possible problem with my new NC2

[as_1]

hi

first off i want to apologise in advance if i am posting this in the wrong section

i recently bought a soft top nc2 and am loving it and so does my partner

however when i let my partner drive it, she stalled it about 10 times in a row, because she had put it into 3rd and not 1st

after that she was fed up and decided not to drive -.-;;

when i got in, it seems that now when i am changing gears, the rpms linger for a split second before dropping. now i don't know if this is because i think there is a problem but i don't think i have noticed this before

my car has only done 630km when this has happened

could there be a problem due to the stalling incident? or am i just being paranoid

responses will be very much appreciated

just a bit more info, now my car has 660km on it

could she have damaged the car for good?

[Okibi]

Welcome to the obsession, visit your local MX-5 club, get someone with the same car to take yours for a drive and see if they notice a difference. Or drop past your friendly Mazda dealer and see if they can fault the car.

Not sure if the ecu "learns" and would need to be reset.

Sorry I can't be much more help than that.

[JBT]

I doubt that it's broken but, as Okibi said, the ECU could be "learning" how you drive and another club member could compare with his/her car for you.

Having said that, I have never experienced hanging revs between gear changes. Be aware that the NC has a "drive by wire" accelerator which is fairly sensitive. A slight bump of the foot on the pedal will get an engine response - makes heel/toeing very easy.

At the risk of telling you/your partner how to suck eggs, the gear shift is spring loaded in the 3/4 gate. Slight pressure to the left will keep it in the 1/2 gate and slight pressure to the right will keep it in the 5/6 gate. It is a superb gear shift but I find it best to smoothly guide the lever during changes rather than force it.

Update your profile with your location and someone in the area may offer to help.

[Locutus]

selecting 3rd instead of 1st gear "by accident" simply indicates poor manual shifting technique. study the H shift pattern on the gear knob and stop trying to move the gear stick diagonally - there are no diagonal lines on the shift pattern.

as for engine revs lingering, every single drive by wire car i have dríven has the same "problem". i think it's an emissions reduction mechanism programmed into the ECU.


welcome to the obsession!

[as_1]

hmm... I don't know

at first I though she was just letting the clutch out too soon but then I figured he had put it in third.

stalling it that many times in a row, especially if the gear is incorrect, does it damage the car?

is it possible that the res linger a bit because this stalling incident has worn the clutch out a bit or overheated it hence why
it seems like it's lingering? but like I said before, I may just be imagining things. hopefully

[BadBong]

Sure... being a new car with less than 1000kms, you would be covered by warranty / you can take it into the dealer to find out what's wrong?

I don't think anyone here has delibrately stalled their car 10 times in a row to find out what the effects might be...

I personally don't think it matters which gear you were in when you stall in though.

[bigdog]

The issue of revs not dropping when you lift off the throttle is something that occurs in my wife's Ford Focus (which shares parentage with your NC engine). When I complained to the dealer about I was told it is an ECU anti pollution/fuel economy thing that can't be adjusted, so you may have the same issue. I just learned to drive around the problem, but it is disconcerting for a little while. Perhaps an experienced NC owner here could take yours for a drive and see if it feels normal?

Coffeeboss? Garry? Charlie Brown?

[jerrah]

My Yaris does the same with the pausing RPM's. I've always assumed it was an emissions related 'feature' and seems to only occur in certain circumstances.

[bruce]

As it's under warranty, ask them to check it at the first free service (1500 kays?)

[NitroDann]

Stalling it wont hurt it, ive dropped the clutch at high revs in 6th gear just for fun before.. Yeah I know my car must love me back......

But anyways, its shitty drive by wire, It sucks and theres nothing you can do about it until someone hacks the software and allows reflashing so it acts like a real throttle cable.

Dann

[Mr Morlock]

yes you are jumping to conclusions and yes Bruce is quite right. It is a big plus in my view for the partner to be able to drive the car so someone needs to give the partner some guidance. Earlier model MX5's NB's etc can be tricky with the gearbox in that the gate is spring loaded and it is not hard to select the wrong gear- I assume the NC is the same with a 6 speed. Some of us of a certain age were brought up with manual changes so it comes pretty easy to relearn but many younger drivers have never really had the continuous exposure to manual cars. PS there is not the remotest chance in my opinion that stalling the car is going to do any damage- witness learner drivers in manuals.

[JBT]

Earlier model MX5's NB's etc can be tricky with the gearbox in that the gate is spring loaded and it is not hard to select the wrong gear- I assume the NC is the same with a 6 speed.

Nope, the NC 6 speed is absolutely slick and positive. Reverse is left of 1st too.

[NitroDann]

The spring loaded gates HELP find gears, and Ive never heard of a production car post ww2 without them.

Dann

[cobby]

I'm not even sure if my opinion will even count here, I work at a Mazda dealership but I'm only an apprentice (2nd year). I can tell you now that; yes the computer (PCM - Powertrain Control Module) is constantly reteaching itself, and it won't learn itself off a few stalls. I'm actually currently in Brisbane for factory training as I type this. Incidentally, I'm here to do the module on engine management systems. Stalling the engine repeatedly will wear out the clutch and engine over time, but not after only 10 or so. If it were to be stalled once every time it was dríven then over a longer period of time you would expect to see some signs of wear, but once she learns the car a bit better everything will be fine.

