Thanx for the info. Two suggestions as to cause are a bad 3rd synchronizer and a bent fork. I have tried feeling the shifter and if I push on it with the car in 3rd I do feel an intermittent rubbing. This does not happen in any other gear. How would a fork become bent in such a low mileage car(1500mi) which had not been driven hard? It has occurred more frequently now(3200mi}. I am leaving the car with the dealer for 3+ weeks(with some anxiety) while we are out of town. Do they have to lift the engine to get the transmission out? I'll report when I get the car back.

 

Check your ststes (Lemon Laws).
This does sound like a safety issue.

 

Wow at least I'm not the only one with transmission problems. My 2008 Mazda3 currently won't stay into 2nd gear causing me to have to change from 1st to 3rd. Still not too sure what they think it is but might need a whole new one. Clutch was replaced at 80k. I guess it is time for a new tranny. Kinda beat the **** out of it but for all you guys who have no k on the car and the tranny slipped makes me not wanna buy a new one once it comes down to it.

 

We have had the same problem plus the car popping out of third gear. 3300 miles on the car and it's going in for it's third transmission. good luck. See my you tube video

 

I forgot to mention in my post, that this is a 2013 mazda 3i touring 6 speed manual with 3300 miles. Along with the popping out of 3rd gear it goes into 4th very hard and will lock us out of 6th gear. like I said we are now going to have the 3rd new trans put in next week. Bought the car in July with 4 miles on it and now here in Oct with 3300.

 

Dont always blame the gearbox. Ive seen issues with the shifter cables/linkages.

 

That IS true (linkage). If the gear is not fully engaging due to a linkage maladjustment, the gear could conceivably be kicked out. Thing is, it would have to be just hanging by the edge, because the dogs are typically reverse beveled so that as the gear begins to engage, it is literally pulled in all the way.

Don't see how it could be a synchro, though. A synchro could make it hard to ENGAGE a gear, but once it's engaged, I don't see how it could kick it out. All a synchro does is use friction to spin the gear up, so it is going closer in speed to the one it has to mesh with.

In any case, hopefully the dealer can figure it out and fix it, without buggering something up... I would request that whoever their master mechanic is (most shops have one) works on it... Good luck and let us know the outcome!

 

I didn't see my last post so I will synopsize it. The dealer replaced the tranny. We are now at 4500miles with no problems. However, if I press lightly on the shifter in 3rd I feel a coarse rubbing that is not present in other gears. Perhaps unrelated the first fillup yielded only 28mpg when we had been getting around 35mpg. We will see if that recurrs with the next fillup. I am inclined to trade the car at the 2 year mark while it is still under warranty. the 2.5 sky active looks interesting.

 

What you are feeling MAY be normal - I'll have to see if the same is true with my 3. I DO know that with some transmissions, you can definitely feel the gears turning. I have a Nissan Frontier with a manual trans and in a couple of gears on that one, if you put a little pressure on the stick, you can really feel it. Totally different animal, granted, but you get my point. I'll let you know about my 3...

 

WOW!
Unfortunately, when a new model (first generation) comes out, there will be problems, issues.
I'm talking generally for everything.
Never buy a whole new technology change (first generation).
In this case the first year or 2 of "SKYACTIVE". Whether it be engine or transmission.
A new model needs a couple of years to work out the bugs. This is where warranty comes in to play and feedback to Mazda is required before changes can be made, which takes time, then a new design needs to be thought through as well as manufacturing the new design.
In the case of Skyactive 2.0 in the CX-5, i believe, they started with a 2.0 ltr engine. Now they will be going to a 2.5 ltr with more power and comparable mileage.
I also know there were issues with a proper 4-2-1 header exhaust in the Mazda 3 which needs to be modified from the first ones that were produced.
"One thing absent from this production engine is the 4-2-1-exhaust manifold, designed to allow the engine to run at an even higher 13:1 compression ratio. As it turns out, the SkyActiv engine was never intended for the current Mazda3 but was rushed into the product cycle. That header, however, wouldn’t fit and so it had to be left out at the expense of some power and torque. The difference, says Mazda3 engineering chief Kenichiro Saruwatari is more in the low and mid-range torque. It will, however, make an appearance on the upcoming CX-5."
Compression Ratio 12:1 due to lack of fitting in that 4-2-1 header.
FROM: 2012 Mazda 3 SkyActiv Review: Car Reviews There is also a Video.


I never like first generation new engines, transmissions. Wait for 3rd generation when bugs have been worked out, tweaked.

I do agree with updating to a better synthetic oil, always! as well as external automatic tranny coolers in general.