2012 5spd manual, hard to get in to gear and loud noises?

Personally, I think mine shifts like a car compared to my 67 F250, it only has 4 gears but first and second are not synchronized, and third and fourth barely are. I have to drive it like an old semi. I get in my Tacoma and not only is the ride better, but all the gears are synchronized nicely and it is a bliss to drive. Just keep driving it and get used to it.

 

Not to revive this aging thread but I'm not really getting any better at this? I actually couldn't get in to first for about 20 seconds the other day at a stop light, clutch in and out several times and it just wouldn't take. If I just briefly need to be in first (say pulling out from a gas station parking lot that goes to a stop sign 20 feet later) I can't really hit 3k rpm so there's always a loud crunch when I push the clutch back in to go in to neutral.

I've also never experienced a manual trans car that still makes slight whurring noise when the clutch is in, like it's still very slightly in gear or something. Is this uh.. normal? Guess I should have read a little more or something before purchasing, kind of bullshit to have to rev above 3k rpm to not clank and crunch in to gear or even neutral from first. Really wanted to drive like there's an egg under the pedal for fuel economy sake but how the hell do you do that without bufuing your transmission? And fuck me for having to commute 130 miles a day @ 75-80mph and 3k rpm, averaging 19mpg pure interstate for the whole tank, but when I did a 450 mile trip up in to the rockies the other week, which was about 130 miles @ 80mph and the rest at 45-60mph I hit 25mpg for the tank.

Last question here, if I'm going 80mph up an interstate incline (3k rpm, 5th gear-4cyl) I can usually make it to the top without hitting 75. About 15 times during the hill though the truck has a pretty significant loss of power for a second or two, not a constant lugging but a swift kick in the nuts to power very briefly. Could this be pinging? I'll use premium on my fill up tomorrow morning and see if it changes.

Thanks all, love the truck but in it's current state I'd challenge any Toyota technician to say 'that seems okay' to the noises and crap resistance getting in gear. Since everyone seems to have some grief with the transmission, especially new, how could that slip by Toyota for however long they've been using this... I can't imagine this being by design.

 

I presently have an automatic but have driven many manuals and have never experienced the frustration you seem to have. If its really that bad take it in to Toyota and demand it fixed.

 

I've driven my 82 5 spd for 27yrs before jumping in the 05 and now 08 4cyl 5 spds. I really didn't notice anything beyond it being a different vehicle and having to adjust to the clutch throw and fresher less sloppy shift pattern than the 500k one in the 82. I can see where it could give new stick drivers some shit but felt it was pretty much seamless transition for me. I do have a bit of the noises but only if I'm sitting still in the garage and just moving stick thru pattern without motor on. I have none of the clunking or abnormal resistance to go in any gear when driving it. I also has the URD ss kit for it that my lazy ass has not installed yet that is supposed to greatly improve the shifting feel from what has been posted. That might be a good option for those having too much fun getting the dance steps and hand job synchronization down necessary to move these beasts around manually.

 

A trick for getting into first if you are having trouble, is to go to 2nd then up to 1st (clutch in the whole time). I don't know the technical reason for why this works, but when I drive older cars with tricky transmissions, it helps a lot.

I can't help much with your other questions, I have a V6 6spd with only 1k miles or so, and it has been shifting great. Good luck.

 

Technically, it causes the gears to realign.