Here’s the Transmission Update on my 2023 Miata!

Welcome back guys! Here’s my 2023 Mazda M-5 Miata Club! Its recently had its 6 speed manual transmission replaced due to the 3rd and 4th gear brass synchros failures.
Dealer link 👇
www.goodemazda...

[@MachMotorsport]

As an ND2 owner myself and also having driven many cars, I completely agree with your opinion on how amazing of a car this is 😊

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

It really is!

[@paulduesler9108]

Mine is in for a new transmission too. 2023 I agree it’s a fantastic car

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

I’m sorry to hear that! A few weeks after mine was replaced I ended up selling it.

[@joan4906]

My 2023 1.5RF had the third gear synchro fail at 4200 miles. Mazda know all about it but won't admit it. I waited about 4 weeks for a warranty gearbox to arrive but gave up in the end and sold the car back to the dealership

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

I’m sorry to hear about the frustrations you’ve also had. I did the same. About a week after it was fixed I sold it and made a video about my decision to do so. The transmission was one of maybe 3-4 main reasons. But it was extremely fun while it lasted lol.

[@EchoSigma6]

The Club version of the soft top Miata is slightly over $38k before the government’s charges. Probably another $4k here in CA. That ND3 is sure pretty but I think I’ll hang on to my NC1 for now, it’s got 190k miles and still runs great.

[@Doc1855]

I had a throw out bearing go out on a pickup, but didn’t realize it until the clutch went out, so as I was saving the money, I drove the truck clutchless for a couple of weeks. When the engine RPM matches the rotation of the transmission, you can easily slip it into the gear that you need to. When you come to a stop, put the transmission in neutral and when you need to get going, put the transmission into first gear and let the starter get it going. It’s hard on the starter, but if you’re in a pinch, you make do with what you have .

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

That’s great insight! I still haven’t driven one of the few new cars that are tuned to be able to be “no lift shift” under full throttle accelerations, I rode in a 500hp built STI with that feature tuned in, but I think I’ll be really sketched out the first time I drive a car like that haha. If you’re unfamiliar you don’t have to lift off of the gas pedal when you upshift, you keep your right foot flat to the floor. 😅

[@Doc1855]

@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 Really? I’ve never heard of that

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Yeah, I’m not sure how many modern high performance cars actually come with it. I think the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing 6 speed has that feature. I drove a non Black Wing last year for a video, and that was fun. And an older supercharged 6.2 CTS-V, but I hope to someday drive the Blackwing!

[@mjd240]

Very good video. So glad you talk with video on the car. Car videos of a guys face kills me when I just want to see the car and listen. White looks great on the MX-5.

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Thanks! Haha yeah, I agree. I personally would also rather see the car than the person if it’s a video about cars, but also I don’t want to be publicly recognized just because I find it fun to film car videos. The downside is it’s sometimes more difficult to make talking videos not boring since I won’t show myself talking. 🤷‍♂️😅

[@patrickstover8766]

I have a '23 soft top grand touring I bought new last year. I am concerned about this, but honestly if the transmission fails, even after the warranty is up, I'll pay to replace it because the driving is bliss.

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Nice! Yeah, the drive is amazing and there are ways you can get a more reliable transmission in these. It’s just a shame that the factory one has not in every case proven to be over built.

[@carlosbonilla1637]

Great video actually.. subscribing

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Thanks! I’m glad you liked it. Are you a Miata owner?

[@In-obscurity-n7j]

The fun never ends when you have a grown ups go cart. Built for the street.

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

That’s for sure!

[@fahmidnd2]

mine did, do a fluid change after 2000miles just watch the silver come out. i put in ford motorcraft 'unicorn tears', it shifts so much better. FOR NOW.

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

I’m glad to hear that it’s currently running better, thanks for sharing this! I ended up selling mine about a week after the tranny was replaced.

[@MrSuryapratim]

There's an interesting thing i learned on a recent trip to the dealership... Apparently 19 to 21 miatas have a special transmission fluid... This isn't, apparently, a mazda transmission fluid and as a result the trans flush is quite expensive on those cars... 22 and up have relatively more standard mazda gear oils ... Wonder if this has something to do with what you're seeing here....

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing this!

