[beedurand]

I have a 2006 Elise with just over 10000 miles.

My wife bought it for me a few months ago from a dealership in FL and had it shipped to The Netherlands where I'm stationed.

3rd Gear grinds going in most of the time, even if the temps are good.

I'm sked to take the car to a dealership in Dusseldorf next Monday and want to be armed for a warranty repair.

Can anyone help to ensure that I have the correct documents and have them fix?

Cheers,
Brian

 

[EliseAtLeast]

I get some grinding also going into 3rd but only when temp is low. I only have about 2000 miles on mine

 

[skottoman]

Mine has done the same, moreso when cold, but still seems to have a small 'grind' when shifting to 3rd. I'll ask about it when I do my last warranty service before my warranty is gone.
CHeers,
Skottoman

 

[bueno]

I have a 2006 Elise with just over 10000 miles.

My wife bought it for me a few months ago from a dealership in FL and had it shipped to The Netherlands where I'm stationed.

3rd Gear grinds going in most of the time, even if the temps are good.

I'm sked to take the car to a dealership in Dusseldorf next Monday and want to be armed for a warranty repair.

Can anyone help to ensure that I have the correct documents and have them fix?

Cheers,
Brian

Brian,

Are you saying you purchased your car in Florida? If so, I highly doubt that a Lotus dealer overseas will honor ANY warranty on your car. I'd call first to make sure there are no surprises.

 

[Rugbyduck]

I had my Elise do that from the start. Had it documented from the start. Had a triple flush done...still the same issue. At right about 10K Lotus decided to replace the tranny. Still does it.:shrug: Never had a problem getting it covered though and it wasn't terribly bad. I just thought it shouldn't have done it in the first place.

 

[Illumiloti]

Definitely related to temperature. When ambient temps are cold (below 50 deg.) 2nd and 3rd grind until I get engine really hot. When it's warm (60 +), I'll get a slight grind on the first upshift to 3rd, then it goes away.

 

[GTsRasta]

Had my 3rd gear shot at 28,000 miles on my car when I got it stock.

Welcome to the world of C60 transmissions , treat it like a baby...if you can.

And to think people actually got hyped up to mate a V6 to this tranny without a second thought...

 

[Bgwilly31]

Mine dont do it:shrug:

5500 miles on my 07 Exige S

 

[apk919]

My first transmission always did the 2-3 grind when it was cold, never when it was warm. At about 12,000 miles, the 2nd gear synchro failed (not sure whether the two issues are related in any way). My new transmission has never done the 2-3 grind, even in below freezing temperatures. But one data point does not make a trend...

 

[pixlpush]

Mine was doing some grinding on 3'rd to 2'nd high rev down shifts. I was convinced that the syncros were going bad and had even made an appointment to take it into the dealer to have it checked out. While I was waiting to get into the dealer I decided to change the transmission oil to Redline MT90 and the grinding vanished and has been great ever since including a handful of track days. here's some more thoughts on the subject:

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f25/changing-transmission-gear-oil-32454/index2.html#post1013552

 

[paulhastings]

When you are saying a grind is this a very distinguished grind from under the car? My 2nd to 3rd shift doesn't feel right and never really has. This is primarily when the car is cold. When I think grind I imagine a strong buzz coming straight from the underneath. Mine mainly doesn't feel right at the shifter. I can feel it not slotting in as it does when warm or any other gear.

 

[IXLR82_]

I'm glad I don't have this issue.............no grinding in any gear.

I once had a Nissan twin turbo 300zx.........Missed a gear in it on a shift one time and it grinded into gear anyway. From that point on it grinded into gear every time you shifted.
Turned out to be a bent shift fork.It's been long ago, but I think (not sure)I may have messed the syncros up to.
I learned my lesson with that little display of stupidity.

Ever since, I BABY manual trannys, no speed shifting, no power shifting, no standing starts. Etc etc.
I do notice that my Elise shifts a bit smoother after it warms up, however.
I understand this is normal for manual transmissions.

 

[paulhastings]

I have always shifted with fingers ( gently ). Gentle with all the controls is good for the car and smooth driving in my opinion.

 

[beedurand]

The car has always had a grind, and yes it is worse when it's cold, but this is a little silly. At 10,000 miles the trany shouldn't make these types of noises. My S2000 didn't start making noises till 125,000 miles and it too was a 3rd gear synchro.

I've contacted Lotus in the UK, and they told me to talk to the dealer about the issues before work is done to determine warranty work.

Has anyone bought the extended warranty? If so, how much?

Cheers,
Brian

 

[mjf]

My car at 2k mi when I got it grinded going into 3rd gear when car was first started.

Took it to dealer who tried some things then called Lotus.
Lotus replaced transmission under warranty.

Still crunches going into 3rd gear.

My limited research online indicates that replacing the transmission fluid (to Redline MT-90) might fix the noise for you, but if like mine, it's only when the car is still warming up you can probably ignore the problem. Rev match, shift gently, or even just go from 2nd to 4th until the car warms up.

 

[Vampyre]

2006 owner... no issues about 8K on mine...

 

[spectre]

Mine has done this from day one and is temp related. I will say it feels better or more broken in but that may not be good in the long run...

 

[Jabadala]

I don't own a Lotus, but I think we share the same transmission on a Celica GTS. I'm having the same problem as most of you guys are describing also.

Upshifting into 3rd gear on a cold start will always grind on my transmission, like at times it'll buzz before going in. Of course after warming up the transmission by driving for 10 minutes or so, every shift slips in super smoothly without an issue. I'm using Redline MT-90 for the transmission fluid.

Another problem I have on cold starts is the 1-2 shift. It won't go in unless I ream the stick into 2nd gear (no grinding though), so I always start out the car in 2nd gear from a stop.

I never had these problems while I had the 5 speed transmission (c56). Anyone think the c60 is just a shoddy transmission?

 

[[email protected]]

Im sorry to say I have a feeling your warranty may be voided. If you bring the car back to the states you may be able to get it fixed under warranty. We have done one or two at my shop.

 

[titleist1]

I guess I will chime in and say I have this issue also. Upshift from 2 to 3, a bit of a grind. It is worse when it is cold. I have noticed it getting worse over the last 5-6 months. And yes it is hard to shift into first. One year ago I switched to Mobil 1 75w-90 (around 12,000 miles). Our car has about 20,500 miles and about 9 months of warranty left. I will have it checked out at LOA.
Jordan, when you say you have done on or two at your shop what did you do?? Tranny replacement? Or something else?
Adam.