Hi All,

In my Octavia I -manual transmission, 1.9TDI, gear shifting is getting very hard. I paddle/press the clutch fully and change the gear but still the gear shift is getting very hard. What could be the problem? I consulted my service engineer for skoda for gear oil change then he told there is no need to change gear oil as it is for life time.

Please suggest me in this regard.

Regards,

Javeed

Is it the same with the engine turned off?

Is it all gears or just 1 or 2?

How many miles has it done?

Gearbox oil does get broken down over time but you can't tell by looking at it. If you have done 100k+, I would recommend that you change the gearbox oil.

If it is only 1 or 2 gears and there is no problem with the engine off, then my guess would be a synchroniser, but without any further info, it is only a guess.

If the clutch isn't fully disengaging (ie still dragging) that can make it hard to change gears.

1) Change service engineer; he's just repeating the VAG party line. Organisations like ZF Transmissions recommend changing gear oil every 50_000s (80_000 km).

2) If applicable based on (1), change gear oil.

3) Check clutch isn't dragging, although that's unlikely since most VAG cars now have hydraulic clutches.

I think I read somewhere the Octy clutch can sometimes start to drag just before it fails - certainly worth getting checked out.