[@jameschan5128]

had the same exact problem, 2nd gearbox breaking 💀💀💀 Dealer said no other case in North America 💀💀💀💀

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

I’m sorry to hear that! You’re definitely not the only one…🤦‍♂️🤪

[@Dylanbforthree]

2021 RF club, my third gear is going. Bringing it to the dealer on Monday, only 8800 miles.

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

I’m sorry to hear that. 😢

[@salami99]

no way, the potatoe truck is on fire in Idaho 😭

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Haha it was the weirdest day. A potato truck has somewhat spilled over and showed char on the metal like it had been burning and there were fire trucks near it. A manure truck a few miles later also spilled and people literally shoveling it off the side of the road. And a few other accidents involving non commercial vehicles too. 😅🤦‍♂️

[@SplittingVoices]

I heard that the NC had a better transmission and differential. The transmission and diff on the Fiat 124 Turbo motor, NC transmission was used as it can tolerate more torque than the ND.

[@romano54321]

I just bought a 2023 grand touring with just 3200 miles yesterday from a private seller. I drove it home 360 miles. No problem. Today I drove it for 40 minutes and half way though, the 3rd gear was hard to get into. Feels like synchros. Then I drove the car later today for 20 minutes and it was fine again. Anyone have this issue?

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Oh no!! I’m sorry to hear that. Mine started out very hit or miss, but with 4th gear.

[@romano54321]

@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 it’s funny, when the transmission is cold, it works fine. It takes about 20-30 minutes of driving for it to make 3rd gear have a little to medium resistance to get into 3rd

[@wweatherford]

​@@romano54321I have the same exact issue. Waiting on a new transmission to arrive!

[@salami99]

Is the base C8 corvette as fun as a miata? I feel like living with that car would be boring.

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

It’s almost as fun, at least it was over the course of a few hours. But I think that feeling may start decreasing with ownership as its limits are higher so it’s much more restricted on the street. And obviously less driver interacted. And even removing the roof takes 30x the effort. 🙂

[@salami99]

@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 That's what i have heard form other people, that owning the car or tracking it starts to make to the car 'less fun', it's not tuned like a Z06/7 and it's too soft too touring to be fun after knowing the car awhile, they left all of that for the higher trim on purpose afaik I have not driven it myself. The miata tho has no upper M or z06 trim so they make it fun enough however soft oem. I just think the base c8 is under the miata imo in the fun department, again with no driving experience, when living with daily or/and on track. I own a base cayman 981, and my fun comes form how slow it is, I can rev 2nd gear without going to jail and hear beautiful induction sound and push the car recklessly in 1 turn and a roundabout everyday, I'd imagine with the C8 I would have to go slower, their is no manual fun to be had, more weight by far, and imo too much power for the street compared to my cayman thus I guess it would be more boring. The miata is more overall fun than my cayman in every scenario. maybe someone will make a tuning kit for base C8 and awaken the track weapon inside, imo their are too many high power track beast cars, like supra, Nissan z, Z4,cayman,boxster, 911?, etc that take that place the c8 does but with a manual and better imo

[@hduncan2587]

Thought Mazda updated that for newer models. Eesh.

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Same here lol… 😂

[@salami99]

yea the 2016 had an issue , crazy that It came back. The 2016 issue was with the shifter fork used for 3/4 shifts breaking, particularly on track use IIRC. this brass syncro is a new issue

[@ag4allgood]

You forget many owners with their 2016s added Turbos & Superchargers. Also tracking & Auto X. So as time went on & transmissions got broken then replaced slowly the ND community started to learn this 1.5 Liter transmission put on a 2.0 Liter engine was already at the design limits ! Yes Mazda made continual changes to this transmission but it was NEVER DESIGNED for the 2 Liter engine ! Once your understand that fact then your view of adding more power should be changed. This is not the generation to do it on.

[@salami99]

@@ag4allgood my point was it broke, from factory on track. They did not test the 2.0 manual on track the way people drove it. The superchargers and turbos is a whole other thing at that point use the NC manual like the fiata does which is a turbo, but OEM the nd miatas trans had failure at performance driving particularly with the rough and sudden shifting people were doing on stock miata.

[@ag4allgood]

@@salami99 I don't think there was sufficient time to test that 1.5 Liter transmission mated to a 2 Liter engine. They took every gram of weight out they could making that ND including the transmission. No doubt Mazda had a meeting with Design Engineers & those Engineers along with the executives thought the design would still be in the limits of their tolerances. BTW their are a few owners in Europe with the 1.5 Liter engine that have had transmission failures too. Much fewer but still happening.

[@salami99]

@@ag4allgood I heard from mazda indirectly they just sent it and fixed it as the problems came and honored warranties of the time. to this day they are testing this transmission further. source:savagegeese ndmiata video

[@salami99]

@@ag4allgood was not aware of 1.5 failure, given in the us it never existed, I think though mazda was right. The 1.5 may have been a great motor here in the US too, I would love to rev the hell out of it going slower. I thought the nd2 is too fast for a street car for me at least IMO wanting to avoid speeding tickets.

