didn't use it. I sense no difference in shifting my Mirage due to the temperature outside. I changed to Redline MTL transmission fluid @ 30,000 miles, but I never sensed an issue before doing that either. I am currently @ 45,000 miles with my Mirage.

If my manual transmission fails some day, my next economy car won't be a Mitsubishi.

And here we are in the Philippines discussing what insulation to put behind the headliner to reduce the heat.

I guess our climate is transmission-friendly, but the airconditioner sucks here.

[foama]

Here in Europe where manuals are normal for 98% of all cars, this gearbox is the absolute last of all things you could expect to break!
The manual gearbox is made by AISIN, a Toyota-related company. The virtually same gearbox is found in many cars from Toyota, Daihatsu, Mitsubishi, Peugoeut, Citroen, and many others. If you bust that sort of gearbox, you should be beaten off to driving school and learn how to shift and treat a manual, and maybe look at a few youtube videos how a manual gearbox plus synchro-rings work, and learn what synchronization is all about. For brain-amputated blondies, switching to a bicycle makes more sense.


I always use fingertips and NEVER apply any force to change gear!
People who never drove a manual usually force the gears in by pressing on the lever, an absolute no-no! After all, the lever looks solid enough. Some forget the most important thing - NEVER force gears while shifting a manual gearbox! If the synchros take too long before the gears simply plop in, the gearbox oil needs to be changed to a fully synthetic sort, with a high VI and low viscosity. 80W/85 / GL4 fully synthetic is fine. If gears are forced in, it won't take long and they won't go in any more...

[Mark]

Here in Europe where manuals are normal for 98% of all cars, this gearbox is the absolute last of all things you could expect to break!

I agree Foama! The guy who used his 1,000,000 miles Nissan Frontier as a delivery truck went 801,000 miles before replacing his original clutch. His interview is quite interesting. He claims he got up to 200,000 miles on some of his BF Goodrich tires.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peW2YgOXXwo

I haven't looked at the Mirage the same since Steve's 300,000 mile manual transmission gave out. In all fairness, however, we don't really know what's happened to Steve's transmission. It could be a clutch issue, & he hasn't addressed the issue as far as we know.

If my manual transmission went out on my Mirage, I would not be a happy customer. It wouldn't matter how many miles are on it.

[AtomicPunk]

Makes sense. The F5MDB 5 speed manual in the Mirage seems to share a lot of shifting characteristics with my F5M43 5 speed manual in my OS/RVR/ASX. Doesn't like cold temps and doesn't like to be rushed when shifting, especially 1st to 2nd gear until it gets nice and toasty. Once it's warmed up shifts great. Redline gear lube has improved it over the OEM fluid but if it's close to freezing or below freezing don't rush it until it warms up. Somebody that either just didn't know any better or just didn't care could shorten the life of one of these dramatically.

And this sound's exactly like what Ive encountered in below freezing weather. Hopefully a switch to Redline extends some of the service life. That being said, my 07 Fit never balked going from 1 to 2 like the Mirage does. Every car has their idioSYNCHrocies, I guess.

[Dodge Aries K]

I haven't looked at the Mirage the same since Steve's 300,000 mile manual transmission gave out. In all fairness, however, we don't really know what's happened to Steve's transmission. It could be a clutch issue, & he hasn't addressed the issue as far as we know.

If my manual transmission went out on my Mirage, I would not be a happy customer. It wouldn't matter how many miles are on it.

I believe there was a period of time where his car was run with low transmission fluid. And with how many miles it's driven, that could have caused it some severe issues.