Just curious if there are any other 2010 owners with any difficulty shifting gears in their manual transmission camrys? I noticed during my test drive that I grinded my way into 2nd once... I thought it might have just been my nervousness with a new clutch at the time. However, I've since put 300 miles on the car and I still have trouble putting it into second gear on a daily basis. Sometimes it grinds a bit, and sometimes it catches or a half second before it pops in. All the gears OTHER than 2nd gear go in like butter as you would expect with a new transmission. I'm not new to a clutch... this is at least my 4th car with a stick, so I don't think I'm doing anything out of the ordinary when shifting.

It reminds me of some older (100,000+ mile Nissan) cars I've had in the past... the syncromesh was wearing out and it would grind going into second or third, so I put in some RedLine MTL and got a little more life out of the transmission... but there shouldn't be a need for that kind of thing on a car with less than 1000 miles on it?!

Anybody else noticing this or anybody have any advice? I was going to call the dealership if it didn't clear up before the 500 mile mark.

 

Might post in the appropriate Camry section at Toyotanation. The site has a lot more traffic.

 

Exact same problem with 6speed 2010 Camry's 2nd gear - It was that way when I bought it brand new in December (I've also been daily driving sticks for 17+ years) - grinds going into second every other time or so, rest of the gears fine. I hoped it would break in, it didn't get better by 1700 miles. Took it to the dealership - they replaced the transmision yesterday - I ground second gear again this morning in the new trans! Guess we're looking at a design flaw.

 

Make sure they have the right fluid for your climate. My SAAB 900 ground in second in cold weather even if I paused in neutral UNTIL I replaced the ATF (yes a manual with factory ATF) with Mobil One ATF. Grinding ended and I got 400 K out of that tranny.