How does your 6MT shift in first 3 gears?

[maniz]

My 2018 M4, purchased new, was my first MT BMW but I have driven manual transmission cars my whole life. Interestingly all my manual cars until the M4 were Japanese (Toyota, Honda, and Nissan). I had never once even driven a manual BMW before.

So I don't know whether my experience is typical of BMWs or European MTs in general, but my M4 with 28K miles does the following:

1-2 shift when car is cold: VERY Clunky. Doesn't actually grind but sometimes, seems to get VERY close to it. At those times, there is an audible, high pitched but low volume "clink" before it settles into 2nd. The rest of time with a cold start, it is still a hard shift but not as harsh.

1-2 shift when car has warmed up: Still the roughest shift out of the 7, but not too bad. Does not seem like it is about to grind.

2-3 shift: Often, the transmission does not easily want to go from 2nd into 3rd gear. I don't have to slam it home, but the shifter seems to "hover" a bit between the two as if it can't find its place, so a bit more deliberate push places it in. This happens 80% of the time and it doesn't matter whether the car, or ambient air, is cold or warm. I started noticing it after the 20K mark.

Rest of the gears: No issues ever whether shifting up or down.

I replaced the MT gear oil once around the 3K mark with OEM fluid. Transmission was smoother then anyway, but I remember cold shifts had become a bit smoother for a bit before going back to how they were prior.

I know and trust the foreman at my local dealer and had him drive the car recently when it was in for a different service. He did it when the car was warm and said he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

How do your MT F8X cars shift compared to above?

I don't personally know anyone local to me with an MT F8X but I may post in the local forum to ask to swap my car with another member's MT for a short drive to see if either of us notice anything different about the one we're in. OEM warranty expires in a little over 4 months so I am seriously looking at diagnosing this issue, if it is an issue.

[icebiker]

Originally Posted by maniz

My 2018 M4, purchased new, was my first MT BMW but I have driven manual transmission cars my whole life. Interestingly all my manual cars until the M4 were Japanese (Toyota, Honda, and Nissan). I had never once even driven a manual BMW before.

So I don't know whether my experience is typical of BMWs or European MTs in general, but my M4 with 28K miles does the following:

1-2 shift when car is cold: VERY Clunky. Doesn't actually grind but sometimes, seems to get VERY close to it. At those times, there is an audible, high pitched but low volume "clink" before it settles into 2nd. The rest of time with a cold start, it is still a hard shift but not as harsh.

1-2 shift when car has warmed up: Still the roughest shift out of the 7, but not too bad. Does not seem like it is about to grind.

2-3 shift: Often, the transmission does not easily want to go from 2nd into 3rd gear. I don't have to slam it home, but the shifter seems to "hover" a bit between the two as if it can't find its place, so a bit more deliberate push places it in. This happens 80% of the time and it doesn't matter whether the car, or ambient air, is cold or warm. I started noticing it after the 20K mark.

Rest of the gears: No issues ever whether shifting up or down.

I replaced the MT gear oil once around the 3K mark with OEM fluid. Transmission was smoother then anyway, but I remember cold shifts had become a bit smoother for a bit before going back to how they were prior.

I know and trust the foreman at my local dealer and had him drive the car recently when it was in for a different service. He did it when the car was warm and said he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

How do your MT F8X cars shift compared to above?

I don't personally know anyone local to me with an MT F8X but I may post in the local forum to ask to swap my car with another member's MT for a short drive to see if either of us notice anything different about the one we're in. OEM warranty expires in a little over 4 months so I am seriously looking at diagnosing this issue, if it is an issue.

I have a 16 F83 6MT with 25k miles and don't experience anything like you describe. In fact it's among the smoothest shifting actions I've experienced after years of MT's in Japanese, American and Swedish cars. I'd definitely get it checked out further. Good luck!

[Humdizzle]

depends on settings too. rev match will help smooth things out on both upshifts and downshifts. In sport 1-2 is always a bit clunky for me too. rest of them are fine.