[@widdly-scuds]

lmao my 93's 5 speed sounds like it's full of rocks on decel, but shifts smooth as butter into everything but reverse, Seems the NDs still haven't escaped their transmission issues years later

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

That’s interesting, I never knew even the NAs had tranny problems. I love how the ND shifts, when it works lol.

[@widdly-scuds]

@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 They don't have any real problems besides being fragile, they all have a grind on decel, just varies how bad; supposedly it's powerplant frame/drivetrain alignment thing. Otherwise having driven a '16 ND a few times they do shift really nicely, just a shame they have problems still, the rest of the car is great

[@ag4allgood]

@@widdly-scuds The 2016 owners were the turbo & supercharger modifiers. Also tracked & auto Xed much more than the other years. The whole issue is that the transmission being used is DESIGNED for the 1.5 Liter engine. Its STILL the 1.5 Liter transmission hooked to a 2 Liter engine ! Mazda engineers calculated the edge of this + or - factor & it was mated to the 2 Liter engine. Everybody Buying these cars should know this fact ! As a 2016 Club soft top owner with the Brembo / BBS package I got an extended warranty to cover me.

[@widdly-scuds]

@@ag4allgood Thanks for the info, I never looked into it too much since I didn't own one, just did some basic suspension/exhaust bolt ons for the ND since a friend owned it. Makes sense though, but it should be a pretty obvious thing to people when they start adding power that the trans/diff will be the first weakest link, even the NA 1.6 has this issue, you just get a little more breathing room of about 80 HP before the 5 speed lets go, but the stock open diff will break at stock power, and the stock viscous LSD will also break on stock power if pushed enough, they're pretty much guaranteed to break as soon as you throw any power mods at the car. I like the NDs looks, but it's too cramped inside for me vs the NA, I would like to have a 2.5 swapped NC though

[@ag4allgood]

@@widdly-scuds If interior room is high on your list a Miata of any Generation will not make you happy. My ND cockpit reminds me of a golf glove you put on. I have the soft top so when the roof is down the feeling of space is much greater. The sight on both sides of the car is good. On the RF version its restricted by the 2 humps but with the blindspot warning system an alert driver will know what is around. I really don't feel the need to up the power on my ND. The torque is flat for every gear & the LSD works well on launch. The age old question is answered " better to drive a slow car fast ". Its not slow though.

[@PaulHojda]

my 2023 1.5l is still waiting on it's new transmission. Same synchro problem with 3rd gear. eta on a new transmission is two months😢

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

I’m sorry to hear that. 😢 What country are you in since you have a 1.5l car and the wait time is so long?

[@PaulHojda]

@@AutomotiveAnonymous208 Denmark. To my knowledge currently 5 people, myself included are waiting for new gearboxes for our 2023's, 2 of which are 1.5's

[@wweatherford]

​@@PaulHojdadid you get your new transmission yet?

[@realaveragegamer3053]

Did you just double clutch till it got fixed? my 2nd gear synchro went out in my s2k and it was a pain in the ass

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Yeah, and avoided downshifting into 3 or 4 as often as I could lol. I’m sorry to hear that yours also went out!

[@techne9992]

I have a problem with my 2024 with it whining. Can I ask where the tow hooks came from or what brand?

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

The brand is Raceseng and they’re legit #4,500 pound rated. Very high quality, but not cheap. My Miata didn’t come with any tow hook or strap connectors so while mostly being cosmetic it could also be extremely helpful if ever needed.

[@michaelfishkin4332]

Have they determined what is causing it so it is not a repeat problem?

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

As far as I know there hasn’t been a factory fix for the gears. Although some people have recommended changing out the tranny oil to a different brand and that it has seemed to help.

[@mp9228]

Consensus is that the manufacturing tolerances are too large for some of the gears; it really doesn't help that the mazda fluid is only an 80w. I'm thinking it's always these gears because that's what people aggressively downshift into the most. Trans should be able to take it tho

[@toology55]

How they fixed it on 2024.

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

I’m not sure that they have because a few people with 24s are already reporting the same problem. 🤦‍♂️

[@mjd240]

Do you expect the transmission to break again after another 8000-16000 miles?

[@MrSuryapratim]

Yes he absolutely expects it!

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Haha. I’d like to think it wouldn’t happen twice. But for that reason and several much better reasons I felt the need to sell the car a couple days ago. Today I shared the video explaining why I sold it. 🥲

[@aerotus888]

Transmission failure on such a new 'reliable' car? Disgusting!!!

[@AutomotiveAnonymous208]

Haha, I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s such a good drivers car and if it wasn’t for the faulty brass gears it seems to be extremely reliable. 🤷‍♂️😅