UPDATE: second gear popout
 

Well, I took the Speed3 into the dealer and explained the second gear popout problem.[http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/foru...r-pop-out.html]
They tested it and told me that they need to replace second gear, possibly more. The service manager said it is all covered under warranty; I will get a loaner for the 2-3 days it will take; and they might replace more than just second if they find anything else wrong in there.

Other than the 2 times it popped out during autocross, it drives fine. Should I be wary of this intended repair? She said that over time, the condition would worsen, so it is better to get it now while under warranty.

Thoughts, anyone?

I wouldn't worry about the actual repair. But you may want to take note of your driving style. Are you grinding 2nd? Slamming it into 2nd every time you take off? It could be you just got a bum 2nd gear and you won't have any more problems. I had reverse crap out on my old 87 prelude. I had to learn the exact pop out point and put the clutch in just before then just to get out of my driveway. That sucked ass. At any rate, if your driving style is not the problem, I wouldn't worry about it. I also had small scratches all over my rear windshield UNDERNEATH the defroster lines, so it happened at the factory. Am I worried about the replacement windshield? No. But if it bugs you that badly, just take it easy on the shifting and keep us updated.

Will do. If I get it back in time, I plan to autocross this coming Saturday. I hope that the course is such that it reveals any potential issues with the tranny/shifter.

probably should give it some break in time. . . .any body else agree, especially if they give you a new trans if other gears are bad

Yes a new transmission gear/synchro will need time to be broken in. I had a rebuilt transmission put in my Honda Civic and never let it break in before I decided to do a 2nd-5th shift.. First time I did it(within 100 miles of getting the new transmission) and my 5th gear synchro was toast. I just double clutched into 5th from that point on. Now losing 2nd would suck.. lol

yeah break it in, as with any new parts. and then make sure you rev match when you downshift or heel toe when autocrossing from now on and your tranny/clutch will love you.

OK, so what's a good break-in period for a new second gear? If I get it back on Wednesday, I'll have about 250 miles on it before the autocross on Saturday.

BTW - I am not hard on the tranny or shifter. In fact, I'm pretty calm ... even during an autocross. I can count on one hand the times I have ground a gear because of a mis-shift (in 34,000 miles).

new second gear
 

OK, they replaced second gear. Apparently, they have re-engineered the gearing for first and second and really beefed them up. The shifter is A LOT harder to get into first and second with the new gearing, but it is slowly breaking in. Feels much stronger (the linkage).

my car did the same thing, they replaced 2 and 3rd gear and re did the synchros...the master tech did somethign to my clutch that made it really soft which is cool... but the tranny will feel stiffer until "break in" which is a couple of hundred miles to be safe. after that its butter

Very interesting that they "re-engineered."
Mine popped out of 2nd on the way into work this morning.

i don't know if this is a related issue, but infrequently when i'm accelerating and push the clutch in while in second it will pop out itself without any effort on my part. i've mentioned it to my dealer before, but i don't think they really looked into it.