Hi ppl, bought a Protege last week (Sunlight Silver LX, snrf pkg..LOVE IT!!) and am a newbie to this forum. Im new to 5-spd but have been doing better than expected. However, the engine seems to strain and lug when I am in the lower gears, especially if I take my foot of the gas...for example if i'm cruising in 3rd at 30-40 and take my foot of the gas, the car sometimes jerks back very lightly and then starts to strain. The same happens when i'm crusing in second in parking lots. Downshifting in these situations usually makes things sound worse. Let me know what I'm doing wrong.

Also the engine sometimes sounds like its straining in the lower gears. Wanted to know if this is normal or not. I continue to stall occasionally when launching off in first...any tips?

This is a great forum by the way!

Thanks

PS: BTW other 5-spd newbies check out http://www.happytogether.com/318ti/notebook/shifting/
for everything you wanna know and more.

 

How do I prevent it from happening though? especially while moving at slow speeds? For a while I was keeping the clutch partially depressed until I read that there's no better way to wear out a clutch

 

Numerous times I've brought it up to Mazda Canada without anything!!!! There is something wrong with the injection system....For god sake, our driveshaft rubber dampers will be shot in 3 years because of the jerking in low gears!!!!

 

Umm, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is absolutely normal for manual transmission. You are probably still used to your automatic. In an automatic, if you let off the brake, your car will idle forward without touching the gas. In a manual, if you let your foot of the clutch and the break without touching the gas, you've just stalled out.

Cars in manual do not idle very well at all... When you are not giving it any gas, the engine does not have enough power to move the rear wheels...

Think of it this way, if you are going 50 in 5th gear, and you coast slowly to a stop, what happens: The engine slows down the car, and the RPMs drop as the speed drops. Eventually, the RPMs get so low that the engine cannot sustain itself. Eventually it will stall out.

Now, because cars will stall out if they idle too slow, there is a fast idle mode built in (might notice it on a cold morning). Basically if the normal amount of gas at idle is not enough to keep the car running, it will flip into fast idle to keep the car from stalling.

So when you are in first or second gear and not giving it any gas, the car thinks it's going to stall out, so it goes into fast idle... then you lurch forward, car realized it was a mistake and goes back to normal idle... almost stalls out again and goes into fast idle.

I've driven at least 10 different cars with manual tranny's and this is completely normal.

 

You should check out this other topic for more info about this...

http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...highlight=Rock

 

You might want to ask your maintenance guy/girl about the IAC valve and ECU. When I first had mine, the thing idled too fast and really bucked when rolling slowly in second and first. Took it in and they fixed using their dark magics and diagnostic computer. I think they reset the ECU after replacing my faulty IAC (intake air control).

 

Guys,

Thanks for all the feedback, especially for the link to the previous thread on this issue. I guess I wasn't controlling my right foot on the pedal...been spoiled by those brain-dead auto trannies all these years I guess However, if I don't get better at this soon, I may decide trade off some throttle response if I get my dealership to play with the ECU and fix this.

By the way do you guys drive for long in 3rd? I realized that I mostly use it as a transition gear...if I take it to above 2500 rpm for a while, the engine strains with an annoying sound that goes away if I upshift to 4th. I know what you guys are thinking but I don't have this problem during the transition from 4th to 5th or for that matter from 2nd to 3rd. The engine strains a bit but it doesn't sound or feel unpleasant. I had expected to be driving a lot in 3rd when I got the car given that I'm usually driving in the 25-45 MPH zones to get to work.

 

I don't drive in third gear much--usually I'm in the highest gear possible and when you can be in fourth by 30 mph and fifth at 40 mph there's not much call for driving around in third. Why drive in third at 2500 rpm when you could be in fourth where it's quieter and more economical? Third is a quick downshift away if you need some additional power.

 

That's why I like third. Sit in fourth or fifth (gas-sipping) and then drop the gear when you want to feel faster than your car is. Decent on gas (i get better mileage in the city than on the highway) and still feels like it's got brass ones. C'est fantastique.

 

arl240...can you please let me know the phone number of the dealership who replaced the IAC valve. i'd like to give them a call. thanks.

 

The Dealer in Saskatoon is Mainway Motors Ltd. My sales rep was Bob Chorney (he is an ***, I bought the car in spite of him, not b/c of him) and the Service guy to ask for is Darrell. The number there is 306-373-3711.

 

thanks for the info, but i think you might have had a different problem. i called the dealership and they said that your check engine light was on, and the computer had recorded a fault with the idle air control, which they replaced, and then reset the ECU. the thing i'm talking about doesn't trigger a check engine light. cheers.

 

my car idles pretty good. however, maybe i need a turbo so my rear wheels will get the power they need to move the car.