Fiesta MK6 Stiff Gears (possible secondary solution fix)

Hi! I bought a Fiesta MK6 1.6 5 door last year and noticed that it had a gear stick that became very hard to move when I had been driving for a while. It was perfect at the beginning of the journey but after a while, each gear change would become harder and harder, requiring more time and arm power. It was getting to the point where it was dangerous. Took it to a garage and they said they had lubed it up but the problem came back shortly afterwards. After doing research I found out about the pivet arm/bushes but didn't really have any resources at the time to do that fix.

Thinking about it, if the engine was getting hot enough that it was causing this problem, that meant that there wasn't enough cold air coming. I took out the factory air box and opened it up, the panel filter was near black and other debris was lurking around the box. After a full clean and air filter replacement, the problem went away completely. I later switched to a K&N 57i (in front of the battery, not on top of the engine) and it has continued to be fine now for a good 3-4 months.

So basically, if you are suffering with the Fiesta Mk6 stiff gear problem, give your air filter a check first before doing the other fix. Could save a few quid :)

This worked for me, so maybe it can work for you too. If this has already been posted, then sorry!