2006 Corolla LE - 115,000 - Manual Transmission
This started about six months ago. If I shift directly up from 2nd gear to 3rd gear there is a catch/grind as it goes into 3rd. It's not prolonged, it goes right into third but I can feel and hear it. To my uneducated ear, it seems to catch on a few gear teeth before fully engaging.
If I pause in Neutral for a moment in the middle of the shift, it goes into 3rd smoothly.
At first I thought I wasn't getting the clutch fully pressed but it only happens going from 2nd to 3rd and it has happened when I was fully aware of pressing the clutch down as far as it would go.
It may be that this happens mostly when the car is colder and not so much after it has been driving for 20 minutes or more. That is an impression I haven't managed to confirm. It may also be that the length of that pause in Neutral needs to be longer than when I first noticed this.
When I had the car in for recent oil change I asked them to look at it. They had no answers or conclusions but did say that the transmission fluid looked good with no discoloration and no bits of metal in it.
Does this sound like anything anyone has run into before? Should I be worried?
Thanks