I recently purchased an 05 Mustang GT from Carmax. I immediately noticed that going into 2nd gear was much more difficult than my 2001 car. I had two mechanics at one Ford dealer (via Carmax) and 4 mechanics at another Ford dealer drive the car. They all said that it was OK to grind going into 2nd gear?? The problem is especially bad downshifting. I know that there were two TSBs for this problem in 2003/2004, but they ran my VIN into Oasis and there were no hits for this problem (even though it is the same thing described in the TSBs). It also seems hard to get into 2nd gear quickly at high RPMs.

OK, I guess I'll have to live with it. But does anyone have this problem as well, and if so, would a good shifter help at all?
I'm supposed to get my Kenne Bell supercharger Tuesday. If I am having shifting problems when I'm having fun now--who knows what a crapper it will be then!

 

occasionallymine is hard to get into gear you just have to wait a sec and hold pressure on it and itlll go. not a big deal to me as its downshifting and it only does it going into first on mine when im going about 30, so its no problem for me but its annoying going down my driveway. Saleen shifter didnt help it, but its shorter LOL

 

I have never had any issues. Never grind into any gear, well, except yesterday at the dragstrip when I missed a shift to 3rd.[:@] Sounds like a possible synchro going bad.

 

I've noticed that in my 06 gt as well, downshifting becomes a pain in the A$$ with it wanting to keep throwing the shifter out of that gear...

 

I've had no problems with mine. Although it is an 06 not an 05. It's extremely smooth and easy to shift. Why live with a problem on a new car?? You paid for it so it should work properly. It's still under warranty so take it to the dealer and have them fix it.

 

its mainly downshifting, you have to hold it in place and let the synchro wind up before it will go into gear. this is a little annoying, however, its not a problem at all. just double clutch it; it makes it 100 times easier to downshift into a much lower gear.

its good though; makes it so u dont go into too low of a gear and overrev. same with reverse.

 

Having trouble getting into gears is sometimes a sign of the clutch also - just something to think about. The stock clutch is not the most advanced piece of machinery on these cars IMO...lol

I burned through three stock clutches the first 4 months I had my car. In my personal opinion, it is more important to get an aftermarket clutch before an aftermarket shifter. Ideally, both at the same time, but when you play with these cars hard, the clutch will not stand up too long.

For you who are soon to have a KB, a clutch and aluminum flywheel should be tops on your list (amoung other things).

 

I love the shifter on my 06 gt. Positive shifts, very mechanical. Decent stops without too much mushiness. It gets better (smoother) after a couple hundred miles. It is a little chalky right off the lot.

I have never had a car that went perfectly into first while coming to a stopsign. Always have to hold it a second to let the syncros wind up and engage. And then you get that wonderfull tranny whine. Music to my ears.

2nd to third can be tricky, I missed it a couple times. I am getting better though. Funny thing is I have been driving stick for years now and never have missed a 2-3 shift in any of my cars. I missed third twice in one week in the mustang when I started pounding on it a bit harder. That would be the only reason I would have to change it. But we will see what happens.

 

Shifting into 1st at 30!!! I never do it at more than 15ish and even then I can FEEL its not supposed to be doing that, the book says never do it over 10.

 

I have to say the shifter of my v6 is the worst I've ever driven. I've driven the spectrum of cars too, even my 1971 volkswagen doesn't have the hesitation getting through the 2nd to 3rd shift this car has. I also have access to a new model m3 which I can drive from time to time which has got to be about the most precise shifter I've driven and the difference between the feel of that and my mustang makes me feel like I'm driving a car from half a century ago. When it comes down to it the syncros shouldn't have to be given time, the shifter just isn't good, and as mentioned before the clutch probably is partly to blame as well.