[Suds]

I didn’t experience any of this on my 2015 M4 that I bought used in 2017 at 27,500 miles.
Sold it in 2020 at 55,000 miles.
I did notice some rear end gear whine in 4th gear when I sold it, after about 3,500 track miles.

[hardrock]

I guess I’m lucky - I bought my M4 comp new in 2019, and 1-2 was a bit rough in sport+ but that went away as soon as I developed muscle memory re clutch release point. Since then, it’s as smooth as butter, no matter whether it’s cold or fully warmed up

[Fat Goose]

Clutch delay valve (CDV). Its integrated in the slave cylinder, quick forum/google search on how to remove it. NIGHT AND DAY difference. The car will drive like how a manual should.

[Kilabyte]

Originally Posted by icebiker

I have a 16 F83 6MT with 25k miles and don't experience anything like you describe. In fact it's among the smoothest shifting actions I've experienced after years of MT's in Japanese, American and Swedish cars. I'd definitely get it checked out further. Good luck!

Same here, something doesn't sound right.

[EricP3]

Definitely sounds like something could be off. Sometimes mine has some resistance going back into first gear but other than that the shifts even in the low gears are perfectly smooth.

[KennySRFElite]

OP

I have a 2020 F82 6MT ZCP, just turned 35,000 miles, I have no issues that you are describing. As with others, if in sport or sport+ and I'm being lazy with my part of the shift 1-2, 2-3 can get a little torquey, but definitely not grinding gears.
I drive this car year-round in Wisconsin, of course, the shifting needs to be slow and deliberate when below zero, but once warmed up, no issues for me. The coldest I fired up this year was -26F.
I also track this car, so far about 1,000 miles on the track, This year a lot more.

Hope your issue is resolved.
KP

[Humdizzle]

Originally Posted by Fat Goose

Clutch delay valve (CDV). Its integrated in the slave cylinder, quick forum/google search on how to remove it. NIGHT AND DAY difference. The car will drive like how a manual should.

i really need to do this mod and stop procrastinating. apparently you can just swap in the e90 m3 slave cylinder (since the E-series cars had the CDV outside of the slave cylinder).

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1666477

[JamesGames]

My brother and I both own 6mt F8Xs. Zero issues with going into 1/2/3 gears - butter since day one. I can shift holding the shifter with thumb and index finger it seems. Seems off to me as well.

I also own a STI currently and 350z before - I would rank the shifter easier and smoother than both those cars in terms of engaging into the next gear. The 350z was the "notchiest" and least smooth by far, and had cold issues similar to what you describe. Frequently had bad throw out bearing / syncros causing grinding in higher mileage older models.

[Snapple415]

Only issue I've ever had was on a really hot day doing 1/4 mile sprints. The transmission locked up and wouldn't allow me to shift into first or second gear whatsoever. It took a good 12 hours of the car cooling down before it let me put it back into gear. Besides that really no problems (still trying to understand why that happened) I've driven the G82 MT I felt he shifter to be much more more stiff with more direct gear engagement. Was really nice

[swagon]

Doesn't want to go into third sometimes when cold the first several miles.

So I just end up double-clutching from 2nd to 3rd and it goes right in or I just skip third and double-clutch into 4th.

Otherwise, all good.

New OEM fluid didn't make much of a difference.

[Shawn_M3 2023]

Have a 2018 M3. 1-2 gear change is notchy unless I take an additional second and let the rpms drop. All the other gear changes are great except for this one. I'm going to have them take a look later this year before my warranty runs out.

[badassfajita]

Originally Posted by Shawn_M3 2018

Have a 2018 M3. 1-2 gear change is notchy unless I take an additional second and let the rpms drop. All the other gear changes are great except for this one. I'm going to have them take a look later this year before my warranty runs out.

See above comment regarding CDV. That's normal.

[swagon]

Originally Posted by Shawn_M3 2018

Have a 2018 M3. 1-2 gear change is notchy unless I take an additional second and let the rpms drop. All the other gear changes are great except for this one. I'm going to have them take a look later this year before my warranty runs out.

