Notchy 1st & 2nd gear manual Auris advice

[1973noom]

Hi, new to the club.

I have a 2012 Auris 1.6 manual with c69k miles, owned 5 years since c37k miles.

1st to 2nd gear change has always been notchy and slow. Selecting 1st is also sometimes difficult, requiring selection of a different gear, clutch in, to help. All other gears including reverse select sweetly.

Clutch has always been fairly heavy & I guess this is just a characteristic.

Is there any adjustment of the clutch which might improve shifting? Would a replacement clutch help?

I really like the car & would like to keep long term - improved gearshift would be the icing on the cake.

Grateful for any knowledgeable feedback. Thanks very much.

[TonyHSD]

Hi Steven and welcome. 
I personally haven’t got experience with manual auris except few test drives however from other manual cars if the gear change is notchy is likely to be from synchronisers ( gear oil) or clutch performance. , or combination of all above.  For beginning you can check all gear linkage for been  properly  lubed and free of rust, they needs to move freely, then check and change your transmission fluid. Make sure you only use oem Toyota gear oil or exact same spec. Sometimes where other brands gear oils are possible to be used Castrol can be a difficult **** problem solver. I used this one in the past on Mitsubishi Lancer 1.6 manual with great success. https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-6363-castrol-transmax-manual-transaxle-75w-90-fully-synthetic-transaxle-fluid.aspx 
You can try these series too, just make sure it’s suitable for your car. 👍
Check clutch operation too. 

[furtula]

I don't think you can adjust the gear selector, maybe only on engine side.

Try lubricating the gear knob connections, and spraying some lubricant on the gearbox connectors aswell.

Auris does have a heavy clutch, atleast in my case.

If lubrications on connection does not work, then i would go with new oil as Tony mentioned.

I doubt new clutch would help, as the issue is on transmission side.

[Bernard Foy]

All my manual shift Toyota’s were a bit notchy going into 1st gear and back into 2nd, both petrol and diesel. And selecting 3rd and then selecting 1st made it easier, so I was prepared to live with it. Sounds like you are exactly the same with your Toyota Avensis. Mine were Corolla’s.

[1973noom]

Thanks very much for your replies folks.

I omitted to mention - apologies - that the gearbox oil was changed last year which seemed to make little or no difference (I'm unsure of the spec of oil they used but the garage said they'd need to research it to ensure it matched oem spec).

How can I view the gear linkages - from the underside of the car on a garage lift or fremoving interior trim?

p.s. Delighted with build quality, reliability, performance and high 40's mpg.

Thanks again.   

[TonyHSD]

28 minutes ago, 1973noom said:

Thanks very much for your replies folks.

I omitted to mention - apologies - that the gearbox oil was changed last year which seemed to make little or no difference (I'm unsure of the spec of oil they used but the garage said they'd need to research it to ensure it matched oem spec).

How can I view the gear linkages - from the underside of the car on a garage lift or fremoving interior trim?

p.s. Delighted with build quality, reliability, performance and high 40's mpg.

Thanks again.   

I think the linkage in question are on too of the gearbox where connect to the shift tower. Some make and models does get water and rust issues that make changing gears super difficult, but if this is the case than the gear lever will be stiff and difficult to return to its neutral position. Other place that is under the gear lever inside the car, but I haven’t worn on manual Auris and only it’s my guess, 

[furtula]

The gaiter around the gear level can be pulled up, there is basically a ring around it with small clips. Puth your finger a bit under it, and pull the ring upwards to release.

Grease the ball and connections with some lithium grease. 

Linkages under the bonnet are on the right side (when facing the car), just above the transmission. If you have trouble finding it, have someone more the gear lever around, you will see it. Lube the connections, ideally with lithium grease in a can.

 

[APS]

Does the clutch disengage properly?

At that mileage, I would not have thought the box would be worn much. First gear is often much stiffer on many gearboxes. You can double-clutch, or put in third first. But in general, this is very common. Just hold a gentle pressure and the gear will slip in eventually. It's worse when cold and tends to get easier as the gearbox oil warms up and thins out. 

New gearbox oil will make little/no difference unless you have really high mileage or the oil is contaminated. Second, gear synchro is usually the first to wear out just because it gets used most. But again, your car has not done many miles. As others have suggested, check gear linkage and clutch adjustment (I'm not sure if yours has hydraulic or cable).

[TonyHSD]

I had similar issues with Mitsubishi Lancer, actually I had many Mitsubishi’s in the past, tens of Mitsubishi Colt and lancer as I worked with those and many lancers had similar difficulties to select first gear and sometimes from first to second when driving slowly. I had read somewhere in Honda forum if I remember correctly and some guys suggested change the oem oil to Castrol Syntrax manual transmission, I did that and there were some positive results. Very important here is to pick the exact type of oil, in my case was GL-4,  I think Auris might be the same type bit that’s need to be double checked. I can’t guarantee will fix the problem but may help a bit. Perhaps the op can ask the mechanics worked on the car what brand and type of oil been used in the last gear oil change . 👍

[APS]

44 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

I had read somewhere in Honda forum if I remember correctly and some guys suggested change the oem oil to Castrol Syntrax manual transmission, I did that and there were some positive results. Very important here is to pick the exact type of oil, in my case was GL-4,

Yep, Honda (and others) actually recommend engine oil in some of the 80s/90s cars. I run 10w40 in my Mazda - both in the engine and gearbox. It has got super slick gear changes, where it was notchy in the past with the recommended 75w90. You can also run a 50/50 mix of ATF and engine oil for slick changes.

For a modern car, it's fine to just stick to the standard. Typically you'd run GL-4 in the gearbox as you don't need the extreme pressure capacity of a GL-5. And, as I indicated above, you actually get better gear changes with a less slippery oil. 

[roks]

Reading this thread, I have noticed the same on mine, its a bit notchy N > 1 >2 and back, slightly less 2>3, I am on 51K at the moment, clutch feels a lot harder than when I first got it 2 years ago at 45k but I don't think its time for a new clutch.

I don't think the gear oil has ever been changed either, I'll  try try and lube the links/joints.

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, roks said:

Reading this thread, I have noticed the same on mine, its a bit notchy N > 1 >2 and back, slightly less 2>3, I am on 51K at the moment, clutch feels a lot harder than when I first got it 2 years ago at 45k but I don't think its time for a new clutch.

I don't think the gear oil has ever been changed either, I'll  try try and lube the links/joints.

Clutch can become heavy as the diaphragm spring been overheated on regularly basis, something typical for cars that been used in heavy traffic in congested cities or clutch been over ridden often. When this occurs the clutch pedal becomes stiff, harder to press but the clutch will still operate ok.   No point of parts replacement of yet and best to be changed all components when the time for new clutch comes. Here on the diagram number 7. 
https://haynes.com/en-gb/tips-tutorials/anatomy-your-cars-clutch