Hey gang,

So I had the 30k service done a little while ago. I notice now that when the tranny is cold it is nearly impossible to shift into 2nd gear, so what I have to do now is start in 2nd gear. Luckily this symptom only last a few minutes. Could this be a result of low tranny fluid or too thick of tranny fluid? I'll be bringing my 05 X in soon for an oil change and will have them look at it.

Josh

Manual Tranny? Was it serviced at a dealer? Check your receipt and see if they list the fluid they used. If not call 'em and ask.
How cold is "cold"? No problem before the service? My first guess is to heavy a gear fluid. I'm guessing this would be more of a problem at a place like Jiffy Screwed and not the dealer.

Hey, the dealer did it, it worked fine before the fluid change and it's been so cold in the New England that most mornings are below 35degrees. Once it's warmed up if shifts much better than before it was changed. I have the work order in my truck so I'll have to check it out.

My dealer recommended a synthetic fluid for my manual transmission when i had my 30K service done.
We have had a few cold mornings here in upstate NY and the shifting feels the same on the cold days as it does on warmer days.
Have the dealer change your fluid to synthetic.

The only time I have ever had this problem was in a rental car (Mercury Sable), and it was 35 below at the time. I wouldn't think that at +35 you should be seeing this problem unless they did something wrong when they did the service.

I am also having some shifting issues getting into gears. It's been 100% till this last cold snap in the North East.

I blame the cold Temps for the shifting because after the X warms up I'm back to normal.

We are seeing a warm spell coming to the East this weekend so see if the problem is still there over the weekend. I think they said it will be in the 40s

Later

DaveP

I too have this shifting problem. I have had it on and off since I bought it new but it got worse once I had the 30k service. It is the same happening at about 35 degrees although I can upshift okay, down shifting however is a different story. It is very hard to down shift unless stopped. If I have the time I let it warmup and I don't have any issues. My personal opinion is that it has more to do with the clutch engaging than anything with the gears. The only reason I think the clutch maybe be the culpret is because when one "speed shifts"(shifting without the clutch?) you can upshift fine but not down shift. Plus when I push the clutch in when it's cold there is a small lurch. This is all just my theories and none of this is based on any factual research. What do you guys think?

I have no opinion yet...but I am due for the 30k service very soon. Some good info. Rarely does it get below 30 degrees here in Phoenix but I'll certainly pay close attention to how mine shifts after. Anyone have any problem with clutch slipage with only 30k?

I'm at 35k and have had no clutch issues.

I've also neglected to get my MT Fluid changed yet. Will get around to that eventually - although by the sounds of things the Dealer isn't doing such a good job, so I'll probably switch to Amsol or somethin.

Last week here in Mass. it was fairly warm 35+ for 4 days or so and I had no issues, it did get cold again and I found that I still have to come to a complete stop when shifting from reverse to 1st but I did not have any issues shifting with a cold drive train like I did before. I dunno if the warm weather "fixed it". Weird......

i just purchased tranny fluid for my 05 s model 4x2 and the parts departent asked me to open the hood and pull out the dip stick for the tranny... if remember correct, they said there was 3 types of tranny fluids and that the dip stick would have the type to be put into my xterra model.. i believe that they might have put the wrong type by mistake...

I had a 2000 1st Gen Manual X and it was the same situation. The Gearbox was very temperamental about the fluid used.

I'm going through the same thing right now. The dealer did a driveline service on my 2006 S model with roughly 50,000kms(approx.30,000 miles) on the OD. The first thing I noticed when I got the X back was hard shifting, especially into 2nd gear, in the cold. And as it warmed up shifting improved. The dealer test drove it this morning and agrees that there is a problem, so they would like to change the transmission oil to semi-synthetic. If that doesn't remedy the situation, they say they will replace the transmission. Given that my truck only has 60,000kms on the clock, I am a bit surprised that it may need a new tranny. Thank goodness for warranty.

yeah so I just had the 30k service done the other day, and it is hard to shift into second. Are all Nissan dealers that stupid?? seriously

It might be a good idea to go back to the dealer and make sure they put 75W-85 or 75W-90 in it since that is what the manual calls for.

Many dealers buy their lubricants in bulk rather than filling your vehicle out of the quart containers in the parts department because they can buy the bulk for much less and dispense out of lines in the shop.

If they are using a different spec fluid, like a straight 90W for example, it could be hampering things in cold conditions.

Interesting that 35 degrees plus it's fine. Any real cold weather then that is when the problem starts. I am not too worried as I think it's just a cold weather problem. My old Jeep Wrangler had the same issue in cold weather.