Hard to Shift into 1st Gear

[dbarwi1]

Good afternoon -

I have a 2003 Saturn VUE FWD 4 cylinder SUV. The vehicle has approx 81,000 miles. For the past 6 months, it has become increasingly difficult to shift the car into 1st gear. Sometimes I can force (mash) it into gear. Other times I must visit other gears first and then it will shift into 1st. It is usually more difficult in the morning when it is cold in which I may have troubles getting into 2nd as well. There is no grinding at all during this process even when I do get it into 1st gear.

Would anyone possibly have an idea on what the cause might be? I'd appreciate any bullitens that may have been posted on such an issue so I am prepared when I visit the dealership.

Much appreciated.
Daniel

[r6cowboy]

I have an 05 4cyl 5spd and notice this sometimes. Do you have the problem constantly? I have only 10k on it. Anybody out there have any ideas?

[pdough]

Do a search for "trouble shifting" in this forum and you find a number of threads discussing the exact issue. If it only occurs in cold weather, its probably the "known issue" with cold weather shifting. If it is continually getting worse, even in warm weather, it may be shift cables.

[jdmessner]

It's a known problem with the 5 speed manual's. The transmission uses shift cables instead of solid linkages.

If it is hard to shift, you need to replace the cables.

[dbarwi1]

How much do the shifter cables cost and is this something that I could attempt on my own? If not, any idea how much a dealer would charge to do the job?

Many thanks for the suggestions. I had seen many threads referencing the shift cables, but none nailing this as the cause to my problem.

Thanks.
Daniel

[BobbyP]

It's a known problem with the 5 speed manual's. The transmission uses shift cables instead of solid linkages.

If it is hard to shift, you need to replace the cables.

Every manufacturer, that I know of, uses cables for their manual transmissions in their FWD transverse cars, and suv's. A true mechanical linkage would be a nightmare to engineer.

Any factory cable ass'y is expensive. The cable to shift my SC's automatic cost ~$100, and more to replace. The Saturn dealer told me I was the first one to have one fail at their dealer.

A shift by wire system ould be a good alternative, but more expensive than cables.