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Slight grind when shifting into reverse?

26K views 27 replies 23 participants last post by  LouCap 
#1 ·
I think I've heard a few rumblings of this on other forums.. but does anyone else have an issue putting their 5-speed into reverse? I've got the clutch on the floor (with full force!) and still sometimes putting it into reverse I get a little grind noise. Kind of scares me..but Im worried if I tell my dealer they will blame me for any damage.
 
#3 ·
Take it in, they can't blame you. They would have to prove you did something. From my experiences, it was usually an adjustment on the lever located on the transmissions or on the shifter assembly. If it does it in all gears, it's a clutch adjustment. All easy.

If you're going from forward to reverse and revving a bit without letting the engine spin down, that will do it also.
 
#4 ·
since the forward gears all have syncronizers, grinding while engagement usually shows up only when using reverse.
higher than normal idle or trying to engage the gear while the car is rolling will give u a reverse grind, as well as needing clutch adjustment. If clutch engagement starts to happen immediately as the pedal leaves the floorboard then adjustment is probably the culprit.
 
#5 ·
since the forward gears all have synchronizers, grinding while engagement usually shows up only when using reverse. higher than normal idle or trying to engage the gear while the car is rolling will give u a reverse grind, as well as needing clutch adjustment. If clutch engagement starts to happen immediately as the pedal leaves the floorboard then adjustment is probably the culprit.
High idle, as in a cold start can be nullified by momentarily shifting into a forward gear with the clutch depressed before attempting to go into reverse. I do it almost unconsciously and have encountered virtually no grunch (gear crunch) when shifting into reverse. I realize you weren't the person encountering the problem....you were just easier to reply to. (smile)
 
#10 ·
I haven't tried, so I'm curious. Does FIAT have a clutch switch that prevents starter engagement unless the clutch is depressed/disengaged and/or the transmission is in neutral? I unconsciously disengage the clutch before trying to start....too many years of stick shift American cars.
 
#14 ·
The Abarth I test drove had a tag tied to shifter outlining the proper shifting procedure to avoid reverse gear grinding. Basically to do with timing the shift appropriately so as to not shift in while there is any forward motion in the gears. Sounds like it's considered user error.
 
#15 ·
^ I would agree. Mine grinds when I put the car in reverse too. I've tried to go slower and it seems to work fine. There is a little notch in the middle of moving into reverse that I take a momentary (like less than half a second) pause at. This usually makes it fine. I do agree that it is strange though.
 
#19 ·
Back in the day before transmissions had syncros you could tell how adept a driver was by how often you could hear shift grinding. I believe our reverse cogs don't have syncros so we need to learn how to shift without grinding. even when we become adept at shifting we still may hear a little grind now & then. Don't worry, be happy. It identifies us as real Fiat owners
 
#21 ·
Could be a patience thing. Make sure you don't have a passenger who keeps saying things like "come one, let's go!" Usually it's the pre-adult aged passengers who don't understand what it's like to have a car yet.

Back when I used to have passengers like that, I used to make mistakes and get sloppy trying to hurry just to get them to shut up. I've since learned to not have passengers anymore. Our mileage may vary but that's been my experience. When I'm by myself, I drive fine.
 
#23 ·
I get the same grind on occasion in reverse. It seems like the flywheel is spinning very slowly because the grind is slow and notchy, and I quickly pull the car back into neutral and try again - it happens a few time until the flywheel finally stops spinning ( I have the clutch to the floor). I have tried pumping the clutch pedal while in neutral a few times and trying the process again. This has only happened twice (my car is less than a month old with 1500 miles), and I was on semi-extended trips of 200 miles or better when it happened.
 
#26 ·
I’ve experience the reverse grind on my Fiat Sport 2013. After 20 years of driving a manual transition when I heard the grinding I was horrified. This problem comes and goes in all types of situations, for instance I can be at a complete stop, parked and back out and get the grind. So I took it in. Of course since it doesn’t happen all the time the professional staff member had to drive it around for 10-15min to finally get the dreaded grind, which happened in front of everyone in the office. So they did some tests and gave me a hand out telling me how to put my car in reverse and that I was doing it wrong, I guess the profession who drove my car was also in the wrong. I went to my original dealer and she called the repair office. They told her the grinding is normal, end of story. I regret buying this car. It’s only a mater of time that this problem will create a bigger one.

Also after 3 months of owning the car the side paneling is pealing off, not cool.
 
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