Mine is very notchy and I've done 3300 miles.

 

When cold, 45 degrees, I have a hard time into first, 2000 miles on the odo. So I start out in second. Once the tranny is warm....first is O.K., but initially when cold is a No Go. Had a 1986 Carrera Turbo...had to start in second each timer it was cold!

 

There is something wrong with your transmission, if, in fact, you cannot get it into 1st gear, even if it was -50F.

 

Warm or cold mine does it too, I do not have the sport shifter. I must be at a complete stop and even then it sometimes is difficult to put into 1st. 535 miles on her.
I'm going to wait to see if it loosens up on it's own before the dealer goes tearing into it.

 

Both the 996 and GT3 easily shift into 1st gear at any speed of 30 mph or less or when completely stopped. Never had a car, including the old BUG without 1st gear syncro that did not operate that way.

 

mine was notchy going into first and reverse. dealer adjusted something and its been fine ever since

 

And you've obviously never owned a 997, which has a different transmission than your 8 yr old 996. 997s seem to be a little tighter in the tolerance specs, not unlike having an engine "blue printed" to gain more efficiency as a result of tighter tolerances.

It loosens up after several thousand miles. Mine still does it at 3900 miles, but it's gotten a lot better than when new, that's for sure. It's better that it be tight when new than sloppy and loose. ... We are talking transmissions, are we not?

 

I am not talking tightess of looseness. I am talking about being able to shift into 1st gear at speed or at a stop. EVERY Porsche I have drivien had no problem with doing so, whether that be a TT, 997 or 996 or GT3. Even Porsche states that you can shift from 2nd gear to 1st gear at a speed of 40 mph and we all know that Porche engineers are alway right? Why would they make this statement if it wasn't designed to do so? Two 997's I drove at a dealer a few months ago slipped right into 1st at speed.

I suspect that many are just afraid to use force to get the tranny into gear. Use a litlle more effort a few times and you'll find that the shift will improve.

 

I have a non-sport shift tranny with 3300 miles and have a lot of notchiness going into first gear when going slow (<10 mph). Seems like I have to jam it into gear and afraid I'm going to snap the cable. Thought this was common issue but apparently not. will have to take it in.

 

With the Sport Shifter when things are cold, it can be a pain to get into first at times.

BTW...there is a workshop action for shifter cables..might want to have the dealer check your VIN in the database to see if your car is affected.

 

That's not what the poster is talking about:
Again, it's something that should loosen up after several thousand miles.

 

I still have some notchiness when cold with a sport shifter, with 7k on the clock. Once its warmed up, no problems.

 

Regardless of the weather, I have always had a serious morning stiffness issue.

Oh wait,....what Ben said,....we're talking about cars right?

 

BMW went cheap on the base Mini's tranny and didn't design it with synchros for reverse gear.
It's a pain in the *** most of the time as I have to wait and wait and wait until the gear stops spinning so I can shift into reverse without the harsh grinding that always happened until the tech explained to me that Mini went cheap and didn't include a synchro for reverse. It's embarrassing at times when I need to shift into reverse rather quickly and it makes the grinding noise, 'cuz I don't have time to play around with the gear box to coax it into reverse.

 

I would be interested in knowing what car has a reverse syncro.