There have been four occassions now I've been locked out of 5th.

One time was so dramatic that no amount of force/pressure would do anything, and it gradually loosened later and returned to normal (tens of minutes).

It happened at any temp, at different times of the year. Usually it just caused more muscle to be needed to get in and out, but loosened a few shifts later.

With 12,000 miles over nearly two years (weekend car), this intermittent problem was not making me happy--although there was little I could do but report each time to service.

Their reaction, "if it happens again, bring it right to us". Considering how infrequently it happened and how unlikely it was to continue with enough severity, I wasn't expecting much.

At the same time it might never recur!

How wrong I was, this past Saturday it did it again--so bad I couldn't get into 5th at all.

Fortunately I was on my way home. My nearby dealer doesn't have Saturday hours, so I left the car in the garage until today (first day since w/o rain).

Fortunately it still did it (even before firing up in the garage), and after the car warmed.

The dealer's nearby, it was still in that condition when I got there.

Serendipity #2 is the district service rep. was visiting! So he and I went for a drive (he actually drove an S for 6-7 months)...

Long story short, they're ordering all the parts (mostly bushings), for the shifter before trying to crack open the tranny.

Although this problem averages every six months, I will post a follow-up if I detect any difference when they swap the bushings and if the problem recurs.

Randy

 

I had a similar problem, but problem was getting it OUT of 5th. Turned out to be the synchro and they repaired it under warranty. Less than four months later, it started happening again. They fixed it again under warranty.

Now I notice every now and then that if I accelerate hard up thru third and then try to go directly to 6, I get a grind and have to double clutch to avoid it. That same thing happened just before I had the 5th gear problem the other two times.

Not looking forward to a third time.

 

This happened to me once, after a session at the track on a really hot day. After driving to lunch and having the car sit for an hour, it still wouldn't go into fifth, but on the drive back it started working fine. It has never happened again.

Let us know what they find out (if anything) when they open your tranny up.

Ted

 

the same thing happenes to me can't get into 5th no matter how hard i try. then if i do it doesn't want to come out. my dealer told me the same thing bring it in if it happens again. it did! i brought it in and it wasn't doing it. they told me sorry we don't see a problem. come back when it happens again. so now i am just waiting.

 

I had the same problem with 3rd.