MY12 Evora S Shifting Issue

[chobbs]

Hi all,

Since purchasing my Evora I am halfway through the initial break-in period and have noticed an odd issue with shifting thus far that I was hoping for some suggestions on. Going into 2nd from 1st gives a bit of a grinding noise - it seems to catch and not latch on smoothly. Double clutching (or just waiting a long time for the revs to drop) seems to resolve the problem, or at least very much minimize it, but it is still a very sensitive shift. All of the other gears are flawless.

I had the dealer look at it, but they told me all seemed fine and it may just need to be broken in further. Interestingly enough, when I got it back last Friday I didn't have as much of an issue with it and figured they might be right. But, this morning I am back to the same noise as before. It was about 40 degrees colder outside this morning than when I drove it on Friday afternoon, but other than that I can't think of any difference or reason for the change.

Any thoughts or things I could have them check out would be appreciated. I am very puzzled by the issue only being present with the change into 2nd.

- Chris

[lynnpreston]

My shifts into second have always been a little rough, especially when it's cold out. Once everything is really heated up (15 minutes of driving on a 60 degree day), it gets much better - but still not perfect. That second gear shift is my only real gripe with the car.

[Chhirowolf]

Originally Posted by lynnpreston

My shifts into second have always been a little rough, especially when it's cold out. Once everything is really heated up (15 minutes of driving on a 60 degree day), it gets much better - but still not perfect. That second gear shift is my only real gripe with the car.

Me too. a bit frustrating on spirited driving. Dealer says

[lynnpreston]

It makes me sad to say I pine for the shifter feel of my mkII or mkIII MR2's.

[invictusmaneo]

2nd is a very troublesome gear and it takes super slow, methodical, clutch-heating-up shifts to make a 1-2 shift smooth..usually once it is warmed up I can do it a bit better, and same with the downshift. It seems the synchros for 2nd are much happier at 2500+ than they are below that.


That being said 2-1 is never an easy shift, and I stick it out in 2nd most times

[XHILR8N!]

Originally Posted by invictusmaneo

2nd is a very troublesome gear and it takes super slow, methodical, clutch-heating-up shifts to make a 1-2 shift smooth..usually once it is warmed up I can do it a bit better, and same with the downshift. It seems the synchros for 2nd are much happier at 2500+ than they are below that.


That being said 2-1 is never an easy shift, and I stick it out in 2nd most times

Agreed

[KCZ]

Originally Posted by invictusmaneo

2nd is a very troublesome gear and it takes super slow, methodical, clutch-heating-up shifts to make a 1-2 shift smooth..usually once it is warmed up I can do it a bit better, and same with the downshift. It seems the synchros for 2nd are much happier at 2500+ than they are below that.

+1

[chobbs]

Wow, at least it isn't just me. Taking her out at lunch gave much less trouble, but the car was sitting in the sun and it is a fairly warm day for January (temp was around 60 degrees). Seems like that temperature is a key factor. I found a bunch of references to the Toyota gearbox doing this for a variety of models: Toyota Nation

So, what is the recommended approach for dealing with this - do I shift from 1st to 3rd to avoid this problematic gear change or will it not wear problematically despite the noise?

- Chris

[S666TT]

Hi Chobbs,

They all do this to some degree or another. I thought I had bought a right lemon when I drove it away and kept hearing "that noise" from 1st to 2nd. However, my answer was to fit a custom exhaust and decat with a Radium CAI, now I cant hear the shift at all.

There is a bit about this common problem on this link from the South East Lotus Owners Club (SELOC).

Known Issues - Evora - TechWiki

You could try and get Lotus to change the gear linkage, that sometimes does it, or mask the sound with a loud exhaust and air intake.

I just learned to live with it.

[JLSELISE]

You might consider changing tranny oil to synthetic like Red Line Shock Proof Light Weight after break-in. I have it my car now and have no issues with shifting at 11K miles, although the action is still somewhat stiff when cold, as others note.

[lynnpreston]

Royal Purple Max Gear seems to have made my warm shifts better and cold shifts worse. Of course it could be my imagination. I don't hear a noise with mine. This is the first I have "heard" about that.