Are you sure you're not just shifting too fast? You always have to wait for the revs to drop to the level of the next gear. There's a big rpm jump between 1st and 2nd.

[Shawn_M3 2023]

Originally Posted by swagon

Are you sure you're not just shifting too fast? You always have to wait for the revs to drop to the level of the next gear. There's a big rpm jump between 1st and 2nd.

Well it's weird because if I'm shifting aggressively it just works well. The casual normal shift from 1-2 is the one that bucks/jerks unless again I'm taking my time with it.

[rjd_F30]

I have an F30 6MT (so not an F8x but still an F series 6MT so probably similar-ish), and if it's any consolation my car feels the exact same. I also got the transmission replaced (lost reverse) with a reman unit and it felt the same as the old one. I was under the impression that this is just how BMW MTs drive.

[LuvMyE92]

Natch every car is a little different and how we interpret things and how we describe them can also be quite different. One person's "loud" exhaust is too quiet for someone else.

Anyway... as to the OP's original complaint and question, I'd answer "yes, it's normal". BMWs tend to be a bit notchy, and it's worse when cold. Most people drive hard on their first to second shift and jam the shifter fast, causing excessive and premature wear on the syncros, so many years ago BMW started to beef those up to reduce warranty claims. So now the newer cars are even more difficult to shift, but they last longer.

You think it's bad? Drive an old Porsche or Ferrari. It's like driving a truck. Horrible.

You can use other transmission fluids such as Redline, and that may help. Some people also add friction enhancers like limited slip differential additives to help the synchros work. Find yourself a good independent BMW mechanic who is old enough to have experience with manual transmissions and see what he or she suggests.

[catm4]

Originally Posted by maniz

2-3 shift: Often, the transmission does not easily want to go from 2nd into 3rd gear. I don't have to slam it home, but the shifter seems to "hover" a bit between the two as if it can't find its place, so a bit more deliberate push places it in. This happens 80% of the time and it doesn't matter whether the car, or ambient air, is cold or warm. I started noticing it after the 20K mark.

Rest of the gears: No issues ever whether shifting up or down.

Hi! Kind of reviving the thread here, but yes I have the same issues as OP's car.
Mine is a 2016 M4 with the competition package that I bought used 3 years ago and it had 3,000 miles on it at the time..

Had a couple of cars with manual transmissions in the past with no problems, but no BMW. I daily drive mine and rarely go hard on it.

Were you able to fix the 2nd to 3rd gear issue? I'm pretty sure I have the same issue, like if the gate was not completely open and it feels like you are hitting someting when you shift and you have to go around or through it. It comes and goes but can appear at any time (cold or hot temperature). I notice it a lot when driving casually. Asked twice the dealer to look at it, they took it for a test drive (without me in the car because of COVID...) and said everything seemed normal to them.

[Fat Goose]

Originally Posted by catm4

Hi! Kind of reviving the thread here, but yes I have the same issues as OP's car.
Mine is a 2016 M4 with the competition package that I bought used 3 years ago and it had 3,000 miles on it at the time..

Had a couple of cars with manual transmissions in the past with no problems, but no BMW. I daily drive mine and rarely go hard on it.

Were you able to fix the 2nd to 3rd gear issue? I'm pretty sure I have the same issue, like if the gate was not completely open and it feels like you are hitting someting when you shift and you have to go around or through it. It comes and goes but can appear at any time (cold or hot temperature). I notice it a lot when driving casually. Asked twice the dealer to look at it, they took it for a test drive (without me in the car because of COVID...) and said everything seemed normal to them.

CDV.

[swagon]

2016 6MT 45k miles stock

Im very gentle on the gearbox when it is cold.

1st to 2nd is a bit stiff so I double clutch it

3rd gear often doesn't wanna go in at all so I either skip it and go into fourth or I double clutch again.

After several miles, all is good.

I run OEM fluid, recently changed.