If it does not feel right it isn't. My cars shift perfectly, there is no reason why yours should not. Ask them to explain EXACTLY why this is normal. Have them do this in detail and in writing.

Video tape the clunk, email it to them.

 

Sorry, I missed the point about the trouble shifting from 1st to 2nd. This is a very common issue with the older cars. My '07 had this issue, but I would just skip 2nd gear in the winter until the tranny warmed up (after about 15 min.). Of course, I live in a warmer climate, so it was less of a nuisance for me.

You should know that Aston put out a bulletin about this problem and they came up with a fix that entailed changing out a linkage in the transmission that I believe provides greater leverage when shifting to overcome the resistance. I didn't do the fix because my car was off warranty and, as I said, I live in a warmer climate. If it's really a problem for you, however, you could ask about that fix. No idea what it would cost you. Let me know if you need the bulletin and I can dig it up.

 

Have you tried double-clutching into 2nd (or 1st) when the 'box is cold? This works very well on my '09 (and many other cars I've had). It is also a common characteristic, in my experience, of many manual transmissions I've had -- they are reluctant to shift into 2nd when the gear oil is cold. It is a very well-known characteristic of Ferraris (and the Aston's gearbox is also a Graziano).

 

Had the car back a couple of days now and took it out over the weekend. Feels much better now...but there's still a problem with the shifting. The rattle is still in the door...guess the mechanic couldn't hear it. I'll take it by the dealership again soon and ask about changing out a link as you referenced, Racer_x.

Speeedraser, you lost me at "double-clutching". :/

I'm currently deciding whether to keep the car or trade it and go for either a v12 Vantage coupe, Ferrari California or Mercedes SLS AMG. Leaning towards an SLS but will be checking out the Cali's again this week.

 

Sorry to hear about your issues with the car.

I also had two screws fall out, one on the passenger side and one that I could never find. I could hear it rolling from front/back during acceleration and back/to front during braking. Then it stopped . . . and I found a little black screw on the passenger side carpet.

No idea where it came from.

No real issues with the shifting. I've had it die a couple of times but not enough for me to worry about it (I could never tell if I made a shifting error or if the car just stalled). I have stalled it many, many times in reverse . . . but that is because of how tall that damn gear is. You really have to give it some gas to keep that from happening.

Other than that, I really have not had an issue with the AM (a super minor issue with the aux in (which I never use) for the stereo is the only other item).

Stay on them, I'm sure they will get you sorted.

 

I had service bulletin SB236 for the balky 1-2 shift done under warranty when I had about 12K miles on my car (I have a little over 25K miles now). The fix involved replacing the entire shift lever, linkage, and fluid. At first I didn't think it made much difference, but after a week or two I realized that it really was a huge improvement. Now I never notice a problem shifting.

 

Double-clutching (or double-declutching in Britenglish) basically involves letting the clutch pedal up while in neutral during a shift to match engine and gearbox speeds. You do the job of the synchros, which gives them a much easier time of things while the gear oil is cold.

When you upshift, for example from 1st to 2nd:
1) Depress clutch pedal
2) Move gear lever from 1st into neutral
3) Release clutch pedal
4) Allow engine revs to fall to where they'll be (or close to it) when you engage 2nd. (This takes a very short time.)
5) Depress clutch pedal
6) Move gear lever to 2nd
7) Release clutch pedal

For a downshift (3rd to 2nd):
1) Depress clutch pedal
2) Move gear lever from 3rd into neutral
3) Release clutch pedal
4) Blip throttle to raise engine revs to where they'll be (or close to it) when you engage 2nd.
5) Depress clutch pedal
6) Move gear lever to 2nd
7) Release clutch pedal

To be smooth, you may need to rev-match using the throttle before you let the clutch up in the new gear (just like during a normal shift). Double-clutching is faster and easier (IMO) than it may sound, but with a little practice, it becomes quite easy and makes for a smooth, easy engagement of 2nd (or even 1st) when the gear oil is cold.

 

try double clutching in the cool weather till the trans warms up........think man!