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[SouL]

Hm. Shifting in my '12 S has been very good since I took delivery in July. ~5.5K miles now and no shifting issues/noises.
1 - 2 is probably the most hesitant. But if you gently and steadily put it into 2nd it will go in without much effort.
3 - 4 - 5 - 6 you can shift as fast as you want and the shifter will go into the gate easy.

[Snoopy1969]

Originally Posted by SouL

Hm. Shifting in my '12 S has been very good since I took delivery in July. ~5.5K miles now and no shifting issues/noises.
1 - 2 is probably the most hesitant. But if you gently and steadily put it into 2nd it will go in without much effort.
3 - 4 - 5 - 6 you can shift as fast as you want and the shifter will go into the gate easy.

Same here (also My 12 S) - from 1 - 2 a little bit stiff for about 5 minutes when cold (but same issue in other cars I drive also) but no noise definetely- I think that with the "upgraded" My 12 the problems mentioned above by the other guys should not occur. Therefore I think your dealer should examine the issue again.

[dmpriso]

I'd start with adjusting the shifter cables. That's something you can do at home, it's not very complicated and doesn't need very much time.

Read Thomas' Thread at TLF:
Gearchange Issues dissected - Engine & Ancilliaries/Gearbox - The Lotus Forums

Helped a lot for my gearchange (MY11 S).

[lynnpreston]

Originally Posted by dmpriso

I'd start with adjusting the shifter cables. That's something you can do at home, it's not very complicated and doesn't need very much time.

Read Thomas' Thread at TLF:
Gearchange Issues dissected - Engine & Ancilliaries/Gearbox - The Lotus Forums

Helped a lot for my gearchange (MY11 S).

Thanks for the link - I'm going to try the #3 suggestion at lunch. It sounds like the poster had to loosen the left-right adjustment in his case. What direction and by how many turns did you adjust yours?

[chobbs]

Thanks for the thoughts and links everybody. I have sent the info along to the dealership and asked them to contact the Lotus rep to get an answer on this subject. Regardless I will definitely be revisiting the issue at the 1k service if it is still a problem.

- Chris

[dmpriso]

Originally Posted by lynnpreston

Thanks for the link - I'm going to try the #3 suggestion at lunch. It sounds like the poster had to loosen the left-right adjustment in his case. What direction and by how many turns did you adjust yours?

I don't remember exact direction and number of turns. Actually I compared the lateral play of 1st, 3rd and 5th gear and noticed that first and second gear are very tight; on the "right" side it is limited by the gearbox (remote - through the cables), on the "left" side by the reverse gear block (if I remember correctly). So I just changed the length of the crossgate selector, there was no need to adjust the actual gear selector gate.
It's hard to explain, but if you have the thing open and play a bit it becomes easy and logical.

[tbd_Evora]

Originally Posted by lynnpreston

Thanks for the link - I'm going to try the #3 suggestion at lunch. It sounds like the poster had to loosen the left-right adjustment in his case. What direction and by how many turns did you adjust yours?

If I remember correctly you will have to lengthening the cable by one or two turns. You should be able to shift 1st/2nd back and forth easily when holding the lever against the reverse lockout.

Another tipp: I always had the feeling the gearshift lever was a bit too far forward, especially in 1st, 3rd and 5th gear. You can compensate this by turning the corresponding ball joint fully in. In fact we chose to cut about 4 milimetres off of the bolt to be able to tighten the ball joint up to the end. This moves the upper end of the lever back bout 15-20 milimetres, which I find much more comfortable.

And a third tipp: If you have the arm rest you probably find it just as useless as I did. I have meanwhile put a rubber bushing on the underside as spacer (in front of the two holding screws). The arm rest is now pretty well horizontal when down and can actually fulfill its purpose.

[lynnpreston]

I adjusted my crossgate cable out (counter clockwise) two turns and my shift cable in (clockwise) one turn. Went for a 15 minute drive (from cold start). It seems to be a bit better.

[brgelise]

Excactly and don't "ride shifter against the "left" gate too much. That only makes the tight feeling more so. Glad to see you folks are getting this settled in. Except for the chatter in the clutch that took a few thousand miles to settle in I've been lucky. Must have gotten a sober highly caffeinated tech that built mine.