A few months after I got my MCS, I began to notice that shifting was starting to get stiffer and more difficult. It's tough/rough to get into gear (particularly 2nd, 3rd, and 6th)...I've had a few occasions where I've had to try twice to succesfully getting the gearbox to shift into 6th. It's driving me absolutely insane, but my dealer (during my latest visit) just tells me that my linkage looks like another MCS they compared it to. On my first visit a few months before, the service advisor just told me that it's normal and that if there's anything wrong with the transmission it will fail before my warranty period is over.

On a few occasions the gearbox has become COMPLETELY smooth (as it should be) or at least noticably smoother. Unfortunately, the longest it's ever lasted has been a couple of days before the shifting action begins deteriorating again. After awhile, I've noticed that the only common denominator in all of the times that it's smoothed out have to do with high humidity, such as...

1) When it's really rainy and wet (after a few days of practically non-stop rain was the longest time that it stayed smooth)

2) When just the humidity has gone REALLY far up (which I can usually tell because all of my interior windows fog up rather than just my windshield).

3) Sometimes after I get a carwash, it will be smoother for a few blocks

Considering my dealer has been no help in regard to this particular problem, I'd like to know if anyone else has any clue as to what the problem is. The humidity correllation. Totally kills the "motoring" spirit...

 

Ive had humidity induce clutch shudder on my other car, but have no
affect on my MCS. colder weather locks me out of 1st once in a while, but not
a huge deal.

IF your dealer is correct in saying that there is no problem on your car, do
you wear different shoes a lot? try wearing one pair of shoes when you drive
and see if that makes a difference. If it is you, then what it sounds like is that
you're engaging the clutch too early or not clutching-in far enough. I don't
know, but if it is your shoes, then its a easy fix. :smile:

 

Nope, same shoes EVERY day. I'm almost positive that something is physically wrong with the transmission and/or linkage, but I can't imagine what it is that would make humidity affect it. Seems as if the clutch/trans should be well sealed from water and I would think water getting into the internals would make the problem worse (although perhaps that's what's been happening...beneficial in the short run, but detrimental in the long run)

Also, I forgot to mention that I've noticed that my drivetrain is making noise when I'm cruising in 6th gear. Similar to the gearbox rattle in neutral, but the frequency is relative to the engine speed (of course, it could also be wheel speed b/c in 6th gear, it's so close anyway)

 

Does that gearbox rattle go away if you clutch-in in neutral, or does it make
the noise when you clutch-in?

If its making noise while its in gear and is affected by humidity, the only
thing i can think of is the clutch and its throwout bearing possibly going bad.

 

the one and ONLY time maxxx has had a ride on a flat bed back to my dealer(MoP) was the morning I came out and the tranny was stuck in first gear,I mean stuck! Luckily I had turned the car around and was facing the street,so I could literally drive the car onto the flat bed, but the driver verified that the car would not shift out of first gear at all.By the time it arrived at the dealer,the GM, Martin told me"Can't figure out what the trouble is, it shifts fine now..."ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Anyway, talked with Gary K. later and he told me they had replaced several cables and applied some kind of high tech grease(?) and re-assemled.I've had NO problems since.(6 months).Can't quite figure out why they would have gone to this extent if "there was no problem................." ,but all's well that ends well,eh?
hope this helps(2002, july build MCS) I suspect that ice may have formed inside of one of the cable casings,so if ice can have formed, perhaps corrosion could also form.

 

Yeah, it's the neutral rattle...clutch in, goes away. It does seem that quite a few MCS owners have it, so I'm not as concerned about that problem/trait.

Wow, so maybe it really is just a problem with the cables needing grease. If it's just the cables and not the transmission itself, that would be a small relief. Although, I'm still not sure what to do since my dealer seems very reluctant to even touch the issue (as holdenontoit's dealer was)...seems like if you can move the stick between gears, no matter how it feels, that's considered "fine." I've got the day off, so maybe I'll take a random spin out to the dealer today...I need new wiperblades anyway and maybe I can get one of the Tech's to take a quick trip in my car while I can be there to witness it.