Noticed this a few times now. When the car is just started and it is not quite all the way warmed up yet, I find it quite difficult to shift gears...especially from first to second. Anybody else notice this? Perhaps I should just let it warm up a bit longer. <p>JT 99' 1.8Tqms

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One of the joys of fine European craftsmanship is that they design the gearbox with REALLY tight clearances. Within 2-3 miles of driving you should feel it loosen up. Just don't jam it or try to rush it when it's stiff like that, or you'll bend a shift fork or twist a shift rail. <p>FYI, there is not a Ferrari made that can be shifted into 2nd gear if the car has just been started and the temp is below 45 deg. F. <p>Just pretend you're driving a Ferrari. With AWD. And heated seats. And better visibility. And significantly lower maintenance costs. And a back seat. And a real trunk. And an air conditioner that really works. <p>J/TSR<br>(BTW, "Magneti Marelli" translates to "electrical fire" in English)

I thought you were talking about your first sexual experience with a virgin.... :-)<p>BTW, what does Lotus Elan translate in english as?<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM

either "towtruck" or "hitchhike". Wanna get marooned ? Elans are the S.S. Minnow of cars.

You can help alleviate this by switching gear oil to Mobil 1 synthetic. Although as I understand it the A4 gearbox does not have a drain plug, so you might have to pump out the existing oil - have not checked this out yet - as I just got my car the other day. However, I used to have this problem with my VW- GTI - now running mobil 1 gear oil - no problem anymore.