Like I said earlier, the PCM is CONSTANTLY relearning itself, so this won't be an issue. Just out of curiosity, what did you and your wife used to drive? I know brand new cars are very different to say cars 10 years ago in terms of how they feel to drive. Also it's pretty easy to get confused with the gears at first with the NC, because the gears are pretty close together (physically, not talking about ratios or throw). Also, one thing that at least I see come through my work (not sure if it's the same for other dealers) is often people get the placebo effect once something happens that either A) they don't think should have happened or B) they don't know what happened. For example, quite often we get people come through for the 1st service and when they get it back, all of a sudden there'll be a rattle or something different in the car that they claim wasn't there before. Problem is that because they didn't see everything that happened while we were in possession of their car. When in reality nothing has gone wrong and it's all in the mind.

It sounds like the same thing has happened here. I can assure you that stalling the car x number of times won't cause any problems. It's just a case of getting to know your MX-5 in relation to throttle control, clutch control and the gear shifter. I'm not trying to come across like I think you're a bad driver here, sorry if it has.

I'm probably not in the right place to be giving advice on driving, given the fact that I'm only 19, but an easy way to tell if you're in 1st or 3rd is by letting the clutch out really slowly; if it begins to move without affecting the RPM too much in the first instant, it's in 1st. If it's in 3rd, the RPM will drop a lot more before moving the car, and then stalling. You could even practice this in an car park or something.

In relation to the RPM pausing, as far as I've found, all the new Mazdas do this. The Rx-8 probably does it the least, but they all do it. I've learnt to drive with it, and now I find it helps me because I blip the throttle slightly before letting the clutch out at a standing start and because the RPM pauses slightly, I find it's just enough for me to disengage the clutch slightly and get the car moving before actually applying throttle. That's just me though, don't think this is abnormal. It would've done it on the roadtest before you bought it as well, but I can imagine the excitement of buying a brand new car would blind a lot of mechanical and electrical traits of the car to a lot of customers.
I'm also not trying to put you into majority either, everyone is different. These are just the things that came to my head when I saw this thread.

I really hope this has helped put your mind at ease so you can get on with enjoying your new MX-5. Fantastic car, I can't wait to get mine next week! (na6 short nose crank but still, mx5 none-the-less). Absolutely take it back to the dealer you bought it from if you still have any concerns.

- cobby

[BadBong]

I'm not even sure if my opinion will even count here, I work at a Mazda dealership but I'm only an apprentice (2nd year). I can tell you now that; yes the computer (PCM - Powertrain Control Module) is constantly reteaching itself, and it won't learn itself off a few stalls. I'm actually currently in Brisbane for factory training as I type this. Incidentally, I'm here to do the module on engine management systems. Stalling the engine repeatedly will wear out the clutch and engine over time, but not after only 10 or so. If it were to be stalled once every time it was dríven then over a longer period of time you would expect to see some signs of wear, but once she learns the car a bit better everything will be fine.

Like I said earlier, the PCM is CONSTANTLY relearning itself, so this won't be an issue. Just out of curiosity, what did you and your wife used to drive? I know brand new cars are very different to say cars 10 years ago in terms of how they feel to drive. Also it's pretty easy to get confused with the gears at first with the NC, because the gears are pretty close together (physically, not talking about ratios or throw). Also, one thing that at least I see come through my work (not sure if it's the same for other dealers) is often people get the placebo effect once something happens that either A) they don't think should have happened or B) they don't know what happened. For example, quite often we get people come through for the 1st service and when they get it back, all of a sudden there'll be a rattle or something different in the car that they claim wasn't there before. Problem is that because they didn't see everything that happened while we were in possession of their car. When in reality nothing has gone wrong and it's all in the mind.

It sounds like the same thing has happened here. I can assure you that stalling the car x number of times won't cause any problems. It's just a case of getting to know your MX-5 in relation to throttle control, clutch control and the gear shifter. I'm not trying to come across like I think you're a bad driver here, sorry if it has.

I'm probably not in the right place to be giving advice on driving, given the fact that I'm only 19, but an easy way to tell if you're in 1st or 3rd is by letting the clutch out really slowly; if it begins to move without affecting the RPM too much in the first instant, it's in 1st. If it's in 3rd, the RPM will drop a lot more before moving the car, and then stalling. You could even practice this in an car park or something.

In relation to the RPM pausing, as far as I've found, all the new Mazdas do this. The Rx-8 probably does it the least, but they all do it. I've learnt to drive with it, and now I find it helps me because I blip the throttle slightly before letting the clutch out at a standing start and because the RPM pauses slightly, I find it's just enough for me to disengage the clutch slightly and get the car moving before actually applying throttle. That's just me though, don't think this is abnormal. It would've done it on the roadtest before you bought it as well, but I can imagine the excitement of buying a brand new car would blind a lot of mechanical and electrical traits of the car to a lot of customers.
I'm also not trying to put you into majority either, everyone is different. These are just the things that came to my head when I saw this thread.

I really hope this has helped put your mind at ease so you can get on with enjoying your new MX-5. Fantastic car, I can't wait to get mine next week! (na6 short nose crank but still, mx5 none-the-less). Absolutely take it back to the dealer you bought it from if you still have any concerns.

- cobby

Probably one of the most useful, constructive and non-dismissive comment by a new comer... Welcome to the forum mate!