Notchy 2nd Gear !

jonthebarber · February 10, 2003

my is200 is about 3 months out of warranty and 2nd gear is not as smooth as it should be . i read on this site it can be troublesome :( so what i need to know is what can expect from the box (eg - will it give up the ghost) and have you heard of lexus do a goodwill gesture on this problem as it is sort of know about . the car has only done 36k (nov 99 . on a"v") and has a full lexus history . :(

Rob · February 10, 2003

Dont hold your breath on getting any work done on the gearbox now that it is out of warranty, you can try speak to HQ and see what they say, you never know!! its a prob with the syncros wearing, eventually they will need a replacement, how long this would be...... only time will tell...... nothing to worry about for now though. All that i can suggest and this has worked for me, is after starting the car let it idle for a minute or two - boring i know. Also i find that if you are changing gear at lower RPM, the change is worse.

JOHNNY-BOY · February 10, 2003

Ask them to change your gearbox oil, this did the trick on mine. This won't cost much so they may do it FOC if you ask nicely.

jonthebarber · February 10, 2003

cheers boys , thanks for your help . :D

jonthebarber · February 20, 2003

changed the gear oil today , swwwwwwwweet . B)

Kavey · June 23, 2003

After 3 and half years, the gearbox on my Altezza has started to play up a bit... :(

At standstill, sometimes it has trouble getting into first gear, either requiring me to 1. slam it in, 2. double de-clutch, 3. try a different gear then first again.

Accelerating hard, 2nd gear now crunches a little when the revs are above 5000, and trying to switch to 2nd at 7500 at the peak of my power-band is a right no-no.

Could this problem be similar to the notchyness some of you have mentioned?

How much should a change of gearbox oil cost inc labour - might this help, or would this be changed at a normal service interval? I might get TDi to do it when the turbos being fitted in a few weeks...

Are there any other indications that might suggest another problem? The car has done 46,200 miles. It's only recently it's started to do this, and it happens warm or cold. The only difference in driving style of late is much more town stuff, so I rarely get a chance to put much power through the box, apart from the odd sprint to 50mph on a dual carriageway.

Asam